A payoff scandal has struck Japan’s nuclear world, threatening to delay the restart of idled reactors in what’s becoming the industry’s biggest crisis since the Fukushima meltdowns of 2011. The issue, which emerged at the end of last month, centres around how an influential municipal official in a town that hosts a nuclear plant spent years doling out large gifts to executives of its operator, one of the country’s biggest power producers. It’s an example of how big business and small towns work together, sometimes at the expense of corporate governance.
The payments to senior management at Kansai Electric Power Co included hundreds of millions of yen, US currency, vouchers for tailored suits and even gold coins hidden in a box of candy. To make matters worse, the official in question was close to – and received money from – a company that won construction work from the utility. The news is a blow to an already deeply unpopular industry as it seeks to resume operations at plants that were shuttered after Fukushima. It’s likely to have an impact beyond Kansai Electric, with the government’s top spokesman, who called the payoffs “murky,” vowing to investigate whether there are similar cases at other companies.
Abe headache
It’s also a headache for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has set his stall as a proponent of nuclear power, a cheaper source of energy than imported fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas. And questions in parliament about the scandal may delay Abe’s efforts to pass a US trade deal and proceed towards changing the country’s pacifist constitution.
“This could slow the restart timetables and undermine whatever goodwill had been recovered by the nuclear industry since Fukushima,” said Tom O’Sullivan, founder of Tokyo-based energy consultant Mathyos. Of Japan’s 33 operable reactors, just nine are back online. The nation operated 54 before the Fukushima disaster.
The scandal is the latest exposure of governance issues at Japanese companies, which include the arrest last year of Nissan Motor Co’s chairman for concealing more than $140mn in compensation and Kobe Steel Ltd’s indictment in 2018 for falsifying quality data. Kansai Electric chairman Makoto Yagi and president Shigeki Iwane bowed in apology at a three-hour public briefing last week as they detailed how they and 18 other executives received almost ¥320mn ($3mn) in cash and presents from Eiji Moriyama, who died at the age of 90 in March, from 2006 to 2018.
Pay cuts
But they also tried to play down the scandal. Accepting the gifts was inappropriate but not illegal, Iwane said. And they had no influence over how the firm awarded construction contracts. The president and chairman had taken pay cuts of 20% of their salary for one or two months but initially said they would not step down.
“It’s astounding how badly they’ve managed this crisis,” said Jeff Kingston, director of Asian studies at Temple University in Tokyo. “Of course they should resign.”
Chairman Yagi resigned yesterday, while president Iwane intends to do so after the completion of an investigation into the payments, which could end by December.
The immediate risk for Kansai Electric is that the issue may delay the restart of three of its reactors, including two in the town in question, Takahama. Every month a reactor stays offline saddles the utility with extra fuel costs of ¥3.6bn, according to Nomura Securities Co. It’s also taking a toll on the company’s share price, which fell 13% from September 27 through Tuesday’s close, wiping out about $1.5bn in market value. An index of power and gas stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange was down 4.3% in the period.
Hot temper
“The government will do a thorough investigation into the industry to check if there are similar cases in other companies,” Yoshihide Suga, the government’s top spokesman, told reporters in Tokyo on September 27. It’s “outrageous” that Kansai Electric executives accepted the gifts in a “murky” fashion, he said last week.
The company has strived to deflect blame for the matter, painting a picture of Moriyama as a difficult person to handle. Executives wanted to return the gifts but couldn’t because Moriyama was hot-tempered when he didn’t get his way, according to a report dated September 2018 that the company released last week. He was an important person in Takahama, a small coastal community in western Japan where Kansai had four reactors. The company’s report, as well as articles in Japanese media, contained details of why it wanted to keep him onside.
Moriyama became entwined in Kansai Electric’s nuclear business when he served as Takahama’s deputy mayor from 1977 to 1987. He helped push through an expansion to add two reactors at the Takahama plant, and landed an advisory position at a Kansai Electric unit the year he retired.
He remained an influential figure due to his many contacts in the town of just over 10,000, holding seats on numerous municipal committees and advising local companies that did business with the power sector. Moriyama would often appear at Kansai Electric gatherings, meetings and even birthday parties.
The No 3 (left), and No 4 reactor buildings stand at Kansai Electric Power Co’s Takahama nuclear power station at dusk in Takahama Town, Fukui Prefecture. A payoff scandal has struck Japan’s nuclear world, threatening to delay the restart of idled reactors in what’s becoming the industry’s biggest crisis since the Fukushima meltdowns of 2011.
