TEPCO seeks compensation $9 billion more for Fukushima

(Reuters) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. a body called for Government-backed rescue operation on Tuesday to help compensate victims of the nuclear crisis of his Fukushima Daiichi plant an additional 690 billion yen ($8.8 billion).

Japan's largest utility, called Tepco, costs help runs in trillion yen for compensation and cleanup that had Government already in November to meet agreed 890 billion yen through a bailout Fund.

"We have reviewed the estimated sum of compensation, after the Committee addressing compensation disputes providing for additional measures decided to compensate victims of that voluntarily evacuated," Tepco said in a statement.

TEPCO was 11 March can expect by the earthquake and tsunami in October by a consultative Panel it said compensation against bills for about 4.5 trillion yen in the first two years after the crisis, triggered.

Earlier this month guidelines said a separate control panel for compensation that Tepco can expect bills for a further 200 billion yen, media reported.

Trade Minister Yukio Edano, head of energy policy, is request expected on Tuesday already in January, approve a source of close to the matter of told of Reuters.

The March accident knocked reactor cooling systems at the plant, 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, triggering meltdowns and radiation leaks, the approximately 80,000 forced people had to leave their homes.

The roots of the crisis have been Tepco of independence into question, and sources told of Reuters already can inject the Government about $13 billion in it this month next summer in a de-facto nationalization.

The utility also additional credits and plans to companies electricity tariffs struggle with the cost of fuel, thermal loss looking for nuclear power, in April.

The crisis has on the Government, review its energy policy encouraged and Edano is set to announce later Tuesday with an agenda for the discussion of reform of the power supply.

This is expected to include separation of energy production and transmission, that help would deregulate enter through the smaller players, media reported. ($ 1 = 78.1000 Japanese yen)

TEPCO Chief stranded started as a crisis

TOKYO - the Japanese Government said Tuesday it had the President of the utility do continue in Japan's nuclear power plant by a military transport flight a few hours after a tsunami, is an accident caused, saying it required the aircraft to supply battered Northeast fly came.

Reuters Tepco President Masataka Shimizu is shown talking to the media earlier this month. The Japanese Government said Tuesday it joined the Executive of a military transport flight caused a few hours after a tsunami an accident there last month.

The incident, confirmed in news conferences by Japan's top Government spokesman and Minister of defence, underline the exceptional burdens and the confusion, the decisions in the wake of March of 11 massive earthquake and tsunami, the thousands killed and solved one of the largest makes nuclear disasters in history characterized.

The incident helps explain also why the President of Tokyo Electric Power Co., or Tepco, it never made the crisis in Tokyo on 11 March by the Kansai region a few headquarters one hundred miles to the West, where he was when the quake hit. As President, Masataka Shimizu Tepco disaster response team should head and approve emergency measures, such as such as the ventilation of the radioactive steam from overheating reactors.

Observers have said, Mr Shimizu absence of company's slowness in these tough calls response can have contributed during the critical first hours.

By the time Mr. Shimizu was finally to Tokyo the next morning, overheating reactor No. 1 had caused fuel rods in Fukushima Daiichi pressure dangerous increase, and the company had not started venting of the steam. The delayed venting can to an explosion in the reactor building during the day experts say led have.

Mr. Shimizu, who Charter a helicopter to Tokyo morning of March 12, said that he was the situation in the Western Japan connection and everything was properly handled.

Tuesday news conferences Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa and chief Government spokesman Yukio Edano defended the decision, Mr. Shimizu military transport, refuse to say that on the evening of 11 March, it was to other possibilities for the Tepco President return to Tokyo.

"If the President Tepco were stranded not questions, for a level, had somewhere self-defense force, I could understand, because he had to handle on the nuclear accident," said Mr Edano. "But between Nagoya and Tokyo, where roads were open to travel, I have to questions, why he made a request for consultations."

TEPCO says that not the case, as Mr Shimizu tried that back to Tokyo after the earthquake magnitude-9 hit at 2:46 pm on 11 March. Two highways had closures and Japan's high-speed train was not run in immediately after the quake, said a Tepco of spokesman for. Mr. Shimizu, East, could travel get as far as Nagoya, 165 miles or 264 km west of Tokyo, he said.

At 9: 40 showed in the evening, as some of the reactors in Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi plant, that signs of a heating up dangerous, Mr Shimizu in a call to Japan's self defense forces, asked to return to Tokyo in a cargo plane be flown. He received the approval of low-level civil servants, and the aircraft flying from Nagoya to 11:30 pm

But Mr. Kitazawa had request Mr. Shimizu actually 10 minutes early at 11:20 am, say, that the transport of supplies to the Northeast Japan had to Quake and tsunami battered be given priority. An official self-defense forces ordered the plane back to Nagoya. Mr. Shimizu came in Tokyo the next morning.

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Workers leave plants such as crisis shortly Japan nuclear, getting worse

You smoke billows of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in this still image taken at 10 am (0200 GMT) from a Tokyo electric power (TEPCO)-webcam 16 March 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) / HandoutBy Shinichi Saoshiro and CHISA Fujioka

TOKYO | Wed Mar 16, 2011 2: 29 of the EDT

Tokyo (Reuters) - workers received the command, short escape knit Japanese nuclear power plant on Wednesday after radiation levels increased, a development which the crisis suggested was spiral out of control.

Only hours earlier, another fire broke in the earthquake crippled body which draw small amounts of radiation sent in Tokyo of the past 24 hours, fear in the capital and triggering international alarm.

Nuclear experts said the solutions for radiation leaks at the Daiichi complex in Fukushima, 240 km to suppress (150 miles north of Tokyo, were what remained as one of the world's worst industrial disasters in memory last desperate efforts to stem cells.)

"This is a slow nightmare," said Dr. Thomas Neff, a research affiliate at the Center for international studies, that of Technology Institute is in the Massachusetts.

Panic about the economic impact of last Friday knocked out $620 billion from Japan's stock market massive earthquake and tsunami in the first two days of the week, but the Nikkei index rebounded on Wednesday and was up 4.5 percent.

Nevertheless, estimates of losses on the Japanese edition of damage to buildings, production and consumer activity ranged from between 10 and 16 trillion yen ($ 5.125$ 200 billion), up to one and a-half times of the economic losses from the devastating Kobe earthquake in 1995.

Also significant disruption of the global supply chain, particularly in the areas of technology and auto threatens damage to Japan the production of base and infrastructure.

Scores of flights to Japan have been stopped or redirected, Tokyo avoid passengers fear of radiation and on Wednesday, France calls its nationals in the city of either Japan or head in the South of the country to leave.

The fate of hundreds of thousands homeless Quake which the and devastating tsunami, which followed the snow in some of the worst affected areas deteriorated overnight after a cold snap brought.

While the death toll to around 4 ' 000 is, more than 7,000 are listed as missing, and the figure is expected to rise.

In this work of Fukushima authorities spent days desperately trying to prevent water which is intended to the radioactive cores of the reactors of evaporate, leading to overheating and possibly a dangerous meltdown cool.

Care centres to damage now, on a part of the building where no.. 4 Reactor rods were spent in pools of water outside the containment and also part of the reactor No. 2, which helps cool and catch most caesium stored, iodine and strontium in its waters.

Workers of attempted a street build so that fire engines could reach the reactor No. 4, where a fire broke out on Wednesday. Flames were no longer on the building of the reactor, but television images showed smoke or steam is visible.

Japanese officials said that they were talking about military help in the work in the United States.

Earlier concerns that the skeleton handling of the crisis enough, after working for days since the earthquake damaged exhausted the plant were or might not be large crews mounted. Authorities moved leave on Tuesday, only 50 750 workers.

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