Saga governor says he won't resign over fake email scandal
SAGA —
Saga Prefecture Gov Yasushi Furukawa said Wednesday that he has no intention of resigning to take responsibility for a fake email scandal to manipulate public opinion on the resumption of operations at the Kyushu Electric’s Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture.
Kyushu Electric submitted fake emails in support of a restart of idle nuclear reactors at a government-sponsored meeting for local residents in June. Following that revelation, the industry ministry ordered six electric power companies to conduct internal investigations of their PR activities and to report all activities aimed at winning local support for nuclear power.
An independent commission investigating the scandal named Furukawa as the person who proposed that fake emails be used in the question and answer session.
In order to create the impression that there existed widespread public support for the reopening of the Genkai nuclear power plant, Furukawa allegedly told Kyushu Electric to use the Internet to submit messages purporting to be from members of the public agreeing to the plan.
Furukawa told a news conference that a memo was drafted, but that it did not accurately represent his wishes. “The fact that the memo got circulated does not mean that I have to take responsibility for the scandal,” he said.
Kyushu Electric’s internal investigation revealed that, of 2,900 employees, 141 sent emails. It also found that Kyushu Electric’s Saga office had sent similar pro-nuclear emails to partners and that it asked employees at its subsidiaries and partner companies to attend a July 8 meeting for residents in the prefecture. The commission found that 63 employees of these companies were present at the meeting, constituting about 20% of the audience.
Japan Today
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20 Comments
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3
Gurukun
Is it his decision? The public should send emails (and fake emials) to ask him to be fired, not resign.
0
tmarie
The public sound demand his head. If they don't, they deserve to have someone so crappy looking out for their best interests. Insane.
2
paulinusa
Is the Japanese reputation for upper management taking the blame a myth? Seems that way lately.
2
SquidBert
That is the honorable way. Honor has no place in politics, nor in the Nuclear Village it would seem.
1
Elbuda Mexicano
This Saga guy sounds like a real scum bag!!!
1
wanderlust
Will Kyushu Electric reveal the amount of "donations" that they have paid to the Saga governor and others to maintain and develop nuclear power in Kyushu?
4
Equality
How about the fact that it has been proven you betrayed the public trust by creating the idea for the fake email and then orchestrated the process to bring it to fruition? His response is simply hilarious, and unfortunately, testament to the fact that politicians are often above the law in Japan.
1
Cricky
He is not responsible??? I can say unbelievable, but the sad thing is it's not. Even the head honcho, the big enchilada, the top dog, shirks from any responsibility and Insists on being treated as a "special" person because of fat brown envelopes. It's all so obvious. 1st world nation with 3rd world politicians.
1
gogogo
The guy commits fraud and isn't fired? This is just stupid.
0
marcelito
If he doesn,t want to resign I hope Edano pushes him out along with the Kyushu Electric management responsible.
Sure, the guy wants to hold on to his cushy job with all the perks and under the table envelopes but he and the legions of other geezers like him in J government and corporate world are like a cancer on the generally hard working J public and like cancer they need to be taken out.
0
CrazyJoe
He must be a KY (kuuki yomenai).
-3
hoserfella
and predictably, the people of Saga will remain mum on the whole thing. There is no outcry, so they deserve this corporate lackey as their governor.
0
badmigraine
The open face of corruption and graft that dares you to do nothing about it.
0
Nicky Washida
Can this guy ot be fired? Does he answer to no-one?
If he answers to the people, then the people of Saga need to get up in arms about this and if they dont, they only have themselves to blame.
0
zichi
There can be a vote of no confidence to get him to resign but he'll pick up something like ¥25 million on the way out of the door and could still stand again in a new election and if he won would be in line one day for another ¥25 million. I saw the same happen with the governor in Nagano.
0
Paul Arenson
Meanwhile Yamamoto Taro, Japanese actor forced to quit his production company is being sued for leading a demo that marched right into the Saga prefectural office (or municipal?) and demanding that the protestors bev given an audience with gov officials. They read a statementt and left peacefully. But the suit, reportedly by a friend of Tepco/METI, is being pursued. And then we have violent police suppression of anti nuke activists. This gov-nuke power industry relationship is tight, and they are scared we will upset their apple cart.
Do not expect slime like the gov to quit, for the same reason that former Fukushima was the likely victim of a fake scandal because he was, unlike the current one, anti nuclear. And the current Fukushima hires that criminal doctor advisor telling people to smile and then they have no radiation worries.
All part of the game. Keep a nuke friendly regime in power, make sure research monies do not go to alternative energy, and then lie through your teeth saying it is impossible to meet energy needs without nuclear. Use the police to infiltrate and break up social movements calling for an end to Teoco-gov collusion , for accurate and timely measurements, for compensation for those who voluntarily evacuated in the absence of a gov order because they did not trust the gov assurances of safety. Nationalize Tepco, imprison it's executives.
No surprise this friend of the criminals is not being prosecuted. Remember, the prosecutors and police are themselvs criminal in false charges and convictions. We need not only Occupy Wall Street or Tokyo, but Occuoy Saga and Kasumigaseki,
0
wanderlust
If he answers to the people, then the people of Saga need to get up in arms about this and if they dont, they only have themselves to blame.
Kyushu Electric and the governor, have channeled a lot of money to the local people in a dead backwater of Japan, providing jobs, facilities, donations (open and under the table), etc.,, while bureaucrats and local government just gave rubber-stamp approval to all of their activities. They just did not explain fully the risks of Nuclear Power Plants.
The same thing happened in virtually all the areas where NPPs are proliferating.
Now the radioactive genie is out of the bottle, but people are reluctant to stuff it back in, and turn down NPPs, as they will lose all of those benefits. Currently there is little work in those regions, twilight industries not suited to a modern lifestyle, an ageing population, coupled with strong unions who tell their member how to vote, or risk being ostracized, almost a death sentence in those parts.
Despite all the evidence of collusion, corruption, poor safety standards, pollution, and the potential for a disaster; the locals will probably still vote for whoever gives them jobs, and puts food on the table, and a roof over their heads.
0
Notthesame
He is right. He should not resign.
Seppuku is the more appropriate action.
-1
herefornow
Between this and the Olympus story, the truth about Japan and how it defines honor and responsibility is once again exposed as nothing but a lovely romantic myth. May have existed hundreds of years ago with the samurai, but has absolutely zero presense in today's Japan. And this is all setting a terrible example for the generations of future "leaders" who are observing all this. Very sad that Japan's core values could basically disappear within a couple of generations.
0
warnerbro
Japan is governed by a mostly hereditary kleptocracy.
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