Japanese Regulators to Investigate Nuclear Crisis

[bananas]

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/japanese-regulators-investigate-nuclear-crisis-18820702#.UVRoMRyG0rU

Japanese Regulators to Investigate Nuclear Crisis

By MARI YAMAGUCHI Associated Press
TOKYO March 27, 2013 (AP)

Japanese government regulators said Wednesday that for the first time they will conduct their own investigation into the country's nuclear crisis to address key unanswered questions.

The March 2011 earthquake and tsunami cut power and destroyed vital cooling systems at the Fukushima Dai-chi nuclear plant, causing meltdowns at three of its reactors. Several groups have already published the findings of their own investigations into the crisis, largely blaming the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl on botched crisis management, government-industry collusion and the tsunami.

But questions remain, and experts still suspect that the quake, not the tsunami, may have triggered the meltdowns. The Nuclear Regulation Authority said this issue, which could affect anti-quake measures at nuclear facilities nationwide, will be part of its investigation.

The authority said the investigation will also look into other issues, including how much and from where radiation leaked at the plant. The probe, to be conducted by a panel that will include outside experts, will start by the end of April and could take decades to complete because parts of the plant are still in horrible condition as the complex undergoes a 40-year cleanup process.

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[kristopher]

1. Unfortunately the trend isn't towards transparency

For example:

Japan’s Energy Board Meets After Dropping Anti-Nuclear Members
By Tsuyoshi Inajima - Mar 14, 2013 8:34 PM ET
Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party has removed most anti-nuclear researchers from a revamped post-Fukushima energy policy advisory board to the government that resumes discussions today.
After a landslide victory in a December election, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the previous administration’s policy to abandon atomic power needs to be reviewed to help revive the world’s third-biggest economy.
Six of eight members that voted for phasing out nuclear power on the board advising the previous government have been dropped from the LDP panel. Another ten members were reappointed, including Akio Mimura, an adviser for Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (5401), as chairman. He headed an energy advisory board under a previous LDP government that promoted nuclear power.
“Mr. Mimura may have a wonderful personality and good policy ideas, but it’s wrong to let the same man who led discussions on pre-Fukushima energy policy be in charge,” said Tetsunari Iida, the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies. Iida was one of those dropped from the advisory board.
A request for comment ...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-15/japan-s-energy-board-meets-after-dropping-anti-nuclear-members.html

[bananas]

2. Yes, they've really corrupted the process. nt