Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan sued Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday for defamation, saying he had no grounds to accuse him of mismanaging the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
Kan accused Abe of critically damaging his image as well as that of the Democratic Party of Japan and demanded ¥11 million in compensation. He also wants the remarks deleted from Abe's website and an online apology posted on the site for two years.
According to the former prime minister, Abe criticized Kan's handling of the nuclear crisis in his email newsletter dated May 20, 2011, based on false information. The crisis started that March 11 when tsunami generated by the Great East Japan Earthquake slammed into the nuclear plant.