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TEPCO again criticized over complicated compensation process

23 Comments

Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said Monday that it will pay out 445.5 billion yen in damages to people displaced and otherwise affected by Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant crisis following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

However, critics say the process to claim damages from TEPCO is needlessly complex due to complicated application forms and has resulted in only 40% of victims seeking a payout.

TEPCO said it will begin paying individual evacuees, businesses, farms and fisheries affected by the meltdown beginning in May.

TEPCO came under fire from the government last October after many people complained about the complicated forms to file claims for damages. The manual was 156 pages and the claims forms themselves were 60 pages.

In response to a request from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, TEPCO simplied the forms.

A consultation center that has been helping displaced Fukushima residents through the process of claiming compensation says that less than half of claimants have received payments.

TEPCO Vice President Keigo Aizawa on Monday responded to criticisms about the company's claims paperwork being too complicated, saying, "We have also received positive feedback from claimants and we are working to respond to each claim individually."

TEPCO said it will assign 1,000 more staff by the end of this month to help process applications and ensure payouts as quickly as possible.

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23 Comments
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"Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said Monday that it will pay out 445.5 billion yen in damages to people displaced and otherwise effected by Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant crisis following the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami disaster".

Payment to begin in 20 years, after a few more people fill out the proper paperwork or die first.

Come on TEPCO! Everyone I know had to file with the local city office in where they live.

"The manual was 156 pages and the claims forms themselves were 60 pages".

What amount of information is needed that 60 pages are required? I could not use 60 pages for my entire life history, unless I double spaced.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

of course they are going to make this process as complicated as possible for these poor people who (in most cases) have probably lost pretty much everything as it is not in tepco's interest to pay out in a timely manner. the claims process itself needs to be taken out of tepco's hands and responsibility given to an independent body whose sole purpose is to ensure that compensation is getting to the people who deserve it.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

More apologies? Then no more action?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I'm guessing it will be described as "regrettable" that everyone has not received their payments yet.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

TEPCO's incompent executives don't care about the people that were affected by radiation. Currently, the problem is more than compensation of money. What is TEPO or J-goverment providing to local area when they measure only a fraction of the radioactive fallout from Fukushima. Hardly anything. There are many hot spots beyond the evacuation zone that they refuse to identify and warn people. The radioactive material is detected with unknown exposure to many children and they are not being carefully monitored by J-goverment. The radiation poses significant long term health risk especially to children as it concentrates and becomes more potent in the food chain. There is no safe level of radiation. What may be acceptable for individual exposure may not be acceptable when millions of people are exposed. The J-goverment should get all the children out immediately of all affected areas. The J-goverment and TEPCO would rather save money that help peoples' lives.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They realy are trying to become company of the year!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Application form sounds like a Japanese wedding. Way too many words. When do we eat?

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

They always "Say" they're going to do something but they never "Do" anything.

2 ( +3 / -2 )

Why do you need to fill out 60 pages?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It seems that TEPCO doesn't want to pay to radiation disaster victims, so they made the claim forms as complicated as possible for victims. TEPCO would expect they give it up.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

gogogo Mar. 13, 2012 - 09:31AM JST Why do you need to fill out 60 pages?

Good question. The answer: TEPCO wants to delay the process as long as they can. They will identify and make up a story of incomplete answer and ask you over and over again. This is called delay practice to minimize payouts. It means they will sqeeze you out and spit you out until you get so pissed that you will settle for fraction of real damage.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Ridiculous,convoluted, confusing, and then once forms are submitted tepco comes back to you asking for further documents that do not exist.

Our industry association has a meeting with these noddy's from tepco tomorrow to try to get them to see sense.

These fools at tepco need to get their head around the fact that they need to be paying out claims, the govt should be taking over the claims process and then just taking what ever it needs off tepco to cover what ever it costs.

This stone walling Bullshite by this arrogant bunch of scum bags at tepco simply isnt good enough.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

What do you expect ? TEPCO = shoganai...

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I guess TEPCO formulated the application forms and guidelines with words such as "once you get your compensation, you agree not to expect any more from our company", and buried the line with tons of other useless jargon.

TEPCO has pocketed millions (if not billions) from the power plants just by announcing "we need to increase your power consumption bills by next month for operation costs" but were actually overpayments for their services, but now that the people are asking for some of it back, this is what they get slapped with?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Nationalize TEPCO.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Decapitate TEPCO.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I wish this articles would differentiate between TEPCO (Tokyo Electrical Power COmpany) and TEPCO(Tohoku Electrical Power COmpany).

As BOTH had Nuclear Reactors damaged on 3.11 and after. All the other Power Companies(11) Nuclear Reactors are also build to the same national standards and run the same way.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

The Gov't should take over for the payouts...and if they mess it up, at least the voters can vote them out of office next time.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

<>Saw an interesting program on NHK that began at midnight and ended at 1:05 a.m. this morning. It was about how TEPCO's presence influences local communities. There was a lot of info there, but I'll try to keep this short.

One local municipal boss said that if the nuclear energy money inflow stops, many villages, towns and cities will become like ghost towns. They only way they can make money is from the nuclear setup. Many people in those country areas earn their salaries from nuclear energy.

NHK showed a graph in which the flow of electricity from the nuclear power facilities in Niigata Prefecture went to the Kanto area, and in return there was a massive flow of yen (in the form of paper money) going back to Niigata. This money is then used to pump in financial life to the Niigata area.

Likewise, electricity flowed out of the nuclear power facility in Aomori Prefecture, and in return money flowed into the main city of Aomori ... and then on to other places throughout the prefecture.

The main idea of the NHK program was to show that nuclear facilities are important in keeping the outer areas alive. Without these facilities, those areas will wither up and die.

Also, it was explained that anti-nuclear politiicians pose a threat to the livelihood of many people in the areas that depend on the nuclear facilities for financial support. So it is with a sigh of relief when they go down to defeat. That way there is less risk to the inflow of money for the nuclear facilities and surrounding areas.

There was much more in the NHK program, but what I wrote above is the show in a nutshell ...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Is this a joke? 445 billion yen between around one million people means how many yen per head? Hardly 4450000 yen that means around 5400 us doller ? Why one should have such power plants ? which can destroy our whole community and after they offer us only 500 doller????

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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