Masataka Shimizu

Masataka Shimizu ( Japanese 清水 正 孝 , Shimizu Masataka ; born June 23, 1944 in Kanagawa Prefecture ) is a Japanese manager and was president ( torishimariyaku shachō ) of the energy company Tōkyō Denryoku (TEPCO) and one of the vice-presidents of the Japanese economy from 2008 to 2011 - and employers' association Nippon Keidanren .

Before his appointment as President of TEPCO to succeed Tsunehisa Katsumata , Shimizu had held various positions for the company since 1968, most recently as Managing Director since 2004 and as Vice President since 2006. As President, he initiated the company's first capital increase by issuing new shares in 29 years. This will enable the company to invest in nuclear energy and other measures to reduce CO ₂ emissions and to participate in foreign energy supply projects.

In July 2010, Shimizu was elected to the Board of Directors of the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO).

Shimizu describes kankyakka ( 看 脚下 ), a well-known expression from Zen Buddhism that means something like “pay attention to what is under your feet” as his personal motto in life and part of his management philosophy .

After a press conference on March 13, 2011, two days after the start of the series of accidents at the Fukushima I nuclear power plant , Masataka Shimizu was not seen in public for a while; his absence was justified by illness. Because of the incidents and the associated billions in losses by TEPCO, various sides have called for Shimizu's resignation. After a month's absence from the public, Shimizu visited the Fukushima Prefecture Administration Building on April 11, 2011 . The governor of Yūhei Satō prefecture declined to meet him. It later became known that the Japanese government had refused him a seat on a military plane with which he was to travel to the crisis management headquarters on March 11, 2011, immediately after the incident. His late arrival the next day is blamed by experts for the hesitant crisis management of the group. On May 20, 2011, Shimizu announced that it would step down on June 28 in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In June 2012, Shimizu joined the board of directors of Fuji Oil Company as an external member . Tepco is the largest shareholder in Fuji Oil's parent company, and Shimizu's new appointment has been heavily criticized as the Golden Parachute by the Japanese public .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Keidanren: President and Vice-Presidents
2. ↑ TEPCO Names Masataka Shimizu as Next President ( Memento of the original from April 29, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 24 kB). JAIF January 30, 2008 
3. ↑ Interview with Masataka Shimizu ( Memento of the original from March 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , October 24, 2010. TEPCO website, accessed March 30, 2011 
4. ^ Laurent Stricker elected for second term as WANO Chairman . WANO Press Release, July 28, 2010
5. ^ "Watch Your Step" . Keidanren , August 2009
6. ^ Tepco boss in the hospital ( Memento from April 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), Frankfurter Neue Presse, March 30, 2011
7. ^ Tepco Chief Pressured to Quit After Costing Holders $ 29 Billion . Bloomberg, March 28, 2011
8. ↑ 東京 電力 ・ 清水 正 孝 社長 、 福島 県 庁 内 の オ フ サ イ ト セ ン タ ー 訪問 震災 後 初 の 福島 入 り ( Memento of the original from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. FNN ニ ュ ー ス 2011 年 4 月 11 日 
9. ↑ 東 電 社長 、 福島 県 庁 に 事故 後 初 知事 は 面 会 拒 否 ( Memento from April 14, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) 河北 新 報 2011 年 4 月 12 日
10. ↑ Japan Utility President Stranded as Crisis Began . Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2011
11. ^ Announcement of Changes of Directors. Tepco, May 20, 2011, archived from the original on May 20, 2011 ; accessed on May 20, 2011 (English). 
12. ^ Tepco ex-executives get golden parachute . BBC News, June 24, 2012