Papers sent to prosecutors over fatal tunnel collapse

November 30, 2017

Kofu, Yamanashi Pref.- Police sent papers to prosecutors Thursday on eight former officials of Central Nippon Expressway Co. and a subsidiary over a fatal tunnel ceiling collapse that occurred in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, in December 2012.

The eight are former executives and other officials in charge of tunnel maintenance at the expressway operator, known as NEXCO Central, and the subsidiary, Central Nippon Highway Engineering Tokyo Co.

The papers on them were sent on charges of professional negligence resulting in death and injury in connection with the collapse of the Sasago Tunnel, which connects the cities of Otsuki and Koshu.

The Yamanashi prefectural police department suspects them of failing to implement necessary measures to prevent the collapse, including hammering tests for the bolts that were used to fix the metal rods of the ceiling slabs in the tunnel's uppermost section.

According to police investigators, the former executives, including former NEXCO Central President Takekazu Kaneko, claimed that they could not predict the collapse, which left nine people dead and three others injured.

Public prosecutors are expected to face difficulty indicting the former executives by establishing the predictability, observers said.

As for the maintenance officials, the prosecutors are seen to carefully examine whether their indictment would be possible.

In February 2013, the families of the victims filed a criminal complaint with the police against Kaneko and three others on charges of professional negligence resulting in death. The police have since questioned some 300 people, including maintenance officials, about specific methods of inspection and safety control, and gathered expert opinions on the bolts that were used in the collapsed tunnel.

The bereaved families were entitled to payments of a total of about 443 million yen in damages from the two companies after a court acknowledged their responsibility for negligence in connection with the collapse.

The families lost a separate damages suit filed against the former executives, as the Supreme Court did not recognize their ability to predict the collapse. Jiji Press