May 30, 2014

Monthly Press Conference


Today, President Kawai held a monthly press conference in Aomori City and talked about the "Review on Compliance with the New Regulatory Requirements", "Establishment of the Safety Management Division" and "New Management Executives".

"Review on Compliance with the New Regulatory Requirements"

  • In the review meeting on May 21, JNFL explained about amendments to be made to the application form submitted on January 7 this year in view of past discussions. The information is to be submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority this afternoon.
  • The amendments mainly relate to reflecting the reclassification results of "important-to-safety facilities" to the application form. Regarding our approach to the basic policy on severe accidents, i.e. to "firstly prevent a severe accident from developing, and, even if it does, ensure that it would not cause any inconvenience to local residents", JNFL also added this to the application form.
  • JNFL wishes to see efficiency in today's review meeting on earthquake-resistant, the second one since the lodgment of the application on January 7. JNFL will respond to any opinions and other matters expressed at the meeting, and continue to ensure thorough earthquake-resistant.

"Establishment of the Safety Management Division"

  • Until now, JNFL has explored voluntary ways of enhancing safety based on lessons learned in the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, and suggestions from the Working Group on Voluntary Improvement of Nuclear Safety under the Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy.
  • Consequently, in an effort to reinforce the company-wide safety control function, JNFL is planning to restructure the previous Safety Technology Office and establish the Safety Management Division on June 30.
  • The establishment of the Safety Management Division leads to the centralization of safety-related responsibilities. We expect this to organize and integrate all the safety-related duties, previously handled by multiple organizational units, to strengthen the company-wide safety control function.
  • Active efforts will also be made for probabilistic risk assessment and risk communication.

"New Management Executives"

  • In today's board meeting, JNFL has approved the new Management Executives, to be tabled in the upcoming General Meeting of Shareholders on June 30 and the board meeting scheduled after the General Meeting of Shareholders.
  • I, Yoshihiko Kawai, will leave the post as JNFL president as of June 30, to be replaced by Senior Executive Vice President Kenji Kudo.
  • Kazuhiro Matsumura, the head of the Reprocessing Business Division, will remain as the Senior Executive Vice President. Senior Managing Executive Officer and Kazuo Sakai, and Managing Executive Officer and Junichi Ishihara shall also be promoted to the positions of Senior Executive Vice President.
  • Senior Executive Vice President and head of the Aomori Office Kazunori Watanabe shall leave the post, to be replaced by Tohoku Electric Power Company Shun Tsubata, bringing the number of Senior Executive Vice Presidents to four.
  • Among the member of the Board, Managing Executive Officer Tsuyoshi Inoue in charge of cost management and myself shall vacate the positions, to be replaced by Senior Managing Executive Officer Harukuni Tanaka, who is to head of the Safety Management Division, and Takeshi Kobayashi, who will be taking over Inoue's post.
  • Among Executive Officers, Managing Executive Officer and Superintendent of the Reprocessing Plant Hideaki Murakami is promoted to the post of Senior Managing Executive Officer. The head of General Administration Division Fumihiro Ambo and the acting the Deputy Superintendent of the Reprocessing Plant Hisato Komatsu will leave the positions. Kouichi Shinzawa and Yasuyuki Hase take the positions of the Reprocessing Plant's Deputy Superintendents. Kenzou Takase is to head the Public Relations Division, while Nobuyuki Saito takes over as the head of the General Administration Division.

"Farewell message"

It has been ten years since I came to Aomori, and five years since becoming the President of JNFL. I wish to thank all the residents of Rokkasho Village and Aomori Prefecture for your kind support and hospitality.

As you all are aware, JNFL is currently receiving a review by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. I have made a decision to leave the post at this timing to bring much-needed rejuvenation to the organization. Senior Executive Vice President Kenji Kudo will be the ideal successor in terms of his personal integrity and knowledge, having worked diligently for the last four and a half years to build trusting ties with local communities as the head of the Public Relations Division. I have strong expectations for his skills in steering the future of this organization.

As for the compliance review in progress, the managers of all the applicable business divisions will remain in their posts to ensure a successful outcome.

I myself will also remain in Rokkasho as the counselor to provide full support for the new President and his management team in our continued quest for the completion of the Reprocessing Plant.

Your continued understanding and support for JNFL would be most sincerely appreciated.

"Message from Senior Executive Vice President Kudo"

Greetings. I am Kudo, who has been named as a candidate successor to President Kawai. Feeling the weight of the grave responsibility for steering the course of our company at a time when it faces a mountain of tasks, I am renewing my full dedication and commitment to the organization. JNFL must continue to meet the expectations of the people of Rokkasho Village and Aomori Prefecture. I have accepted this position out of my sincere desire to make whatever contributions I could give to the process. With absolute determination to uphold the philosophy of Safety First, I will put all my heart and soul into fulfilling this responsibility.

The guidance and feedback from each one of you would be sincerely appreciated.