Evacuees slam payouts from TEPCO as too little
Source: Agencies |
April 16, 2011, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE Japanese government has ordered the operator of the tsunami-damaged nuclear plant to pay an initial US$12,000 to each household forced to evacuate because of leaking radiation - a handout some of the displaced slammed as too little.
Tens of thousands of residents unable to return to their homes near the nuclear plant are bereft of their livelihoods and possessions, unsure of when, if ever, they will be able to return home. Some traveled hundreds of kilometers to Tokyo Electric Power Co's headquarters in Tokyo to press their demands for compensation.
"We have decided to pay provisional compensation to provide the slightest help for the people," Masataka Shimizu, TEPCO's president, told a news conference.
The utility will start paying out the roughly 50 billion yen (US$600 million) in compensation on April 28 to those forced to evacuate, with families getting 1 million yen and single adults 750,000 yen, the government said.
Roughly 48,000 households living within about 30 kilometers of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant would be eligible for the payments, said Trade Ministry spokesman Hiroaki Wada. More compensation was expected later, he said.
"I'm not satisfied," said Kazuko Suzuki, a 49-year-old single mother of two teenagers from the town of Futuba, adjacent to the plant. She has lived at a shelter at a high school north of Tokyo for the past month.
Her family has had to buy clothes, food, shampoo and other basics because they fled the area on government orders without taking time to pack. She has lost her job as a welfare worker, and a job prospect for her 18-year-old fell through because of the effects of the disaster.
"We've had to spend money on so many extra things and we don't know how long this could go on," she said.
TEPCO expects to pay about US$600 million in this initial round of government-ordered compensation. But Shimizu said US$24 billion was needed to resolve the continuing problems with the plant and to restart conventional power stations to make up for power shortages.
Shimizu said the utility would consider cutting the salaries for executives as well as a number of its employees.
The company is still struggling to stabilize the nuclear plant, which saw its cooling systems fail after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11 triggered a massive tsunami that wrecked emergency backup systems as well as much of the plant's regular equipment.
Radiation leaks from the crisis have contaminated crops and left fishermen in the region unable to sell their catches, a huge blow to an area heavily dependent on fishing and farming.
The governor of Fukushima, Yuhei Sato, has vigorously criticized both TEPCO and the government for their handling of the disaster, demanding faster action.
Nearly 140,000 people are still living in shelters after losing their homes or being advised to evacuate because of concerns about radiation.
Tens of thousands of residents unable to return to their homes near the nuclear plant are bereft of their livelihoods and possessions, unsure of when, if ever, they will be able to return home. Some traveled hundreds of kilometers to Tokyo Electric Power Co's headquarters in Tokyo to press their demands for compensation.
"We have decided to pay provisional compensation to provide the slightest help for the people," Masataka Shimizu, TEPCO's president, told a news conference.
The utility will start paying out the roughly 50 billion yen (US$600 million) in compensation on April 28 to those forced to evacuate, with families getting 1 million yen and single adults 750,000 yen, the government said.
Roughly 48,000 households living within about 30 kilometers of the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant would be eligible for the payments, said Trade Ministry spokesman Hiroaki Wada. More compensation was expected later, he said.
"I'm not satisfied," said Kazuko Suzuki, a 49-year-old single mother of two teenagers from the town of Futuba, adjacent to the plant. She has lived at a shelter at a high school north of Tokyo for the past month.
Her family has had to buy clothes, food, shampoo and other basics because they fled the area on government orders without taking time to pack. She has lost her job as a welfare worker, and a job prospect for her 18-year-old fell through because of the effects of the disaster.
"We've had to spend money on so many extra things and we don't know how long this could go on," she said.
TEPCO expects to pay about US$600 million in this initial round of government-ordered compensation. But Shimizu said US$24 billion was needed to resolve the continuing problems with the plant and to restart conventional power stations to make up for power shortages.
Shimizu said the utility would consider cutting the salaries for executives as well as a number of its employees.
The company is still struggling to stabilize the nuclear plant, which saw its cooling systems fail after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake on March 11 triggered a massive tsunami that wrecked emergency backup systems as well as much of the plant's regular equipment.
Radiation leaks from the crisis have contaminated crops and left fishermen in the region unable to sell their catches, a huge blow to an area heavily dependent on fishing and farming.
The governor of Fukushima, Yuhei Sato, has vigorously criticized both TEPCO and the government for their handling of the disaster, demanding faster action.
Nearly 140,000 people are still living in shelters after losing their homes or being advised to evacuate because of concerns about radiation.
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