Major shift on Fukushima returnees

October 30, 2013

Gov't to abandon idea of having all Fukushima evacuees return home

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20131030p2a00m0na006000c.html

The government is set to provide financial assistance to help nuclear evacuees from the most heavily contaminated areas of Fukushima Prefecture secure housing elsewhere under plans to speed up restoration in the prefecture, it has emerged.

Details of restoration plans being considered by the ruling coalition emerged on Oct. 29. Under the plans, the government will clearly state that areas where annual radiation dosages exceed 50 millisieverts are likely to be uninhabitable for a long time, and will provide financial assistance to help residents from these areas find housing in other places.

The move represents a major shift from the government's original plans to have all residents of Fukushima Prefecture return to their homes.

Areas of Fukushima Prefecture that remain evacuated in the wake of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant are separated into three different zones depending on the level of radioactive contamination: zones where the yearly dosage tops 50 millisieverts and return is difficult (applying to about 25,000 residents); zones where living restrictions are in place (applying to 23,000 residents); and zones preparing for the lifting of evacuation orders (applying to 33,000 residents).

The ruling coalition has been considering specifying how long it is expected to take before residents can return to these zones. As evacuation orders applying to zones where return is difficult are unlikely to be lifted for a long time, the government intends to clarify how radiation levels are expected to change over the coming years and state the length of time residents are unlikely to be able to return to their homes, thereby helping them make informed decisions. It will also give residents from these zones the opportunity to move to other areas and rebuild their lives through boosted financial assistance.

At the same time, the government will channel funds toward the decontamination of other zones, and help residents to return at an early date, boosting both decontamination work and infrastructure development in areas to which residents can return, and resuming hospital services and laying the groundwork for commercial facilities to operate.

Officials are also considering boosting the amount of compensation that Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, provides to evacuated residents. TEPCO currently bases compensation amounts on the value of the homes in which residents were living, but often this is not enough for them to purchase a new home. In addition to stepping up the amount, officials will also indicate when compensation will end and indicate the total amount of compensation, helping residents become independent once again.

Meanwhile, the government will inject some 1 trillion yen to go toward the construction of an interim storage facility for radioactively contaminated waste such as soil. It will consider using taxes slapped onto electricity bills to secure funding, without relying on restoration funds -- a shift from the line of making TEPCO foot the bill, which is likely to stir controversy.

In its plans, the government held off reviewing the system under which the government performs decontamination work on behalf of TEPCO and then bills TEPCO for the cost of the work. However, it left open the option of using some funds from state coffers to fund decontamination, considering the possibility of spending public funds on maintenance of living environments and revitalizing local areas for work beyond the scope of planned decontamination (roughly 1.5 trillion yen).

The government takes the basic position that TEPCO should handle decommissioning of its crippled nuclear reactors, and is requesting that the power company prepare a system to handle the work, such as splitting up the company to create a section devoted to decommissioning.

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Headquarters for Accelerating Reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake is discussing the restoration proposal together with the Reconstruction Agency, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and other related government agencies and ministries. The LDP-New Komeito coalition is expected to formally present the proposal to the government sometime around next week