Photo/Illutration Plaintiffs in the compensation lawsuit outside Utsunomiya District Court on Feb. 2 (Takuji Hiraga)

UTSUNOMIYA--Bereaved family members of loved ones who perished in a 2017 avalanche have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation, arguing the accident was not a natural disaster but a manmade one.

Seven students from Otawara High School and one teacher were killed in the March 2017 accident near Nasu Onsen Family Ski Resort.

Bereaved family members of five who died in the accident filed the lawsuit on Feb. 2 at Utsunomiya District Court seeking 385.48 million yen ($3.4 million) from the Tochigi prefectural government, the Tochigi Prefecture High School Athletic Federation and three teachers who oversaw the mountaineering workshop.

The plaintiffs said the tragedy was the result of a dangerous mountain climbing attempt that was made while ignoring safety precautions.

They also argued the disaster was set against a backdrop of organizational problems within the prefectural board of education and high school athletic federation that gave the green light for the climbing excursion.

And they charged that the prefectural government and high school athletic federation had failed to clarify who was specifically responsible for the accident.

“The prefectural government response was similar to saying the accident could not have been avoided because the avalanche was a natural disaster,” Masaru Oku, 50, one of the plaintiffs, said at a Feb. 2 news conference. “Through this court case, we want the prefectural government to reach the understanding that the avalanche was a manmade disaster. We will not be able to reach a settlement without that understanding.”

Tochigi Governor Tomikazu Fukuda issued a statement saying the prefectural government would decide on its response after carefully going over the lawsuit.

In addition to the eight fatalities, 40 other participants, including students from other high schools, suffered injuries.

In 2019, Tochigi prefectural police sent papers to prosecutors against the three teachers in charge of the event on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury.

The lawsuit was filed in part because a court-mediated settlement attempt had failed. That had begun in 2020 between bereaved families who lost six members in the accident and the same three defendants as in the latest lawsuit.

The bereaved family members asked that the three teachers appear at the sessions and apologize. However, none attended the eight sessions.

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