Tokyo Electric Power Co and a government-backed support mechanism for nuclear disaster compensation have asked major lenders to extend the repayment deadline for the 2 trillion yen borrowed by the troubled utility, Kyodo news agency said on Sunday.
Tepco, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear power plant crippled by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in March, faces massive compensation payments and cleanup costs.
Top banks like Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group were among lenders that provided the emergency loans to Tepco in the immediate aftermath of the March 11 disaster that triggered the nuclear meltdown.
The deadline to repay these loans are in early spring next year, Kyodo said.
Tepco needs to pay billions of dollars in compensation to those hurt by the Fukushima nuclear disaster, leaving its independence in doubt. Media reported this month that the Japanese government may inject $13 billion in the utility in a de facto nationalisation.
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