Photo/Illutration The Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant with rows of water storage tanks (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A government committee on Dec. 20 started discussions on increasing the amount of damages paid for the mental stress of victims of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster and widening eligibility for compensation.

The guideline revisions expected by the Dispute Reconciliation Committee for Nuclear Damage Compensation would be the first in nine years.

The changes would be more in line with court rulings on compensating victims of the disaster.

Around 30 group lawsuits have been filed against Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Most of the seven rulings finalized by March this year have ordered TEPCO to pay the plaintiffs amounts of damages that are higher than estimates based on the existing guidelines.

In the discussions so far, the committee has agreed to compensate victims for the “harsh evacuations” they endured immediately after the triple meltdown at the nuclear plant.

The revisions will say those who lived within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant should be paid 300,000 yen ($2,250) on top of the damages already listed in the existing guidelines, according to the sources.

Under the existing guidelines, only people who lived in areas around the plant that were later designated as “difficult-to-return zones” can receive compensation for the significant changes in their former hometowns that developed during their long-term evacuations.

The amount of damages is 7 million yen each.

The committee has decided that people who lived in areas later designated as “restricted residency zones” or “zones preparing for a lifting of evacuation orders” will also be eligible for damages of 2.5 million yen each under the new guidelines.

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