Chubu Electric’s Data Fraud Undermines Japan’s Nuclear Energy Policy

Tokyo, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)–Chubu Electric Power Co.’s data fraud linked to earthquake risks at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant has splashed cold water on the Japanese government’s energy policy of maximizing nuclear power use. Shinsuke Yamanaka, chief of the Nuclear Regulation Authority, has said that the NRA’s safety screening of the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the plant in the central Japan prefecture of Shizuoka is expected to “go back to square one.” A delay in the restart of Hamaoka reactors will deal a blow to Chubu Electric’s earnings and affect the government’s goal of raising the share of nuclear power in the country’s energy mix. The new basic energy plan of the government, adopted in February 2025, marked a shift from its policy of reducing dependence on nuclear power as much as possible, which was introduced following the March 2011 triple meltdown at Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.’s tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. The plan instead calls for fully utilizing nuclear energy to meet surging electricity demand in the country. It specifically seeks to raise the share of nuclear power in the energy mix to about 20 pct by fiscal 2040 from the current level of slightly less than 10 pct. For this to be achieved, the number of active nuclear power reactors should be increased from the current 14 to more than 30. Late last year, the process to obtain local consent was completed for the restart of reactors at TEPCO’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, and Hokkaido Electric Power Co.’s Tomari plant in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido. On Jan. 20, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant’s No. 6 reactor is expected to become the first TEPCO reactor to be brought back online since the 2011 accident. Yamanaka said that the NRA does not plan to investigate nuclear power plants other than the Hamaoka power station for data fraud similar to the irregularities found at the Chubu Electric plant. If public trust in safety is eroded, however, securing local consent for future reactor restarts would become increasingly difficult. Chubu Electric’s data fraud case “will greatly undermine public trust in safety,” industry minister Ryosei Akazawa told a press conference Friday. “This should not have happened.” He vowed to “take strict measures” against Chubu Electric depending on its upcoming report on preventive steps. If the safety screening of the Hamaoka No. 3 and No. 4 reactors starts from scratch, the power supplier’s earnings will be affected significantly. The company expects that its profitability will improve about 250 billion yen a year if the No. 3 to No. 5 reactors at the Hamaoka plant are brought back online. The No. 1 and No. 2 reactors at the plant ended operations in January 2009 and are now in the decommissioning process. At a press conference Monday, Chubu Electric President Kingo Hayashi said, “The company’s responsibility for the data fraud is serious.” On whether to step down from the post, meanwhile, he said only that he will consider the matter “comprehensively.” Hayashi also serves as chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. Chubu Electric is also expected to struggle in its decarbonization efforts after the company decided last year to withdraw from a project to construct wind power plants at a total of three locations off the coasts of Akita and Chiba prefectures. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]