Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis was preventable-Result Of 'Collusion', Panel Says

[kpete]

Source: Huffington Post

By Risa Maeda and Linda Sieg

TOKYO, July 5 (Reuters) - 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 Thursday, wrapping up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Damage from the huge March 11, 2011, earthquake, and not just the ensuing tsunami, could not be ruled out as a cause of the accident, the panel added, a finding with serious potential implications as Japan seeks to bring idled reactors on line.

The panel criticised the response of Fukushima Daiichi plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co, regulators and then Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who quit last year after criticism of his handling of a natural disaster that became 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 document.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/05/japan-nuclear-disaster_n_1650264.html?1341493871

[loudsue]

1. Keyword: "LACK OF GOVERNANCE"

Regulation is there for a really good reason. Regulation can be streamlined so that it is not oppressive to industry, but it is essential to keep peace so that people can TRUST the world that they are being sold.

[appal_jack]

2. Also see 'regulatory capture.'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

-app

[loudsue]

6. Good to know! Thanks. n/t

[denvine]

3. Sounds like exactly what happened in BP's Deep Water Horizin

spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Sure Mitt, let's do away with regulations so companies can grow, unrestricted, and create unsafe jobs for the workers and the environment.

[fasttense]

4. Collusion between the government and a huge corporation.

Regulators are part of the government so, it was simply collusion between government officials and a multi national corporation. Now why would government officials ignore regulations and allow a corporation to set up dangerous systems that endanger citizen's lives and poison the country with radiation? Someone made money off of this and the disaster was the result of someone making money by ignoring regulations. So, whoever made money off of this should be unidentified and all their money taken away to pay for those citizens who are suffering.

But of course that wont happen. Japan is as controlled by corporations as much as America and the UK.

This supposed "free" trade and neoliberalism is a disease that is infecting every nation and is killing the host planet.

We need an antibiotic to kill it before the host planet and every living thing on it dies.

[Fuddnik]

5. Greg Palast has some good writing on this in "Vultures Picnic".

[AnotherMcIntosh]

7. Thankfully, we don't have that kind of problem here.

No collusion at all.

Not only does the money paid by big-money contributors not have an effect upon "our" politicians, but "our" politicians and regulators do their jobs without concurrently auditioning for future jobs with the big-money people.

[diane in sf]

8. Building nuclear plants on the most active fault zone in the world is not smart

[bananas]

9. The earthquake by itself may have caused the meltdowns, not just the tsunami

Damage from the huge March 11, 2011, earthquake, and not just the ensuing tsunami, could not be ruled out as a cause of the accident, the panel added, a finding with serious potential implications as Japan seeks to bring idled reactors on line.