Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it will pay ¥600,000 each to pregnant women and children aged 18 or under who have voluntarily evacuated their homes because of the triple-meltdown crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
The sum will be paid, starting next month, as compensation money through last December for residents of 23 municipalities in Fukushima Prefecture located outside the government-designated evacuation zones around the plant.
Many people who have voluntarily evacuated had been hoping Tepco would pay the actual costs incurred, but the utility has said that would entail a laborious application process and delay payments.
As a result, Tepco will add ¥200,000 to a sum presented in a compensation guideline compiled by a government panel for pregnant women and children who are likely to have seen a large increase in their living expenses as a result of evacuation, according to company officials.
Pregnant women and kids who have remained in the 23 municipalities will each receive ¥400,000 from Tepco in line with the guideline worked out in December, Tepco said. Other residents will be paid ¥80,000 each, regardless of whether they evacuated, also in line with the guideline, due to their radiation fears.