Japanese nuclear plant executives resign over earthquake data manipulation
What's the story
Chubu Electric Power Company, a leading Japanese nuclear plant operator, has witnessed the resignation of its President Kingo Hayashi and Chairman Satoru Katsuno. The resignations come in the wake of a scandal involving data manipulation related to earthquake risks. The company has also decided to withdraw applications for restarting two reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear plant.
Incident overview
Hayashi expresses deep remorse
The scandal revolves around Chubu Electric Power's admission of submitting data that underestimated earthquake risks to regulators.
Hayashi expressed his deep remorse over the incident, saying he felt a heavy sense of responsibility and was deeply remorseful for not fostering an organizational culture that prioritizes compliance and safety above all else.
Report findings
Independent panel's report
An independent panel's 250-page report, released today, revealed that management pressure over delays in the restart review had created stress among employees.
This was "one of the factors contributing to the misconduct."
The revelation comes as Japan is trying to revive its nuclear power sector after the Fukushima disaster in 2011.
Energy transition
Reviving nuclear power
Despite the Fukushima disaster, Japan is keen on reviving nuclear power to cut down on fossil fuel dependence, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, and meet rising energy demands from artificial intelligence.
The world's largest nuclear plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, resumed operations earlier this year.
However, the Hamaoka plant remains under regulatory safety checks amid fears of a possible "megaquake" in central Japan's seismic zone.