TEPCO faces multiple official compensation claims

October 12, 2015

TEPCO facing compensation demands from dozens of local gov'ts over nuclear disaster

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20151012p2a00m0na006000c.html

Seventeen prefectures including Fukushima Prefecture and seven major cities have filed compensation claims totaling 56.36 billion yen against Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), citing damage caused by the meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant in 2011, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.

TEPCO has refused to pay over 20 billion yen of the claimed amount, and six prefectures and one ordinance-designated city either plan or already have filed for nuclear damage compensation under the alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system.

Development of a compensation system for such entities has been slow compared with individual residents or companies. An official from one of the municipalities says the national government needs to get involved with concrete measures.

The Mainichi Shimbun surveyed all 47 prefectures, including Tokyo, as well as the nation's ordinance-designated cities, over the amount and details of compensation they were demanding from TEPCO as of the end of August this year. All prefectures and ordinance-designated cities in the Kanto and Tohoku regions have filed for damages. Mie and Shimane prefectures in the west of Honshu Island have also asked the utility to pay for dosimeters and other devices that the prefectural governments purchased in the wake of the nuclear disaster.

According to sources related to prefectural and municipal governments, TEPCO has agreed to pay a total of 36.29 billion yen in compensation for the drop in revenues of public businesses such as those managing water and sewage systems, the cost of radiation tests on school meals and agricultural and livestock products, and the cost of processing and storing waste contaminated with radioactive substances, among other damage.

In some cases, however, TEPCO fixed the period for damage caused by the nuclear disaster. In addition, the utility has not agreed to cover the drop in residence tax and other tax revenues in Fukushima Prefecture, caused by many moving out the prefecture due to the disaster, or the cost of measures to curb harmful rumors regarding radioactive contamination in Akita Prefecture and the cost of extending assistance to nuclear disaster victims in Gunma Prefecture.

Dissatisfied with TEPCO's handling of the situation, the Aomori, Akita, Yamagata, Miyagi and Chiba prefectural governments have filed claims for damage via the ADR system. Gunma Prefecture and the city of Sendai are set to follow suit. The Iwate Prefectural Government has already reached a 250 million yen settlement with TEPCO.

According to Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures -- the three areas hit hardest by the 2011 triple disaster -- most municipalities have filed for compensation from TEPCO, with the total amount claimed reaching 62.88 billion yen. Of that, the utility has agreed to pay only 8.65 billion yen. In addition, some municipalities in other prefectures have also demanded that TEPCO pay compensation for damages. In total, prefectural and municipal governments across the country are reportedly seeking over 120 billion yen in damages from the utility.

A TEPCO official told the Mainichi Shimbun, "We are paying local governments compensation in amounts that fall within a necessary and logical range based on interim guidelines set by the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage Compensation."