Nuclear safety panel received donations from industry: report

ahhh "really?"

Goodness what a pants soiling shock! Such conflict of interest, in a modern nation that leads the world in corporate governance! Next thing the food industry may be implicated, next perhaps the tobacco industry?

Pass me a news paper my seat is getting wet!

Is anyone actually surprised by this? The only thing that would surprise me is if they did something about it -- I mean, besides one or two of the commissioners resigning 'to take responsibility' (and their massive severance packages).

I'm surprised it has taken so long for a story like this to come out.

Donations --> ?? and what else ???

maybe I should say:

(TEPCO is a comedian playing to a public that is too terrified to laugh.)

Blessings to all except TEPCO for 2012, Gnosis Essene Saitama

Sounds pretty bad, but can we have some information on what the 'donations' were, there's a big difference between research grants, for example, and an envelope stuffed with money.

GROSS Conflict of interest, it's totally Criminal. Anyone who accepted those Donations should be asked to step Down from their positions.

Pathetic! Japan is filled with wrong doers and corruptions.

We are all in the internet society togeter, and are electronically closely connected to each other..Many including me can read what's going on with Japan from the other side of continent. .

SOLUTON

All civil servants, bureaucrats, politicians have to take ETHICS and SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY classes annualy as a reminder, and these classes have to be a mondatory requirement if they want to stay on the job. Simple, you need to go from there..

commissioners and examiners at Japan’s nuclear safety commission received donations from the country’s nuclear power industry.

Umm, I don't think the Commissioners nor the Examiners do research but I could be wrong.

this country is melting down in many many ways!

star viking,

research grants are just that, donations are evelopes stuffed with ca$h!

This country is rotten tot he core bigtime, not like thats news but it still pisses me off come tax time!

No Surprises here, it is to be expected in a country like this where pay offs, back handers, under the table payments, kick backs, envelopes full of cash and other methods of greasing the palms is considered normal business.

Only surprise is that's it's being reported as news.

Anyone who didnt think or consider this to be reality must be very naive or living in disney land.

All reports are suspect now, on the Nuclear Power Plants reactors facilties marked as safe may not be at all. A good report could come from a Donation. This raises the Bile in my stomach just at the thought that this is going on. Nuclear Power is Too Dangerous for this type of thing to be going on.

Have they no shame at all? No sense of guilt or morality to bring them to bear, that they have exposed millions of people to radiation, and yet they still continue as was. It is beyond belief. Disgusting excuses of people in positions of authority. They should be in prison waiting everyday.

the Nuclear Power Plants reactors facilties marked as safe may not be at all.

It is not a cold shutdown. The temperature of water has been stable and there is no guarantee for safety. Many unknown variable still remains in Fukushima Daiichi Nuke facilities. FYI.

It is not a cold shutdown.

Accually, Noda (and other politicians and TEPCO) never said 冷温停止(reion teishi)=Cold Shutdown. He said 冷温停止状態(reion teishi jotai)=Quasi Cold Shutdown. Later on, Hosono was asked by foreign media at the press conference, "Isn't it misleading to use the word Cold Shutdown?" then he explained the differences between 冷温停止and 冷温停止状態. He said, "Technically, blah, blah, blah..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6RbQw9B56U

SHAME!!!

Mr. Madarame = Mr. Detarame :(

Definition of donation - a voluntary contribution or gift (as of money or service or ideas) made to some worthwhile cause. THE STORY IS INCOMPLETE! Before we throw the stone, we need to know what type of donation was received? Then we need to know what people such as Madarame did with the gifts...did they for instance politely reject or return them? Do companies and entities such as University of Tokyo have policies/ethics on gifts or voluntary contributions received from such sensitive companies? Did Madarame act alone or in the name of University of Tokyo? Did TEPCO for instance offer a service, ideas or something else? If so, what type of service? Is it a type of research partnership between University of Tokyo and TEPCO...or some type of dubious secret envelope full of money offered at a secret meeting?

We should know that at times universities engage with BAD BOYS such as shell, TEPCO, etc that pollute the environment to help the latter develop better technologies for protection of the environment. More information is therefore needed and the current information may seem misleading, but of course raises lots of eye brows and questions. For sensitive companies such as TEPCO, the line between donations around joint research ventures or CSR and outright corruption and conflict of interest has to be drawn through development of stringent policies that put environment protection, people safety and protection first.

Why would appointed inspectors need "donations?" I guess we can't trust anything either the nuke industry or the government says. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised but this is really bad news.

I'm not at all surprised about this. It is a Yakuza-governed society.

@Rick,

I appreciate your post stating the public is not yet fully informed on this issue.

I agree, however if the money was actually given to this guy PERSONALY, it is a criminal offense.

If the gift was DIRECTLY donated to the government project or university, then it is a different story.

I forgot to include the most critical element here I failed to list for the above..

The key element is an "intention" of so called donation that needs to be considered..

If the money was a personal gift who is doing a government research, then it MAY change a meaning of donation to a bribe that serves to induce or influence a person of trust or power..

The same rules MAY apply when the money is given to government projects and government funded universities. If the donor is not seeking a special favor in return, then it should be treated as a gift or a donation.

Very complex issues here. FYI

Dec 10, 2011, Radioactive water leaked inside a nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture

You don't say, I guess the examiner of this facility was too busy depositing his donation into his bank account to notice anything.

Oct 27, 2011, radioactive water leak had been found in the pressure vessel of a nuclear reactor at Japan Atomic Power Co’s Tokai No. 2 nuclear power plant in Ibaraki Prefecture

Here too.

Dec 8, 2011, A nuclear reactor in Fukui will be shut down in western Japan Wednesday because of cooling water valve troubles.

Hmm... I'm sure there are have been many more incidents like these. There are 40 some odd reactors off line, I hope they are properly looked after As well as those that are still functioning.

Nuclear safety panel received donations from industry: report

I'm thoroughly shocked. I never imagined this could happen.

This is not really something the public needs to be concerned with. There are all kinds of complicated internal politics that transcend what needs to be explained. Let's just be thankful that these donations help us have the technology and talent to stop the nuclear problem from getting serious.

Oh the irony. It would be funny, if it weren't so tragic.

It appears that money does really buy anything. I appreciate I am just a naive mother of 3 kids and not some high rolling executive but when does 'a conscience' make an appearance with some folk.

Nuclear safety panel received donations

Donations?

The original Japanese-language Asahi Newspaper story (http://www.asahi.com/national/update/1231/OSK201112310119.html) uses the word 'kifu' (寄付) — duly translated as 'donations' in Asahi's English translation of the article referred to in this AFP article.

Still, use of the word 'donations' is unintentionally comical here since 'donation' usually implies cash was given for charitable uses. I think the word 'payments' or 'alleged donations' should have been used instead in the English version.

Honestly, is anyone surprised reading this? Me, no. This is how business works in Japan: You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.

And TEPCO had to scratch a lot of people's backs to build and run their plants.

It would be a surprise if it weren't true. Jake Adelstein says the whole nuclear industry is soaked through and through with criminals and corruption. http://www.theatlanticwire.com/global/2011/12/yakuza-and-nuclear-mafia-nationalization-looms-tepco/46803/