TEPCO hosted a record-breaking shareholders’ meeting, not only becoming he longest, but perhaps the most contentious in living memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize from the bottom of my heart for the trouble and fear that we have brought to our shareholders, and to society,\u201d said the chairman, Tsunehisa Katsumata, at a tightly guarded Tokyo hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do our utmost to bring the accident to a resolution and to work toward our mission of providing a stable source of electricity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some investors refused to be placated. \u201cGo jump into a reactor and die!\u201d one elderly man shouted at the row of executives present, before being escorted out by attendants.<\/p>\n
At one point, when Mr. Katsumata tried to wrap up a question-and-answer session, angry shareholders rushed the stage. The session was continued.<\/p>\n
Another woman, her voice shaking, told the entire board that they were unfit to lead the company. She said the company had ignored warnings about the dangers of nuclear power.<\/p>\n
\u201cShame on you!\u201d she cried out. \u201cYou should all be sacked.\u201d<\/p>\n
via Tokyo Electric Power Defeats Shareholders\u2019 Efforts to Exit Nuclear Business – NYTimes.com<\/a>.
\nBy HIROKO TABUCHI
\nPublished: June 28, 2011<\/p><\/blockquote>\nNaturally, TEPCO has been the center of several controversies. Previous actions, restitution, containment and clean-up, economic impact, corporate survival, and the future of energy in Japan are areas where TEPCO is being hammered by the public, the press, to some extent the government, and the international sphere. \u00a0 People are coming to the infuriating, stunning realization that a few pumps remaining in operation would have avoided most of the trouble after sunset on the day of the quake and tsunami. \u00a0 How hard is it to keep a couple of pumps running when you have a source of steam<\/em> to power the pumps and any local control system?<\/p>\n
Easy to criticise in hindsight, of course. \u00a0But TEPCO (and GE\/Hitachi, and a host of other actors, to be fair) had a duty to match the unthinkable horror of a complete failure with the unthinkable rarity of what just happened. \u00a0Complacency is what really brought down these reactors, and now TEPCO is feeling the heat, in more ways than one.<\/p>\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEPCO hosted a record-breaking shareholders’ meeting, not only becoming he longest, but perhaps the most contentious in living memory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI apologize from the bottom of my heart for the trouble and fear that we have brought to our shareholders, and to society,\u201d said the chairman, Tsunehisa Katsumata, at a tightly guarded Tokyo hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will do our utmost to bring the accident to a resolution and to work toward our mission of providing a stable source of electricity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Some investors refused to be placated. \u201cGo jump into a reactor and die!\u201d one elderly man shouted at the row of executives present, before being escorted out by attendants.<\/p>\n
At one point, when Mr. Katsumata tried to wrap up a question-and-answer session, angry shareholders rushed the stage. The … Continue reading