Yoshishige Ashihara
Profile
Performance in office
Tenure
Tenure
Background
Born in Kagawa Prefecture in 1901, he graduated from the Faculty of Engineering of Kyoto Imperial University in 1924 and joined Hanshin Kyuko Electric Railway. He became a director of Kansai Haiden in November 1946 and Managing Director that same November, rising to Executive Vice President in November 1950. With the reorganization of the power industry in May 1951 he left Kansai Haiden, became Managing Director of Kansai Electric Power that month and Executive Vice President in May 1958. In May 1961 he received a doctorate in engineering. His career lay on the technical side from the days of the distribution company.
Selection
In November 1959 he succeeded Shiro Otagaki as President. Otagaki had been President since the company's founding in May 1951, and after the decision in May 1956 that the company would undertake the Kurobe River No. 4 Power Station, construction began in July that year. In May 1957 the work struck a fault fracture zone in the Omachi Tunnel, which had been broken through only in December that year. The change appears to have handed the presidency to a technically minded Executive Vice President in the midst of a difficult construction project.
Initiatives
The Kurobe River No. 4 Power Station was completed in June 1963 at a cost of more than ¥50.0 billion. In March 1961 the output of the company's thermal facilities surpassed that of its hydroelectric facilities. In nuclear power, it set up a nuclear department in 1957, and in December 1966 adopted a pressurized water reactor from US-based Westinghouse and began building Unit 1 of the Mihama Power Station (340,000 kW). Mihama Unit 1 entered commercial operation in November 1970, becoming the first pressurized water nuclear plant of any Japanese power company. Ashihara became Chairman that same month.
Career
Career
Kansai Electric Power
| Date | Position |
|---|---|
| 1924 | Joined Hanshin Express Electric Railway |
| 1946 | Managing Officer, Kansai Electric Distribution |
| 1950 | Executive Vice President, Kansai Electric Distribution |
| 1951 | Managing Director |
| 1958 | Executive Vice President |
| Nov 1959 | President |
| Nov 1970 | Stepped down as President |