Japan finalizes TEPCO compensation scheme

Xinhua, May 13, 2011

Japanese government approved on Friday a plan to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. compensate victims of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant which was crippled in March's twin disasters.

The government decided to set up a state-backed institution to keep TEPCO solvent and allocate to the institution subsidy bonds that could be cashed whenever it wanted, according to Kyodo News report.

The Japanese government will also establish a third-party commission to monitor the utility.

It required TEPCO to take steps such selling its assets and cutting the payrolls to streamline its management.

TEPCO's compensation payouts are estimated to range from 37.1 billion U.S. dollars to 123.5 billion U.S. dollars.