The industry ministry ordered Chubu Electric Power on the 6th to improve its operations under the Electricity Business Act, citing a string of scandals including data fraud in the national review of the Hamaoka nuclear plant in Shizuoka Prefecture. The ministry concluded the utility needs to overhaul its legal compliance and corporate culture urgently.
The order requires the company to clarify the responsibility of executives and employees, strengthen compliance and its handling of internal whistleblower reports, and break down the insularity of highly specialized divisions such as the nuclear department. Chubu Electric must submit a business improvement plan setting out how and when it will carry out the measures.
Seismic data picked to shrink the assumed quake
Data fraud came to light in the Nuclear Regulation Authority's review of reactors 3 and 4 at Hamaoka. Data was deliberately selected so that the standard seismic ground motion — the largest expected shaking on which earthquake design is based — would come out smaller. An external investigation committee found the aim was to avoid affecting the restart schedule.
The order also follows problems over the cost of decommissioning, which the ministry cited alongside the data fraud among the scandals behind its decision.