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TEPCO apologizes again and again

45 Comments

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I used to laugh at various scandals and incompetence over the years but now... this not funny anymore. Heads are going to roll. Oh! Wait... No that's right. Bow, cry and everything will be forgotten.

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Sorry doesn't cut it. I'm thinking public lynching of the entire management.

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BTW, whatever has happened with the president? The only one doing the apologizing and showing his face is the vice president. Is the president still in charge?

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this article is nuts like the guys in it.

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Apology after apology after apology!! Apologies doe not do anything for anyone!! TEPCO should get their facts strait and fix the problem. If they can`t fix the problem, they should consult a lot of outside help to fix the problem. Seems like whatever they do does not work and which only puts people lives in danger. All of these people working on the reactors does not have the proper safety materials to protect themselves and the radiation that they are trying to get rid of is spreading like a disease that seems to never go away. Now it is in the water, food, air, soil and many other things. Maybe the top officials of TEPCO should go to the power plant in person and see the damage for themselves rather than sitting in a big office in Tokyo or wherever they are talking a lot of cow crap!!

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Bureaucrats are good at KEEPING their job, not at doing their jobs.

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I agree with you apple407 one million percent.

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What!?! No seppuku?

I can give them that they improved their briefings' looks by removing the guys writing stuff on white board and scotchtaping papers to it. It looked disorganized and incompetent. The rest looks like a giant mess and IMHO TEPCO's suits are spending as much energy covering stuff up to save themselves and limit the fees/lawsuits then to solve the plants problems.

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I don't know what's worse....the apologies after apologies after apologies after apologies, or the AC comercials again and again and again and again and again.

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There should have been an international team working on this from the start. It probably would have been contained already.

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TEPCO is one of Japan's top companies. Like other recent disclosures at other Japanese Blue Chips the Emperor's Clothes are no longer new.

I expect even this disaster, and I don't mean the earthquake but TEPCOs response, will go largely un-addressed. The problem for this Galapagos is the world will/has move on.

Sayonara Nippon! OR Change! Clean you house and be great again... later OK!

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Its time to relieve TEPCO of the responsibility of resolving this disaster! Let's move to the next level and get some government or world brains working on the problem. 2.5 weeks is more than enough time to attempt to safe the Nuke Plant...but I think its time to write it off and look at sealing the plant up and moving on. Lives before money!!!

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Hey TEPCO creeps: Apologies not accepted.

It is is past time for patient with TEPCO and the bureaucratic morons who are supporting them.

TEPCO should be nationalized immediately and international experts brought in to clean up this mess.

This is not simply a local issue. It is an international issue. If the Japanese authorities won't do anything about TEPCO then the international community should step in.

Forget Iran. The clear and present nuclear danger is right here in Japan.

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thepro: There should have been an international team working on this from the start. It probably would have been contained already.

I actually don't think it would been any better.

Backup systems are wrecked. Only Superman would have been able to do anything.

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I feel that this is the end of Amakudari system in Japan, which is good since the president of TEPCO has to be on the spot light now for doing nothing during this situation except for faking an illness. TEPCO Apologies? for what lieing about and trying to cover up more lies? they should all be sent to the leaking facility and dipped in the water!

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”But in Japan, responsibility tends to be spread out, imperiling crisis management.”

Yep. Seen that a lot. I just kind of hoped it wasn't the same in a nuclear power plant crisis.

But the Mitsuhiko Tanaka guy they quoted is another guy worth googling. Read his interview in Bloomberg.

If Japan doesn't change now they never will.

The boots edisode is a perfect example. If TEPCO didn't give them good boots, their own company should have. And then in the end, individual Japanese need to learn to question and speak up for themselves. (I am not criticising the two workers - just wishing they could have spoken up. I know that many in their situation could have been concerned but not wanted to speak up or cause trouble.)

The great strength of Japanese of doing things all together and working together and not standing out etc is really a great thing in most cases. But not when you have to act quickly. I'd rather work with Japanese alongside me than gaijin any day of the week. But Japanese bosses? No thanks.

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In a crisis situation, it is important to establish a crisis room bringing together various entities into a single management. As this is a critical national security and environmental crisis, the government is allowed to take over the management from TEPCO. If I was Kan, I would place the Fukushima plant under the authority of government or self-defense forces. TEPCO have shown again and again their lack of responsibility. Furthermore, they have until now refused any independent or foreign assessment of the situation. For example, they have initially refused the help of French nuclear authorities (robots, specialists...), although they yesterday announced they would seek the help of Areva and CEA. Independent monitoring (from academic or governmental sources, even Japanese) is not allowed by TEPCO.

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Merge TEPCO with TokyoGas to develop a more holistic energy policy. Instead of centralizing electric generation at power plants which loses 60% through transfer, we should focus on decentralization by utilizing mini and micro cogeneration system which generates electricity and heat at household and larger facilities like hospitals and apartment complex. With this system it can be introduced within a year and with enough system online it would generate an equivalent to a nuclear power plant. One of the reason why this is not promoted more is because of the turf war between the two utility companies. With the two merger it will have more to gain since the new company can solve the shortage crisis within a year and will not need to construct a new power plant.

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I DO NOT ACCEPT any and all apologies

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Criminals, stupidity compounded by cultural norms, the world is watching this shamble of a response, and snacking it's head, German Tv have stopped airing the Simpsons as it is too close the current situation. TEPCO are on par with the Simpsons. Might pay my next bill with beer and doughnuts, or send some shoes for the staff.

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Welcome to the Land of the Rising Screw-up.

The stupidities have now gone beyond TEPCO. The Japanese government and all the so-called experts that NHK has paraded to a tell us there are no risks to human safety have proven themselves utterly useless.

The 1995 Awaji-Hanshin Daishinsai showed that the Japan government was incapable of crisis management. Then volunteers stepped in where the government failed. Volunteers cannot help in this case. We need responsible people in charge. There are none to be found in Japan, at least as long as the status quo prevails. An international force, invited or not, must step in and real experts must put a stop to this mess.

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I'd rather work with Japanese alongside me than gaijin any day of the week. But Japanese bosses? No thanks.

But eventually that Japanese along side of you will one day be the boss.

When this eventually all settles down the entire sanyaku at TEPCO should be publicly humiliated, fired, without benefits, and made persona-non-gratia.

Yeah right, probably become the next PM.

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Like I said before, in China these inept jijis will be executed, in Europe tried and jailed, but in Japan all they have to do is bow and say "gomeiwaku o kakete moushiwake gozaimasen".

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This is what happens when a mere utility company is given and allowed to have nuclear technology.

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How much longer is the spineless J-Gov gonna let these fools make a balls-up of this? I agree it is no easy task, but that is no excuse for the stupid mistakes that keep coming up. My favorite was the release of the data stating there was 10 million times the accepted level of radiation, which they retracted the following day. They have also been refusing international help and intervention from day one. They US stepped in the other day to deliver fresh water for the cooling systems, but they were not invited. There are half a dozen countries offering expert assistance, but they are not being received. Just another mistake!

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It is not TEPCO apologize. It is the govt, both ruling part and opposition for allowing TEPCO to run such a way a nuclear power plant.

Put those amakudaris in to jail. Let it be a model for others too...

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Let's keep harassing them until they can't do anything at all.

The 1995 Awaji-Hanshin Daishinsai showed that the Japan government was incapable of crisis management.

Based on...?

They have also been refusing international help and intervention from day one.

Um, try reading news occasionally. You know, seeing that you already on a site that provides news, just try scrolling up every now and then. You see that text above the comment's section? That's got some information on what's going on...

If you can't read, ask a friend to help out.

@ TumbleDry

Thanks for a sensible post

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This talk of international experts coming in seems impractical - they would need to take a crash course in Japanese to make heads or tails of the instrumentation and manuals. Also, w/ the hydrogen pressure explosions may have rendered some of the instrumentation sensors inaccurate. They just got into the Control Rooms w/ power, so the situation is still disorganized. Some of those technicians are probably crapping in their pants looking at the conditions they are working in.

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What American should learn is that a nation cannot rely on companies to regulate themselves. TEPCO is just one of many examples. Remember " companies are run for the bottom line", this is not the way to run a government. Be warned, if you have not learned by now the pit falls of unregulated companies (1998 economic collapse, Wall street)then look close at the TEPCO response to this disaster. The next time you hear Newt Gingrich, Holly Barry or some Texas conservative attack Government regulations, think of TEPCO, or BP in the Gulf for that matter.

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This talk of international experts coming in seems impractical - they would need to take a crash course in Japanese to make heads or tails of the instrumentation and manuals.

They don't need experts to run the machines, they need them to help with engineering quick fixes to all the little problems they are running into.

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I've read just about every significant book on how Japanese Corporations are run, and TEPCO is probably a model example. Once they set up in the Control Room, they will methodically start knocking out the problem one by one in a relentless manner - they are amazing w/ machines.

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There should be iron bars between them and us as they apologize.

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Tumbledry, back up systems? This is Japan. Japan is famous for earthquakes and tsunami. The only back up systems that count can be transported by ship or helicopter or are located on nearby mountain tops and they did not have any. Everything that happened was predictable and nuclear power is too serious not to have all your bases covered.

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apecNetworks: "Once they set up in the Control Room, they will methodically start knocking out the problem one by one in a relentless manner - they are amazing w/ machines."

Maybe you missed the article; it states a number of ways in which TEPCO has screwed up, and such screw-ups are unforgivable. They are not 'amazing with machines', they are clearly inept and incompetent.

I've been saying it since the day after the tsunami, and now we have an article written solely about the problems of TEPCO, and yet people have been asking day after day for 'proof' that TEPCO has lied or has done anything wrong.

"Adding to the uncertainty is TEPCO’s troubled history of cover-ups and scandals."

I've also stated this a number of times and been challenged to provide proof, despite it being a well-known fact they have covered up things in the past.

"When pressed for details, TEPCO officials often simply don’t answer. They say they will check, insist an answer would disclose personal information or say they don’t know."

If this weren't so sad, it would be comical.

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If Tepcos problems are confined to not reporting the facts accurately or fast enough to please the press, SO WHAT!!!!! There are several nuclear reactors with more pressing needs to attend to. As for isolated incidents such as the workers boots, what do you expect? There;s no time outs, no replays, no practice. It's war against the machines. Pray......

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ozonaiguy: "If Tepcos problems are confined to not reporting the facts accurately or fast enough..."

Clearly they are not, or did you miss the fact that a nuclear facility is in chaos and they are sending workers into radioactive water with running shoes?

And by the way, 'not reporting the facts accurately' in a nuclear disaster is quite a big problem -- especially when they are mixing up radioactive elements and claiming something is 100 times worse than it is (causing workers to flee, in fact).

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I can’t help but be reminded of the episode of South Park where they have BP apologizing after disaster after disaster in an increasingly humorous way.

What good does it do to keep apologizing over and over? If they want to make it seem like they care, why don’t they release more info, start firing people who send ill prepared contractors into a horribly dangerous situation, and people who ignored logic, common sense, and facts

I am sure people would rather have results and information, two things I am not seeing myself, from what little info I can gleam out of the situation.

I am extremely impressed with how the Japanese populace has handled this disaster. I wish I could say we in the US would have handled as well as the poor folks in north eastern Japan

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This talk of international experts coming in seems impractical - they would need to take a crash course in Japanese to make heads or tails of the instrumentation and manuals.

Documentation in radiation controlled areas is usually bilingual (english + local language). I don't think it is a legal requirement but it is usually the case.

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I have learned that it is wonderful when they apologize. It is always the first step toward making things right. But only the first step.

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Its cool Tepco. We don't mind a little radiation. Anyway, as Tepco suggests, there is no immediate health concern.

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Way to late to apologize. They should get the engineers who decided to build these reactors without the required safety concerns 40 years ago and nail them to the wall. These are the guys who created this problem in the first place. Experts have been warning that something like this could happen for years. Somehow they seem to have thaught that they could play a game with mother nature. You don't.

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@rtega

At the very least, the people who signed falsified documents should be tried and put in jail.

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top post has a point... a *** strong one.

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Mangaman: Tumbledry, back up systems? This is Japan. Japan is famous for earthquakes and tsunami. The only back up systems that count can be transported by ship or helicopter or are located on nearby mountain tops and they did not have any. Everything that happened was predictable and nuclear power is too serious not to have all your bases covered.

After the quake hit, the reactors went in shutdown as planned. The tsunami, supposedly, broke the backup systems. The reactors got their cooling system running on batteries. The batteries died and TEPCO not being able to start the backup systems, overheating, explosions, furious posters on JT (like me).

Yes, it was predictable, TEPCO decided to take a bet and lost. While TEPCO and the government should be punished, this should be a lesson for other NPP operators and countries too.

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TumbleDry - TEPCO decided to take a greedy bet and the country of Japan lost.

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