Classified Documents Mishandled at TEPCO N-Plant

Tokyo, Nov. 20 (Jiji Press)–Improper management of confidential documents related to antiterrorism measures has been found at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in central Japan, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said Thursday. No information from the documents has been leaked outside the company, according to the NRA. A TEPCO employee at the company’s head office in Tokyo in 2020 removed documents related to antiterrorism measures from where they were stored without taking required procedures. The documents were then copied and stored at the employee’s locked desk, the NRA said. After being transferred to the nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture, the employee engaged in a similar practice in 2024. The NRA was informed of the employee’s practices in June this year. “We have dealt with the matter in a strict manner, including removing the employee from security-related operations,” a TEPCO official said. At a press conference the same day, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara urged TEPCO to take thorough safety measures. “It is natural for TEPCO to continue making autonomous efforts for improvements with a high level of safety awareness,” the top government spokesman said, while noting that corrective actions and measures to prevent a recurrence have already been taken. At a closed meeting Thursday, the NRA was notified of a case in which copies of classified documents were handed over to contractors at the power plant. TEPCO is currently making preparations for restarting a reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]