Shareholders slam TEPCO at heated general meeting (JAPAN)

[AsahinaKimi]

TOKYO —


Greenpeace protesters in protective gear hold banners as shareholders arrive for the annual shareholders' meeting of Tokyo Electric Power Co in Tokyo on Tuesday.

Executives at the Japanese utility behind the nuclear power plant sent into meltdown by the March quake apologized Tuesday to investors who repeatedly interrupted the annual meeting of shareholders with heckles, yells and outraged questions.

Tokyo Electric Power Co Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata promised that the company was doing its utmost to bring radiation leaks under control. He said it would speedily compensate people forced to evacuate the area around the Fukushima Daiichi plant and farms whose products were banned because of radiation contamination.

“All of us directors apologize deeply for the troubles and fears that the accident has caused,” he said at a Tokyo hotel. “The entire group will work together to resolve this crisis as soon as possible.”

But the meeting was punctuated by outbursts of emotion, as one by one, shareholders, their voices shaking, said the utility had ignored warnings about the dangers of nuclear power, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant had been inadequately prepared for a tsunami, and the amount of radiation spewing into the air and water had not been fully disclosed.

MORE
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/shareholders-slam-tepco-at-heated-general-meeting