JAPAN: Independent commission investigating Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster finds negligence on the part of the government and plant operator

Record ID: 216129

  • Title: JAPAN: Independent commission investigating Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster finds negligence on the part of the government and plant operator
  • Date: 2nd March 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 1, 2012) (REUTERS) MEMBERS OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION COMMISSION ON THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR INCIDENT AT NEWS CONFERENCE JOURNALISTS TAKING NOTES (SOUNDBITE) (English) FORMER DIRECTOR OF JAPAN'S SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AGENCY AND MEMBER OF INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION COMMISSION ON THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR ACCIDENT, KOICHI KITAZAWA SAYING: "
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Disasters,Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVAR973C1WMG5P0QU2QOWOHJTVC
  • Story Text: The scale of the Fukushima nuclear disaster was the result of safety negligence by the government and plant operator, a commission investigating the accident said on Thursday (March 1).
    "The reason why the accident became so large, so extensive, was because of the lack of a sense of responsibility and professional negligence on safety issues of Tokyo Electric Power Company and the government," said Koichi Kitazawa, an author of a report by the Independent Investigation Commission on the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Accident - a panel sponsored by a private sector think tank.
    After the quake and tsunami struck on March 11, three reactors melted down at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing a radiation leak which forced tens of thousands of residents to leave their homes inside in a mandatory evacuation zone close to the plant.
    The administration of then-premier Naoto Kan, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, and nuclear regulators have all faced criticism, both for a confused response and for failing to come clean on the extent of the crisis in the early days.
    "During the crisis management of this Fukushima incident we found that Japan, as a whole, was not ready at all to manage crisis, starting from the accident site to the premier office," Kitazawa said.
    He said the report's findings revealed a worrying culture of negligence on nuclear safety for the last two decades, with little room for criticism.
    "The words improvement safety, this phrase itself has become almost taboo in the manufacturing companies for nuclear power plants and for electric power companies."
    Since September, the six-member panel has interviewed more than 300 people, including former premier Naoto Kan and Yukio Edano, now head of Japan's trade portfolio.
    "The whole government's response last March was on the basis of due preparation for for all conceivable risks. We analysed them down to the last detail, so even if they actually happened we could respond in a timely fashion." Edano told reporters on Tuesday (February 28).
    Quoting Edano, the panel report said Kan also ordered workers to remain at the tsunami-crippled plant last March as fears mounted of a "devil's chain reaction" that would force tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo.
    Kan, who stepped down last September, came under fire for his handling of the crisis, including flying over the plant by helicopter the morning after the disasters hit -- a move some critics said contributed to a delay in the operator's response.
    Some of Kan's seemingly inexplicable behaviour stemmed from his belief that Tepco was going to abandon the plant and the accident would spiral out of control, the panel said.
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