TOKYO (AP) - Japan has approved a plan to provide 900 billion yen ($11.5 billion) in public funds to the operator of a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant.
Japan's nuclear minister, Goshi Hosono, says the aid is meant to be a preliminary installment to help the cash-strapped Tokyo Electric Power Co. to cover the massive cost of ongoing decontamination and future dismantling of its reactors damaged in the ongoing nuclear crisis.
The money comes from the fund made up of all Japanese nuclear plant operators and the government.
The March 11 earthquake and tsunami cut power at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns at its reactors and forcing hundreds of thousands of residents to evacuate due to radiation leaks.