The Japanese government on Monday approved a fresh $8.9 billion in aid for the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant to help it pay compensation to those affected by reactor meltdowns.
The decision to release 690 billion yen came after Tokyo Electric Power in December revised up its estimate of what it would need to compensate victims of the worst nuclear accident in a generation to 1.7 trillion yen from 1.01 trillion yen.
The new government cash will come on top of the 890 billion yen in aid that it has already agreed to give the troubled utility, making a total 1.58 trillion yen. The company must find other sources of cash to plug the gap.
TEPCO's estimate of the amount of money it would need increased after the government widened the eligibility criteria for claimants and altered the evacuation zone restrictions around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The decision to grant the cash came as Industry Minister Yukio Edano on Monday met with TEPCO president Toshio Nishizawa.
During the meeting Edano stressed that the government would take partial control of the utility if it were to officially ask for a capital injection, which would be used, amongst other things, for the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi.
This move would be separate from the compensation cash the company has requested.
TEPCO and the state-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund are drafting a business plan, due to be released next month, to restructure the utility while compensating residents and dismantling the Fukushima reactors.
The business plan is a condition for the government to continue assisting TEPCO, which faces skyrocketing costs and is in danger of holding more liabilities than assets.
The business plan needs approval from Edano, who has demanded TEPCO be drastically reformed, cutting costs and changing its corporate culture, which has often been criticised as secretive and complacent.
"As long as I hold this post, I will absolutely not approve a plan that asks for a capital injection but does not offer adequate voting rights (to the government), commensurate with the money," Edano told Nishizawa in front of journalists.
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