#Japan reactor meltdown 2012 Offline#

Japan, which once depended on nuclear power for about a third of its energy supply, was briefly without atomic power for the first time in more than 40 years after the last reactor went offline in early May. All of the country's 50 functioning reactors had been switched off after the crisis to undergo safety checks. The 641-page report was published on the same day a nuclear reactor in western Japan became the first to produce electricity since the accident. 'Had other Japanese been in the shoes of those who bear responsibility for this accident, the result may well have been the same.' He said: 'What must be admitted – very painfully – is that this was a disaster 'Made in Japan.' Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience our reluctance to question authority our devotion to 'sticking with the programme' our groupism and our insularity. The commission's chairman, Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a professor emeritus at Tokyo University, said in a scathing introduction that cultural traits had caused the disaster. We found a disregard for global trends and a disregard for public safety.' 'Across the board, the commission found ignorance and arrogance unforgivable for anyone or any organisation that deals with nuclear power. 'We believe that the root causes were the organisational and regulatory systems that supported faulty rationales for decisions and actions, rather than issues relating to the competency of any specific individual. Therefore, we conclude that the accident was clearly 'man-made'. 'They effectively betrayed the nation's right to be safe from nuclear accidents. 'The Fukushima nuclear power plant accident was the result of collusion between the government, the regulators and Tepco, and the lack of governance by said parties,' said the report, compiled by the Fukushima nuclear accident independent investigation commission. It accused Tepco and regulators at the nuclear and industrial safety agency of failing to take adequate safety measures, despite evidence that the area was susceptible to powerful earthquakes and tsunamis.

Japan reactor meltdown 2012