'Collusion role' in Fukushima crisis

Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis was a preventable disaster resulting from "collusion" among the government, regulators and the plant operator, an expert panel said today as it wrapped up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Damage from a big earthquake on March 11th last year, and not just the ensuing tsunami, could not be ruled out as a cause of the accident, the panel said, a finding that could have serious implications as Japan seeks to bring idled reactors back on line.

The panel also pointed to problems in the response of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co and then prime minister Naoto Kan, who resigned last year after criticism of his handling of a natural disaster that developed into a man-made crisis.

Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis was a preventable disaster resulting from "collusion" among the government, regulators and the plant operator, an expert panel said on tody as it wrapped up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Damage from a big earthquake on March 11th last year, and not just the ensuing tsunami, could not be ruled out as a cause of the accident, the panel said, a finding that could have serious implications as Japan seeks to bring idled reactors back on line.

The panel also pointed to problems in the response of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co and then prime minister Naoto Kan, who resigned last year after criticism of his handling of a natural disaster that developed into a man-made crisis.

"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," the panel said in an English summary of a 641-page Japanese report.

Regulators, it said, had been were reluctant to adopt global safety standards that could have helped prevent the disaster in which reactors melted down, spewing radiation and forcing about 150,000 people from their homes, many of whom will never return."

Across the board, the commission found ignorance and arrogance unforgivable for anyone or any organisation that deals with nuclear power. "We found a disregard for global trends and a disregard for public safety," the panel said.

The panel's finding that seismic damage may well have played a role could also affect the restart of reactors that were taken offline, mostly for maintenance and safety checks, in the months since Fukushima.

"We have proved that it cannot be said that there would have been no crisis without the tsunami," Katsuhiko Ishibashi, a seismologist and panel member, said in the report.