Fukushima will be more costly than expected

According to Kenichi Oshima and Masafumi Yokemoto, two specialists in economics and environmental policy from the universities of Kyoto and Osaka, the Fukushima catastrophe will cost around 11 000 billion JPY (104 billion USD). The authorities announced in December 2011 that the bill would reach 5 800 billion JPY (74 billion USD) almost half as much as the latest estimates.

The two university officials did not dismiss State calculations but they included indirect costs identified with utility department and power company, TEPCO, the manager of the nuclear power plant. They claim that their estimates are at their minimum level and are poised to increase.

The most significant expenditure items consist of victims’ compensation with 49 billion USD and the dismantling of the nuclear power plant for nearly 22 billion USD.