TEPCO to compensate evacuees

Washington Post : TEPCO, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, announced that it would pay initial compensation in the amount of Â¥1 million (about $12 000) to each family and Â¥750 000 (about $9000) to each single adult evacuated from the zone around the plant; the company expects to pay Â¥50 billion in the initial round of compensation. Some residents of the area near the plant have expressed doubt that the initial payment will be sufficient to cover the costs they’ve sustained, and the governor of Fukushima prefecture, Yuhei Sato, has criticized both TEPCO’s and the national government’s handling of the disaster, demanding faster action and full compensation for the evacuees. Japanese law exempts nuclear plant operators from liability when nuclear accidents are “caused by a grave natural disaster of an exceptional character.” While the tsunami was indeed of exceptional character—the last time Japan saw one of that magnitude was probably in 869 AD, in Sendai—it would be politically disastrous for TEPCO to refuse to pay damages on that basis. Whether the company will face lawsuits going forward is unclear; Japan relies heavily on nonjudicial resolution of disputes.