Richard Katz writes: "Why didn't Japan apply a cap? The reason, I've been told, is that to put in such a cap would be to admit the possibility of accidents; and the nuclear village did not want to admit that possibility." (2012/04/12)

I'm not a time-travelling mind reader, but my guess is that they never anticipated any liability on the order of Fukushima-daiichi because they never anticipated anything like 3.11. Note that the Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damage (Act No. 147 of 1961) may not have a cap on corporate liability but does have specific provisions that clearly anticipate the possibility of significant accidents: 1) 120 billion yen financial backstop for each establishment (not unit, so this has been another incentive for adding units to the same site); 2) government assistance when the liability exceeds the capacity of the utility in question; and 3) potential government declaration of force majeure, in which case the government will shoulder all responsibility once the 120 billion backstop is exhausted.

Incidentally, point 3) has intrigued me from the beginning. I'm sure that the TEPCO board would never dare bring an administrative suit to force the government to make the declaration, but Steele Partners, for instance, could seek poetic justice on the Japanese power industry and make money on the side by bringing a shareholders lawsuit to force the board to act. Note also that a court-appointed receiver might have to seek said relief as part of its fiduciary duties. If I'm right, then this would be a plausible reason why the government would not choose formal bankruptcy as the means to force other stakeholders to make more concessions.

Also from Rick:

"Nuclear power has never been able to stand on its own in the US market. Like other sources of energy, including oil and gas, it is heavily
subsidized."(2012/04/12)

But what isn't? Coal? Firewood? Seriously, America's energy subsidies don't look very OECD-y to me. More to the topic at hand, is anyone aware of any recent studies that line up the subsidies and penalties for various energy sources on a single scale with the methodology clearly laid out? Preferably on Japan, but any country will do if it lets me get my hands on a plausible and transferable scale.