Tokyo Agrees Multi Trillion Yen Compensation Package

Japan´s parliament has approved a plan to help the victims of the Tsunami which struck the north-east coast of the country in March, destabilising the Fukushima Daiichi power station and forcing 80,000 people from their homes.

The plan will create a fund to pay damages to the victims without compromising the future of the electricity producing company responsible for the Fukushima nuclear reactor – Tepco.

Tepco reported losses of $15 billion earlier this year, and faces a weight of compensation claims that would force the company into bankruptcy – effectively leaving the country´s capital without power.

The Japanese government have budgeted for a 2 trillion yen ($26 billion) initial contribution to the fund, with further payments being made by other nuclear power operators and by the restructuring of Tepco.

Once all the claims have been assessed, the total amount of compensation is anticipated to exceed $100 billion on top of the huge amount of money already allocated to rebuild areas devastated by the tsunami and the earthquake that caused it.