Fukui nuclear panel members took utility-linked grants via The Asahi Shimbun

Several members of a panel expected to be key in the restart of nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture have accepted 14.9 million yen ($180,000) in research grants from an organization linked to the plant operator as well as an electric utility and manufacturer, The Asahi Shimbun has learned.

Documents obtained by The Asahi Shimbun show that four members of the prefectural panel received 7.9 million yen in total over five years from fiscal 2006 from the organization affiliated with Kansai Electric Power Co., which runs the Oi nuclear power plant in Oi in the prefecture.

The documents also show that another member accepted 7 million yen from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., which built the Oi plant, and Japan Atomic Power Co., which runs the Tsuruga nuclear plant in the prefecture, over the same period.

The revelation means that five panelists on the 12-member panel that evaluates the safety of nuclear plants in the prefecture are, in effect, stakeholders in Kansai Electric, Mitsubishi Heavy and Japan Atomic Power.

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