原発事故賠償 国と東電が分担して救済を

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Apr. 16, 2011)
Govt, TEPCO must share compensation burdens
原発事故賠償　国と東電が分担して救済を（4月15日付・読売社説）

There is no sign yet of when the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture will be brought under control. Compensation for damages stemming from the accident is bound to be tremendous.
　東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の事故は依然、収束のめどが立たない。被害に対する賠償は巨額となろう。

Under the current system, TEPCO in principle bears the entire responsibility for paying damages, but the private firm's resources are finite. Consequently, the government must help ensure that people who suffered as a result of the crisis are fully and fairly compensated.
　現行制度では、東電が基本的に賠償責任を負うが、民間企業としての限界もある。最終的には政府が責任を持って被害救済にあたるべきだ。

The government has established a headquarters to deal with economic damage due to the nuclear power plant crisis, with all Cabinet ministers as members. It has also set up a dispute reconciliation committee for such damage compensation, an expert panel assigned to draft compensation guidelines. We hope the government will come up with concrete measures on the issue.
　政府は、全閣僚による原発事故の「経済被害対応本部」と、賠償に当たっての指針を作る有識者の「原子力損害賠償紛争審査会」を設けた。早急に具体的な対策作りを進めてもらいたい。

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Huge compensation needed

TEPCO plans to provide provisional compensation payments as early as this month, of 1 million yen per household to evacuated families and those living in zones where people have been advised to keep indoors. Many such people are facing financial difficulties in everyday life as a result of their hasty evacuations. We hope TEPCO will make the payments as soon as possible.
　東電は月内にも、避難した世帯などへ、１００万円ずつ賠償金を仮払いする方針だ。急な避難で生活資金に困っている人も多い。東電は、実施を急いでほしい。

After the provisional payments, work toward realizing full-fledged compensation, such as calculating an appropriate sum for each household, should be treated as an urgent task.
　仮払いの後には、被害者ごとの賠償額を算定するなど、本格的賠償に向けた取り組みが急務だ。

In the case of the 1999 criticality accident at JCO Co.'s nuclear fuel conversion facility in Tokaimura, Ibaraki Prefecture, 150 people evacuated for three days, resulting in total compensation of 15 billion yen for business and personal damages.
　茨城県東海村の核燃料加工施設で、１９９９年に起きた臨界事故では、１５０人が３日間避難し、賠償額は計１５０億円だった。

The number of evacuees concerned this time is far greater, currently estimated at about 80,000, and is expected to increase further. Damage to farms and fisheries caused by radioactive substances is also expanding and serious.
　今回の避難者は約８万人とケタ違いで、さらに増えそうだ。放射性物質による農業、漁業の被害も深刻化している。

The Law on Compensation for Nuclear Damage stipulates that the state will pay up to 120 billion yen per nuclear power plant in the case of an accident caused by an earthquake or tsunami. That is probably far short of the amount necessary this time.
　原子力損害賠償法では、地震や津波による原発事故は、国が発電所１か所ごとに、最大１２００億円補償することになっているが、とても足りまい。

But the law also stipulates that, if the damage is caused by "an abnormally large natural disaster," the central government will shoulder the entire cost of compensation.
However, the government and TEPCO have different views on the meaning of "an abnormally large natural disaster," making a settlement of the issue likely to take considerable time.
　原因が「異常に巨大な天災地変」とされた場合には、国が全面的に負担するとの規定もあるが、「天災地変」の解釈を巡って国と東電の見解は異なっており、決着がつくまで時間がかかりそうだ。

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Follow basic principle

To accelerate the work of extending compensation to evacuated residents, it would be appropriate to follow the basic principle of the law: TEPCO accepts a certain degree of burden and the central government assists by paying the rest.
　被害者救済を急ぐには、東電が一定の負担を受け入れ、それ以上は国が支援するという、原賠法の原則による解決が妥当だろう。

In that case, an important point will be how to decide the amount of compensation to be shouldered by TEPCO. If the company's financial strength is so depleted that it has difficulty maintaining service and is unable to invest in programs to beef up its power supply capacity, it could lead to serious problems in the future.
　その場合、東電の負担額をどう決めるかが焦点となる。東電が経営的に追い込まれ、財務力が低下して電力供給力の増強などの投資に支障が出るようでは、将来に禍根を残す。

While taking necessary steps on one hand, such as clarifying TEPCO's degree of corporate responsibility for failing to prevent the accident, the government has to decide on a compensation amount that would leave the utility firm solvent.
　東電の経営責任の明確化など必要な措置を講じつつ、支払い能力の範囲内で決めるべきである。

Recently a new compensation plan surfaced. According to the plan, in addition to burdens to be paid by TEPCO, other power companies will offer financial contributions in a mutual aid system, according to the number of nuclear reactors each company possesses.
　ここに来て、新たな賠償案も浮上した。東電の負担に加え、他の電力会社も原発の保有数に応じて資金を出す、というものだ。

The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis is a serious problem, not only for TEPCO but for the entire power industry. To prepare for an emergency, it may be better for the industry to adopt a mechanism such as the mutual aid system, under which the companies help each other.
　福島第一原発の事故は、電力業界全体にとって深刻な問題だ。万が一に備え、電力各社が助け合う「共済制度」のような仕組みがあっていいのではないか。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 15, 2011)
（2011年4月15日01時19分 読売新聞）