Japan Tsunami

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant admitted Wednesday that it was not fully prepared for last year's nuclear accident.

 

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant admitted Wednesday that it was not fully prepared for the nuclear disaster spurred by last year's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

"All who were related to the nuclear plant could not predict an occurrence of the event which was far beyond our expectation," said Masao Yamazaki, executive vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). "We did not have enough measures to prevent the accident."

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Yamazaki, who also chairs a TEPCO committee investigating the disaster, spoke at a news conference announcing the company's final report on the crisis that spewed radiation and left tens of thousands of residents displaced.

The report acknowledged criticism that TEPCO took too long to disclose information and accusations that the company has been hiding information.

 

"Losing power caused less plant data (to be) available," which caused a delay in retrieving information, the report stated.

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The company added, "We did not mean to hide information, but there was a lack of enough explanation."

"We recognize these points should be improved," Yamazaki said.

Though no deaths have been attributed to the nuclear accident, the earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15,000 people in northeastern Japan.

Yamazaki said the company considered evacuating some employees after the disaster, and it decided to leave staff members "who were working on the necessary measures. ... We were determined to continue dealing with the situation, even risking our lives at that time."

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TEPCO's probe is one of several investigations into the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

In December, a government-formed panel of investigators released an interim report saying poorly trained operators misread a key backup system and waited too long to start pumping water into overheating reactor units.

The government's 10-member panel, led by Tokyo University engineering professor Yotaro Hatamura, also said neither TEPCO nor government regulators were prepared for the chance that a tsunami could trigger a nuclear disaster.

Former Japanese leader: 'I felt fear' during nuclear crisis

 

 

 

Former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he was overwhelmed and afraid during last year's nuclear meltdown.

 

Former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he was overwhelmed and afraid during last year's nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, acknowledging that little has been done since then to ensure that another nuclear disaster will not occur.

Sounding like a fiery anti-nuclear activist, Kan Monday testified before a panel appointed by parliament to investigate the nuclear disaster.

"There wasn't much information coming to me" from the government regulatory agency, NISA, or the plant's operator, TEPCO, Kan said. "I thought I couldn't make any countermeasures in this crisis. I felt fear."

During his testimony, Kan turned a critical finger on himself, Japan's bureaucrats and TEPCO, saying all were hoping the situation would not spiral more out of control. He said all often were more worried about protecting their jobs and turf than public safety.

 

Kan specifically pointed to a request from TEPCO to evacuate the Fukushima plant -- a request he refused.

"The worst case scenario was that 30 million people would have to evacuate from the capital (Tokyo)," Kan told the panel. "That would come to within one inch of the end of this nation."

Kan said he did his best to share information with the public, but admitted there weren't many verified facts to share.

Over the weekend, Yukio Edano, Kan's former chief cabinet secretary, testified that his office rejected a U.S. offer to supply nuclear experts, saying it was "not appropriate." Kan told the panel that he heard about the U.S. offer after the fact, but supported Edano's decision.

Kan also spoke about Japan's so-called "nuclear village." That's the term used to describe the utilities, nuclear regulators, bureaucrats and academics who support the usage of nuclear energy in Japan. It's a group Kan said shows no remorse for the disaster.

The first priority of Japan's new nuclear policy should be to dismantle the power of the nuclear village, along with all nuclear power plants, Kan said.

"I would like to say to the Japanese and to the world -- the safest nuclear policy is not to have any nuclear plants."