NAGOYA (Kyodo) -- The operator of a nuclear power plant in central Japan said Tuesday that it had received multiple whistleblower reports regarding the alleged manipulation of quake-resistance data since 2018.
The latest findings by Chubu Electric Power Co. comes after the company revealed in January that favorable seismic ground-motion data had been cherry-picked when setting earthquake-resistant standards for the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.
In a report submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority, the company said that the data manipulation had begun no later than 2012. Separately, a third-party panel set up by the company is currently investigating the matter.
Chubu Electric President Kingo Hayashi said at a press conference in Nagoya that organizational reforms aimed at preventing a recurrence would be "tackled with unwavering determination and total commitment."
After learning of the suspected data manipulation issue from an external source in February last year, the nuclear watchdog in January ordered the utility to submit a report on the matter by the end of March. It also decided to suspend the safety screening process for restarting two reactors at the plant.
The Hamaoka plant was shut down at the request of the government under then Prime Minister Naoto Kan, a few months after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
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