Japan’s Nuclear Watchdog Investigating Responsibility in Chubu Electric’s Data Fraud Case; On-site Inspections, Interviews, More Being Carried out

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, January 27, 2026

The Secretariat of the Nuclear Regulation Authority interviewed employees at Chubu Electric Power Co.’s nuclear division during a four-hour inspection over data fraud at the company’s headquarters in Nagoya on Monday.

The investigation is aimed at determining which sections and personnel are responsible for falsifying earthquake risk data related to the company’s Hamaoka Nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.

The on-site inspection was carried out by five officials from the Secretariat of the NRA.

“It’ll be difficult to complete the probe within a few months,” one of the officials told reporters. “If we see any sign of uncooperative behavior from Chubu Electric, we will report it to the NRA.”

The Secretariat of the NRA will examine seized documents and materials, continue interviewing personnel and investigate records based on a list of people who may have been involved. It also intends to determine if the management was involved in any way, asking former employees to cooperate in the probe.

The NRA had been conducting safety reviews at the Hamaoka nuclear power plant since 2014, but these were suspended in January following the data fraud revelations. The nuclear watchdog has ordered the company to submit any documents and materials related to the fraud by the end of March.

The NRA has conducted similar inspections in the past, including in 2020 when Japan Atomic Power Co. was found to have altered a safety review document without the NRA’s knowledge, and in 2021 when Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.’s Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture was found to have insufficient anti-terror measures in place.