Lack of Government Responsibility
When Japan was hit with a 9.0 earthquake, followed by a tsunami, and to top it all off, their nuclear power plant exploding, they were taken by surprise at the least. The thought of these three events happening simultaneously may have never crossed the government’s minds, but when it did, it left them at a standstill. Everything was uncoordinated. Information was delayed and there were no evacuation plans for the citizens so improper procedures were taken. Prime Minister Kan was not helping the situation with his poor decision making skills either. He kept his staff small due to trust issues and narrow mindedness. He also was not so quick in accepting assistance from US nuclear experts and also did not trust TEPCO headquarters or the nuclear plant manager, ergo, resulting in the lack of smart and quick decisions. This ultimately lagged the cooling of the reactors after the explosion, which could have helped contain the situation. In the crazy scramble for decisions on how to contain this problem, what was definitely not priority number one on the government’s list was to evacuate the families near the areas affected. It would be days before some clueless families would even be told to evacuate their homes. Rumors would be spreading throughout communities though, about what was going on, but no definite answers were given to these citizens in a timely manner which led to confusion and disarray amongst themselves. This eventually led to memories about the lies told during the Hiroshima incident which formed resentment in the citizens towards the government. What made the government look even worse was the fact that they did not have a containment plan for the nuclear plant. This allowed the radiation to spread into the underground piping system that was running the groundwater throughout Japan. When ex-mayor of Futaba, Katsutaka Idogawa was asked in an interview why the government covered up the real scale of the disaster from the public for so long, his response was that the government wanted to avoid responsibilities that were far too great for them to handle.
References
"Disaster Archipelago: Japan." Disaster Archipelago Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. <http://commons.trincoll.edu/disasterarchipelago/?page_id=430>.
"Fukushima Accident." Fukushima Accident. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/>.
"Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 03 Dec.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#Poor_communication_and_delays>.
"Fukushima Accident." Fukushima Accident. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. <http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Fukushima-Accident/>.
"Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Nov. 2014. Web. 03 Dec.2014.<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fukushima_Daiichi_nuclear_disaster#Poor_communication_and_delays>.