Tokyo Electric Power Co. has picked Mr. Fumio Sudo, the top official at Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK), as one of its six outside directors. The chairman of NHK's board of governors said he has no intention of leaving his NHK post. If he serves concurrently for both NHK and Tepco, however, NHK's trustworthiness as a media organization could suffer.
Under the Broadcast Law, the 12 NHK governors are appointed by the prime minister with the consent of both houses of the Diet. Their term is three years. The governors selected from their number Mr. Sudo, a former president of JFE Steel Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc., as chairman of the board of governors.
The board is the highest decision-making body at NHK, whose operation is made possible through fees paid by viewers. The board decides NHK's budget, appoints its president, responsible for broadcasting operations, and evaluates the performance of its top executives. Although the governors are not allowed under law to interfere with the content of its TV and radio programming, they hold strong influence over the president and other executives.