Major Japanese nuclear industry scandal that our nuclear supporters will not understand...

[kristopher]

NHK's primetime newscast spent 10 of its 30 minutes (no commercials) covering this in great detail.

Utility admits to dishonest e-mails on restart

It has come to light that the operator of the Genkai nuclear power plant had requested its staff and affiliates to send e-mails supporting the restart of the reactors to a meeting to explain the government's safety measures.

On June 26th, the government held a meeting in Saga City to answer questions from residents in preparation for the resumption of the operation of the nuclear reactors.

The meeting was shown live by a cable TV station and via the Internet, and viewers were invited to send in their opinions by e-mail or fax.

On Wednesday, Kyushu Electric Power Company President Toshio Manabe revealed that 4 days before the meeting, its head office instructed some company members and 4 affiliated firms to send in e-mails expressing support for restarting the reactors...
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/07_21.html



Kyushu Electric employee questioned over e-mails

The president of the operator of the Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture says he will make a decision on stepping down next week.

A senior employee of Kyushu Electric Power Company instructed staff and affiliates to send e-mails supporting the restart of the plant at a government-hosted briefing session for local residents on June 26th.

Kyushu Electric President Toshio Manabe questioned the employee on Thursday.

Manabe told reporters earlier in the day that he would decide next week whether to step down after consulting with company Chairman Shingo Matsuo, who's due to return from an overseas trip on Sunday.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/06_37.html


If I have time, I'll transcribe some of the newscast later; the contrast with ethics in the US is fascinating.

[xchrom]

1. recommend

[GliderGuider]

2. Given that corporate ethics are no better than in NA, how have journalistic ethics fared overall?

This sounds very positive - the Fourth Estate is doing what they're supposed to. Have they avoided corporate editorial control in general, or is this an isolated instance due to the gravity of the situation?

[kristopher]

3. How is that a "given"?

In fact your assumption couldn't be more wrong. But you'll only believe what you want...

[GliderGuider]

4. OK, so are corporate ethics in general better in Japan than in NA?

I'm not looking to pick a fight here, I'm interested in the relative situations.

The ethics of TEPCO seem egregious. I expect that of corporations, possibly because I've been exposed mostly to North American corporate "ethics" which seem practically non-existent. Is TEPCO an outlier due to the industry they're in? Toyota has also been less than forthcoming about problems with their cars, so it's easy to assume that Japanese corporations in general are under the same kinds of bottom-line pressures as their American and European counterparts. Do they resist the ethical corner-cutting? If so, how?

[kristopher]

5. If you really are interested, why not read the OP for content with an open mind...

Why did I say that what is happening there would be incomprehensible to the nuclear supporters here?

Aren't you proof of my claim?

[GliderGuider]

6. What I see in the OP is this:

• An unnamed senior employee (which probably means an executive) of a nuclear plant tried to surreptitiously propagandize a public meeting about reactor restarts.
  
• Somebody (not specified who) found out about it.
  
• The president of Kyushu Electric Power then admitted to the deception, but refused to resign. He has apparently changed his mind in the face of political pressure, and may resign after all.
  
• NHK thought it was important enough to devote a third of a prime time newscast to the story.

Those are the facts as reported. Here's how I read them.

• The company tried to twist the apparance of public opinion in its favour. All large companies do that.
  
• The tactics it used were deceptive. Many large companies do that.
  
• The incident would not have been detected except for a whistleblower.
  
• Once the cat was out of the bag, the company president made noises of contrition, but his refusal to resign spoke louder than his words.
  
• He finally bowed to political pressure and said he "might" resign.

The president's decision to resign is in keeping with Japanese tradition, as I understand it: when someone is finally caught, they are expected to fall on their metaphorical sword.

I see no difference between American and Japanese ethics here, except for the culturally enforced expectation of resignation. Up to that point it's standard corporate behaviour: act to benefit the bottom line, try not to get caught, and only do the right thing if you are confronted with your malfeasance. What happens after the fact is almost inconsequential - ethics normally come into play on a voluntary basis to prevent actions like this.

So who in this story is behaving differently than Americans might? I nominate NHK, because they saw fit to expose a powerful corporation on a prime time newscast, something I think most American TV networks would be loathe to do.

[kristopher]

7. I'd love to hear the opinions of other nuclear supporters before I respond.

Any takers?

[kristopher]

8. Still looking for comments from other nuclear supporters about the ethics of this...

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nihil]

10. Posting flamebait & slandering DUers is hardly honest behaviour either Kristopher.

You have apparently become an anti-Nnadir in that you both post
some things that are genuinely interesting but you (both) usually
do it more as insulting flamebait than as honest information.

Go talk to yourself again and keep convincing yourself that you're
the only person who has all of the answers.

:eyes:

[GliderGuider]

11. Don't go to any trouble, kris.

I've lost interest, and it looks as though nobody else was that interested in the first place.

[SpoonFed]

12. Can I get a photo...

of you in a jumpsuit on the deck of an aircraft carrier with a big banner that reads...
wait for it...

"Mission Accomplished"?

huh, canni?

[GliderGuider]

14. Sigh.

You called it.

[kristopher]

13. Within the US nuclear industry this is industry-wide, organized and openly promoted...

... by both industry AND government. As your own words confirm, there is no shame attached at all here, it is seen as a standard and it is expected.

In Japan it IS considered shameful behavior by both the public, corporate lradership and the corporate rank and file. And the fact that it was a top of the page, nationwide scandal that resulted in the president's near-immediate resignation is clear and compelling proof that there is still a human conscience responsive to public shaming within the Japanese corporate elite.

You say it would not have been detected except for a whistle blower, but the fact is that it WAS reported by a whistle-blower. We have no "whistle-blowers here because those who are doing this same exact thing on a daily basis are convince what they are doing is GOOD.

In some reporting it was stated that the message resulted in strong negative reaction among the employees that were asked to participate. IT WAS NOT ACCEPTED AS NORMAL AND ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR BY THOSE DIRECTED TO ENGAGE IN IT. Many obviously did comply, but the socially unacceptable, sleazy nature of such deceptive action was recognized for what it was by everyone involved.

As for a comparison of the more general sense of social responsibility between Japan and the US, I don't think you'd argue that Japanese corporations in general are practitioners of long range planning over short term profits. What do you think is the basis of that? It is a perception of themselves as an integrated part of the social matrix that is needed for the health and well being of "all". They are not governed primarily by "every man for himself" profit-seeking; but by profit-seeking within a context recognizing at their genetic level that they have no existence except as part of society.

[kristopher]

15. Utility execs said to be behind bogus support for reactors' restart

Utility execs said to be behind bogus support for reactors' restart

Kyushu Electric boss told to restore trust
Kyodo

Two now-former Kyushu Electric Power Co. executives, including an executive vice president, were involved in a ploy to have employees solicit supportive public comments during a June 26 industry ministry-sponsored event pushing for the restart of two of the utility's reactors, company sources said Friday.

The revelation indicates executives of the utility may have been behind the bogus public support display.

Kyushu Electric has admitted an employee sent emails late last month to other employees and subsidiaries, asking them to post comments supporting the restart of the reactors for the event, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, held to win over locals and broadcast live on cable TV and the Internet.

According to the sources, the executive vice president and other executives at that time asked a senior manager in charge of nuclear plants to send emails to let people know about the cable TV program. After being asked by the executives, the senior manager ordered a male employee to send emails to subsidiaries, the sources said.

On Friday...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110709a3.html