The Abe administration on Friday aired new policies for speeding up recovery from the 2011 Fukushima disaster that include more financial aid for Tokyo Electric Power Co. and more support for nuclear evacuees seeking new lives elsewhere.
Under a new set of guidelines decided Friday, Tepco is to be relieved of paying part of the radiation cleanup costs outside the Fukushima No. 1 power plant but gain additional interest-free loans from a government-backed fund to ensure it can still distribute compensation and shoulder decontamination costs.
The administration drew up the guidelines based on a proposal drafted by the ruling coalition in November. Nearly three years have passed since the crisis began, but 140,000 Fukushima Prefecture residents are still living as nuclear refugees.