BREAKING: Japan Nationalizes Tokyo Electric Company

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Source: Business Insider

Japan will take control of Tokyo Electric Company, operator of Fukushima Nuclear Plant, via public fund injection, according to Reuters. The news was reported in The Mainichi Daily news.

Details TBA...

Rumors about temporary nationalization have been going around for days. Share price has dropped around 80% since the nuke crisis began.

TEPCO CEO Masataka Shimizu turned up in the hospital yesterday after going missing for weeks.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/tokyo-electric-power-japan-2011-3?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheMoneyGame+%28The+Money+Game%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

[PoliticAverse]

1. "Public fund injection" - a bailout?! n/t

[Snoutport]

2. wooooooooooow.... big energy isn't going to like that...or is it a bailout?

[AndyTiedye]

5. It's a Bailout. They'd be Bankrupt a Billion Times Over Anyway

[The Wielding Truth]

7. Socializing the losses.

[JuniperLea]

3. Oh those socialists and their bailouts!!! eom

[Ozymanithrax]

4. What ever you call in, Japan can not afford to have any more problems with...

their shaky electic grid.

[LiberalEsto]

6. Maybe now the CEO will emerge from hiding

If I were a Japanese taxpayer I'd be plenty pissed

[abqmufc]

10. He was hospitalized for fatigue....

FYI, granted it could be a cover up. I've not followed this part of the story that closely. http://www.businessinsider.com/tepco-ceo-hospitalized-2011-3

[sfwriter]

8. Of course...

Now that they have effed themselves for a century, the Government can take over.

[No Elephants]

34. Effed themselves and those of us who eat, drink or expose any part of ourselves to air.

[abqmufc]

9. Personally I like the concept of GE Exec bonuses going to fund cleanup

as well as any other corporation that might have a hand in the nuclear industry.

Nationalizing TEPCO has nothing to do with the management of day to day operations (IMO) and has everything to do with who can cover the cost of cleanup and remediation.

[Sherman A1]

18. I would add

That GE Execs can go and help with the cleanup along with whoever designed the plant.

Let them catch a few rays as well.

[howaboutme]

22. Jeffrey "the tax dodger" would enjoy it - nt

[Old and In the Way]

11. Not much of a surprise.

"temporary nationalization" - publicize the disaster; when the radioactive smoke clears, TEPKO can have it back and the taxpayers of Japan can hope that a similar disaster never occurs again.

Personally, I think nuclear power downside risk is too big and the profit incentive too large, to expect private utilities to cover, build, and maintain adequately. Obviously, a disaster of this scale is an automatic public bailout. How many of these can the public afford? Siting of the back-up generators seem to be a classic case of cutting costs to maximize profits and their stock price. Would a government been under the same cost constraints? Doubtful. Over budget, most likely, but ultimately perhaps not the trillion dollar disaster this will turn out to be for the taxpayers.

[goodnews]

12. A better title would have been....

"Socialism to the rescue!"

Now that the nukes are nationalized this opens up a whole host of interesting possibilities for exposing the truth about nuclear power. All the information is now public and therefore FOIA requests--presuming Japan has one--are now more easily secured.

[DeSwiss]

14. Well said.

:thumbsup:

K&R

[wordpix]

29. that's the good part. The bad part is the Japanese have responsiblity to end the disaster while Tep

co slinks away and gets away with murder and a radioactive food chain.

[No Elephants]

36. Your thesis is that government is candid and truthful?

[Curmudgeoness]

13. Too little, too late. nt

[onehandle]

15. NATIONALIZE Energy, Health, and The Banks, Mr. President.

Seize the assets of the three.

No matter how much you eagerly hand them, they will continue to paint you as an extremist Socialist.

Go with that thought. Make history and save the Union.

[freshwest]

24. If it's really in the national interest, it should be nationalized. It's our business, not theirs.

[vicarofrevelwood]

16. Typical Corporate slap on the wrist,

Privatize the Profit and socialize the losses.

[Downwinder]

17. Which Insurance Co. is being bailed out?

[fascisthunter]

19. Tax Payers are the Nuke Industry's Insurance Policy just like the US

[howaboutme]

20. Why didn't the USA do that to Goldman and other bankers?

Instead they were handed trillions of our money and Americans were made poorer. Same incompetent management stayed in place and were bailed out with our money. This is what happens when a nation and its leaders are corrupted and controlled by a few who believe they are the elite just because they've been able to steal the most money. Corporations if not controlled have an inherent and innate tendency to be incompetent and corrupt government.

The profit motive can work against society because of lies and greed and that were probably at the root of both Wall St and Japan's tragedy and poorly designed nuclear plants.

[tahrir]

21. About time - all nukes should be nationalized to begin with

if you are gonna have nukes at all.

[aquart]

23. Energy is too vital to our economy and security to be left in private hands.

Especially private hands with no national loyalty.

[NoodleyAppendage]

25. They didn't have the right to just seize it? Seems like a meltdown is as good a reason as any. n/t

J

[JJW]

26. Privitized profits to the well connected

and socialized loses to the working class.

[CHIMO]

27. Return

To free enterprise. Twentieth century style.

[unkachuck]

28. K&R....beware of socialist capitalists and their Fuckushima meltdowns....n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

30. It's not a question of socializing losses for the benefit of corporations

This is Japan we're talking about here, not the US.

TEPCO has shown that they really don't have a clue about how to handle this crisis. Prime Minister Kan has been taking a lot of flak in the Diet (Parliament) about his administration's handling of the situation-- facing the prospect of a vote of no confidence, leaving us here in Japan with the scenario of not having a functioning government and not having a competent authority to handle this crisis. I don't think that at this stage, the government had much choice but to nationalize TEPCO.

[Javaman]

31. Queue the popping of right wing heads...

then followed by right wing cloaked racism.

[Zorra]

32. All private industries will continuously cut corners to make increased profit.

That makes them dangerous.

Any industry that can cause substantial harm to the environment or citizens should be nationalized.

[MellonCollie]

33. No plans to nationalise Tepco, says Kan

Naoto Kan, Japan’s prime minister, has dismissed speculation that his government plans to nationalise the utility at the centre of Japan’s nuclear crisis, saying it should continue as a private business for now.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7a5025c8-5c6d-11e0-8f48-00144feab49a.html

Edit: Direct linking doesn't work, but if you find the story on Google News you should be able to read the full article without registering.

[howaboutme]

39. Another private sector business whose losses are socialized

while their profits were privatized.

[David__77]

35. Utilities should be public in the US.

There is absolutely no reason for them to be privately-held, especially given the existing regulatory framework. Trust me that they function like the worst of the public entities in any case. Local municipals are among the best. It's ludicrous that shareholders are essentially guaranteed dividends by the regulatory framework!

[closeupready]

37. When there is such a big risk to public health and safety, yes.

They should be public.

[Forkboy]

38. Fuckin' Chavez.