Jun 29, 2012

Tepco's self-justifying report

Tokyo Electric Power Co. on June 20 released its final report on the disaster at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Tepco stated that the main cause of the accidents was the enormous scale of the tsunami that hit the plant, saying that ...

Jun 28, 2012

Better disaster planning needed

The Noda Cabinet on June 19 adopted a 2012 white book on disaster prevention that deals with not only the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis but also major earthquakes expected to occur close to the Tokyo metropolitan area and ...

Jun 23, 2012

Nuclear power plant collusion

As the March 2011 reactor meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 power plant demonstrated, loss of power sources for an extended period of time at a nuclear power plant — known as a “station blackout” (SBO) — can lead to catastrophic ...

Jun 17, 2012

Regrettable 'go' on reactors

The government on Saturday finally gave the go-ahead to Kansai Electric Power Co.’s plan to restart the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture. The decision ignores the crucial lesson from the accident at Tokyo Electric Power ...

Jun 16, 2012

A champion of independent media

Cancer took the life of lawyer and journalist Mr. Kazuo Hizumi on June 12 at the age of 49. Although he died young, he has left behind a persuasive analysis of contemporary Japanese society from the viewpoint of protecting and promoting freedom of expression ...

May 25, 2012

Wearing two hats will damage NHK

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 ...

May 21, 2012

Planning a new environment policy

The Noda Cabinet has adopted a new environment basic plan, the fourth since the first plan was adopted in 1994. It incorporates the experience of the Fukushima nuclear crisis and says that the idea of safety should serve as the basis of the endeavor ...

May 10, 2012

Restructuring of Tepco

Trade and industry minister Yukio Edano Wednesday approved a 10-year comprehensive business plan which Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the government-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund on April 27 submitted to the government for restructuring the power company in the wake of the nuclear ...

Apr 26, 2012

Changing Tepco from the inside

The government on April 19 picked Mr. Kazuhiko Shimokobe, a bankruptcy lawyer with vast experience in corporate restructuring, as chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Co. He headed the decision-making body of the Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund, a public entity that injects funds into ...

Apr 17, 2012

Unwise attempt to restart reactors

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, trade and industry minister Yukio Edano and two other Cabinet ministers on April 13 concluded that the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at Kansai Electronic Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture are safe enough to restart even ...

Mar 31, 2012

Too soon to restart reactors

Nuclear power once accounted for about 30 percent of Japan’s power supply. On March 26, Tokyo Electric Power Co. shut down the last of its 17 reactors — the No. 6 unit at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture — for regular ...

Mar 29, 2012

Nuclear security falls short

The second Nuclear Security Summit was held in Seoul on March 26 and 27, attended by leaders from 53 countries and representatives of four international organizations. The dangers of nuclear terrorism and improvement of nuclear security discussed at the summit are pressing issues Japan ...