Japan Press Weekly

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2011 May 11 - 17 [NUCLEAR CRISIS]

TEPCO accepts retired high-ranking municipal officials

Retired high-ranking prefectural government officials now work for TEPCO as mediators between the utility and local governments, Akahata revealed on May 12.

In a written answer from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) to an Akahata inquiry, TEPCO explained, “Based on business necessity, our policy is to hire retired prefectural officials.” At present, TEPCO employs six retired bureaucrats from three prefectural governments: two from the Fukushima government, one from the Aomori government, and three from the Tokyo government which include a former vice-governor.

Three out of the six ex-bureaucrats play a role in coordinating TEPCO’s relations with the local governments they previously worked for. The former Tokyo vice-governor is a TEPCO board member. One of the two retirees of the Fukushima prefectural government is assigned to a job to visit schools to teach children about energy options, including nuclear energy.

Akahata also reported that for over 14 years, six Tokyo government officials have been awarded executive positions at TEPCO after their retirement.

An ex-Tokyo government official, who was in a TEPCO senior management position from 1996 to 2004, said to Akahata, “When TEPCO was in a hurry or had some trouble seeking the Tokyo government’s permission for power line installation, I was the facilitator.”

Journalist Tsutsumi Kazuma said, “Because these local governments regulate and give permission to utility businesses, TEPCO has established close relations with them by accepting retired high-ranking officials. This is the same rationale behind TEPCO offering executive posts to many ex-bureaucrats of the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry. Both the central government and local governments should prohibit their bureaucrats from getting executive positions in corporations after their retirement.”