A former vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc denied Tuesday his responsibility in the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, saying he did not procrastinate on taking measures against tsunami waves that flooded the nuclear power plant and caused fuel meltdowns. In a hearing at the Tokyo District Court
A former vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc denied Tuesday his responsibility in the 2011 Fukushima nuclear crisis, saying he did not procrastinate on taking measures against tsunami waves that flooded the nuclear power plant and caused fuel meltdowns.
In a hearing at the Tokyo District Court, Sakae Muto, 68, said he believes it was «an appropriate procedure» to reexamine a 2008 estimate of high waves made by the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant, citing the low credibility of the original data used for the projection.
«I had no intention to buy time and I’m offended by the claim that I put off taking measures,» said Muto, who is charged with professional negligence resulting in deaths and injuries in connection with one of the world’s worst nuclear crises.
Along with Muto, another former vice president Ichiro Takekuro, 72, and former chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, 78, were also indicted in 2016 for allegedly failing to take measures to prevent the disaster.
The indictment of the three was mandated in 2015 by an independent panel of citizens after prosecutors decided against laying charges.
Earlier testimonies have revealed Muto was informed in 2008 of an estimate that a tsunami as high as 15.7 meters could hit the plant, but asked an engineering association to check how credible the projection was rather than immediately implementing preventive steps.
Muto told the court he thought the projected tsunami «very high» and that it came «out of the blue.» The estimate based on the national long-term quake risk evaluation in 2002 was first presented to TEPCO in March 2008 by a subsidiary firm and Muto said he was briefed on that data in June that year.
