The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plant on Wednesday resumed television commercials, seven years after a 2011 meltdown that sparked the world's worst atomic accident in a generation.

A retail arm of Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) Holdings said it was placing commercials on television, radio stations, and trains, as competition among energy companies intensifies.

The decision is controversial, with some activists angered that TEPCO is spending on advertising while it remains on the hook for enormous costs stemming from the disaster, including clean-up, decommissioning and compensation payments.

But a spokeswoman for TEPCO Energy Partner said the new campaign was "necessary" to help Fukushima.

"Our achievement of sales targets will allow us to fulfil our responsibilities for Fukushima," Megumi Kobayashi told AFP.

The commercials feature "Tepcon", a rabbit mascot who shares "ear-grabbing" information about the company's electricity and gas packages.

TEPCO took its commercials off the air in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, which was triggered by a massive earthquake and ensuing tsunami in March 2011.

The tsunami wrecked cooling systems at the Fukushima plant on Japan's northeast coast, sparking reactor meltdowns and radiation leaks.

Japan shut down all reactors in the wake of the Fukushima crisis, the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

The government has poured billions of dollars into TEPCO to keep the company, which supplies electricity to Tokyo and the surrounding area, afloat.

It faces massive ongoing costs as it stumps up cash for decommissioning the reactors, cleaning up contaminated areas and paying compensation to those who fled their homes due to radiation fears.

mis/sah/mtp

TEPCO - TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER

Related Links
Nuclear Power News - Nuclear Science, Nuclear Technology
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

EU court dismisses Austrian case against UK nuclear plant
Luxembourg (AFP) July 12, 2018
A European Union court on Thursday dismissed a case brought by Austria against EU-approved subsidies for a new nuclear power plant in Britain. Anti-nuclear Austria challenged the European Commission's green light for the Hinkley Point C project before the Luxembourg-based EU court in 2015. "The General Court confirms the decision by which the Commission approved the aid provided by the UK in favour of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station," the court said. "The General Court accordingly ... read more