The Environment Ministry is considering filing a lawsuit against Tokyo Electric Power Co., seeking payment of about ¥16.5 billion in decontamination expenses since the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, sources said.
The unpaid amount includes expenses for decontamination work by the government near the Fukushima No. 1 facility undertaken based on a special law to deal with radioactive contamination, as well as central government subsidies allocated to local governments that conducted decontamination work, the sources said.
Under the law, the government is supposed to cover decontamination expenses first and ask Tepco to reimburse the sum later. Although there is no deadline for the payment, Tepco's failure to pay means the government is continuing to use taxpayer money for decontamination projects.