Full Breakdown
Chubu Electric Executives Resign as Company Withdraws Hamaoka Reactor Restart Application
By Drooid · · How we work
Executive Resignations and Application Withdrawal
On September 13, President Kingo Hayashi and Chairman Satoru Katsuno announced they will resign to take responsibility for a data-fraud scandal involving the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant’s Units 3 and 4. The utility is slated to confirm the departures on September 14. Earlier, the company received an independent panel report on September 10 and, according to media reports on September 11, began preparing to withdraw its application to restart the two reactors.
Background and Context
Investigations allege that Chubu Electric Power Co. cherry-picked earthquake-vibration data during the Nuclear Regulation Authority’s safety review for restarting Units 3 and 4. The alleged misconduct dates back to at least 2012 and follows earlier scandals, including improper billing for decommissioning costs of Units 1 and 2 and an overcharging episode amounting to roughly ¥1.2 billion across about 5 million contracts.
Official Statements & Responses
Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa warned that the government will take “the strictest necessary response” to the utility’s handling of the reporting order. Chubu Electric’s website stated that no final decision on the executives’ resignations had been made at the time of reporting. The company also said the impact of the scandal on earnings had not yet been determined.
Verbatim Quotes
- “Based on Chubu Electric's response to our reporting order, we will take as strict action as possible,” — Ryosei Akazawa, industry minister
Data, Market Reaction, and Implications
Following the September 11 report, Chubu Electric’s shares fell as much as 4.2 percent. The withdrawal of a restart application is described as “highly unusual,” effectively resetting a review process that has spanned more than a decade and pushing the Hamaoka restart further into the future. Analysts note that the plant’s Units 3 and 4 are critical to Japan’s Strategic Energy Plan, which aims to raise nuclear power’s share of the electricity mix to around 20 percent by fiscal 2040. The loss of these reactors could hinder progress toward that target, especially as electricity demand rises with the expansion of data-center activity.