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The president of Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) on Tuesday submitted a request for Japanese government aid in compensating those affected by its stricken nuclear power plant, as the utility said it faced funding problems. Presenting the request to trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda, Masataka Shimizu told reporters that TEPCO would undertake bold restructuring measures to help pay for damages caused by the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years. TEPCO said in the submitted document that the company faced "an extremely severe situation regarding fund-raising such as loans from financial institutions, not to mention bond issuance." The company said it needed state help to continue operating and avoid a scenario that threatened "fair and prompt compensation to affected people and causing fears over stable supply of electricity." Some analysts have forecast that the utility faces compensation claims totaling around 10 trillion yen ($125 billion). The government is expected to decide on an assistance package for TEPCO later this week. The cooling systems of the Fukushima Daiichi Plant were crippled by the March 11 tsunami following Japan's biggest recorded earthquake. The Japanese government has said TEPCO must undertake greater restructuring in order to win its support. TEPCO said Shimizu and seven other representative directors would return their renumeration "for the time being" and the company would look at selling securities holdings and real estate to create "as much funds as possible". TEPCO had already announced salary cuts of 50 percent for board members, but some government officials criticized the move as too lenient. Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Tuesday he would not accept his premier's wage until the crisis at the tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant is over, and pledged to review energy policy. Kan said that "along with the plant operator, TEPCO, the government bears a great responsibility for the nuclear accident as it has pursued a nuclear energy policy." Agencies |
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