Fukushima operator to make damage payments

Households inside an 18.6-mile radius of Japan's quake-hit nuclear plant are expected to each get a damage payment of about $12,000, the government said Friday. Industry Minister Benri Kaieda said the 1 million yen payments are expected to be given as early as this month by Tokyo Electric Power, operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, Kyodo News said. A nuclear crisis was triggered at the plant March 11 by a 9-magnitude earthquake and tsunami. The minister said the payments may cover about 48,000 households that are within the designated radius. People in those homes were either evacuated or urged to stay indoors after the disaster struck.