Evacuees slam Japan nuclear plant operator

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By YURI KAGEYAMA

TOKYO (AP) - Angry residents forced from their homes near Japan's tsunami-stricken nuclear power plant gathered in protest at the Tokyo headquarters of the plant's operator Wednesday, demanding compensation as the company's president pledged to do more to help those affected by the crisis.

"I can't work and that means I have no money," said Shigeaki Konno, 73, an auto repair mechanic, who lived seven miles (11 kilometers) from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant before he was evacuated along with tens of thousands of others due to radiation fears. "The talk about compensation is not concrete. We need it quickly."

The protest by about 20 small business owners from communities near the plant reflects growing public frustration with Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s handling of the nuclear crisis that erupted when a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake on March 11 wrecked its cooling systems and backup generators.

TEPCO's president, Masataka Shimizu, and other company executives bowed in apology, once again, on Wednesday, after Shimizu pledged to do more to help compensate residents unable to return home or work due to the accident.

Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20110413/D9MING4O0.html

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A commercial plane lands near some debris at Sendai Airport in Natori city near Sendai, northern Japan Wednesday, April 13, 2011, as the airport partially resumed domestic flight operations Wednesday after it was submerged by a tsunami following a massive earthquake last month. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

[Overseas]

1. K&R!

I am glad they are protesting.