Masao Yoshida, who has drawn media attention for continuing the seawater injection despite Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s decision to suspend the measure, told workers not to obey his ensuing instruction before going on to order them to stop injecting the water, government and Tepco sources said.
- With the supply of fresh water to cool the reactor running out, workers began injecting seawater shortly after 7 p.m. March 12.
- Tepco’s head office instructed Yoshida to stop the seawater injection after an official of the utility dispatched to then Prime Minister Naoto Kan‘s office reported to his superiors that there was “a feeling that seawater injection could not be implemented without the prime minister’s decision.”
- Yoshida told his workers, “I will order you to stop the water injection . . . but do not listen to it,” before instructing them to stop the seawater injection, according to the sources.
- The workers continued injecting seawater into the reactor, they said.
- Based on a report from Yoshida, Tepco initially announced the seawater injection had been suspended from 7:25 p.m. to 7:55 p.m. Two months later, he revealed that the injection had not been suspended and he was reprimanded by Tepco.
Yoshida became the plant’s chief in June 2010.
Source: Japan Times
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