Revival of Fukushima "a matter of national honor"

July 13, 2012

Govt. approves Fukushima rebuilding plan

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/20120713_16.html

The Japanese government has approved a basic plan to rebuild Fukushima Prefecture, the home of the nuclear plant that went out of control after the quake and tsunami in March last year.

The plan was approved at a Cabinet meeting on Friday. It cites the revival of the prefecture as the top priority for national policy.

The plan also says the government is responsible for the revival and will make the utmost efforts to achieve this as a matter of national honor.

Respecting the prefecture's goal of creating communities that don't depend on nuclear power, the plan says the government will promote the introduction of renewable energy. It hopes the move will help to create jobs as well.

Under the plan, the government will promote decontamination as its responsibility. It will set a goal of reducing the residents' radiation exposure levels to the benchmark of one millisievert per year or lower in the long term.

The plan says state-owned property will be considered for use as temporary storage for contaminated soil.

It says the government will subsidize thyroid tests for children to check if they are suffering from health problems due to possible radiation exposure.

The plan does not mention a rise in the subsidies for businesses operating in the prefecture. Fukushima has strongly requested such an increase.

The government says the issue should be considered by taking a balanced approach to other disaster-hit prefectures.