{
  "id": 7717739,
  "title": "Editorial: Japan's Chubu Electric cannot remain in nuclear power biz following data fraud",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/editorial-japans-chubu-electric-cannot-remain-in-nuclear-power-biz",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-16T05:42:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Mainichi",
    "slug": "the-mainichi",
    "url": "https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20260916/p2a/00m/0op/017000c"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Chubu Electric Power Co. has been caught fabricating seismic motion data for its nuclear power plants in Japan, according to prosecutors and an investigation report. This fraudulent behavior, which dates back to at least 2014, involved the company selecting convenient earthquake movements to make its nuclear facilities appear safer than they actually were. The misconduct was particularly egregious at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, located near the Nankai Trough, an area prone to massive earthquakes. Chairman Satoru Katsuno and President Kingo Hayashi have announced they will resign to take responsibility, and the company has withdrawn its application to restart reactors 3 and 4 at Hamaoka. The investigation revealed that Chubu Electric's nuclear power division had become a \"black box,\" with a closed culture and a tendency to look down on regulators, which created a breeding ground for misconduct. Management pressure, including repeated demands for an early restart, may have contributed to the falsification of data. Despite internal whistleblower reports, the company failed to address the issue appropriately, leaving the investigation to the division involved. The company's corporate governance has collapsed, and its executives were not directly involved in the misconduct. However, they failed to respond appropriately to warnings from within the company. With new CEO Minoru Yasui taking over, it remains to be seen if he can lead a fundamental rebuilding of the company's safety culture and compliance with regulations.",
  "summary": "Chubu Electric Power Co. has committed an unprecedented act of misconduct, trampling on the rules and betraying the public's trust. It cannot but with",
  "key_points": [
    "Chubu Electric fabricated seismic data since 2014 for nuclear plants.",
    "Hamaoka plant near Nankai Trough, prone to massive earthquakes.",
    "Chairman and President resign, company withdraws reactor restart application."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn - Pakistan",
        "title": "‘Fault lines appear’ in Multan Electric Power Company detection assessments in July",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/fault-lines-appear-in-multan-electric-power-company-detection",
        "published": "2026-09-16T03:28:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}