2009 quake may have prompted data rigging by central Japan nuclear operator

NAGOYA - Chubu Electric Power Co. may have begun manipulating earthquake resistance data for its nuclear power plant in central Japan after a 2009 earthquake subjected one of its reactors to shaking beyond its design limits, a source familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The latest revelation came after the utility admitted earlier this year that it had, by no later than 2012, begun cherry-picking favorable data to set earthquake-resistance standards for the Nos. 3 and 4 reactors at its Hamaoka nuclear power plant, which it has been seeking to restart.