TOKYO, Nov 20 (Reuters) – Japan’s nuclear watchdog said on Thursday that inadequate management of confidential security documents had occurred at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata, where Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (9501.T), opens new tab aims to restart operations.The disclosure comes as Hideyo Hanazumi, the governor of Niigata prefecture, where the world’s largest nuclear power plant is located, is expected to give his approval as early as Friday for the restart, according to local media.
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The Nuclear Regulation Authority said a TEPCO employee had copied confidential documents related to nuclear material protection at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa without following the required procedures and kept them at his desk. No leak of information outside the company has been confirmed.
In separate incidents, confidential nuclear security documents were mistakenly handed to a subcontractor, and some tools were brought into the plant without proper procedures.
The authority is still conducting inspections regarding the first issue, while no regulatory measures were taken in the latter cases, an NRA official said. Asked whether the current approval status for the plant’s two reactors remains unchanged, the official said a decision would be made after the inspection was completed.
A TEPCO spokesperson said the company reported the incidents to the NRA in June and July, adding that it aimed to continue improving security management. He declined to comment on the timing of the restart of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
The Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday that the latest findings are unlikely to affect reactor inspections that the NRA plans to conduct in preparation for restarting operations.
TEPCO has a history of repeated deficiencies in its nuclear security measures, which previously led the NRA to impose a de facto operating ban at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa.
Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Ritsuko Shimizu; Editing by Hugh Lawson
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