The Diet on Friday enacted a law for compensating victims of the nuclear accidents at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Early this month the Diet is expected to pass a related bill to establish a state-backed entity that provides financial aid to Tepco for its compensation payments.
Once this takes place, full-scale compensation payments will become possible. So far, Tepco has paid compensation on a provisional basis. Tepco and the government must strive to ensure that every victim is fairly compensated.
At present, people who have chosen on their own to evacuate their homes without being ordered to do so to avoid potential radiation hazards are not eligible for compensation. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, however, said that they will become eligible if it is proven that their evacuation was necessary due to the crisis.