A court in northern Japan is ordering a driving school in Miyagi Prefecture to pay more than A$20 Million in damages to the families of 25 students and a part-time teacher who died in the 11 March 2001 earthquake and tsunami disasters.

On that terrible day, the Takiwa-Yamamoto Driving School in Yamamoto-town kept the students in class while the staff discussed weather to restart the lessons that were interrupted by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake – the most powerful to ever hit Japan.  More than 15,000 people died in the quake and tsunami.

The classroom was located only 750 meters from shore.  Had they just dismissed the class for the day, the 25 would have had up to 30 to vacate the area.  Judge Kenji Takamiya said the school “had a duty to foresee the tsunami and transport the students to safety”. 

This is the second time a court awarded major damages against a school or workplace that failed to care for students or workers during modern Japan’s worst disaster.  At least 15 such lawsuits have been filed.