US: Japan should accept liability to receive international help at Fukushima Daiichi

The US is busy protecting Big Business one more time:

enformable.com...

This is despicable, deplorable, heinous - Extortion:

To receive help, the United States essentially told Japan that they would have to incur the losses and sign a treaty which would prevent them from seeking compensation from contracted companies, like those which built and constructed the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and instead must satisfy itself only with seeking repayment from the operator, Tokyo Electric – who is facing bankruptcy and relies largely upon the Japanese government for funds to prevent a financial meltdown. In the wording of the treaty, “the operator’s liability for nuclear damage shall be absolute”, and “the right to compensation for nuclear damage may be exercised only against the operator liable.”

This is shameful.

I heard someone on the radio say something like "There is no death penalty for Businesses". Well, if they are people, then maybe there should be. If they have all the rights of a person, then they should have all the responsiblities as well.

We do not expected anything else,
the Character of the USA is bad and rotten to the Core!

I hope they get no Visa for this Country.

I would be nice when the Op can explain this "Liability Act"
to the other Forum Member, when i do this with my limited
English many People would see only Red

What's the old Japanese proverb?

"Fix the problem, not the blame"


Wasn't this plant built by a US consortium?

I feel like if a nation doesn't posses the known-how to develop, build and properly maintain advanced technology, they probably shouldn't be trusted to just hand it over to, after building it FOR them.

Even Germany has now committed to decommissioning ALL nuclear power stations within 10 years, and they are arguably the INVENTORS of the technology!

Human0815
We do not expected anything else,
the Character of the USA is bad and rotten to the Core!

I hope they get no Visa for this Country.

I would be nice when the Op can explain this "Liability Act"
to the other Forum Member, when i do this with my limited
English many People would see only Red

Anata wa eigo ga jouzu Da yo!
American business interests above humanity

reply to post by okamitengu


Arigato Gozaimasu

Oh this hits entirely new lows. Terrible new lows. I can't believe what my nation has become.

Now I didn't take the first OP source. Never heard of them...and I'm sure not forming any opinion just from that. Anyone can put up a website that looks good, right? (No offense OP...it's just that serious a story)

However, the OP source is very good about something most secondary sources aren't. They source their stuff. Here is what this is really about and I could just be sick.

The Compensation for Nuclear Damage treaty was adopted in 1997 under the International Atomic Energy Agency and had 16 signatories as of June 24 this year, including the U.S., India and Italy.
At least five signatories must ratify the treaty to enact it.

So far, the U.S., Romania, Morocco and Argentina have ratified. So Japan joining would bring it into force, Moniz said.

Source
(The first source linked at the end of the OP Article)

I picture this like walking up to someone you've needed to get something from, as they lay injured and in desperate need of life saving care ...to laugh in their face and say they'll get all the care they need ..right after they do whatever it is you've always been after them to do or agree to.

This is mercenary on a level that really leaves me feeling Ill. For this to have even REACHED a public level, Japan must have been working this issue in the background for quite some time. They are the last people on this PLANET that would have crap like this out like dirty laundry flapping in the breeze.

HOW LONG has Japan actually been OPEN to help or even ASKING FOR IT, perhaps, and having this game played on them ...before it was too much for even them to take and they accepted the loss of face (NO small thing ....and CANNOT be understated for an Asian culture) to do this???

Fukushima isn't a political game. It's the life or death of at least a region of this planet into the long term. Oh..... There is *NO* excuse for *ANY* condition set to help on this one. *NONE*. (hops off to go get sick for awhile)

Looking at the nuclear reactor locations in the US, I wonder how it will accept liability for the injustice to the planet and the peoples should a tsunami hit any of them and cause similar damage. Kinda the pot calling the kettle black if it happens. Right now there needs to be a combined effort to figure out how to deal with the problem. Point fingers after the problem is solved. The US is holding Japan over a barrel. Is that even legal? Not helping Japan is not helping if they even can, is like cutting their nose off to spite their face is it not? Reminds me of a childish act. I can see the US after a few years, deaths and horrible disease late saying, well Japan wouldn't sign the agreement so it's not our fault.

Human0815
We do not expected anything else,
the Character of the USA is bad and rotten to the Core!

I hope they get no Visa for this Country.

I would be nice when the Op can explain this "Liability Act"
to the other Forum Member, when i do this with my limited
English many People would see only Red

Pardon my ommision:

Basically (in my limited understanding), the US is pressuring the Japanese to sign a treaty. Signing the treaty will create and release funds to help with Fukushima clean-up. However to receive these moneys, Japan has to agree that they will not sue GE and other designers and builders of the plant and can only sue the Operator (TEPCO) for damages.

It's stated much more broadly but that is the intent. The intent is to protect nuclear designers and builders from any liability in an "accident" or "incident" and put full liability on the Operator.

8675309jenny
What's the old Japanese proverb?

"Fix the problem, not the blame"


Wasn't this plant built by a US consortium?

I feel like if a nation doesn't posses the known-how to develop, build and properly maintain advanced technology, they probably shouldn't be trusted to just hand it over to, after building it FOR them.

Even Germany has now committed to decommissioning ALL nuclear power stations within 10 years, and they are arguably the INVENTORS of the technology!

edit on 5-11-2013 by 8675309jenny because: (no reason given)

The installation at Fukushima was designed and build by GE and other large US contractors.

Wrabbit2000
Oh this hits entirely new lows. Terrible new lows. I can't believe what my nation has become.

Now I didn't take the first OP source. Never heard of them...and I'm sure not forming any opinion just from that. Anyone can put up a website that looks good, right? (No offense OP...it's just that serious a story)

However, the OP source is very good about something most secondary sources aren't. They source their stuff. Here is what this is really about and I could just be sick.

The Compensation for Nuclear Damage treaty was adopted in 1997 under the International Atomic Energy Agency and had 16 signatories as of June 24 this year, including the U.S., India and Italy.
At least five signatories must ratify the treaty to enact it.

So far, the U.S., Romania, Morocco and Argentina have ratified. So Japan joining would bring it into force, Moniz said.

Source
(The first source linked at the end of the OP Article)

No offence at all. I was so pissed at this. I'd never heard of this treaty before and will look into it further. In fact I'll add it to my 'watch list' on treaties.

These treaties are subverting democracy to Business in all areas of life and it's horrifying.

Again thanks for the catch Wrabbit.

"As provided for in paragraph 3 of Article XVI, the United States declares that it does not consider itself bound by either of the dispute settlement procedures provided for in paragraph 2 of that Article, but reserves the right in a particular case to agree to follow the dispute settlement procedures of the Convention or any other procedures."

That looks like something we would do.

Article 4
Liability Amounts

Subject to Article III.1(a)(ii), the liability of the operator may be limited by the Installation State for any one nuclear incident, either:

to not less than 300 million SDRs; or
to not less then 150 million SDRs provided that in excess of that amount and up to at least 300 million SDRs public funds shall be made available by that State to compensate nuclear damage.

We are screwed. This is a blanket protect everyone's rear end treaty. It not only protects the USA, it protects Japan, and it even protects Tepco. Not to mention 50% of the funds will be going to damage done outside of the nuclear states territory.

I think you guys should really at the very least skim this shenanigans.

www.iaea.org...

Per the news article Japans parliament wont get to look at this or vote on it until next year. However IMHO I think they will jump all over it as a get out of jail free card. I don't know if they had any plans of going after compensation from any foreign companies but this would limit their liability to the world. It would limit Tepco's as well.

Down to a pitiful amount I might add. To their own people and to the anyone in the future that this radiation affects. In the treaty is even goes so far as to state whether through direct radiation damage or indirect. Something radiation might have caused. Its all blanket. Someone correct me if I am wrong here.