# Response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Power Station Accidents

## Chapter 2

At 14:46 on March 11, 2011, a massive magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the Tohoku and Kanto regions, triggering a giant tsunami that inundated the Pacific Coast of Japan. The epicenter of the earthquake was off the Sanriku Coast at latitude $ 38.1^{\circ} $ north and longitude $ 142.9^{\circ} $ east. The earthquake and tsunami inflicted catastrophic damage on the country: a human toll of 15,858 dead, 3,021 missing, and 6,080 injured (as of May 9, 2012); and a structural toll of 129,855 total-loss buildings and 257,739 half-loss buildings. The estimated damage caused by the disaster was enormous: approximately 16.9 trillion yen to buildings, industrial infrastructure in the agricultural and fishery sectors, social infrastructure, and utilities. Ruinous damage spread to every corner of the socioeconomic structure in the affected area.

In the severe accident that occurred at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) following the earthquake, a vast amount of radioactive material was discharged into the environment. Before this incident, nuclear power had been promoted as an energy source that supported economic growth. As a power source that produces none of the $ CO_{2} $ emissions that accelerate global warming, there was actually great hope for the future of nuclear power. However, the enormous environmental risks borne by nuclear power stations drew public attention in the wake of this severe accident, and it became apparent that radioactive contamination brings on

the most severe kind of environmental crisis.

Since the accident, the Japanese government has been implementing a variety of initiatives, including disaster restoration and reconstruction, to respond to the severe accident that occurred at the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi NPS, including measures to tighten Japan's power supply. To cope with this, under supplementary budgets in 2011, the national government secured 4.0153 trillion yen, 1.9988 trillion yen under the second, and 11.7335 trillion yen under the third. For the 2012 initial budget, the government allocated 3.3 trillion yen as a special account budget for recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake, including 366.9 billion yen for rapid disposal of disaster-related waste and refuse. 457.4 billion yen was allocated to the Ministry of the Environment for expenses required for decontamination and disposal of contaminated waste.

Chapter 2 primarily gives an overview of government responses in the effort to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake (Sections 1, 2, and 3), as well as major government initiatives regarding the TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi NPS accident through mid-May 2012 (Sections 4 and 5). It also covers the overall status of contamination due to radioactive materials discharged into the environment, decontamination efforts, and changes in government activities related to nuclear regulation based on the Fukushima Daiichi NPS accident.

Table 2-1-1 The Damage Situation caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake

Damage situation	Estimated damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake
Category	Estimated damage
○ Human toll
Dead 15,854
Missing 3,276	Buildings (Houses/Residential Land, Stores/Offices, Factories, Machinery)	10.4 trillion yen
Lifeline facilities (Water, Gas, Electricity, Communication/Broadcast Facilities)	1.3 trillion yen
○ Structural toll
Total-loss 129,286
Half-loss 254,632	Social infrastructure facilities (Rivers, Roads, Ports, Sewerage, Airports)	2.2 trillion yen
Forestry/Fishery (Agricultural Land/Agricultural Facilities, Forests, Fisheries Facilities)	1.9 trillion yen
Other (Educational Facilities, Medical/Welfare Facilities, Waste Disposal Facilities, Waste Disposal Facilities, Other Public Facilities)	1.1 trillion yen
Total	16.9 trillion yen
Budget relating to the earthquake	Supplementary budgets for fiscal 2011	1st supplementary budget 2nd supplementary budget 3rd supplementary budget	4.0153 trillion yen 1.9988 trillion yen 11.7335 trillion yen
Initial budgets for fiscal 2012	Special account budget for recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake 3.3 trillion yen

Source: Cabinet Office, Emergency Headquarters, March 2012 Environmental Conservation Expenditures 2012