By KUNA,
Tokyo : The Japanese government estimates direct damage from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami at JPY 15-25 trillion (USD 185-309 billion), significantly more than the roughly JPY 10 trillion (USD 123 billion) for the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, a top-selling business daily here reported Wednesday.
The estimate covers damage to such infrastructure as roads and ports as well as destruction of homes, factories and other buildings, but does not include economic losses resulting from the problems at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and rolling blackouts, the Nikkei Shimbun said. A large area, from northeastern Japan to the Tokyo region, suffered major damage from this month’s quake and tsunami. Economic and Fiscal Policy Minister Kaoru Yosano is expected to present the projection to relevant ministers in the monthly economic report later in the day, the newspaper said. The damage estimate, the first to be released by the government, will serve as a basis for compiling supplementary budgets and drawing up reconstruction plans.