A new study by Japanese college professors estimates that the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe will cost more than Yen 11,080 bn (US$106bn), i.e. almost double the projections made by the Japanese government in late 2011 (Yen 5,800bn, or about US$60bn). Of this amount, Yen 4,910bn will be dedicated to affected residents compensation (US$47bn), Yen 2,48 bn (US$24bn) to radiation cleanup, Yen 2,170bn to the Fukushima-1 power plant shut-down and Yen 1,060bn (US$10bn) to temporary storage of radioactive waste generated after decontamination works. The final cost could be much higher, as this estimation does not take into account the cost of final disposal of radioactive waste.
TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima plant, is currently paying compensations for residents with the financial assistance of the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation, which has raised the ceiling for payout from Yen 5,000bn to Yen 9,000bn (from US$48bn to US$87bn). TEPCO will also pass the costs on to final consumers through tariff increases.
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