Japan intends to take control of Tokyo Electric Power Co. in return for bailing out the beleaguered utility, following a model it adopted to rescue the nation's fifth-biggest bank.
The government will inject ¥1 trillion ($12 billion) capital as early as July in return for stock with more than 50 percent of voting rights in the utility known as Tepco, the Nikkei newspaper said Saturday, without giving a source of the information. Japan will have an option to raise its voting rights to at least two-thirds, Nikkei reported.
Tepco has been on government life-support since last year's earthquake and tsunami wrecked its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear station, causing reactor meltdowns and forcing about 160,000 people to evacuate from nearby towns and villages. Trade and industry minister Yukio Edano has said Japan will adopt the model used to rescue Resona Holdings Inc. in 2003, when it pumped almost ¥2 trillion into the bank in return for 70 percent voting rights.