The Governor of Fukushima has repeatedly stated that the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini nuclear power plants will not be allowed to restart, but TEPCO just can’t come to grips with that reality. Naomi Hirose, the newly appointed president of TEPCO has poured salt in an open wound by revealing that the utility will continue to push towards reopening Reactors 5 and 6 at Fukushima Daiichi, and all four reactors at Fukushima Daini. The utility has also threatened to hike residential rates again if the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa reactors are not restarted in line with their corporate plans, but the governor of Niigata Prefecture is firmly opposed to their restart.

TEPCO has crafted its own legacy of deceit and denial for decades, and has no one else to blame after having been found to repeatedly work to cover-up failures and mistakes. They have blindly continued operation of reactors with known defects or serious safety issues, deliberately falsified records and reports, blatantly treated the public with disregard, and burned bridges with local officials, and never made an effort to identify those responsible. TEPCO has sent out their messengers to gather as many workers as possible, officials in Fukushima reportedly told local businesses, “Bring us the living dead. People no one will miss.” Even now, TEPCO outsources the majority of the work to subcontractors, who have been known to use the Yakuza as recruiters of sorts for workers to do what no one else wants to do, which most anyone should agree is much more than just a blatant safety risk. The Yakuza are more than a scary story told to children at night, they are recognized and regulated by the government. High-ranking members of the crime syndicate have admitted upon arrest that they have collected and dispatched workers to Fukushima Daiichi to perform some of the most dangerous work, but argue that it is nothing new, rather something they have done for years. One mid-level yakuza boss also defended the criminal groups’ involvement by pointing out that, “When everyone else was running away as Fukushima melted down, our people stayed to avert disaster.”

So when I see that TEPCO is effectively thumbing their noses at the Governors so publicly, I expect it will only give the officials more resolve. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was greatly affected by a lack of foresight, emergency equipment, adequate staffing, and of knowledge and experience. These types of issues do not resolve themselves quickly. Who could blame officials for not wanting to allow these practices? Multiple investigations have strongly criticized TEPCO for its unpreparedness for and handling of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and have called for more investigations in the future. Prosecutors are investigating potential criminal acts which may have been committed by TEPCO officials in the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster. Despite the constant stream of apologies and vague promises, the utility has done nothing to demonstrate that a dramatically new corporate culture has blossomed from the corrupt ashes. Why would any intelligent person in their right minds want to be forced to continue to do business with them? I have no issue with someone drawing the line and saying, if you can’t (or won’t) do it right, than you won’t do it here. A license to do business is just like a drivers license, it allows someone to do something as long as they are able, capable, law-abiding, financially capable, and ready to accept the consequences for their actions. All in all, doing business is also like driving a car in the way that it is a privilege, not a right, and it may be revoked at any time.

Source: Asahi Shimbun

Source: The Telegraph

Source: New York Times

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Source: The Atlantic Wire

Share this:

Tweet





Email

