Ishinomaki Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama said Friday the city will appeal a court ruling that ordered the city and Miyagi Prefecture to pay ¥1.4 billion in damages to the families of public elementary school students killed by the tsunami of March 2011.

Kameyama told reporters in Sendai that the appeal will center on whether a massive tsunami could be predicted and whether the school could have avoided the disastrous consequences, reiterating that it was impossible for the school to foresee the event.

"The responsibility for avoiding consequences is an extremely important perspective for future disaster-prevention education," Kameyama said.