TEPCO comes under fire from shareholders over nuclear crisis
Jun. 29, 2011
Tokyo Electric Power Co. faced a wave of criticism at its shareholders meeting Tuesday over its handling of the continuing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but a proposal from hundreds of shareholders to force the utility to pull out of nuclear power generation was voted down.
The shareholders meeting, the first since the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, was attended by a record-high 9,309 shareholders and lasted for over six hours, the longest ever held by the utility.
Police tightened security around the venue of the meeting in Tokyo's Minato Ward, as anti-nuclear demonstrators assembled there, some holding banners saying ''No nuclear power.''
The meeting was stormy from the beginning as one shareholder interrupted the proceedings to seek the dismissal of the moderator, Tokyo Electric Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, saying that Katsumata should have stepped down immediately after the crisis occurred.
''This is not a problem that can be solved by compensation or apology...Not only Fukushima Prefecture, but also Japan and the world can no longer return to the time before the accident. What do you think about this responsibility?'' the woman said as she proposed a no-confidence motion against Katsumata, which was voted down.
At the outset of the event, Katsumata apologized for causing ''trouble and concerns'' to the shareholders and society, while vowing to contain the nuclear disaster and drastically streamline the utility's operations as the company is saddled with trillions of yen in compensation payments.
Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu, who officially stepped down after the shareholders' meeting ended, said, ''Our group is facing a serious crisis we have never experienced before...We will try to overcome this crisis and respond to the expectations of our shareholders.''
But harsh questions from shareholders followed, with one person criticizing the company for making statements implying it effectively has no responsibility for compensation because of the unusually huge scale of the natural disaster.
''This is a man-made disaster,'' he said, explaining that the Fukushima plant suffered critical damage from the tsunami because of the artificially created landform where the plant stands.
A female shareholder said that she cannot accept Tokyo Electric retirees receiving corporate pensions because they also share the blame, while another person, noting the company underestimated the seriousness of the disaster, said, ''As long as the company does not change its nature, accidents will happen again.'' As for the closely watched voting on the motion to force the company known as TEPCO to pull out of nuclear power generation, around 8 percent were in favor of the motion, while 89 percent were against, according to TEPCO. The remaining 3 percent were counted as invalid or abstentions.
The outcome indicated that a large section of major stockholders, such as companies and institutional investors, cast dissenting votes, but it also showed that individuals who think it is better to stop relying on atomic power are increasing because a similar antinuclear proposal last year only secured 5 percent approval.
In the motion, 402 shareholders called for the company to stipulate in its corporate rules that it will withdraw from nuclear power generation, saying it should suspend and decommission existing nuclear power plants and build no new reactors.
Some shareholders openly expressed that they agree with the idea. One woman said, ''I think TEPCO has strength, so how about changing the direction and offering a new form of electricity to the world...so that we can eventually feel happy about supporting TEPCO.''
TEPCO's board of directors opposed the proposal.
Many shareholders still appeared eager to continue questioning the board members, but Katsumata moved to end the meeting, which became twice the usual length of around three hours, saying that ''thorough'' discussions had been held.
TEPCO held a board meeting later in the day and Toshio Nishizawa, a managing director of the company, assumed the post of president.
The company aims to bring the troubled nuclear reactors to a stable condition called ''cold shutdown'' by around January at the latest, but massive radiation leaks from the plant in northeastern Japan have already forced many people to evacuate from their homes, while damaging the farm and fishery industries in the region.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 28, 2011)
The shareholders meeting, the first since the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, was attended by a record-high 9,309 shareholders and lasted for over six hours, the longest ever held by the utility.
Police tightened security around the venue of the meeting in Tokyo's Minato Ward, as anti-nuclear demonstrators assembled there, some holding banners saying ''No nuclear power.''
The meeting was stormy from the beginning as one shareholder interrupted the proceedings to seek the dismissal of the moderator, Tokyo Electric Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, saying that Katsumata should have stepped down immediately after the crisis occurred.
''This is not a problem that can be solved by compensation or apology...Not only Fukushima Prefecture, but also Japan and the world can no longer return to the time before the accident. What do you think about this responsibility?'' the woman said as she proposed a no-confidence motion against Katsumata, which was voted down.
At the outset of the event, Katsumata apologized for causing ''trouble and concerns'' to the shareholders and society, while vowing to contain the nuclear disaster and drastically streamline the utility's operations as the company is saddled with trillions of yen in compensation payments.
Tokyo Electric President Masataka Shimizu, who officially stepped down after the shareholders' meeting ended, said, ''Our group is facing a serious crisis we have never experienced before...We will try to overcome this crisis and respond to the expectations of our shareholders.''
But harsh questions from shareholders followed, with one person criticizing the company for making statements implying it effectively has no responsibility for compensation because of the unusually huge scale of the natural disaster.
''This is a man-made disaster,'' he said, explaining that the Fukushima plant suffered critical damage from the tsunami because of the artificially created landform where the plant stands.
A female shareholder said that she cannot accept Tokyo Electric retirees receiving corporate pensions because they also share the blame, while another person, noting the company underestimated the seriousness of the disaster, said, ''As long as the company does not change its nature, accidents will happen again.'' As for the closely watched voting on the motion to force the company known as TEPCO to pull out of nuclear power generation, around 8 percent were in favor of the motion, while 89 percent were against, according to TEPCO. The remaining 3 percent were counted as invalid or abstentions.
The outcome indicated that a large section of major stockholders, such as companies and institutional investors, cast dissenting votes, but it also showed that individuals who think it is better to stop relying on atomic power are increasing because a similar antinuclear proposal last year only secured 5 percent approval.
In the motion, 402 shareholders called for the company to stipulate in its corporate rules that it will withdraw from nuclear power generation, saying it should suspend and decommission existing nuclear power plants and build no new reactors.
Some shareholders openly expressed that they agree with the idea. One woman said, ''I think TEPCO has strength, so how about changing the direction and offering a new form of electricity to the world...so that we can eventually feel happy about supporting TEPCO.''
TEPCO's board of directors opposed the proposal.
Many shareholders still appeared eager to continue questioning the board members, but Katsumata moved to end the meeting, which became twice the usual length of around three hours, saying that ''thorough'' discussions had been held.
TEPCO held a board meeting later in the day and Toshio Nishizawa, a managing director of the company, assumed the post of president.
The company aims to bring the troubled nuclear reactors to a stable condition called ''cold shutdown'' by around January at the latest, but massive radiation leaks from the plant in northeastern Japan have already forced many people to evacuate from their homes, while damaging the farm and fishery industries in the region.
(Distributed by Kyodo News on June 28, 2011)
