information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
11 Août 2014
August 11, 2014
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/news/20140811p2a00m0na009000c.html
The government has made a drastic decision over the planned construction of an interim storage facility for radioactive soil generated through decontamination work in the wake of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant disaster, forking out an additional 301 billion yen in regional subsidies.
The subsidies, which will be used for rebuilding local residents' lives and regional development, have gained some credit from the Fukushima prefectural towns of Okuma and Futaba -- the candidate sites for the temporary storage facility -- and the Fukushima Prefectural Government. The move marks a step forward toward the central government's goal of starting partial operation of the facility in January next year.
Local residents' distrust in the central government, however, hasn't been completely dispelled, on the heels of Environment Minister Nobuteru Ishihara's gaffe suggesting the issue of where to build the interim storage facility was a matter of money. The government has yet to reveal the purchase price of land for the storage facility, leaving the fate of the negotiations with candidate towns up in the air. The town assemblies of Okuma and Futaba have asked their mayors not to make hasty decisions over the issue.
The central government is urged not to resort to money in settling the matter but instead to explain repeatedly the necessity and safety of the storage facility and the future path for the host town so as to gain local residents' understanding.
The interim storage facility is intended to store up to around 25.5 million cubic meters -- or the equivalent of filling 20 Tokyo Domes -- of soil and waste contaminated with radiation in Fukushima Prefecture for a duration of up to 30 years. The government had initially planned to nationalize a total of 16 square kilometers of land in Okuma and Futaba -- which host the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant -- and develop the land for the construction of the facility. However, the plan met a local backlash out of concern that the interim storage facility could ultimately become a final disposal site, with residents resisting to let go of the land of their ancestral legacy.
In response, the government gave up on the idea of nationalizing the land in its entirety and instead decided to introduce a maximum 30-year surface right of land so that the government can utilize the premises while landowners retain their property rights. The government's promise to transfer the contaminated waste from the interim facility to outside Fukushima Prefecture 30 years later for final disposal will also be legislated.
One could call the government's measures appropriate in taking local sentiment into consideration. Nonetheless, talks over the additional subsidies between the central and the Fukushima Prefectural Government have hit a snag, with the former aspiring to keep the amount somewhere around 100 billion yen while the latter demanding roughly 1 trillion yen.
Under the central government's proposal, a total of 250 billion yen in subsidies will be forked out to the Fukushima Prefectural Government and the towns of Okuma and Futaba in lump-sum payments. Aside from this, an annual 1.7 billion yen will be added to government subsidies for municipalities hosting nuclear plants over the 30-year period.
It is a matter of course that Fukushima Prefecture needs generous financial assistance in the aftermath of the gravest damage it has suffered from the nuclear catastrophe. The central government describes the new set of subsidies as "highly discretionary" for the recipient municipality and calls it the "maximum allowance" it could fork out. However, the government hasn't unveiled the basis for calculating the vast trove of subsides.
Most areas in Okuma and Futaba still fall within the so-called "difficult-to-return" zone due to high levels of radiation. The subsidy funds would not be effectively utilized unless there is a clear picture of reconstruction in those areas. While the Reconstruction Agency explains that it will draw up a basic concept on the recovery of the two towns and work on the future vision of evacuation zones from medium- to long-term and broader perspectives, budget measures should essentially be worked out in the presence of a clear picture of the future.
The massive amount of subsidies is to be shouldered by none other than the general members of the public in the forms of electricity charges and taxes. The central government and municipalities concerned should reveal the usage of such subsidies and effectively utilize the funds as resources for achieving the recovery of Fukushima.
August 11, 2014(Mainichi Japan)