By Greg Hazley
Tokyo Electric Power Company, the embattled Japanese nuclear power operator, will liquidate its large PR operation to raise cash for damage payments, according to the Japanese news agency Kyodo.
TEPCO plans to shutter its 400-person TEPCO Public Relations Co. operation, which was set up in 1984 and came under withering criticism amid the ongoing nuclear crisis at its Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The Japanese government in April took over PR, including daily briefings, from the company after TEPCO was criticized for issuing confusing or erroneous information about radiation levels and other aspects of the nuclear accident.
Kyodo said the company needs to raise more than 600 billion yen (about $7.5B) by liquidating assets like securities, real estate and other units to pay for damage caused by the nuclear crisis at its power plant. That disaster was sparked by a March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
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