The effect of the decision as a precedent will be closely monitored, media reported.
The plaintiffs sought damages from both Tepco and the country in several class cases, and in March the Supreme Court upheld Tepco’s order to pay damages of 1.4 billion yen to about 3,700 people.
Japanese Cabinet Secretary-General Hirokazu Matsuno declined to comment directly when asked about the decision at a news conference, although he said he was aware of it.
“Regardless of the decision, we will stay close to those affected by the disaster and continue to do everything possible for the reconstruction and revival of Fukushima,” he said.
Some 470,000 people were forced to evacuate in the first days after the disaster, and tens of thousands cannot return even now.
The lower courts differed on the degree of responsibility for predicting the disaster and ordering Tepco to take steps to prevent it.
