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2013 May 29 - June 4 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

10,000 Fukushima residents use ADR to demand fair compensation from TEPCO

Over 10,000 or about half of all residents in Fukushima’s Namie Town on May 29 began an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) procedure demanding fair compensation for damages caused by the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident.

On behalf of 11,602 residents in 4,885 households who are forced to evacuate, the town office filed an application for mediation to the Center for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Nuclear Accident.

The residents demand Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, increase the compensation to 350,000 yen a month from the current 100,000 yen. They also demand that the utility take measures to lower the radiation level in the town to the same level as before the 2011 accident.

Namie Town Mayor Baba Tamotsu at a news conference stated, “By submitting the application, we will open a new chapter in the matter,” and the mayor said he hoped for a positive outcome.

Baba added, “More than half of all the residents decided to join this action within three weeks. This clearly indicates residents’ anger and anxiety concerning their future,” and he expressed his intention to file another application if needed.

An alternative dispute resolution process aims to settle a dispute not through a lawsuit but through the mediation of a third party. In the wake of the severe accident at the TEPCO nuclear plant, the national government established the Center for Dispute Resolution for Compensating Nuclear Accident which specializes in mediating disputes regarding compensation for damages from the 2011 nuclear accident.