LOGO: Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines. A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
2010 Webby Award Winner for Best Political Blog
 
May 26, 2012
Log in / Register

 Choose a size
Text Size

Trending:     gay marriage     barack obama     ndaa     robert scheer     chris hedges
Most Read

TED: 'A Money-Soaked Orgy of Self-Congratulatory Futurism'

Truthdiggers of the Week: 400,000 Canadians Launching the ‘Maple Spring’

Russia and Exxon Mobil Sign Arctic Oil Deal

I Can't Hear Myself Think

A Rare Admission That Money Trumps Everything Else

Most Comments
Most Emailed

Reports
Why Bain Questions Matter
OSHA Struggles When Tower Climbers Die

Ear to the Ground

A/V Booth

Arts & Culture
Better Than We Found It
The Good-Natured Dictator

Digs
Financial Meltdown 101

Truthdig Bazaar
The Case for Big Government

The Case for Big Government

By Jeff Madrick
$15.61

more items

 
Ear to the Ground

Japan’s Prime Minister Politely Drop-Kicks Nuclear Plant Owner

Email this item Email    Print this item Print   

Posted on Mar 29, 2011
AP / DigitalGlobe/dapd

Lest anyone doubt who is responsible for the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan just discarded the uncritical routine and said plant owner TEPCO’s low standards “invited the current situation.”  —PZS

Los Angeles Times:

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan for the first time criticized the TEPCO, which owns the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, for inadequate preparations for a tsunami at the facility. The sea wall at the plant was designed to withstand an 18-foot wave, while the actual tsunami that struck after the magnitude 9 Tohoku earthquake was estimated to be more than 40 feet high.

“It’s undeniable their assumptions about tsunamis were greatly mistaken,” Kan said Tuesday of Tokyo Electric Power Co. in an address to the Japanese parliament. “The fact that their standards were too low invited the current situation.”

Kan also criticized the company for placing the backup diesel generators, which were to provide power to the emergency cooling system, in the basements of reactor buildings, where they were swamped by seawater and disabled.

Read more

More Below the Ad

Advertisement


New and Improved Comments

We are launching a major overhaul of our comments section.

In addition to more robust spam filtering and moderation, new features include the ability to rate other comments, sort how they are displayed and respond directly via e-mail or in a thread.

Unfortunately, commenters will lose their existing Truthdig identities. It's a pain, we know, but on the plus side you will now be able to log in with a plethora of options, including Google, Twitter, Facebook and Disqus accounts.

Before launching this system we spent months in discussion with our top commenters. We listened to the feedback and we hope you like what we've come up with.

Please direct any problems or concerns to us via our contact page.

By morristhewise, March 30, 2011 at 9:36 pm Link to this comment

Radiation from the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant would be tragically dangerous if
mens briefs were contaminated.  It would effect the rapidly dividing cells that
produce sperm, and decrease the wearers sperm count dramatically. In some
instances those cells will not recover, but in most cases they will return to normal
in two years. But only if the wearer changes his contaminated briefs shortly after
exposure.

Report this
Anarcissie's avatar

By Anarcissie, March 30, 2011 at 11:52 am Link to this comment

The time to criticize TEPCO was before the plant blew up.

The time to get rid of the nuclear plant in your vicinity is now, before it blows up.

Report this

By TDoff, March 30, 2011 at 10:30 am Link to this comment

The good news, as of Wednesday morning, is that Japan has decided to scrap it’s FUKU..ed-up nuclear reactors.

The bad news is they have sold, and are going to ship, the scrap to a chap named Osama.

Report this

By Miko, March 30, 2011 at 8:14 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Yeah, and no doubt the plant owner will respond by
blaming the prime minister.  He-said/she-said is only
considered to be evidence by those who’ve already made
up their minds.

Report this

By tweed jackets, March 30, 2011 at 1:39 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

I like Japan.

Report this

By TDoff, March 29, 2011 at 10:58 pm Link to this comment

The Japanese Prime Minister later made a minor correction to his statement that ‘As a result of our recent tests, we find it necessary to extend the nuclear evacuation zone around the plant. Er, excuse me, I’m afraid an ‘e’ in missing on the teleprompter. This should read ‘we find it necessary to extend the nuclear evacuation zone around the PLANET’.

OK, Earthlings, as the old saying goes, ‘Bend over, grab your socks, and kiss your a** goodbye’.

Report this

By old nj guy, March 29, 2011 at 10:06 pm Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)

Did they really admit to putting the backup generators in the basement??  Is that totally retarded, or what?

Report this

By Glen Wayne, March 29, 2011 at 8:50 pm Link to this comment

GE Wiz   empirePie     March 29h, 2011

And so this is progress
The American dream
Like nuclear power
It’s really clean

GE wiz clean, for life on lite
Bringing the reaper to life
Plus guidance systems for strife

Our plow shares are glowing
We reaped what we sowed
Like nuclear terror
The bully is on hold

And so this is progress
The American dream
The rule of the market
The bottom line team

Report this
PatrickHenry's avatar

By PatrickHenry, March 29, 2011 at 7:02 pm Link to this comment

Seize all their assets, shareholders be damned.

In for a penny, in for a pound.

Report this
Queenie's avatar

By Queenie, March 29, 2011 at 5:44 pm Link to this comment

And someone PLEASE lay some blame on G.E. Wasn’t this their design? Or are they like B.P. and will escape with a wrist slap, if that.

These global corporations are killing us!

Report this

By AlexNYC, March 29, 2011 at 5:00 pm Link to this comment

At least someone in government finally said something critical about TEPCO poor planing for contingency situations. Should distater planning also include worst-case scenarios, instead of always best-case scenarios, especially when a nuclear disaster can be so devastating?

Report this

By P.W. Walker, March 29, 2011 at 4:37 pm Link to this comment

File that under the “No Sh*t Sherlock” portion of the filing cabinet.

Report this
Newsletter

Get Truthdig in your inbox


 
 
 
Join the Liberal Blog Advertising Network
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A Progressive Journal of News and Opinion. Editor, Robert Scheer. Publisher, Zuade Kaufman.
Copyright © 2012 Truthdig, L.L.C. All rights reserved.