Arya News - Power demand is expected to surge due to data center expansion to meet the rise of artificial intelligence, among other factors. This creates more pressure to use nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide.
TOKYO – With Chubu Electric Power Co. expected to withdraw its application for a safety review aimed at restarting the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture, the future of the plant is now uncertain.
Misconduct by the power company may again erode trust in nuclear power. The scandal could also hamper a push to restart nuclear reactors across the country. It appears certain that the company’s management will have to take responsibility.
The incident “will have a tremendous impact on people’s trust in nuclear power safety, which is the precondition for its use,” said Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa on Friday at a press conference. “We will be as strict as possible in considering the necessary response.”
Chubu Electric announced in January that it had falsified data on earthquake risks for a review carried out by the Nuclear Regulation Authority for restarting the two reactors at the Hamaoka plant. The fraud began as early as around 2012 and continued even after the NRA began investigating the allegation in May last year.
At a July press conference, NRA Chairman Shinsuke Yamanaka condemned the practice. “Could this be the result of a collective loss of ethics among the engineers? This is a grave offense,” he said.
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Criticism has also been directed at Chubu Electric’s corporate culture. The company apparently concluded that it would have to withdraw its application because it would be difficult to restart safety screenings without first overhauling the corporate system.
A major question now is whether management was involved in the misconduct. Even if they were not involved, the failure of corporate governance at the firm will likely lead to resignations among management.
The scandal could also impact nuclear power plants across the country. In the Strategic Energy Plan adopted in February 2025, the government vowed to make maximum use of nuclear power, in a reversal of nuclear power policy since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.
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Power demand is expected to surge due to data center expansion to meet the rise of artificial intelligence, among other factors. This creates more pressure to use nuclear power, which does not emit carbon dioxide.
Currently, the country has 15 nuclear reactors in operation, and the government plans to accelerate the restart of other reactors. In July, it unveiled a policy of rebuilding two to five reactors by the 2040s and 11 to 14 reactors by the 2050s.
The government aims to increase nuclear energy to about 20% of the entire power supply, almost twice the current level. As the government was expecting the restart of the Hamaoka reactors to contribute to this goal, a government source voiced disappointment, saying, “The misconduct was a great shock to us.”
An executive of an electric power firm expressed resentment. “The scandal could raise suspicion among the public that other power companies may be doing the same thing as Chubu Electric,” the executive said.
The scandal will also hit corporate activities and people’s pocketbooks. Chubu Electric mainly supplies electricity to the area where the auto industry, the country’s core industry, is concentrated. And because of the delayed restart of nuclear reactors, electricity prices have stayed elevated.
Chubu Electric depends on thermal power generation, which has a high fuel cost. Monthly electricity bills for ordinary households in the area covered by Chubu Electric are more than ¥1,000 higher than in areas covered by Kansai Electric Power Co. and Kyushu Electric Power Co., where nuclear reactors have already restarted. Without the restart of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant, electricity bills in Chubu Electric’s area are expected to continue to remain elevated.