Fifty-seven percent of evacuees living in temporary housing and visited by the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund said they have not applied for compensation because the forms were confusing or for other reasons, according to survey results released by the fund on March 8.
A consultation team from the fund made of lawyers visited 131 temporary housing areas from October 2011 to February of this year and received 9,015 requests and complaints, including ones made by phone. Of them, 6,088 related to the contents of compensation payments. The most common complaint, totaling 2,611, was that compensation of 100,000 yen per person for mental stress and increased cost of living was insufficient. The next most common, at 1,496, was that compensation over the value loss of property has yet to be decided.
Evacuees sought compensation for mental stress including 202 claims of “anxiety over future living situations,” 110 of “anguish from losing a pet,” 96 of “mental stress on children and change in educational environment.” They sought compensation for cost of living issues including 319 for “money for clothing and furniture at new locations,” and 234 for money to give to relatives who took them on.
Regarding property, there were 312 requests for purchase of evacuees’ property and 262 requests for compensation for lost land value. There were also 21 requests for “continued compensation after returning,” so that people who returned to their homes before others don’t miss out on compensation.
It was also learned that 57 percent of the people had not yet applied for compensation. Half of those people said the forms were too hard to understand, and a third said they weren’t satisfied with the compensation amounts and criteria.
A spokesperson for the fund said, “We will pass on the voices of the evacuees to Tokyo Electric Power Co. and push for improvements.”
– source mainichi.jp