METI minister says Hamaoka restart talk is inappropriate; Chubu Electric withdraws safety review application
Published · Updated
What happened
METI Minister Ryosei Akazawa publicly cautioned against discussing reactivation of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant until safety is confirmed, citing Chubu Electric Power's data falsification issues. On the same day, Chubu Electric decided to withdraw its application for safety inspections of Hamaoka Units 3 and 4 and announced the resignations of its president and chairman effective September 30, 2026.
Why it matters
The withdrawal removes the immediate regulatory pathway for Hamaoka Units 3 and 4 and signals that the utility must first address governance and data integrity problems. It also delays any contribution the plant might have made to future power supply and shifts attention to how regulators and METI will handle trust and compliance after falsified data.
On September 15, METI Minister Ryosei Akazawa said it is inappropriate to discuss restarting Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant without confirmed safety assurances, after data falsification issues surfaced. Chubu Electric said it will withdraw its application for safety inspections of Hamaoka Units 3 and 4 and announced that President Kinko Hayashi and Chairman Tetsu Katsuno will resign effective September 30. The combination of a ministerial warning, withdrawal of the application, and top management changes pushes any restart discussion further back and raises questions about utility governance and regional supply planning.
Watch for
Nuclear Regulation Authority acknowledgement of Chubu Electric's formal withdrawal filing for Hamaoka Units 3 and 4 by 2026-09-18 Chubu Electric board disclosure on interim management structure and compliance measures before the 2026-09-30 leadership change METI statement or press conference specifying whether additional utility-wide reporting or inspections will be required after the Hamaoka withdrawal by 2026-09-18 Shizuoka Prefecture governor or prefectural government release on Hamaoka restart discussions and safety conditions by 2026-09-18
Sources
- Nikkei · nikkei.com
- NHK News Web · www3.nhk.or.jp
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