Kansai Electric Power Co president Shigeki Iwane said he has no intention of resigning after admitting last week that he and 19 company employees had received ￥320 million (US$3 million) in payments and gifts.
Iwane told a news conference he wanted to stay in his position and regain the public’s trust.
Iwane said he and other executives had received the payments from a since deceased local official of a town that hosts one of the utility’s nuclear plants.
The scandal comes at a time when public trust in nuclear power companies in Japan is already at rock-bottom. That confidence was shattered in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster, when a huge earthquake and tsunami triggered a meltdown at a Tokyo Electric Power Co plant.
It is also a stark reminder that despite Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push for better corporate governance, questionable practices remain at some large companies.
“I want to fulfill my responsibilities by taking leadership in finding the cause of what happened and making preventive measures,” Iwane told a news conference broadcast live on NHK.
Iwane said that no favors were given in exchange for the payments, and that business between Kansai Electric and a firm related to the person who made the payments was conducted properly.
Kyodo news agency has reported that the official previously told tax authorities that the payments were a token of appreciation to the officials for supporting the town, whose economy relies heavily on the plant.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
Her white-gloved, waistcoated uniform impeccable, 22-year-old Hazuki Okuno boards a bullet train replica to rehearse the strict protocols behind the smooth operation of a Japanese institution turning 60 Tuesday. High-speed Shinkansen trains began running between Tokyo and Osaka on Oct. 1, 1964, heralding a new era for rail travel as Japan grew into an economic superpower after World War II. The service remains integral to the nation’s economy and way of life — so keeping it dazzlingly clean, punctual and accident-free is a serious job. At a 10-story, state-of-the-art staff training center, Okuno shouted from the window and signaled to imaginary colleagues, keeping
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
RSS