The head of Japan’s banking lobby said lenders to Tokyo Electric Power should not have to waive debt to the troubled utility, becoming the latest executive to publicly criticise the government’s top spokesman for suggesting such a measure.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano has come under fire from bankers and business executives for saying last week that a government rescue scheme for Tokyo Electric would not likely gain public support unless banks waived some debts. Masayuki Oku, chairman of both the Japanese Bankers Association and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) , said debt forgiveness and other loan concessions were not consistent with the laws governing nuclear power plants.

“My understanding is based on the law governing nuclear damages the government and the nuclear operator will share (the burden of compensation) and others will not shoulder any burden,” Oku told a regular news conference for the lobby. “So, I am wondering why there is talk about a debt-waiver.”

SMFG is the main creditor bank for Tokyo Electric, which is struggling to gain control of its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan, crippled by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.