Japan's parliament has approved a plan to help Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) compensate¹ victims of its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.

日本国会批准了一项帮助东京电力公司赔偿核电站受害者的计划。

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Crisis at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has seen people from surrounding areas evacuated
According to the plan, a new fund will be set up to pay damages to victims affected³ by the nuclear crisis.

Japan's other nuclear power operators will make annual contributions to the fund.

Tepco which reported a loss of $15bn (£9.2bn) earlier this year, may have to pay more than $100bn in compensation.

"The fact they are going to start to pay out compensation is good news as money will be pumped into the Japanese economy," said Naomi Fink of securities and investment banking⁴ firm Jefferies.

Funding source?

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis saw almost 80,000 people being relocated from areas around the plant.

The crisis has not only hit individuals but also hurt businesses in the area. As a result claims are expected to run into billions of dollars.

Analysts⁵ said that while the government has approved the plan for to pay compensation to the victims, the source of funding will be the key.

"It is going to be a lot more important to find out exactly how the funding is going to be done," said Ms Fink.

"The general feeling is that you can't rely on debt to fund this and thus a rise in utility fees is likely to be the way out," she added.

However she warned that a rise in electricity charges will increase household（家庭的，日常的） expenses and have a negative effect on consumer demand.