Japan’s government is reportedly ready to consider nationalising the operator of the crippled power plant at the centre of the worst nuclear accident in the country’s history.
News that the state could take a majority stake in the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) came after nuclear safety officials confirmed that traces of plutonium had been found in soil in five locations in the Fukushima Daiichi atomic complex.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan fought off criticism of his handling of the crisis, insisting to MPs that a state of “maximum alert” would be maintained until the power plant had been made safe.
Doubts about the future of Tepco, the largest power company in Asia, have coincided with mounting criticism of its handling of the nuclear emergency. Much of the criticism is being directed at Tepco’s president, Masataka Shimizu. Tepco officials said Shimizu, 66, had been absent for a few days last week due to a “minor illness”, but claimed he had resumed work directing emergency operations at the company’s headquarters in Tokyo.
Shimizu hasn’t appeared before the media since March 13. As his employees battled to prevent stricken reactors from going into full meltdown, he reportedly did not attend crisis meetings or visit Tepco’s HQ.
On March 15, he was on the receiving end of an outburst from Kan, who said the firm had been too slow to inform him of an explosion at the plant. Reporters overheard Kan demanding of Shimizu and other Tepco executives: “What the hell is going on?”
Overheating reactors
In addition, Shimizu’s firm has been accused of delaying the use of seawater to cool overheating reactors at Fukushima because of the damage it might cause. The government has since said the plant will be decommissioned.
On Sunday, the firm offered wildly inaccurate readings of radiation levels inside the No 2 reactor building, for which it later apologised. Last week, it emerged that two workers exposed to high levels of radiation were standing in puddles of contaminated water wearing only ankle boots.
Shimizu, an enthusiastic cost cutter, was praised for restoring Tepco to profitability after it sustained heavy losses in a 2007 earthquake. But recent reports said that under him Tepco failed to make mandatory safety checks and sought to extend the operational life of old reactors.
Tepco’s shares have lost about 70% of their value — or $30-billion — since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the cost of insuring its debts against default is 10 times higher than it was before the crisis.
The government’s chief spokesman, Yukio Edano, denied newspaper reports that nationalisation was among the options under consideration. “It is my understanding that the government is not considering it,” he said. “The government will be directing Tepco to do everything possible to resolve the situation and help the people who are affected.”
But the national strategy minister, Koichiro Gemba, said it could not be ruled out. “There will naturally be various debates about Tokyo Electric’s future,” Kyodo news agency quoted him as saying.
Several members of the government reportedly believe the state should temporarily take control of the company to enable it to compensate businesses and households affected by radiation leaks and to repair its damaged nuclear reactors.
Tepco is reportedly in talks with several banks over emergency loans worth a potential ¥2-trillion ($24,1-billion), a move that has surprised some analysts, given its large cash reserves. Financial statements show that at the end of last year Tepco held cash and similar assets worth ¥432-billion, and ¥7,5-trillion in outstanding debt. — Guardian News & Media 2011