“The direct causes of the nuclear accident were the unpreparedness of Tokyo Electric Power…and the government’s lack of a sense of responsibility.”-Kitazawa Koichi, lead investigator

A Japanese government sanctioned independent investigation has revealed gross incompetence in the wake of the March, 2011, nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi.  It also says that Tokyo Electric Power Company made the situation worse!

Six investigators interviewed more than 300 people, including Japanese and U.S. government officials.  However, officials at TEPCo refused to co-operate with the investigators! They have just published their findings, 28 February 2012.

The report calls government response “off the cuff”, and “too late” (as I was posting last year)!

The nuclear power plant operator, TEPCo, was ill prepared for a nuclear disaster, despite decades of telling locals they were prepared (as I posted last year).

The Japanese government, especially the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, failed to ensure the proper training for nuclear disaster response (as I posted last year).

The report also blames Japan’s complicated system of delegating authority and responsibility.  No one knew who was supposed to do what regarding the disaster; from top national government officials down to sub-contractors working for TEPCo (again, as I posted last year).

Things were so bad that local governments have been taking the initiative to try and deal with things like relocating residents, and decontamination efforts, with little help from the national government (again, I posted).

Also, many of the discoveries of radiation contamination came as a result of individuals and private groups, who took it upon themselves to pay for testing things like dirt, water, and even food, like beef, sold in grocery stores (again, I).

It was local governments who discovered farm crops to be contaminated (posted last year).

The report also says that information coming from the private sector to government officials was insufficient to make proper decisions. TEPCo officials simply dragged their feet when it came to dealing with specific issues, like cooling systems being shut down, and vents not being opened.

Not only did TEPCo drag their feet, but the investigators found that there was a back up cooling system that was functional, but TEPCo never used it!!!

Although Japan’s government has a crisis management policy, the investigators said it is totally useless!