Tepco stands firm on nuclear amid concerns

TOKYO, June 29 (UPI) -- Motions for Tokyo Electric Power Co., operator of the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, to abandon nuclear energy and for its chairman, Tsunehisa Katsumata, to be replaced were defeated at the company's annual shareholders' meeting Tuesday.

Of the nuclear disaster resulting from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, Katsumata opened the meeting by saying, "I express my deepest apology for the large number of problems we imposed on many people in society through the nuclear accident and rolling blackouts due to a shortage of electricity."

More than 9,300 shareholders, nearly three times more than last year's, attended the 6-hour meeting.

They hammered Tepco executives with questions about the nuclear crisis, ranging from the processing water contaminated with radiation that has accumulated at the site and inadequate preparation for the tsunami to compensation payments.

Tepco told shareholders it posted a net loss of $16.2 billion, the largest ever, and that dividends would not be paid this year.

Prior to the earthquake, Tepco's stock had reached more than $25, dropping to as low as $1.83 after the disaster.

While the amount of damages Tepco will be required to pay has not yet been determined, some financial institutions predict it could range from $99 million to $136 million, Kyodo news service reports.

But Kenichi Oshima, an environmental economist and professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, estimates the amount could exceed the nearly $49.5 million Tepco has earned in cumulative profits from nuclear power generation since 1970 -- the year it opened up the stricken Fukushima No. 1 plant -- up until 2007.

Besides the crippled Fukushima plant, Tepco operates two other nuclear facilities.

In an interview with The Mainichi Daily News, Toshio Nishizawa, who was approved as Tepco's new president at Tuesday's meeting, said the company plans to sell assets worth more than $7.5 million in Japan and abroad in order to pay for the damages.

Asked about shareholders' demands for Tepco to withdraw from nuclear power generation, Nishizawa said the company is still "doing our best" to bring the Fukushima plant under control and was not in the position yet to address the future of the plant.

He suggested "multi-layered discussions involving the government from the standpoint of cost, safety, and energy supply in the context of measures against global warming, as well as on this resource-poor country's energy strategy."

As for Tepco's future, Nishizawa said he aims for it to remain a private company. "It will be tough, but I want the company to be able to secure funds on its own after receiving various support and cooperation." Meantime, he said, "we are ready for the acute pain."