Who benefits from NPP ‘community of interest’? via Japan Press Weekly

The following is an Akahata interview with Yoshii Hidekatsu, House of Representatives member of the Japanese Communist Party, who outlines the structure of the “community of interest” that includes both the political and business arenas benefitting from nuclear power generation.

NPP operators on top

On the top of the community of interest sit the electric companies. They have a long history of influencing Japanese business circles by having their executives, such as the chair of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), serve as the chairman or as senior officials of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren).

One of the factors providing electric firms with huge profits is the “regional monopoly” system. In the Kanto region (greater Tokyo area encompassing 7 prefectures), for example, TEPCO dominates electricity generation, transmission and distribution operations.

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