Fukushima Daiichi NPS Prompt Report 2014

TOKYO, March 31 - On the eve of his installation as Chairman of Tokyo Electric Power Company, Fumio Sudo pledged his commitment to Fukushima - including compensation to victims, cleanup and revitalization.

"The most important mission I must address before anything else is to carry out the commitments to Fukushima," he said.

Sudo, who officially becomes chairman on April 1, referred to one of the instructions he has been given for TEPCO by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe - to carry out the compensation plan for Fukushima losses, to decommission and decontaminate the site, and to provide a stable electricity supply - and reiterated his and the company's commitment to the recently announced New Comprehensive Business Plan.

For cleanup of the site, a priority, he said, will be to improve the management of contaminated water at the site and to make sure safety comes first.

The new in-house company "Fukushima Daiichi D&D Engineering Company" that has been established to focus on decontamination and decommissioning, he said, will clarify lines of authority under new Chief Decommissioning Officer Naohiro Masuda.

The establishment of a new entity had been recommended by a group of international advisors, namely Dr.Dale Klein, who chairs the Nuclear Reform Monitoring Committee and former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Lady Barbara Judge CBE, deputy chair of the Committee and former chair of the UK Atomic Energy Authority, and Mr.Lake Barrett, former US Nuclear Regulatory Director for the Three Mile Island reactor accident cleanup program.

This new entity will include within its senior management representatives from Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, our key partners, to assemble a team with the specific skills necessary for cleanup. "So this will be a partnership between the Government, TEPCO and key contractors." Sudo said. The names of the Vice-Presidents are as follows.
 Hiroshi Arima(Hitachi-GE Nuclear Energy)
 Takuji Takayama(Toshiba)
 Shigemitsu Suzuki(Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)

Sudo added, "We would like to continue to get help from overseas to assemble the best expertise available in the world"

Competitiveness

While emphasizing that Fukushima remains his most important focus, Sudo said he will also focus on enhancing TEPCO's competitiveness and growth.

To do this, he said, TEPCO must shift away from its traditional role as a utility largely protected from competition, and become a competitive company: "I was also instructed from Prime Minister Abe to introduce to TEPCO, management style of Japanese manufacturing companies facing international competition. I would take drastic measures to enhance the productivity of people, goods, and capital. I aim to reform TEPCO so that it can compete internationally"

To enable TEPCO to compete more effectively on a global stage, Sudo said it will need to invest more in its human resources. "I would like to see young and diverse talent trained internationally and promoted in a competitive meritocracy"

Sudo noted that all these policies would be executed with TEPCO President Naomi Hirose taking the lead.

Sudo also announced new candidates for outside board member who will work with him to promote TEPCO reform. The candidates are as follows, Hiroya Masuda(Professor of Tokyo University, Former Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications) Masahiko Sudou(Lawer, Former Supreme Court Justice) Hideko Kunii(Assistant to the President of Shibaura Institute of Technology, Deputy Chairman of Japan Information Technology Services Industry Association) The candidates will be officially appointed through a shareholders meeting in June.

Biography

Fumio Sudo has served as an outside TEPCO Board member since June 2012, and played a lead role in the development of the new business plan that was agreed to by TEPCO, Japan's government, and the financial community.

He spent most of his career as a manager and executive in the iron and steel industry, and is currently an adviser to steelmaker JFE Holdings, Inc., where he was previously chief executive officer. He also served as chairman of the Board of Governors of Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) from 2011 to 2012.

His directorships include New Otani Co. Ltd., LIXIL Group Corp., Takeda Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., and Taisei Corp.

Sudo, 73, officially became Chairman of TEPCO on April 1, 2014.

About TEPCO
Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) is Japan's largest power company, supplying energy to the greater Kanto area, including Japan's two most populous cities, Tokyo and Yokohama. Its 35,000 employees are committed to providing safe, reliable power to its 28.8 million customers, diversifying energy resources to ensure sustainability, and contributing to economic growth while fully meeting its responsibilities after the Fukushima Daiichi accident.