1.Management Policy FY2012
Key Issues and Policies of Response
In March 2012, Kyushu Electric Power drafted two documents—Fiscal 2012 Management
Policy and Fiscal 2012 Emergency Management Response—in an effort to cope with the
exceptionally challenging operating environment. In this feature, we explain Kyushu Electric
Power’s key issues and policies of response as outlined in Fiscal 2012 Management Policy,
while answering questions and concerns posed by stakeholders.
Comment from Stakeholders | "I want the management and every other
employee to reform their mindset and
take positive action to regain my trust."
1. Efforts to Restore Trust
An external committee of experts was set up to investigate claims that Kyushu Electric Power employees,
posing as members of the public, made prepared statements and opinions in the television discussion
program for the general public sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) on June
26, 2011, as well as claims of similar behavior at past symposiums on nuclear power. Following the investi-
gation and an analysis of the underlying factors, the committee submitted a final report to Kyushu Electric
Power on September 30, 2011. Recognizing the serious nature of this report, on October 14, 2011, Kyushu
Electric Power submitted a report of its own to METI on the facts surrounding the claims and its response
going forward (measures to prevent a recurrence).
On June 26, 2011, a television discussion program was held, open to the prefectural residents and sponsored by Japan’s­Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, concerning the resumption of operations at nuclear power stations, Kyushu Electric
Power made decisions in connection with this program that regrettably caused tremendous damage to the public trust. In this
section, we answer your questions and concerns about the events and choices that led up to this scandal.
Supplemental
Informationn Prepared statements of support
for nuclear power at a television
discussion program for the public
held by METI
At a meeting with the governor of
Saga Prefecture attended by several
individuals, including the Executive
Vice President in charge of nuclear
power, the governor made statements
related to the television discussion
program for the public and prepared a
memo. When the program was held,
certain employees asked other
employees and partner companies to
post statements online in support of
resuming nuclear power plant opera-
tions, which 151 employees eventu-
ally did.n 
Loaded questions during a
public debate on pluthermal
power sponsored by Saga
Prefecture
Ahead of a public debate on safety
and other issues concerning pluther-
mal power sponsored by Saga Prefec-
ture on December 25, 2005, Kyushu
Electric Power secured positions for
its employees to ask questions at
the forum, and provided them with
questions to ask. As a result, seven
of the eight questioners discussing
nuclear power at the debate were
Kyushu Electric Power employees.n Participation in and voluntary
statements given at symposiums
and other events concerning
nuclear power
Kyushu Electric Power employees,
partner companies and Company-
related organizations were asked to
participate and state some opinions
at symposiums, public hearings and
other events concerning the adoption
of pluthermal power and expansion of
Unit 3 at the Sendai Nuclear Power
Station. However, although these
participants independently expressed
statements at the events at which
they were present, the content of
these statements or opinions was not
decided at the request of Kyushu
Electric Power.
Results and Facts Revealed by In-house and External Committee Investigations
06 Kyushu Electric Power Company Annual Report 2012Re:We recognize that Kyushu Electric Power is confronting today
the most challenging conditions it has ever faced. As stated in
the Management Policy for the current fiscal year, we have
clarified restoring trust, supply stability, and management
rationalization as three priority issues. Kyushu Electric Power
executives and the entire workforce are pooling their collective
strength in an effort to address these issues and overcome
the adversity we face.
As expressed in the brand message "Enlighten Our Future"
contained within "Kyushu Electric Power’s Mission," we are
committed to remaining a company that supports the sustain-
able socioeconomic development of the Kyushu region through
the stable supply of electric power. This requires first and
foremost that we make every effort to rebuild the trust of our
customers in Kyushu.
In light of the scandal involving prepared statements at the
METI-sponsored televised public forum in June 2011 and other
concerns, we established an external committee of outside
experts that reinvestigated the facts, exposed the essence of
the problems and the factors underlying them, and delved
deeply into measures to prevent these problems from recur-
ring. As a result of these actions, we learnt and recognized that
the fundamental factor connecting this series of incidents was
that Kyushu Electric Power failed to ensure highly transparent
business operations from the standpoint of its customers amid
rapid change in the environment surrounding nuclear power.
Consequently, we believe that in addition to timely and
accurate information disclosure, including negative information
involving accidents, ethical violations and other issues that
occur at the Company, it is important to ensure the transpar-
ency of our corporate activities by taking every available oppor-
tunity to deepen the public’s understanding of Kyushu Electric
Power’s business activities through dialogue with customers.
We recognize that trust is something that is built gradually
over time through communication with customers, all the while
working diligently to make corporate activities more transpar-
ent and to improve the corporate culture.
The concept behind our initiatives going forward is not to
recover the trust that was built in the past but to move ahead
in rebuilding new bonds of trust that reflect the current interests
and needs of our customers and the region, in light of the
many changes in our environment today.
Rather than a 180° turnaround for the Company, our goal is
to completely rebuild Kyushu Electric Power from the ground
up, retaining only our sense of mission around supply stability
and other positive elements. At the same time, we will hone
our awareness of and sensitivity to customers to create a
corporate culture in which it is common sense to be a com-
pany that is responsive to changes in its social environment.
We will spend the time necessary for face-to-face conversa-
tions and a diligent commitment to proper business execution
in order to rebuild trust in Kyushu Electric Power.
To prevent these kinds of incidents from reoccurring and
to regain trust, we have recently established a team man-
aged by the President that is focused on promoting our trust-
rebuilding efforts. This team’s actions will fall under three
How We Are Answering | We are promoting three initiatives to prevent a
recurrence and rebuild bonds of trust.
Annual Report 2012 Kyushu Electric Power Company 07
main rubrics—make corporate activities more transparent,
improve our organizational climate, and redevelop our compli-
ance and risk management structures.
Make Corporate Activities More Transparent
We will now introduce two initiatives that are designed to
enhance the transparency of Kyushu Electric Power’s corpo-
rate activities.
In the first initiative, we held dialogues with customers
throughout the Kyushu region with two important purposes in
mind. The primary purpose was to convey to the public our policy
of extensive transparency in corporate activities, based on seri-
ous reflection over the series of incidents that occurred at
Kyushu Electric Power. The secondary purpose of these dia-
logues was to explain the overall conditions at the Company,
including our safety measures concerning nuclear power, with
the opinions and requests expressed by the public to be
reflected in the Company’s future business activities. Most
customers who attended seemed to find the meetings worth-
while, and were very proactive in sharing their opinions and
requests. The frankness with which participants made their
voices heard was evident in the comments offered, which ranged
from very harsh to supportive of Kyushu Electric Power. The
opportunity to get direct input from customers was extremely
valuable. These opinions have been shared throughout the Com-
pany, and will be utilized in future business activities.
As a second initiative, we conducted a review of the organi-
zational structure of our nuclear power operations, with the aim
of improving the level of our operational transparency. One
outcome was the establishment of a Power Generation Division
through the amalgamation of the Nuclear Power Generation
Division and the Thermal Power Generation Division. The
decision to integrate with
thermal power opera-
tions ensures a diversity
of human resources and
perspectives within the
division, making it possi-
ble to further enhance
operational transparency
in nuclear power opera-
tions. At the same time, this move is expected to develop high-
quality human resources with diverse perspectives thanks to
personnel exchanges across both areas, and to deliver opera-
tional improvement and other benefits derived from the horizon-
tal development of quality and safety assurance.
A second outcome of this initiative was the establishment of
a division focused on conducting communication regarding
nuclear power. Functions once vested in the Nuclear Power Gen-
eration Division, namely regional responses related to nuclear
power and publicizing of information, have been transferred to
the new division to ensure accurate responses to regional gov-
ernment and communities, as well as accurate information dis-
closure, take place in line with informational needs with respect
to nuclear power. Our meticulous level of responsiveness will
include immediately contacting nearby regional governments
should any trouble arise at our power plants, along with meetings
to explain about nuclear power to local residents.
The Power Generation Division will thus specialize in the
operation and technological responses related to our nuclear
power plants. The Nuclear Power Communications Division,
meanwhile, will work to develop regional responses related to
nuclear power plants and to disclose information more vigor-
ously and accurately than ever before. Together, these efforts
Discussion meetings with customers
(in Kagoshima)
08 Kyushu Electric Power Company Annual Report 2012
will culminate in improved transparency around our nuclear
power operations.
Improve Our Organizational Climate
To improve the corporate culture at Kyushu Electric Power, all
parts of the organization have established workshops as
opportunities to discuss issues pertaining to the organiza-
tional climate and the directions to be taken with improve-
ments. We are also upgrading and enhancing the content of
our job-based training programs in order to revitalize communi-
cation between supervisors and subordinates and sharpen the
managerial skills of our managers.
It is critically important to have a well-developed chain of
command in place when an incident happens. With that said, a
company cannot grow if its employees are virtual automatons
that do whatever they are told and are unable to decide right
from wrong for themselves. We want to create an organizational
climate where people think carefully what they can do and stead-
fastly act on it, and can independently take action and work with
the other members of the organization in the workplace.
Redevelop Our Compliance and Risk Management
Structures
We are reviewing and developing our compliance structure, and
are already taking two steps to revise it. First, we are strength-
ening the functioning of the Compliance Committee, including
the ability to promptly report to outside committee members
and to receive appropriate advice from an outside perspective,
when a scandal or other event arises with a potentially large
social impact. Second, we are appointing personnel responsi-
ble for compliance at all Company branches to continuously
foster a compliance consciousness among employees.
At the same time, to ensure a prompt and accurate response
when a crisis occurs, we have enhanced our risk management
structure by newly establishing both a risk management officer
(an Executive Vice President) and also making a general man-
ager position responsible for risk management. In addition to
ensuring that initial judgments and detailed responses made
after a crisis are both faster and stronger, we have strengthened
our support structure by obtaining the cooperation of outside
specialists. In parallel, we established a division headed by the
President that oversees risk management-related countermea-
sures when unforeseen events materialize. Under this arrange-
ment, the President, as the executive responsible for all risk
management responses, can monitor from a clear overall van-
tage point how situations are unfolding, make efforts to respond
to them, and provide guidance as needed.
Furthermore, we have newly established the Risk and Crisis
Management Countermeasures Meeting, and are strengthening
both our functionality for promoting the management cycle of
risk and crisis management, and also our information-sharing
and response capabilities that we will draw upon if a crisis actu-
ally occurs. In this context, the request to cut electric power
consumption this summer was surely a cause of significant
discomfort for our customers. In fact, the recognition that this
was the most serious crisis that Kyushu Electric Power has ever
faced is what prompted the launch of the aforementioned Risk
Management Countermeasures Division. We are convinced that
the key to risk management is to be aware of probable risks
before they emerge. Therefore, this division will not only identify
any incidents that may require a response in the future, it will
also work first and foremost to consider ways to prevent such
incidents from materializing, as well as formulate response
options in the unlikely event that such incidents actually occur.
Revision Details Implementation
Revised the Compliance
Action Guidelinesn Added guidelines prohibiting the mobilization of personnel and the calling for making of statements in
opposition to the purport of symposiums, explanation meetings, etc.n Added guidelines regarding initiatives for building sound relationships with local government.n Added response (cooperation with investigations, etc.) a new section about the necessity of the prompt
reporting of facts and of cooperation with relevant parties when misconduct occurs.
April 2012
Strengthened the functions of
the Compliance Committee
Strengthened the committee’s functions, including the ability to receive advice from outside members, in
the case of misconduct or another act that has a large social impact.
May 2012
Designated a single depart-
ment with jurisdiction for
compliance
In order to clarify responsibility and proactively promote company-wide compliance management, we have
designated a single department with jurisdiction for compliance. (Previously, responsibility for compliance
promotion was divided among the District Symbiosis Division, the Human Resource Vitalization Division and
the Management Administration Division. The Regional Cooperation Department now has full responsibility
for compliance promotion.)
July 2012
Established compliance
organizations in all branch
offices
We established the position of compliance branch area officer, with the aims of fostering continued compli-
ance awareness among employees (through education and training) and bolstering the ability to spot signs
of misconduct (by establishing a point of contact for inquiries).
July 2012
Details of Main Revisions to the Compliance Promotion System
Annual Report 2012 Kyushu Electric Power Company 09