Shareholders urge utilities to end nuclear power generation

Management can ignore shareholders? Local communities? These utilities are a law unto themselves. The arrogance of management, is manifest. The idea of changing track bringing renewable sources of power on line is a plague to these entitled old men.

Antinuclear shareholders in major Japanese utilities called for an end to nuclear power generation at general shareholders' meetings on Wednesday, citing safety concerns and a lack of support in local communities.

Good on them. They are 100% correct

Management can ignore shareholders?

The article is misleadingly worded. The management cannot ignore the shareholders or "dismiss" their resolutions as the article states. The resolutions were voted on by the shareholders themselves, the majority of whom voted against them.

I haven't checked the exact results this year, but these resolutions (similar ones are put before the meetings every year) usually only get about 10% or less support among shareholders. The main purpose is to draw attention to the issue, but unfortunately it isn't effective at much else.

Management can ignore shareholders?

The anti-nuclear shareholders can be ignored because they are a very small minority. The 90-odd percent of shareholders who are not anti-nuclear are not going to be ignored.

Japan's nuclear energy program has always been a joke. Not because of the skill of the workers, or the safety of the plants, but the Japanese business culture which pervades the industry. Japanese business bureaucracy is absurd. A plant worker cannot deal with any problem without going through the chain of command, which takes a long time. And even when a problem gets sent up the chain, it is often not solved because no one knows who is responsible for that particular problem, and no one wants to take responsibility for a decision which might belong to someone else. And even when the problem eventually reaches the person responsible for making a decision, such decisions are made reluctantly, if at all.

The Fukushima disaster was a comedy of errors which spanned decades. The placement of the backup generators, fuel tanks, the lack of fresh batteries, the inability to obtain replacement batteries because the shops which sold them were already closed (in America they would have beaten down the doors, commandeered the batteries, and dealt with the consequences later), it was as much a disaster in leadership and organization as it was a nuclear disaster.

France (which is few people's idea of a particularly well-run country) has managed to use nuclear power to supply 80% of it's energy with a remarkable lack of accidents or drama. Japan, as highly organized as it is, and generating a much smaller amount of nuclear power, has the worst record of all developed countries for problems in it's nuclear facilities. Japan has been remarkably lucky that other incidents haven't occurred.

@sange. I agree with all you say except the French example. The sea around France and the groundwater in some places is contaminated. Even their advanced technology can't help Fukushima.

a vast amount of the Japanese people who have access to information, and all the dead birds, mammals, insects around the Fukushima ground zero and beyond agree that this dinosaur technology has to give way to solar energy et al.

I wonder till when the average Jo will be manipulated with the tale for nuclear being a cheap energy???

Considering the decommissioning requires another 30 years, keeping educating personnel, etc. and not to mention the remaining pollution and ecological impact on the region!

It has to be the most expensive energy - anyone can give links to some real calculations or examples?

Meanhwile, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc, which held its general shareholders' meeting last Friday, dismissed all 11 antinuclear proposals including the decommissioning of its idled Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan.

It's so ridiculous that these old fools won't let go of an outdated technology. Most of these plants are over or approaching their use-by dates and are no where near as efficient as the newer plants using mox fuel. The only reason they won't decommission these plants is because it costs ten time more to decommission them than it did to build them. TEPCO needs to keep these plants in operation in order to pay for their man-made disaster in Fukushima. Japan's reliance one nuclear power is absurd and they will never let it go because of the huge amounts of money they follishky invested in it. Stoopid!

The companies are probably REALLY scratching their heads now! They can just say, "Well, ultimately we don't need your permission to restart" when it's Joe Public, whom they vowed to that they would never restart without permission, but they can't say that to their bosses!

Japan's Kyushu Electric Power Corporation denied shareholders' suggestion that regard Fukushima nuclear disaster as biggest lesson.

Sunshine is free..  so Calf usee only solar energy foot utility now.

In Neva, solar energy only.   It is free of sunshine that Nevada Energy chair's annual salaryy is ten billion dollars.  Casino tycoons don't earn like that.  Household utility cost is very low.  So nevadapopulation has been increasing.

Shareholders can oust hired executives, but executives are large shareholders.

Recruit Mitsubishi, It is the creator of advanced solar energy panel in the world.

In Neva, solar energy only

Over 2/3 of Nevada's electricity is generated from fossil fuels, mostly natural gas.

Japan needs to understand that balancing an egg upon a shelf against a wall that vibrates often is not a good move - the egg will fall.

As a very Earthquake prone country, Nuclear technology does not make sense from a cost perspective. That should have been apparent years ago - though Toshiba is learning the lesson the hard-way.

Investment should go to renewable technologies, making them more efficient, and thus improving ROI, something which Japan could actually (given the diversity of resources available here) be a Global Leader in.

Where is the Govt ? Sadly so far, seemingly decreasing support for such technologies to be adopted here. And given the number of foreigners supporting the workforce, both with Skills and new Ideas - are they allowed to vote ?... NO. Sorry, Foreign persons in Japan, have absolutely no say with Govt Policy - so what we say here makes absolutely no difference what-so-ever.

Investment should go to renewable technologies, making them more efficient, and thus improving ROI,

Research doesn't work that way. No matter how much you spend, you are not guaranteed to get a usable result. If research was guaranteed we would have had workable nuclear fusion decades ago.