Fukushima A ‘Man-Made Disaster’

A parliamentary inquiry into last year’s nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant concludes that Japanese conformist culture and government-industry alliances were to blame. “It was a profoundly man-made disaster that could and should have been foreseen and prevented,” declared the report released by the Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission. “And its effects could have been mitigated by more effective human responses.” The 641-page report also suggests that the plant was not earthquake-proof, creating cause for concern as Japan begins to restart its reactors.