Japan Press Weekly

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2011 September 28 - October 4 TOP3 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Shii criticizes gov’t move to limit radiation decontamination fund

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on September 29 severely criticized the government’s attempt to limit its subsidy for radiation decontamination work as “abandoning its responsibility.”

The Environment Ministry on September 28 announced that it will make available financial support for radiation decontamination only to the areas in which the radiation exposure level is more than 5mSV/y.

At a press conference in the Diet building, Shii pointed out that setting such a limitation allows only a small part of Fukushima Prefecture to be eligible for the subsidy.

“The state should cover the total expenditure for radiation decontamination and hold Tokyo Electric Power Co. responsible for the compensation,” said Shii.

The JCP head stressed that behind the government’s move lies its intention to show the nuclear damage to be minimal in order to stick to its nuclear power generation policy.