Leadership at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant deliberately avoided disclosing the fact that three reactors had melted down at the Japanese facility during its March 2011 disaster, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said Tuesday.
“It is extremely regrettable. People are justified in thinking it was a coverup,” TEPCO President Naomi Hirose said at a news conference Tuesday, according to The Japan Times.
That same day the company delivered a statement in response to a June 16 report from a committee investigating the delayed acknowledgment of a meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, which resulted from a 6.6-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
“It is clear from the report that (TEPCO’s) previous leadership gave instructions not to use the word ‘meltdown’ in public statements,” the company said.
Hirose said in a statement that “we deeply regret that our previous leadership failed to live up to the standards of transparency and thoroughness that we strive to meet today. We sincerely apologize for it.” The company also made it a point to separate itself from prior leadership, noting that Hirose was not part of TEPCO management at the time of the incident.
Timeliness, thoroughness, and clarity of company communication with the public, both nationally and internationally, has improved through the formation of TEPCO’s Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee, the company said. TEPCO’s Nuclear Safety Reform Plan is overseen by the company’s Nuclear Safety Oversight Office and by an independent nuclear reform monitoring committee chaired by Dale Klein, former U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission chairman, the company added.
“We deeply regret the shortcomings of the past,” Hirose said in the statement. “But it is important to recognize that they do not represent the TEPCO of today while making safety the utmost priority to ensure a safe and secure society.”
