Reports on burglaries in homes in the no-entry zone from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant shot up nearly 30 times in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, police say.
Reports on burglaries in homes in the no-entry zone from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant shot up nearly 30 times in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier, police say.
Yasokazu Shirado, who suffered losses at his rental video shop and karaoke parlor as well as his home in Tomioka, a town eight kilometers from the plant, said that Tokyo Electric Power Co., the plant operator, should compensate victims for their losses.
"(The burglaries) occurred primarily because of the accident at the nuclear plant," said Shirado, 54.
Shirado estimated his losses for all the stolen goods and radioactive contamination of his shops after the windows were broken at more than 80 million yen ($1,040,000).
But TEPCO is refusing to meet victims' demands, saying that it is the thieves who are responsible.
The central government banned entry to an area within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant on April 22, designating it as a no-entry zone.
When people taking refuge in areas outside the zone returned to their homes and offices on a temporary visit starting from May 10, many discovered the break-ins.
There were about 430 reports of burglaries in homes between January and September, according to preliminary figures by the Futaba station of the Fukushima prefectural police. The Futaba station's jurisdiction includes about 24,000 households in eight towns and villages, covering a majority of the zone.
Last year, police received 16 burglary complaints during the same period.
In September alone, reports on damage and losses from burglaries increased by more than 50, compared with a year earlier.
Combined with office break-ins, the overall number exceeded 600.
Police said that most of the cases remain unresolved.
TEPCO said that it has received inquiries about compensation for damages from break-ins through its employees assigned to assist people from the no-entry zone on their temporary return.
But it argued that offering compensation to burglary victims is beyond the bounds of its responsibility.
TEPCO cited no mention of burglary losses in the interim guidelines set in August by a science ministry panel on adjudication of disputes regarding the nuclear accident damage.
The panel has yet to fully discuss such damages in its meetings as to whether they should be included in compensation stemming from the nuclear accident.
The science ministry took a stance that, in principle, thieves are responsible for the losses.
But it added that TEPCO may have to take responsibility, given the circumstances of individual cases.
Toshiharu Tochikubo, who operates cram schools in Okuma and Naraha, towns both in the no-entry zone, said that he is considering filing a group lawsuit if the utility insists on rejecting victims' compensation demands.
"Burglaries occurred because people were living away from their homes due to the nuclear accident," said Tochikubo, 57, who discovered a break-in at his home in Naraha when he returned on a temporary visit on Aug. 21. "It is obvious TEPCO is responsible."
The Fukushima prefectural government is set to back victims' demands.
"We want to demand comprehensive compensation in accordance with actual situations of victims," said Takanori Kanari, a section chief at the prefectural government handling damages stemming from the nuclear disaster.