Tepco Needs $9.1 Billion for Fukushima Payments, Nikkei Says

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will ask the government for 700 billion yen ($9.1 billion) to avoid insolvency as it compensates those affected by the Fukushima disaster, the Nikkei newspaper reported.

The aid will be the first disbursement from the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund that was set up last month, the Nikkei said, without saying how it got the information. The utility known as Tepco is expected to avert falling into negative net worth with the support, the Nikkei said.