Nagoya, Oct. 8 (Jiji Press)–Embattled Chubu Electric Power Co.’s new president said Thursday that he will tackle corporate culture reform and take thorough measures to prevent a recurrence of data fraud, in order to restore trust in the company. Minoru Yasui took office at the start of this month following a series of scandals at the power utility, including data falsification involving its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. During his inaugural press conference in Nagoya, Yasui said that the company will consider reapplying to restart the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors at the Hamaoka plant after recalculating earthquake estimates, provided it regains a certain level of trust. The company has withdrawn such applications following the data scandal. Yasui noted that the company is “under unprecedentedly close scrutiny” and expressed his readiness to “create a process that leads to the right decisions.” In response to an investigation committee report that identified the company’s “unique justification theory” for falsifying data, Yasui said, “I strongly recognize management’s responsibility.” He indicated that the company will position “destructive reconstruction” as the top management priority and implement additional preventive measures if necessary. Meanwhile, the new president said that the company is exploring candidates to succeed former Chubu Electric Chairman Satoru Katsuno, who resigned at the end of last month, including those from outside the company. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
