OSAKA—Directors of Kansai Electric Power Co. began its June 25 shareholders’ meeting by apologizing for a gift-giving scandal that has ensnared dozens of senior officials and led to lawsuits against former executives.

“We are deeply sorry,” President Takashi Morimoto said.

More than 20 executives on the stage followed Morimoto in bowing in apology to the shareholders.

The meeting in Osaka was the utility’s first since reports surfaced last year that 75 executives, including a former chairman and former president, accepted cash and goods totaling 360 million yen ($3.36 million) over three decades from Eiji Moriyama, a former deputy mayor of the town of Takahama, Fukui Prefecture.

Kansai Electric operates a nuclear plant in Takahama. The gifts are believed to have been given so that the utility would award orders to companies related to Moriyama, who died in March 2019.

A third-party investigative panel looking into the scandal said the money given by Moriyama came from projects awarded by Kansai Electric, whose revenue sources are electricity rates.

The novel coronavirus pandemic may have spared the board members from some criticism of the shareholders.

The number of seats set up at the venue in Suminoe Ward was 800, down from the usual 3,500, as a precaution against virus infections.

The utility asked shareholders in advance not to show up for the meeting, citing the health crisis.

In addition, the time allotted to individual shareholders to give proposals was cut to one minute from the normal three minutes.

The company proposed changes at the top of management to overhaul a corporate culture described as “inward looking.”

Sadayuki Sakakibara, former chairman of the powerful business lobby Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), was appointed chairman of Kansai Electric.

The company also named eight people, including Shigeo Sasaki, former head of the Osaka High Public Prosecutors Office, as outside board directors, as well as five people as internal directors.

Another proposal from Kansai Electric was to establish an entity that would give outside directors a greater say in personnel changes and remuneration for directors.

These proposals all received approval at the meeting.

Shareholders made 26 proposals.

The Osaka city government, the utility’s largest shareholder, together with the Kyoto and Kobe municipal governments recommended that the company’s management information be disclosed, in principle.

Representing the Osaka city government, Hiroyuki Kawai, a lawyer who has been involved in numerous lawsuits against nuclear plant operators, said, “The recent scandal surrounding funds linked to the nuclear plant would have been prevented if Kansai Electric had fully disclosed management information.”

He also said the Osaka municipal government will join a lawsuit filed against former Kansai Electric executives, depending on the company’s response to the matter.

Municipal officials from Kobe and Kyoto also blasted the company for the misconduct, calling for transparency in management.

In reply, Morimoto expressed his regret over the loss of public faith in the company because of the scandal.

“We are determined to work hard for a rebirth of Kansai Electric by regaining public trust and becoming a company that will be needed by society,” he said.

Individual stockholders and nonprofit groups called for Kansai Electric to scrap such positions as advisers.

A male individual shareholder urged all current directors to retire early.

“I believe it is impossible for the directors who were heavily involved in nuclear power plant projects to implement the reform,” he said. “Quit next year. There are people everywhere who can replace you, including in your company. Kansai Electric will be fine without you.”

But all of the shareholders’ proposals were rejected at the meeting.

Kansai Electric earlier this month sued five former top executives, including former Chairman Makoto Yagi and former President Shigeki Iwane, at the Osaka District Court, seeking 1.9 billion yen in damages.

The lawsuit said the gift-receivers, such as Yagi and Iwane, caused financial damage to the company by doing favors for Moriyama.

In a separate lawsuit, individual shareholders and others are seeking 9.2 billion yen in damages from 22 former and current directors and auditors over the gift-giving scandal.

(This article was written by Hiroki Hashimoto and Kuniaki Nishio.)