Fukushima costs to double to Y21.5 tril: government

We can pay this, open more, more. Think of the money and jobs we can get from the next nuclear disaster.

Don't worry, it'll double again next year

That's DOUBLE the already ever-increasing costs after only six years, with more than 50 years to go before they're done decommissioning. I predict it will go into the hundreds of trillions long before then. But it's safe, right? Cheap? And on top of this TEPCO has just been granted another 7-trillion in an interest free loan by the government so that it can continue to try and get back into the black, while increasing the cost of energy bills to consumers. But if the people whose homes went unloved in for five years because of TEPCO and were recently told if they want to stay in shelters they must pay, and might need a loan to fix up their houses or build new ones, will they get an interest-free loan to survive? Nope. Will they get any further compensation? Nope. It's all for the company that continues to blunder and even to this week trips off the cooling systems by accident without noticing.

Shut... TEPCO... down!! And put the criminals who ran and run it to work on the front, then go to jail once their dosimeter limits are reached.

Of course, this is the second time it has doubled in five years. No doubt it will balloon into some astronomical amount in the future. These estimates they come up are only conservative estimates based on current conditions. They have not figured in the cost of decontaminating the tens of thousands of gallons of highly radioactive water around the plant nor have the figured in the cost of storing the waste from the site and surrounding areas that were contaminated. Everything they have done are only temporary fixes because they have no idea of how to handle the irradiated materials in the future. This fact alone makes the estimate a bunch of hogwash that is sure to balloon into a few more zeros.

The sky's the limit!

Most people consider nuclear power dangerous for the obvious reason of accidents and this is the main objection many people have. However, I've heard it said by someone in the know that the main problem with nuclear power is not the safety factor, but that it is in the long run uneconomical, in fact, prohibitively expensive. The mind-boggling Fukushima clean-up bill which I as a taxpayer ( who never saw any of TEPCO's profits ) am now forced to pay for as part of their cunning cost externalizing plan seems to confirm the truth of the economic argument.

TEPCO faces a massive task of clearing highly radioactive spent fuel rods from its badly damaged reactors, and the entire decommissioning process is expected to take up to four decades.

Do not forget the cleaning of the molten fuel rods.

"how costs should be divided between the government, Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) and others." it's the "others" part that the scary word. Why not just come out with it and say the citizens of japan are going to pay , because thats what they mean.

The shareholder and politicians never lose. It is always the tax payer who pics up the tap. And this both ways, to subsidize the construction and the shareholders and than to pick up the tap when things go wrong. Could we change the system? Make the sharholders and politicians accountable and take their assets.

Just remember how many of those nucs are sitting ducks on these islands.

Yep...thr Japanese population will be paying for this for ever...no end in sight And so will the rest of the world in pollution.

Where do they come up with these mind boggling figures? Oh well looks like a job for Abe$an!! Sure he can get that money by taxing beer and the livelihoods of citizens and GAIJINS!

Time to start up those dormant nuclear power stations. Because they are so efficient and safe. Forget about all the suffering that was and still continues, indefinitely. Forget about the intentions and promises to phase out nuclear power stations like Germany. The sheep will follow their leaders - and what leaders they are.

People want to shut Tepco down. That's fine, but where will people get their energy? Who will clean up Fukushima?

Presto ((expresso)) the suffering is human condition

The Japanese aren't great at estimating are they? They don't have a lot of accuracy estimating economic growth, Olympics, tax takes, Fukushima clean-up bills etc. Given that tens of thousands of them sitting around in bureaucracies all day every day estimating things, the accuracy rate is rather worrying. Couldn't they just fire all these estimators and save a fortune of our tax on unnecessary wages for their estimating task forces? The bills for the bureaucracy are the biggest waste of the lot, and that's saying something.

Shareholder equity should be used up...they are insolvent.

blind leading blind sitting on a timebomb...

http://enenews.com/category/japan

DanLewis: "People want to shut Tepco down. That's fine, but where will people get their energy? Who will clean up Fukushima?"

First, there are growing alternatives to the current monopolies, and they don't like it. Second, shutting them down should not exempt them from their duties to clean things up. I'm quite sure that within a decade or so they'll try to pull the "claim bankruptcy and nullify all debt, then start up again under another name" that works so well here, but they should simply be shut down with exception to those needed for cleanup. No more power generation and profit for the company; it becomes a paid clean up company, with the execs, starting with Shimizu, on the front lines doing the cleaning. Let the dudes who stayed and warded off further disaster while Shimizu cried "run for the hills" and fled to Osaka be in charge.

hampton: ... Given that tens of thousands of them sitting around in bureaucracies all day every day estimating things, ...

For government-funded projects, start with the highest number you think could possibly be squeezed out of the turnips, then add fifty percent, plus double the inflation rate over time.

People especially children should be moved out. Fukushima can't be cleaned up. It IS the disposal site. Moving the radioactive materials around or dumping them into the oceans just spreads the pollution around.

On the news last night there was a story related to this, there are new electric providers/utilities here in Japan, and folks who dont like nuclear energy have been switching over to them, but the electricity comes through lines owned by TEPCO and they are passing these costs to them a well, which is taking away the benefit to the consumer for using them in the first place, the cheaper clean utility. They are supposed to cover close to 3 trillion yen through this alone.

One bank manager who accesses a solar farm for their banks energy needs stated, the company (TEPCO) created the problem, they should be responsible to fix it and not everyone in the country, like some LDP hack was spewing on the same news program. "All Japan must do their share" F-that I do not want to share payng for TEPCO, but sadly already am...

Again please, give me a kiss before taking it out and leaving me hanging!

Hey, inflation target met. This is a success!

Double plus double plus double. There is currently no solution, so just double every two years for 1000 years. Oh, and restart.

Fukushima costs to double to Y21.5 tril: government

Yet Abe continues to press for the restart of the nukes. News like this should be cause for impeachment of this muppet. But not in Japan.

Of Course TEPCO is milking the disaster, it is the best income they could never dream of, who do you think is giving the cost of cleaning to the government.

smithinjapan DEC. 10, 2016 - 12:24AM JST First, there are growing alternatives to the current monopolies, and they don't like it. Second, shutting them down should not exempt them from their duties to clean things up.

What alternatives in a real world? Sure the people remain skeptical of nuclear energy, but they themselves haven't likely experienced the full economic impacts of living without nuclear. With consumer household rates rising by roughly 12-15%, its been big industry, government and utilities who have been experiencing blow after blow. For country that is so reliant on energy imports and with renewable generation still unreliable, having nuclear a part of the mix is crucial for a country like Japan.

How many people died in Fukushima? Let me guess, zero? How many people died in coal mining accident that Germans are converting their power to? 6,000 per year? In the three years following Fukushima, Japan spent close to $300 billion on coal, oil, and LNG imports and 60 percent increase over what it otherwise would have spent had its nuclear fleet remained online. That forced Japan to run a trade deficit. It takes a long-term commitment to get the scale necessary in renewables or hydro to produce meaningful amounts of the power. There are physical limits on renewable and hydro energy, with wind power it's reliant on onshore winds and with solar it's space and sunlight. As you go down the list of clean fuels, those energy sources take up too much space, rely on intermittent power sources or are simply too expensive to produce, what you end up with is nuclear and natural gas.

Government's estimate is always wrong. not 21.5 trillion but it may be 200 trillion and it would take 400 years to clean up such biggest mess there thought government says only 40 years for its cleanup.

First, there are growing alternatives to the current monopolies, and they don't like it. Second, shutting them down should not exempt them from their duties to clean things up. I'm quite sure that within a decade or so they'll try to pull the "claim bankruptcy and nullify all debt, then start up again under another name" that works so well here, but they should simply be shut down with exception to those needed for cleanup. No more power generation and profit for the company; it becomes a paid clean up company, with the execs, starting with Shimizu, on the front lines doing the cleaning. Let the dudes who stayed and warded off further disaster while Shimizu cried "run for the hills" and fled to Osaka be in charge.

smithinjapan, seriously? So stopping TEPCO from operating their business, but requiring them to clean up is going to work because they will have money to clean up from...?? And who's hind end will they be pulling the money out of to pay for the clean up?

Get rid of the executives if you like. Get rid of the company, but you've got to have a system in place beforehand, otherwise you end up with no power for lots of people.

The fact is, that TEPCO, or the people of TEPCO rather, can just walk away from it. If the burden of cleaning up is too much, why even try? This is exactly what you are proposing. Give them a huge responsibility and no power to do it.

Don't get me wrong. TEPCO sucks balls - especially the management of TEPCO, but come up with a real plan before tearing them down.

The profits are gone, long ago.... who will pick up the bill?