Masataka Shimizu

Masataka Shimizu (清水 政孝, Shimizu Masataka, born June 23, 1944) is a director of Fuji Oil Company, and was the president and chief executive officer of Japanese electric utility Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) from 2008 to 2011. He was also a vice-chairman of Keidanren, the employers' federation of the companies of Japan,[1][2] until he stepped down after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.[3] On July 25, 2012, he became an outside director of Fuji Oil.[4][5]

Biography

Shimizu was born on June 23, 1944, in Kanagawa Prefecture, and graduated from Keio University in 1968. He was placed in charge of general affairs for Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant in 1983. He was appointed president of Tepco in June 2008.[6]

President of Tepco

Before his presidency, an earthquake in Niigata in 2007 caused fire and radioactivity releases at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, forcing the plant to shut down.[7] As a cost cutter, he was praised for improving profitability of the company.[8]

On January 18, 2011, Shimizu attended the annual meeting of World Economic Forum,[9] stating said that his company sought to provide a “stable supply of electricity and environmental protection”.[10]

Exposure of misconduct as a president of TEPCO

Based on the experience of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, MISA (Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency) of the Ministry of Economy, METI(Trade and Industry) officially issued a heads-up in 2006, insisting that there was a high risk of electric power loss if an unexpected tsunami hit the nuclear power plant. Nevertheless, the upper management, led by TEPCO President Masataka Shimizu, ignored this warning.[11]

Therefore, Tsunehisa Katsumata, a current chair man of TEPCO, admitted that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was also a kind of man-made disaster caused by the incompetence of Masataka Shimizu.[12]

In July 2022, a court in Tokyo found Masataka Shimizu and four other TEPCO executives liable for ¥13 trillion of damages in a lawsuit filed by 48 TEPCO shareholders. It is not expected that the executives will have the ability to pay this full amount, but will pay as much as their assets allow. A sixth executive was found to not be liable.[13]

After the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster

Following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, Shimizu remained inside the general headquarters for two weeks beginning on March 13, 2011, two days after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[14] Because of his disappearance, it was rumored that Shimizu had fled or committed suicide.[15] An April 7, Shimizu resumed work after a sick leave due to overwork.[16] On May 20, Shimizu resigned and was replaced by Toshio Nishizawa, general ex-director of the group Tepco.[17]

On March 7, 2012, before the anniversary of the disaster, Tepco announced that Chairman Katsumata Tsunehisa would attend the memorial ceremony. However, they refused to release the schedule of Shimizu.[18] On June 25, 2012, Shimizu became an outside director of Fuji Oil Company, a subsidiary of AOC Holdings. On October 1, 2013, AOC Holdings absorbed Fuji Oil and subsequently renamed Fuji Oil Company, Ltd. Since then Shimizu has been a director of the new Fuji Oil Company. Tepco is the largest shareholder of Fuji Oil Company (TYO: 5017), owning 8.74% of the stock.[19]

References
  1. Officers of Nippon Keidanren : Chairman, Vice Chairmen Archived 2010-12-26 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Keidanren website "Watch Your Step" Retrieved on July 9, 2012
  3. Asahi Shimbun 東電社長、経団連副会長と電気事業連合会会長辞任の意向 Retrieved on July 9, 2012
  4. BBC website Tepco appointment stirs public anger in Japan Retrieved on July 5, 2012
  5. BBC website Tepco ex-executives get golden parachute Retrieved on July 5, 2012
  6. "Stocks".
  7. When it comes to mighty Tepco, pride goes before the fall, The Japan Times, Tuesday, May 17, 2011
  8. Japan mulls nationalising Fukushima nuclear plant company, The Guardian, 29 March, 2011
  9. World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  10. A Who's Who of Davos AbsenteesJACK EWING
  11. https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/229951455.pdf "The Collapse of the Safety Myth of Japanese Nuclear Power Plants: A Study of the Nuclear Power Industry" - The world's largest collection of open access research papers.
  12. https://xtech.nikkei.com/dm/article/COLUMN/20111215/202630/ "The real reason why the meltdown could not be prevented." - Nikkei XTECH issued on 15th Dec. 2011
  13. McCurry, Justin (13 July 2022). "Fukushima nuclear disaster: ex-bosses of owner Tepco ordered to pay ¥13tn". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
  14. Liberation - 25/03/2011: The mysterious disappearance of the chairman of Tepco
  15. "Hasn't Been Seen in Weeks, and There Are Rumors He Has Fled or Committed Suicide - Business Insider". Archived from the original on 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-03-21.
  16. 20 Minutes - 07/04/2011: Fukushima: The owner of Tepco resumed work after a stop disease
  17. Le Figaro - 20/05/2011 - [Tepco http://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/2011/05/20/04015-20110520ARTFIG00383-tepco-change-de-pdg-apres-une-perte-due-a-fukushima.php changes chairman after a loss due to Fukushima]
  18. http://www.kyodonews.jp/feature/news05/2012/03/post-4972.html東電社長、メッセージで謝罪へ　発生１年の１１日に会見せず
  19. Annual Reports Fiscal Year 2016(Apr.1, 2015 - Mar.31, 2016) Fuji Oil Company, Ltd.
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