Opinion ID: 4536271
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The 2011 Earthquake

Text: On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami struck Japan, causing enormous and widespread destruction.1 Some 15,000 people died. The FNPP was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami and released over 300 tons of contaminated water into the sea. In response to the disaster, the United States joined in a humanitarian relief effort known as “Operation Tomodachi.” The day following the earthquake, the servicemember plaintiffs arrived off the coast of Fukushima on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and other vessels participating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet’s Reagan Strike Force. Defendant TEPCO owns and operates the FNPP. After the FNPP meltdown, the Japanese government provided billions of dollars in financial support to TEPCO. It also developed a comprehensive scheme to deal with the thousands of claims resulting from the FNPP leak, giving 1 We have taken the facts from plaintiffs’ Third Amended Complaint. Additional details may be found in our prior opinion. Cooper III, 860 F.3d at 1197–98. 12 COOPER V. TOKYO ELEC. POWER CO. claimants the option to submit a claim (1) directly to TEPCO, (2) to the newly established Nuclear Damage Claim Dispute Resolution Center, or (3) to a Japanese court. The plaintiffs, however, chose to sue in the Southern District of California. Subject matter jurisdiction was asserted under the district court’s diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(2).