Japan nuclear operator chief to quit after quake data scandal, reactor restart plans hit

The president of Chubu Electric Power is set to step down after a scandal involving manipulated earthquake data at its Hamaoka nuclear plant, Japanese media reported on Monday. The company is also expected to abandon plans to restart two reactors at the facility.President Kingo Hayashi and chairman Satoru Katsuno will resign, according to public broadcaster NHK and other local media. Chubu Electric is expected to hold a press conference later on Monday. The company was not immediately available for comment.The Hamaoka plant is in central Japan, near a seismic fault line and an area considered vulnerable to a major earthquake. It has been undergoing regulatory safety checks as Chubu Electric seeks approval to restart two reactors.Data scandal puts restart plans at riskIn January, the operator admitted that it had submitted data to regulators that underestimated the earthquake risks facing the plant. The Nuclear Regulation Authority suspended its safety review process for Hamaoka in late December.A 250-page report by an independent panel, released on Monday, said management pressure contributed to the misconduct. It said the management’s "reprimand" over delays in the restart review had placed pressure on employees and was "one of the factors contributing to the misconduct".The Nikkei business daily reported that Chubu Electric would withdraw its application for the safety review.The estimate of maximum seismic ground motion is a key factor in designing nuclear plants to withstand earthquakes. In September 2023, the NRA approved Chubu Electric’s estimate of 1,200 gal, a unit used to measure ground acceleration during an earthquake.However, the regulator received information from a whistleblower in February last year about possible data fraud.Japan seeks to revive nuclear powerThe Hamaoka plant is located in Omaezaki, in Shizuoka prefecture, close to the expected route of a major Pacific earthquake. In 2024, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its first special advisory over the possibility of a "megaquake" in the Nankai Trough area. The advisory was lifted a week later.Japan largely abandoned nuclear power after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant to melt down. The country is now seeking to restart nuclear facilities to reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels, meet rising electricity demand from artificial intelligence and achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.The world’s largest nuclear power plant, Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, resumed operations earlier this year.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.