A high court has found Japan’s central government equally as liable as Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) for not taking steps to prevent the triple reactor meltdown at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station almost 10 years ago in March 2011.

The Tokyo high court’s decision on 19 February was based on a report that pointed to the possibility of a large tsunami striking the Fukushima area, north of Tokyo.

The court determined that the central government’s failure to act on the report’s findings was “illegal” and ordered it and Tepco to pay a total of about 280 million yen ($2.7m) to 43 plaintiffs now living in Chiba Prefecture.

The plaintiffs moved to the prefecture next to Tokyo after they were forced to evacuate in the aftermath of the nuclear accident triggered by an earthquake and tsunami.