Japan Press Weekly

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2013 February 20 - 26 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

Chiba governor has cozy ties with TEPCO

Akahata on February 23 learned that Chiba Governor Morita Kensaku had once received TEPCO money as a political donation and had hosted a TEPCO-sponsored radio show for more than five years, obviously strongly influencing his pro-nuclear energy stance.

According to Akahata, the actor-turned governor accepted a political donation in 2008 ostensibly for a lecture fee from the operator of the crisis-ridden Fukushima nuclear power plant. He also hosted a radio talk show, Morita Kensaku no Warera Nippon-jin (Morita Kensaku presents “We, Japanese”), which aired between April 2006 and September 2011, and the utility was the sole sponsor.

Morita refused to respond to an Akahata inquiry about the allegations, and TEPCO as well failed to give a clear-cut explanation by saying, “It was a matter of personal contract.”

Radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi plant has been detected in Chiba Prefecture, but the governor has continued turning his back on residents calling for radiation decontamination and for a Japan free from nuclear power plants.

Morita has frequently given pro-nuke statements to the prefectural assembly, such as, “It will be virtually impossible to quickly break away from nuclear power generation (September 2011),” and “It will be unrealistic to immediately be nuclear free (September 2012).”

When ex-Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro last year surprisingly suggested that a nuclear power plant be built on the top of Mt. Nokogiri in Chiba, the Chiba governor did not even ask Ishihara to retract the remark. In fact, the top Chiba official demonstrated his understanding toward the then Tokyo governor’s statement.

In Chiba, the governor’s race will take place on March 14. Miwa Sadanobu will run as a candidate with the backing of a civic organization and the Japanese Communist Party. Miwa has been grilling Morita about the allegations of conflict of interest in accepting political donations. However, the incumbent has been dodging head-on debates with the challenger.