Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) President Masataka Shimizu (L) speaks with a member of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency in the main control room for the No.7 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Kashiwazaki in this May 9, 2009.[Photo/Agencies]

TOKYO -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) President Masataka Shimizu was hospitalized for hypertension and dizziness Tuesday while the company continued to battle the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis, Kyodo News Agency reported Wednesday.

The hospitalization came after reports said Monday Shimizu fell sick on March 16 and took some days off from attending a liaison office set up between the government and the nuclear plant operator TEPCO to regain control of the Fukushima No.1 nuclear plant, which was crippled by the March 11 devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Shimizu has not appeared in public since attending a press conference on March 13, two days after the catastrophe wreaked havoc on northeastern coast of Japan.