10/07 E-mail scandal could amplify distrust of N-power

The Yomiuri Shimbun

If they thought they could use the deception to increase support for restarting nuclear reactors, the idea was extremely ill-advised.

This is in reference to the e-mail scandal involving Kyushu Electric Power Co., in which the utility sought to manipulate public opinion to favor reactivation of its Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture.

Prior to a public hearing for prefectural residents about the Genkai plant that was aired live via a local cable TV station in late June, Kyushu Electric instructed some of its employees, as well as staff of the company's subsidiaries, to send e-mails to the TV program in support of restarting the plant's reactors.

To raise support among prefectural residents for the reactors' reactivation, the utility also called on the employees to send the e-mails from their home computers to hide their identities as employees of Kyushu Electric or its subsidiaries and to pose as members of the general public.

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Not a request but an order

There can be no doubt that the sending of the e-mails under the guise of ordinary residents of the prefecture was perpetrated systematically.

The document sent to the recipients asking them to send the messages was in the form of a "request." But judging from the power relationship between Kyushu Electric's management, its employees and its subsidiaries, the recipients must have felt the document was more like an order.

It was subsequently revealed that one of the vice presidents and other executives of Kyushu Electric were involved in the scheme to manipulate public opinion. Suspicion is very high that the e-mail scheme might have been carried out by Kyushu Electric as a whole. The hearing's purpose of listening fairly to opinions of the prefectural residents was made meaningless.

Kyushu Electric President Toshio Manabe apologized Friday to Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda over the e-mail scandal, but it will be extremely difficult for the company to restore public trust.

Kyushu Electric must waste no time in finding out the whole truth about the matter. Thorough investigations are needed to determine whether the company engaged in similar deceptive activities in the past. Managerial responsibility should also be clarified, including the advisability of the company's president stepping down.

Making the problem worse is the fact that the company at first tried to cover it up.

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'Is it such a big problem?'

The deputy head of Kyushu Electric's nuclear power generation department, when he attended a session of the Kagoshima Prefectural Assembly on Monday as a witness, categorically denied irregularities involving e-mails sent to the TV program, saying the company had "never asked anybody for anything" in connection with the hearing.

On Wednesday, when the issue was taken up in Diet deliberations, President Manabe belatedly held a press conference. Asked about his involvement in the scandal, Manabe repeatedly said, "No comment," before finally saying, "Is it such a big problem?" His attitude is extremely insincere considering he is in a position to explain the matter in detail.

Amid the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, criticism of electric power utilities as a whole has been intensifying. The e-mail scandal could amplify the public's distrust of the nation's nuclear reactors.

On the other hand, anxieties have been growing that electricity shortages will worsen in the future. Reactivation of reactors after completion of their regular safety inspections is impossible without consent from local residents. Electric power utilities, therefore, must redouble efforts to restore public trust by enhancing transparency of their operations.

There have been many scandals involving nuclear reactors because of failure to disclose information, such as cover-ups of accidents and falsification of safety-check data.

Are electric power companies still unable to rid themselves of the tendency to cover up facts disadvantageous to them? They should do more soul-searching about the matter.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 9, 2011)

(Jul. 10, 2011)

13/04 玄海原発、地元町長が再開容認 説明会など条件に 佐賀

2011年4月13日23時10分

　定期検査中の九州電力玄海原子力発電所（佐賀県玄海町）２、３号機の運転再開について、同町の岸本英雄町長は１３日、朝日新聞の取材に対し、「運転を再開できずに夏を迎えれば、九州も節電や計画停電が必要になる。クリアすべきことをクリアすれば、５月中に再開するのが好ましい」と述べ、早期の運転再開を認める考えを示した。

　岸本町長は、九電が１２日に公開した安全対策の訓練を「運転再開への一歩」と評価。その上で、台風やテロなどを想定したシミュレーションを実施するよう九電に要請していた。岸本町長は１３日の取材に、住民や議会を対象にした説明会の開催を求め、これらがクリアされれば、運転再開を容認する考えを示した。

　一方、佐賀県の古川康知事は同日、朝日新聞の取材に対し、「国の安全対策が見えない中で、再開うんぬんの話ではない。（原発の安全対策についての）国の考え方や方針が県民に説明できるものなのかどうかで判断すべきだ」と述べた。古川知事は１１日の記者会見で「（国の安全基準を）クリアしてさえいれば（再開して）良いというわけではない」と話していた。

　九電は５月中の営業運転の再開を目指し、緊急安全対策の取り組み状況を、週内にも国に報告する。その上で、地元の代表者らを対象にした説明会を開く意向だ。