ID :
175506
Thu, 04/14/2011 - 19:00
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/175506
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Farmers urge TEPCO to compensate them for nuke-induced damage
TOKYO, April 14 Kyodo - Japan's major agricultural cooperative federation urged the operator of a crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant Thursday to compensate affected farmers, saying the radiation crisis is threatening agriculture in northeastern and eastern Japan.
Mamoru Moteki, chairman of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, submitted a protest letter to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s handling of its crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant when he met its President Masataka Shimizu, who apologized for the damage.
The federation, known as JA-Zenchu, said in the letter that TEPCO has not offered any explanations or apologies on the adverse effects of the release from the plant of radioactive substances on farms and failed to take any action related to compensation. ''This is totally unacceptable,'' it said.
''The foundation of agriculture in the Tohoku and Kanto regions itself is threatened,'' it also said.
Due to land contamination and the government's imposition of curbs on planting, the federation said, ''It would be unavoidable (for farmers) to suspend farming over a long term and even to think about abandoning agriculture.''
During the meeting with Moteki at the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo, Shimizu said, ''We deeply apologize for causing troubles and take it (the protest) seriously.''
JA-Zenchu also called on TEPCO to contain the nuclear emergency at the plant as soon as possible and make provisional payments of compensation quickly.
The March 11 quake-tsunami disaster crippled the plant, located about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, and led to the leakage of radioactive particles, making farmers unable to ship affected products.
Consumers' concerns are growing even over products classified as safe, causing serious damage to farmers.
In a separate meeting with farm minister Michihiko Kano at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, Moteki asked the government to compensate farmers for all damages they have incurred as a result of the nuclear crisis.
In a separate letter, JA-Zenchu asked the government to pay farmers satisfactory amounts of compensation for damage stemming from unfavorable rumors on product safety, while providing them with long-term compensation for incomes to be lost down the track.
The body also urged the government to devise policies to facilitate reconstruction of the stricken farm sector. It proposed that the government buy farmland still deemed capable of being reinstated from affected farmers, with an eye to leasing the lands to farmers who so desire.
In reply, Kano said the government wants to ''cooperate on the issue of how agriculture should be managed in a new manner.''
After a separate meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano during which he made similar demands, Moteki told reporters, ''We have received assurances that the government will act steadfastly'' to revive the farming sector.
Meanwhile, the farm ministry is considering paying farmers grants of 35,000 yen per 1,000 square meters of farmland where planting has become impossible for this year's crop planting due to the disaster, on condition that recipients will prepare the land for next year's planting, government sources said.
The ministry estimates that the area of such farming land will total about 9,000 hectares. Relevant expenditures, including aid to livestock farmers, will likely total around 5 billion yen, the sources said.
It intends to allocate the money as part of the first supplementary budget to be compiled for fiscal 2011, as it deems it necessary to compensate farmers for part of incomes they lose as a result of the disaster making it impossible for them to plant this year if they are eager to resume their business in the future.
The ministry estimates that the quake and tsunami have inflicted various types of damage on a total of about 23,000 hectares of farmland in the hardest-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, including being submerged in seawater.
Of this area, it approximates that about 9,000 hectares of land will be unsuitable for planting any type of product seedlings or seeds this year, they added.
Mamoru Moteki, chairman of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, submitted a protest letter to Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s handling of its crisis-hit Fukushima Daiichi plant when he met its President Masataka Shimizu, who apologized for the damage.
The federation, known as JA-Zenchu, said in the letter that TEPCO has not offered any explanations or apologies on the adverse effects of the release from the plant of radioactive substances on farms and failed to take any action related to compensation. ''This is totally unacceptable,'' it said.
''The foundation of agriculture in the Tohoku and Kanto regions itself is threatened,'' it also said.
Due to land contamination and the government's imposition of curbs on planting, the federation said, ''It would be unavoidable (for farmers) to suspend farming over a long term and even to think about abandoning agriculture.''
During the meeting with Moteki at the TEPCO headquarters in Tokyo, Shimizu said, ''We deeply apologize for causing troubles and take it (the protest) seriously.''
JA-Zenchu also called on TEPCO to contain the nuclear emergency at the plant as soon as possible and make provisional payments of compensation quickly.
The March 11 quake-tsunami disaster crippled the plant, located about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, and led to the leakage of radioactive particles, making farmers unable to ship affected products.
Consumers' concerns are growing even over products classified as safe, causing serious damage to farmers.
In a separate meeting with farm minister Michihiko Kano at the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, Moteki asked the government to compensate farmers for all damages they have incurred as a result of the nuclear crisis.
In a separate letter, JA-Zenchu asked the government to pay farmers satisfactory amounts of compensation for damage stemming from unfavorable rumors on product safety, while providing them with long-term compensation for incomes to be lost down the track.
The body also urged the government to devise policies to facilitate reconstruction of the stricken farm sector. It proposed that the government buy farmland still deemed capable of being reinstated from affected farmers, with an eye to leasing the lands to farmers who so desire.
In reply, Kano said the government wants to ''cooperate on the issue of how agriculture should be managed in a new manner.''
After a separate meeting with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano during which he made similar demands, Moteki told reporters, ''We have received assurances that the government will act steadfastly'' to revive the farming sector.
Meanwhile, the farm ministry is considering paying farmers grants of 35,000 yen per 1,000 square meters of farmland where planting has become impossible for this year's crop planting due to the disaster, on condition that recipients will prepare the land for next year's planting, government sources said.
The ministry estimates that the area of such farming land will total about 9,000 hectares. Relevant expenditures, including aid to livestock farmers, will likely total around 5 billion yen, the sources said.
It intends to allocate the money as part of the first supplementary budget to be compiled for fiscal 2011, as it deems it necessary to compensate farmers for part of incomes they lose as a result of the disaster making it impossible for them to plant this year if they are eager to resume their business in the future.
The ministry estimates that the quake and tsunami have inflicted various types of damage on a total of about 23,000 hectares of farmland in the hardest-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, including being submerged in seawater.
Of this area, it approximates that about 9,000 hectares of land will be unsuitable for planting any type of product seedlings or seeds this year, they added.
