The Tokyo District Court has ordered a man -- and a companion who had been drinking with him -- to pay damages to the family of a student killed in a 2001 drunk-driving accident.
The man's employer must also pay part of the total of 58 million yen in damages awarded to the family.
In a ruling handed down Friday, Presiding Judge Kunio Sakuma held the driver's drinking companion jointly responsible for the fatal accident, saying he was aware that his friend was unfit to take the wheel and should have known he would try to drive home.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.