Koji Otani, a lawyer representing hundreds of residents and evacuees from just outside Fukushima, points at the Hippo district of Miyagi prefecture as he speaks during a press conference in Tokyo, Tuesday, May 21, 2013. The residents said Tuesday they have been unfairly denied full compensation despite high radiation levels in their area caused by Japan s 2011 nuclear disaster. Nearly 700 residents from Hippo, just northeast of Fukushima, are demanding equal compensation to the residents of Fukushima prefecture who are in similar environment after the accident occurred. They demanded that the nuclear plant s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., pay them an additional 70 million yen ($690,000) in damages from the Fukushima Dai-ichi meltdowns and radiation fallout.
Visitors look at a full-scale mockup of Hamaoka Nuclear Power Station's No.3 reactor at the Chubu Electric Power Co.'s Hamaoka Nuclear Exhibition Center in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture May 17, 2013. Chubu Electric Power Co.'s No.3 reactor is the same model of boiling-water reactor (BWR) as the Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Chubu Electric is spending at least $1.5 billion on safety upgrades at its Hamaoka nuclear plant southwest of the Japanese capital, to reduce the risk of a repetition of the disaster that hit Tokyo Electric's Fukushima station, when an earthquake and tsunami caused three reactor meltdowns. Picture taken May 17, 2013.
An aerial view shows Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in this March 11, 2013 file photo. Japan is embarking on its most ambitious attempt at electricity industry reform since 1951, with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe well-positioned for victory in a battle to break up powerful regional monopolies that is seen as a test of his political agenda. Mandatory Credit.
Japan Coast Guard personnel wearing protective suits take part in a drill, based on the scenario that a group of terrorists have attempted to attack the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, at Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant, in this photo taken by Kyodo May 11, 2013. Both plants are operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). Picture taken May 11, 2013. Mandatory Credit.
An aerial view shows Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s (TEPCO) tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in this March 11, 2013 file photo taken by Kyodo. Indonesian and Australian coal exporters are moving aggressively to fend off competition to meet Japan's new-found appetite for the fuel to generate electricity while the country's nuclear reactors remain offline after the Fukushima disaster. Japan's coal imports are set to hit another record over the next year as utilities led by TEPCO burn more of the cheaper fuel to cut surging energy bills that pushed the nation into a record trade deficit last year. Mandatory Credit.
Naomi Hirose, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) attends the company's financial result ended March at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on April 30, 2013. The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant said it logged a whopping 7 billion USD fiscal year net loss as it faces ballooning compensation and energy imports costs.
