Chubu Electric Pres. to Resign as Power Industry Group Head

Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Jiji Press)–Chubu Electric Power Co. President Kingo Hayashi said Friday that he will resign as Japanese power industry group head over his company’s data manipulation linked to earthquake risks at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant. Hayashi, 65, made the announcement at a regular news conference as chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan. “I’ve decided to resign in order to focus on investigating the facts and finding the cause,” he said, again expressing his apologies. According to the group of Japan’s 10 major electric power companies, Hayashi offered to resign at a meeting of member companies earlier Friday. His resignation was then approved. The federation will choose his successor later. Current Vice Chairman Nozomu Mori, president of Kansai Electric Power Co., is considered a strong candidate. Hayashi became the federation’s chairman in April 2024. He took the lead in the group’s efforts to boost the use of nuclear power. In line with the federation’s request, the government last year removed the phrase “reduce dependence on nuclear power as much as possible” from its Basic Energy Plan, which outlines the country’s medium- to long-term energy policy. Earlier this month, Chubu Electric was found to have had cherry-picked data to underestimate quake risks for the nuclear plant in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan, in its materials submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority for safety checks. At the news conference, Hayashi emphasized the need to carry out drastic reconstruction of the company’s nuclear power division following the scandal. Asked whether he will step down as Chubu Electric president, he declined to comment clearly. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]