Yanosuke Hirai and the Heroism of Unreasonableness
Demanding More Than the Minimum
When the Oanagawa plant was built, Yanosuke Hirai insisted on a higher elevation and higher seawall than other engineers thought necessary. The design team at Fukushima actually lowered the plant’s elevation during construction, for the logical reason that closer to the ocean meant less cost pumping the water uphill.
“Corporate compliance is different from compliance. Just being ‘not guilty’ is not enough.” —Tatsuji Oshima
After the 2011 disaster, a Portland Oregonianreporter who’d lived in Japan for years, read about the Oanagawa plant, and tracked down Tatsuji Oshima, Yanosuke Hirai’s former underling. Oshima said Hirai’s obsession with safety was always a huge battle he fought against institutional inertia, and Hirai considered bureaucrats to be “human trash.”
Guy demanded an increased and custom solution instead the one size fits all minimum other engineers were pushing. Got a dam built taller. Then he resigned.
Dam saved the power plant during the tsunami.
Demanding More Than the Minimum
When the Oanagawa plant was built, Yanosuke Hirai insisted on a higher elevation and higher seawall than other engineers thought necessary. The design team at Fukushima actually lowered the plant’s elevation during construction, for the logical reason that closer to the ocean meant less cost pumping the water uphill.
“Corporate compliance is different from compliance. Just being ‘not guilty’ is not enough.” —Tatsuji Oshima
After the 2011 disaster, a Portland Oregonianreporter who’d lived in Japan for years, read about the Oanagawa plant, and tracked down Tatsuji Oshima, Yanosuke Hirai’s former underling. Oshima said Hirai’s obsession with safety was always a huge battle he fought against institutional inertia, and Hirai considered bureaucrats to be “human trash.”
Guy demanded an increased and custom solution instead the one size fits all minimum other engineers were pushing. Got a dam built taller. Then he resigned.
Dam saved the power plant during the tsunami.
