Govt-Backed JIC Chief Yokoo Eyed as Next TEPCO Chairman

Tokyo, April 25 (Jiji Press)–Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. is considering appointing Keisuke Yokoo, president of the Japanese government-affiliated Japan Investment Corp., as its next chairman, informed sources said Saturday. If the appointment is approved, the 74-year-old will become the fifth chairman in a row picked from outside the major Japanese power company, and the first with a financial industry background. The personnel decision will be finalized after approval at a regular general meeting of shareholders to be held in June at the earliest. After graduating from Keio University, Yokoo joined Industrial Bank of Japan Ltd., now Mizuho Bank, in 1974. He then went on to serve as president and subsequently chairman of Mizuho Securities Co., before being appointed head of JIC in 2019. Yokoo is expected to succeed 79-year-old incumbent Chairman Yoshimitsu Kobayashi, who has a chemical industry background. Meanwhile, TEPCO will likely retain current President Tomoaki Kobayakawa, 62. The power company is currently facing significant financial challenges stemming from compensation and reactor decommissioning following the 2011 triple meltdown at its tsunami-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in northeastern Japan. As TEPCO explores partnerships and externally raised capital to aid in its business reconstruction, the company hopes that Yokoo’s expertise in corporate restructuring will help forge capital tie-ups as soon as possible. Under Kobayashi, who was appointed chairman in 2021, the company reactivated the No. 6 reactor at its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power station in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, in January this year. On April 16, the reactor restarted commercial operations. The firm compiled a new business reconstruction plan in January this year, and started accepting applications for business partners. With various companies both in and outside Japan considering becoming TEPCO’s business partners, including Japanese telecommunications carrier SoftBank Corp., the power company’s partnership strategy will be its focus, with securing necessary investments for measures to cope with rising demand for data centers in mind. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]