A government panel has drafted a plan that would compensate food producers for damages caused by "harmful rumors" about radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.
A government panel has drafted a plan that would compensate food producers for damages caused by "harmful rumors" about radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.
The plan would cover all produce from all parts of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures and from three municipalities in Chiba Prefecture.
The blueprint, stated in a "second guideline" draft, will be endorsed at a May 31 meeting of a government screening panel on disputes over compensation for nuclear accidents. The panel is headed by Yoshihisa Nomi, professor of law at Gakushuin University.
The draft states that all areas subject to government restrictions or suspension of shipments of at least one plant product by April are eligible for damage compensation for harmful rumors.
These damages will also be recognized in areas where shipments were voluntarily put on hold on the request of local governments.
The amount of compensation will be determined by taking into account decreases in sales due to consumers' reluctance to buy the products, suspended business transactions and decreases in workers' incomes.
The Japan Agricultural Co-operatives group, after summing up damages incurred by farmers by May 27, demanded Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, pay about 13.4 billion yen ($165 million) in compensation.
Most of that amount comes from bans of and voluntary suspensions of shipments. But if damages from radiation rumors are added, the compensation amount could soar, especially if nuclear crisis at the Fukushima plant drags on.
Although the word "rumor" can refer to groundless hearsay, the screening panel decided that it was "rational" for consumers to refrain from buying and recognized the damages from such rumors as both serious and real.
Although the guidelines are complete, it is unclear when compensation payments can begin.
The administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan has already formed the framework for TEPCO's compensation payments. But bills needed to implement the plan have no prospect of being submitted to the Diet soon.
According to the draft, all produce from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures will be eligible for official recognition of damages from rumors because spinach and other products were subject to shipment restrictions in all parts of these prefectures.
Eligibility for compensation payments are limited to two cities and one town in Chiba Prefecture because they were the only ones whose shipments of spinach and other products were put on hold.
The same rules will be applied for rumor-caused damages to animal and marine products in all parts of Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures.
"Konago," or young sand lance, are the only marine product subject to a shipment ban and voluntary restraint from fishing. But other marine products will be eligible for compensation for damages from rumors, according to the draft.
The screening panel defined damages from rumors in a broad context because if a product is subject to restrictions after radiation levels exceeding safety standards are detected, it is natural for consumers to worry about the contamination of other products grown in the same areas.
Damages from rumors incurred in May and later were not included in the original draft.
However, broader areas may become eligible for the compensation program.
Produce from Kanagawa Prefecture, where shipments of tea leaves were voluntarily suspended in some areas in May, is a candidate target of future discussions.
For the tourism industry, only damages from canceled reservations and other causes in Fukushima Prefecture will be eligible for compensation because the causal relationship with the nuclear accident is clear.
The draft said there was an "ample possibility" of rumor-based damages spreading outside Fukushima Prefecture, but for the time being, damages to tourism will be officially recognized only within the prefecture.