Fukushima gov. won’t allow TEPCO to resume reactor operations
Apr. 22, 2011
Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato said Friday he will never allow Tokyo Electric Power Co. to resume operations at its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
''A resumption of plant operations must be impossible,'' Sato told Masataka Shimizu, president of Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, who apologized for the nuclear emergency during their meeting at the prefectural government office.
After the 15-minute meeting, Shimizu suggested to reporters he would step down at an appropriate time to take responsibility for the disaster. Shimizu had previously tried twice to see the governor following the outbreak of the disaster. Sato turned him down both times, saying on one occasion, ''The anger and fear of people in this prefecture have reached the limit.''
During the meeting, Shimizu apologized for causing people in Fukushima Prefecture huge trouble. He also promised to bring the troubled reactors under control as soon as possible so residents of areas around the plant can resume their normal lives.
Sato, for his part, demanded that TEPCO pay damages not only to farmers and fishermen whose livelihoods have been severely hit by the nuclear crisis, but also to manufacturers and tourism industry operators.
The governor also urged Shimizu to provide better treatment and conditions for workers battling the crisis at the plant, calling them ''rising stars for Fukushima.''
Shimizu was hospitalized in late March for hypertension and dizziness as the company struggled to contain the nuclear crisis.
On March 30, TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata told a news conference that the company will decommission four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But he did not make clear on how to handle the remaining two reactors.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 22, 2011)
''A resumption of plant operations must be impossible,'' Sato told Masataka Shimizu, president of Tokyo Electric, known as TEPCO, who apologized for the nuclear emergency during their meeting at the prefectural government office.
After the 15-minute meeting, Shimizu suggested to reporters he would step down at an appropriate time to take responsibility for the disaster. Shimizu had previously tried twice to see the governor following the outbreak of the disaster. Sato turned him down both times, saying on one occasion, ''The anger and fear of people in this prefecture have reached the limit.''
During the meeting, Shimizu apologized for causing people in Fukushima Prefecture huge trouble. He also promised to bring the troubled reactors under control as soon as possible so residents of areas around the plant can resume their normal lives.
Sato, for his part, demanded that TEPCO pay damages not only to farmers and fishermen whose livelihoods have been severely hit by the nuclear crisis, but also to manufacturers and tourism industry operators.
The governor also urged Shimizu to provide better treatment and conditions for workers battling the crisis at the plant, calling them ''rising stars for Fukushima.''
Shimizu was hospitalized in late March for hypertension and dizziness as the company struggled to contain the nuclear crisis.
On March 30, TEPCO Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata told a news conference that the company will decommission four of the six reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. But he did not make clear on how to handle the remaining two reactors.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on April 22, 2011)
