New report criticizes TEPCO over Fukushima nuclear crisis

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New report criticizes TEPCO over Fukushima nuclear crisis

A Japanese government report Monday heaped fresh criticism on the operator of the nuclear power plant where a disastrous accident was set off last year by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country.

The measures taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the plant operator, and the Japanese nuclear regulator to prepare for disasters were "insufficient," the report by a government-formed panel of investigators said, and the response to the crisis was "inadequate."

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant spewed radiation and displaced tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding area in the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine.

Even now, more than one year after the disaster began, TEPCO does not seem aggressive enough in examining the causes of the accident at the plant to prevent a recurrence, the 10-member panel, led by Tokyo University engineering professor Yotaro Hatamura, said in the report Monday.

The report, the fourth and final one on the nuclear disaster, comes amid growing anti-nuclear protests in Japan. It said interference by the prime minister at the time, Naoto Kan, created confusion in the response to the crisis.

It recommended that all nuclear operators in the country conduct a comprehensive risk analysis of their facilities.

The fight for nuclear energy in Japan

The results of the investigation Monday follow a damning parliamentary report earlier this month that said the crisis was a "man-made disaster" resulting from collusion between TEPCO, regulators and the government. That report said the disaster should have been predicted and prepared for.

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