http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20120225p2a00m0na011000c.html
Gov't to demand resignation of entire TEPCO board
TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata is pictured during a Diet session on Feb. 15, 2012. (Mainichi)
The government is set to demand that all 17 board members of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, resign at the utility's next shareholder meeting in June, government sources said.
In return for the planned infusion of about 1 trillion yen in public funds, officials have deemed it necessary to replace all TEPCO's board members to clarify their responsibility for the nuclear crisis.
The plan will be incorporated into a comprehensive business plan that the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund (NDF) and TEPCO will work out in March.
The government will force TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, who has announced his intention to step down, to give up his retirement allowance, and halve the number of the utility's board members.
The government intends to appoint an outsider such as a private company president to replace Katsumata.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Toshio Nishizawa speaks to the Mainichi Shimbun in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on Dec. 7. (Mainichi)
Many government and NDF officials are calling for the appointment of younger TEPCO employees to the board, citing the need for a smooth handover of the handling of nuclear crisis compensation. NDF and other relevant bodies are selecting deputy general managers and department managers at the TEPCO headquarters as well as branch managers to fill positions on the board excluding chairman.
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano has apparently deemed it necessary for not only the TEPCO president and chairman but the entire board to step down to avoid giving the public the impression that the infusion of public funds is aimed solely at bailing out the utility, according to government sources.
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TEPCO must be proactive in nuke crisis compensation negotiations
The TEPCO headquarters building, center. (Mainichi)
The government's center for settling disputes over compensation for nuclear accidents has revealed new restitution standards for the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis.
In principle, the standards call on Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to pay 100,000 yen per month to every person that has left their home in accordance with official evacuation advisories. The amount should not be halved after the seventh month following the accident, as was initially planned.
Moreover, for those who evacuated at their own discretion, TEPCO is required to cover transportation and accommodation expenses in excess of the amounts listed by the interim guidelines set by the government's Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage (400,000 yen for children and expecting mothers and 80,000 yen for others). TEPCO is also required to pay compensation for any damage caused by the nuclear disaster to properties in evacuation zones, even without on-site checks to confirm the properties' conditions.
The center is under the umbrella of the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage supervised by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
The new standards announced by the center are more specific than those outlined in the interim guidelines unveiled by the committee in August last year, and calls for broader relief measures for disaster victims. This is partly because the impact of the nuclear disaster is more serious than initially imagined.
The central government has notified the Fukushima Prefectural Government that there are some areas where residents will not be able to return for many years. Many other areas designated as evacuation zones must be decontaminated to reduce radiation levels before residents can come home. However, there is no prospect that decontamination will be completed in the foreseeable future.
It is easy to imagine that the prolonged evacuation has been a mental, physical and economic burden on the refugees. It is a matter of course that the amount of compensation must be calculated based on the degree of this suffering and that payments must be made promptly.
A TEPCO assistance center, where a two-hour waiting line formed after just 30 minutes, is pictured in the city of Fukushima on Sept. 20. 2011.(Mainichi)
What is worrisome is the slow progress in the center's efforts to settle disputes between evacuees and TEPCO over compensation. The over 150 lawyers and other experts who serve as mediators and inspectors with the center have settled less than 10 out of the some 900 claims filed.
The center cited TEPCO's negative attitude toward compensation negotiations as a main reason for the slow progress. The utility has refused to respond to victims' claims that their residences and other properties have been rendered worthless by the crisis, on the grounds that decontamination methods and the timing of their return home have not yet been determined.
It goes without saying that to be fair, TEPCO needs to be cautious in settling disputes over nuclear crisis compensation. However, if such disputes are prolonged, it will cause the victims yet more suffering and worsen sentiment towards the utility. If settlement negotiations fail and victims launch lawsuits against TEPCO, it will give both victims and the utility extra burdens, legal costs not the least among them.
TEPCO has recently notified the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage that it intends to pay full compensation for all residences and their lots in areas where residents cannot return for the foreseeable future. The power supplier should proactively take steps to pay compensation based on the actual degree of damage.
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