Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated he will accept the ruling coalition parties’ proposal to pour taxpayers money into decontamination efforts to speed up the recovery from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe indicated he will accept the ruling coalition parties’ proposal to pour taxpayers money into decontamination efforts to speed up the recovery from the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The package of proposals of the Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner New Komeito also demanded that the government provide support to evacuees who abandon plans to return to their homes around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
“The government will step forward and work together with the ruling coalition,” Abe said after receiving the proposal at the prime minister’s office on Nov. 11.
The Abe administration will begin discussing how it will play a greater role in removing radioactive materials around the nuclear plant and supporting the livelihoods of the evacuees.
The ruling parties described decontamination and the construction of intermediate storage facilities for radioactive soil and debris as “the most important and urgent task for Fukushima’s recovery.”
They pressed the government to earmark taxpayers money for decontamination activities, beyond those already planned, from “the standpoint of public-works projects” to enable evacuees to return home at an early date.
They also urged the government to “take all possible measures,” including funding, for the construction of the intermediate storage facilities.
Under the current system, Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant, is required to shoulder the costs for decontamination.
The government has spent billions of yen to decontaminate municipalities affected by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. But radiation levels have not decreased substantially, and many evacuees are reluctant to return home.
The two coalition parties asked the government to offer information on the predicted declines in radiation levels in difficult-to-return zones as well as dates when evacuees are expected to return there.
They said the government must explain by year-end what compensation the evacuees can expect if they decide not to go home. Such details will make it easier for them to buy homes in their new locations.
“Some evacuees want to choose a new life rather than return home,” the proposal said.
The LDP and New Komeito also said radiation levels measured by dosimeters, instead of those estimated based on air dose rates, should be used for managing residents’ health.
The proposal did not seek a review of the government’s long-term goal of reducing the annual additional radiation exposure for residents to 1 millisievert or less through decontamination efforts.
Still, the target would be effectively relaxed because the readings of dosimeters carried by residents tend to be lower than the government figures derived from aircraft monitoring and other measures.
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