Announcements

Tomoaki Kobayakawa, President

Let me begin by offering our deepest apologies for the great inconvenience that the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident continues to cause the residents of the local community, and society as a whole, even today, more than six and half years later.

Today, a decision to revise the Mid-and Long-Term Roadmap towards Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station Units 1-4 was made at the third Inter-Ministerial Council for Contaminated Water and Decommissioning Issues.

Decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi is underway. Our steady progress with preparations to remove fuel from the spent fuel pools, and multilayered measures to suppress the amount of contaminated water being generated, have resulted in the steady reduction of risk. We also conducted internal surveys of the primary containment vessel (PCV) in order to formulate a plan for removing fuel debris.

The Mid-and Long-Term Roadmap is being revised to reflect conditions in the field that became evident in conjunction with our progress. The revised roadmap will remain the basis for our daily efforts to reduce risk while prioritizing safety as we encounter new issues that must be addressed.

These unprecedented initiatives will continue until decommissioning is complete. We will also continue to ensure that our organization is transparent both internally and externally. Transparency will help to enhance dialogue with the residents of the local community in order to understand what they are feeling and put their minds at ease. While being conscious of the steps taken to help the Fukushima region recover, we will overcome the various challenges that we face, and fulfill our responsibility for the accident by safely decommissioning Fukushima Daiichi.