Documents show government tacitly accepts TEPCO’s refusal to pay for cleanup 日本政府は今年の2月、すでに東電の支払い拒否を認めていた。

(Source) http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201310270048


THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the embattled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, declared early this year that it will not repay radioactive cleanup costs in Fukushima Prefecture, forcing taxpayers to shoulder the burden, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.
The government, which did not release TEPCO’s statement, apparently accepts the refusal, in a tacit understanding to prevent the cash-strapped utility from being driven into bankruptcy.
Documents obtained by The Asahi Shimbun through a freedom of information request showed that TEPCO in February made clear its intention not to pay the full cleanup costs.
Under a special measures law designed to deal with radioactive waste, TEPCO is required to pay back costs involved in the decontamination operation that the government shouldered. The government is decontaminating areas around the plant that are highly polluted with radioactive substances.
The Environment Ministry, which is in charge of the cleanup, has asked TEPCO to repay a total of 40.4 billion yen ($415 million).
[…]
Many experts say they suspect that TEPCO is waiting for the government to finally decide to inject taxpayer money into the decontamination operation by continually refusing to repay the costs the government covered.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are now calling on the government to pick up the cleanup tab on behalf of TEPCO. The industry ministry welcomes the proposal.
On the other hand, the Finance Ministry wants the utility to pay the decontamination costs out of its revenues from increasing electricity rates.
(This article was written by Shinichi Sekine and Toshio Tada.)


東電、除染費用費用支払い拒否　７４億円、国は黙認http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20131027-00000004-asahi-soci