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Japan: Cabinet to OK Bill Tuesday to Aid Compensation for Nuclear Disaster |
| Source: |
japantoday.com |
| Source Date: |
Friday, June 10, 2011 |
| Focus: |
Electronic and Mobile Government, Citizen Engagement, Internet Governance
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| Country: |
Japan |
| Created: |
Jun 14, 2011 |
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The cabinet is expected to approve on Tuesday a bill to help Tokyo Electric Power Co meet its massive compensation payments through measures such as injecting money into the utility in the wake of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, government sources said Thursday.
The government has decided to submit the bill during the current Diet session, which will end June 22 unless extended, to speed up the process for provisional payments to people affected by the nation’s worst nuclear plant disaster, the sources said.
Under the bill, the government will create a new institution to aid TEPCO in ensuring the swift payment of compensation that may total trillions of yen and allocate to the institution a type of bond that can be cashed when necessary, and give state guarantees on loans provided by financial institutions to the entity.
Japan’s electricity firms that own nuclear power plants will also make contributions to the entity. To avoid TEPCO from being crushed by debt in case the amount of compensation swells, the government will inject funds through the institution.
The nuclear crisis was triggered by the catastrophic quake-tsunami disaster that devastated northeastern Japan, forcing many residents around the Fukushima plant to evacuate from their homes, and damaging the agriculture, livestock and fishery industries in the region.
The government at one point planned to submit the bill in an extraordinary parliament session but has decided to pass it during the ongoing Diet session so that victims can benefit more quickly, the sources said.
TEPCO is increasingly facing difficulties in securing funding, with its shares hitting an all-time low of 148 yen at one point on Thursday.
The main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, acknowledging the need to have a government-initiated compensation scheme, is expected to take part in the bill’s deliberations.
But the outlook of passing the bill in the current parliament session remains cloudy given opposition from some ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers, possible calls from the LDP to revise the government’s draft, and the uncertainty of extending the Diet session.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano indicated in a news conference Thursday that the current political situation should not affect deliberations on the bill, saying, ‘‘If we don’t create a scheme as quickly as possible to secure funding for compensation, provisional payments for victims could be delayed.’’
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Japan: Cabinet to OK Bill Tuesday to Aid Compensation for Nuclear Disaster The cabinet is expected to approve on Tuesday a bill to help Tokyo Electric Power Co meet its massive compensation payments through measures such as injecting money into the utility in the wake of the ongoing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant government sources said Thursday
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