Japan Press Weekly

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2013 February 13 - 19 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

TEPCO rushes to terminate compensation for Fukushima victims

Residents of Fukushima raised voices of criticism against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) for rushing to terminate the program of providing compensation for damages caused by the 2011 accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

TEPCO announced on January 31 that it will end in March paying compensation to 128 households in Date City and one household in Kawauchi Village for their mental anguish caused by the nuclear accident. Their residential areas were designated as areas where evacuation was encouraged. In December, the government removed the designation.

The utility’s announcement was made in response to a guideline set by the government committee for nuclear damage compensation in which compensation payments should be terminated within three months after the removal of the designation.

While nearly two years have passed since the nuclear accident, about 60,000 Fukushima residents are still living outside the prefecture, and those who decided to stay in their hometowns are worried about possible radiation contamination.

Onuma Yutaka, a 68-year-old resident of Date City, said that it is too early to remove the designation as radiation decontamination work has only finished at housing sites.

“The local ties we had established for decades were destroyed since compensation was paid to certain households while their next-door neighbors may have not been given it”, said Onuma, criticizing the administration and TEPCO for destroying the residential ties.

In Minamisoma City, Kanno Hatsue, 57, lives about 21km from the crippled plant. The government lifted the designation of her area as an emergency evacuation preparation zone in September 2011. TEPCO explains that its payment for mental anguish given to residents of that area ended in August 2012.

Kanno, who lives with her 3-year-old granddaughter, said, “As long as we live here, anxiety regarding radiation does not go away.” “I want officials of TEPCO and government authorities to try to understand our pain and suffering,” she stressed.