Asia-Pacific

Tokyo's plan to help Tepco faces opposition

(Agencies)
Updated: 2011-06-20 16:32

Members of the Japanese government panel to investigate the accident at Fukushima nuclear power plant, inspect the damaged building housing the No.3 reactor at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)'s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima prefecture, in this handout picture taken by the investigation panel on June 17, 2011 and distributed by Kyodo on June 18, 2011. [Photo/Agencies]

TOKYO - Japan's main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is not prepared to accept the government's scheme to help Tokyo Electric Power pay billions of dollars in compensation to victims of its nuclear plant disaster, a LDP lawmaker said on Monday.

But the party is not united on its own counterproposal to a government bill that would allow the establishment of a fund to help Tepco compensate those affected by radiation leaks from its tsunami-hit Fukushima nuclear plant, Taro Kono also told the Reuters Rebuilding Japan Summit in Tokyo.  

The government is set to submit the bill to parliament, but when and whether the bill can be enacted is uncertain as it faces resistance from opposition parties.

Kono also said in the next general election, which must be held by 2013, he sees a possible emergence of a "green alliance" that would bring together some lawmakers in the ruling Democratic Party and the LDP calling for a shift in energy policy.

Kono, known as a maverick in the LDP who has long condemned Japan's nuclear energy policy, criticised the government scheme, saying it spares shareholders and creditor banks while risking a bigger burden for taxpayers.

But those in the LDP that are against the bill are split over how the compensation issue should be handled, he said.

"It is probably unavoidable that Tepco's debts will exceed its assets. If that is the case, then the government should...have it go through court-led bankruptcy," he said, adding that this is not the majority view in his party.    

The government should go ahead and start compensation payments and ask Tepco to pay back later, and should financially aid the firm as it goes through court-led bankruptcy, Kono said.

A 48-year-old son of a former foreign minister, Kono, who in 2009 bid unsuccessfully for LDP leadership, also said some in the ruling and opposition parties could form an alliance to push for a change in Japan's energy policy, among other issues.

"There are moves now to form such a bipartisan group," he said. "There may not be a realignment of parties just with this, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was a movement close to that."

Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said he wants to review Japan's goals that saw 50 percent of its power supply coming from nuclear power by 2030, and has pledged to boost renewable energy to more than 20 percent of electricity supply in the 2020s.

Unpopular Kan, Japan's fifth premier in as many years, has said he will step down without saying when, sparking a tug-of-war with the opposition and some in his own party over when he will keep that promise, clouding the outlook for key policies.

Concerns over power shortages into 2012 are growing as only 19 of 54 nuclear reactors in Japan are operating now.

Some were damaged by the huge quake and tsunami in March, while others are undergoing regular safety checks or have not been restarted due to community concerns over safety.

Kono said the halted reactors, except for those ran by Tepco and the high-risk Hamaoka plant that was shut down in May, should only be restarted once strict safety checks have been conducted, a process that should be completed by next summer.