Travel scheme for evacuees of Fukushima nuclear disaster hit by fraud

The attack was livestreamed on the perpetrators social media

For the first time since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a benefit for evacuees has been revoked due to fraud.

NEXCO East Japan has uncovered serious misuse of the “Hometown Return Pass Card,” a service designed to assist evacuees from the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

The disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant resulted in a large area being evacuated and the creation of an exclusion zone

The individuals responsible now face revocation of their credentials, the first instance of a card being revoked since the program’s inception, as well as serious financial repercussions.

The “Hometown Return Pass Card” is a crucial lifeline for those displaced by the nuclear accident, as it provides toll-free travel on expressways in an effort to ease to costs of travel between evacuation sites and former homes as evacuees rebuild their lives.

All residents of towns such as Namie were evacuated following the nuclear disaster

Expressways in Japan are a series of highways that require drivers to pay tolls to use them.

Expressways are connected to the normal road network by toll booths at interchanges

Tolls in Japan are comparatively high in respect to those in other nations, with a Japanese expressway journey costing in the region of 3 times what it would cost for an equivalent journey in other countries, such as France.

NEXCO East Japan manage the expressways in the east and north of Honshu, Japan’s main island, as well as in Hokkaido.

A large part of the expressway system is administered by three NEXCO companies

The card, which features a photograph of the registered user, is specifically intended to facilitate essential journeys for evacuees and must be presented at toll booths.

NEXCO East Japan’s investigation revealed that a cardholder had illicitly lent their pass to an acquaintance.

This individual then proceeded to impersonate the legitimate cardholder and used the pass to make numerous unauthorized trips on expressways between July 2020 and October 2023.

Expressways are a quick, but usually expensive, way to travel by car

The total cost of these fraudulent journeys amounted to a total of 300,000 yen (approx. $1,953 USD/£1,564 GBP).

The financial consequences for this abuse extend beyond the initial toll evasion.

The amount billed by NEXCO includes surcharges on top of the amount the defrauded from the scheme — Fraud is taken seriously in Japan, with compensation often exceeding the amount stolen

NEXCO East Japan has issued a bill of 900,000 yen (approx. $5,861 USD/£4,693 GBP) to the individual who misused the card.

This sum includes not only the evaded tolls but also a substantial surcharge, demonstrating the company’s commitment to deterring such fraudulent activities.

NEXCO East Japan’s action in revoking the credentials of the individuals involved is intended to send a clear message that abuse will not be tolerated and should serve as a deterrent to anyone else considering misusing a system intended to help victims of one of Japan’s worst disasters.

Source: Yomiuri Shimbun