Japan Compensates Nuke Victims

The Guardian reports:

Japan's government has approved a plan to help the owners of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant provide trillions of yen in compensation, but political manoeuvring could delay payments to tens of thousands of victims of the country's nuclear crisis.

The cabinet's approval of the scheme on Tuesday came after the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco], said a further six workers had exceeded the annual legal dose of radiation, underlining the risks they face as they struggle to stabilise overheating nuclear reactors by early next year.

Shares in Tepco rose dramatically after the compensation scheme was approved, but anger is mounting at the slow progress made in paying families and businesses more than three months after the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Under the bill, the government would set up a fund and issue special bonds to enable Tepco to pay compensation that the Mainichi newspaper said could reach US$124bn (£75bn). Other power utilities would be asked to contribute to the fund, and Tepco is expected to repay the full sum over an, as yet, unspecified number of years.

In return for state help, Tepco will have to cut costs and turn its management over to the government "for a certain period of time".