Eisaku Satō (governor)
Encyclopedia
was the governor of Fukushima Prefecture
of Japan
from 1988 and 2006.
He was initially an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear power
, swayed like his predecessors after the government and Tepco brought his prefecture jobs, subsidies and a chance to contribute to the national good. In 1998 he conditionally agreed the controversial use of mixed oxide plutonium uranium fuel (MOX
) at the plant. But he withdrew it after discovering a cover-up of reactor malfunctions and cracks.
Between 2002 and 2006, 21 problems at the Fukushima plant were reported to his office. The whistleblowers, including some employees at the plant, bypassed both Tepco and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA
) because they feared, rightly, that their information would go straight to Tepco. Sato became an increasingly bitter critic of the plant and Japan's entire energy policy, directed by NISA's powerful government overseer, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI
).
In 2006, he was forced to step down and was prosecuted and convicted in 2008 on bribery charges that he claims were politically motivated. Embittered, he wrote a biography
called Annihilating a Governor explaining his concerns about nuclear power and how he was set up and wrongfully convicted by the prosecution. Largely ignored until Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
March 11, the book became the top of the sales list.
Fukushima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.-History:Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province....
of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from 1988 and 2006.
He was initially an enthusiastic supporter of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
, swayed like his predecessors after the government and Tepco brought his prefecture jobs, subsidies and a chance to contribute to the national good. In 1998 he conditionally agreed the controversial use of mixed oxide plutonium uranium fuel (MOX
Mox
MOX might be a name or acronym for:*Malaysian Oxygen Berhad - A Malaysian company that is specializes in providing total gas solutions.*Mixed Oxide Fuel, from nuclear reprocessing*An alien race in the TimeSplitters 2 video game, the Mox...
) at the plant. But he withdrew it after discovering a cover-up of reactor malfunctions and cracks.
Between 2002 and 2006, 21 problems at the Fukushima plant were reported to his office. The whistleblowers, including some employees at the plant, bypassed both Tepco and Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA
NISA
NISA may refer to:*Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, part of the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry*NIS America, the US subsidiary of Nippon Ichi Software...
) because they feared, rightly, that their information would go straight to Tepco. Sato became an increasingly bitter critic of the plant and Japan's entire energy policy, directed by NISA's powerful government overseer, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI
METI
METI may refer to:*Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan*Messaging to Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence...
).
In 2006, he was forced to step down and was prosecuted and convicted in 2008 on bribery charges that he claims were politically motivated. Embittered, he wrote a biography
Biography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
called Annihilating a Governor explaining his concerns about nuclear power and how he was set up and wrongfully convicted by the prosecution. Largely ignored until Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
The is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami on 11 March 2011. The plant comprises six separate boiling water reactors originally designed by General Electric ,...
March 11, the book became the top of the sales list.