Japan's response to disaster confused, full of errors, report says

This story (as of this writing) has left out an important fact: Exactly who is compiling this report? "Government report" could be anyone or any agency. The nuclear regulators? The prime minister's office? The environmental agency? Mr. Tanaka who cleans the men's rooms at the Diet?

So,nothing fundamental was learnt from the Great Hanshin Earthquake ??

Calm down, seems that way doesn't it? Pathetic.

This story (as of this writing) has left out an important fact: Exactly who is compiling this report? "

Perhaps compiled from JT posters' comments, and now getting govt's endorsement !

Newsman! Here is your answer:

The 507-page interim report was compiled by an independent panel headed by Yotaro Hatamura, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

If you're operating a nuclear power plant, no emergency situation should be 'outside our imagination.' That makes them look completely incompetent.

I think the relevant question now is: would the government really fix the erros, or just sweep this bulky 507-page report under the carpet - again?

Agencies have a tendency of showing off their disaster preparedness drills and plans, but it does seem that most of these plans are of a limited scope, so these "soteigai" events are quite common.

The 507-page interim report was compiled by an independent panel headed by Yotaro Hatamura, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

It pays to read the articles before commenting on them Newsman!

Good luck and happy new year.

Before some of you start the criticism, this is only a short summary of a report that will be finished in six months. And from how it reads it doesn't sound like it stops short of fault finding at all.

Some truth. Good. Should wake up those who have consistently, blindly insisted that everything was done that could have been done in a near perfect application of catastrophe management. Phff!

It's far easier to look back on the disaster now and point fingers and say they should have done this & that. Remember these workers just experienced a 9.0 mega quake, had a massive tsunami take away their families / homes / everything, and had to deal with innumerable large aftershocks. I am not surprised that they were making mistakes they were extremely stressed and grieving from all that happened. I know I wouldn't be functioning at 110% the next day or even weeks at work.

I hope the report focuses more on what can be improved in the future rather than putting blame on the workers.

The story has now been updated, and contains more information, since I first posted.

No surprises there, it looked exactly how this reads.

The kicker for me was when the plant blew up TV was showing it blowing it up but the government didn't admit it for 1 hour later.

Did anybody really expect anything new here? Japanese (leaders, at least) are simply unable to deal with crisis. Rolling with the punches, individuals taking leadership, making quick, hard decisions are not in the DNA.

@Newsman "Exactly who is compiling this report? "

Maybe you should read the article before you comment. "The 507-page interim report was compiled by an independent panel headed by Yotaro Hatamura, a professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo. "

@Greapper1 I totally agree. Has there been any big natural disasters anywhere in the world where people said "Everything was handled perfectly, we could not have planned this better " ?

It's same as those Mr. Know It alls who criticize the way a game was played after a game of baseball or soccer. Anyone can criticize. Maybe those who are writing the report should go to Fukushima nuclear plants and show the workers how it should be done. And let the workers criticize them afterward.

@Hide Suzuki: I agree, no plan is perfect. May it be a construction plant, or any other major plant, there are the basic emergency protocols which everyone is expected to know by heart. But the main points here are:

the workers failed to communicate, not only with the government but also among themselves

Even small Japanese firms have their ホウ-レン-ソウ, which stands for 報告-連絡-相談, which, according to the report has been lacking.

There was no clear manual to follow

Duh, no manual for emergency situations? Or was it too thick that it was more of a doorstopper?

Workers assumed the system was working, despite several warning signs it had failed

How many flashing red lights do you need to know that something is malfunctioning?

You don't need a report to know that Japan's response to the disaster was full of errors. Good on the independent panel for doing it though.

Not sure where some of you are going by claiming the report is too harsh or it's too easy to criticize after the fact, etc. Whether something constructive happens remains to be seen, but these things need to be publicly acknowleged. Isn't Japan's lack of transparency endlessly faulted on this site?

Japan's response to disaster confused, full of errors,

This is a natural thing.

This is a highly hierarchic consensus seeking society and disasters don't wait until they go through long days of manual writing board meetings as one ventures to make individual decisions. Disasters are impolite.

Japanese are highly talented smart people who can learn and do everything in the world but just nothing comes from inside. To handle unexpected situations that are not in the manual need inner power.

Also, sense of responsibility cannot be learned and should come from inside.

Zichi,

do you think the LDP would be any better? The DPJ inherited a dysfunctional government/bureaucracy system that is incapable by design of quick or appropriate action, a system that is run by the bureaucrats, for the bureaucrats.

The sad fact is that any failings are due to this set-up - which grew and prospered under the LDP. The clarion call should not be to close down all nuclear facilities - it should be to clean up the bureaucracy and government and go from there.

as one ventures = as no one ventures

I agree with Greapper1. All I got was shaken up and a few things falling to the floor and breaking, but I was still shaking and far from 100% days later. Not being able to contact the family (phones down) had me in a panic. It was a major effort to clear up the broken glass and china in the kitchen, don't think I would have fared very well if I'd had to deal with anything more serious or dangerous.

The point wasn't that the workers on the ground didn't get it right first time - the point is that it was a mistake to build a nuclear plant in the first place, especially in a place where earthquakes and tsunami are frequent occurrences, and assume that nothing could go wrong. And obvious lies from the government about safety in the early days meant that people are unwilling to accept what the government says now about radiation, food safety, etc.

Hey Peeps, name me one country that would have done a better job?

It isn't a matter of doing better, it is a matter of being honest with the people. COVER-UP is not acceptable, which is exactly what happened. Everyone needs to remember who was in charge of the government at that time and to vote for anyone else. Maybe he or she can "do a better job."

TEPCO and the Japanese government in general has been a pack of liars. That they are slave driving the poor arubeito workers is a crime against humanity. No one believes the authorities anymore. What a mess.

Name one country? We will have to wait for someone to buid a set of reactors on a coast line in a known are of frequent seismic activity and prone to tsunamis. Fail to take precautions and undertake Maitanence schedules, fail to have trained staff in emergency procedure. Authorities that did not communicate, or lied a Government regulatory body that accepted an emergency plan sketched on a napkin. And bungling at all levels. And it's not close to being over.

Question should be - name one country that has screwed up so royaly?

It's hard to think of any government anywhere that has handled any major disaster ever with 100% efficiency.

@Mabo: Spot on - I see that 2 people already have already replied to your comment but have skirted around the issue, so I'm with Badge213 above.

Well... I think we can all agree that a report wasn't needed on this. It's blatantly obvious that "Japan's response to disaster (was) confused, full of errors".

"The disturbing picture of harried and bumbling workers and government officials scrambling to respond to the problems at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was depicted in the report detailing a government investigation."

All well known facts beforehand, but this is a nation full of officials that simply say 'shouganai' (or 'soteigai') and seemingly learn NOTHING from similar disasters. Once this dies down a little more the power companies will start pushing the government again to restart plants, and build MORE plants in dangerous areas, likely on fault lines, etc. This report will go directly from Noda's hands into the dumpster just above the pen that ran out of ink from signing so many backroom deals.

Well, isn't this report a big surprise, NOT! It is so ironic how the Japanese spend so much time and money on drills for these kinds of events and then, when the big one came the wheels fell off everything. I still vividly remember the endless stream of people walking through Ichikawa until 6am on March 12 trying to make their home. The Toei-Oedo line in Tokyo is supposed to be disaster proof and was built to provide access to the city in the event of a major quake, which is why it was built so deep underground. Guess what? It didn't bloody work! It was shut down with the rest of the trains.

As for what happened in Fukushima (or didn't happen). They were like a bunch of headless chickens running around with no idea what to do. With the BS and denials made by TEPCO and the lack of leaked info by the J-Gov it was very clear they were smoke-screening to cover up the fact they had no idea what was going on or what to do about it.

Not everything fell apart. If we were to look at the Earthquake itself, many buildings swayed but did not collapese and cause thousands to die. I think I'd rather be in an Earthquake while in Tokyo then say in Thahiti.

507 pages... sweepstake on how many things were described as "regrettable", anyone?

While there certainly may be the possibility that some things could be improved in the future, one the we learned from the crisis is that Japan handled the situation better than any other nation possibly could have. While the DPJ may be completely incompetent and unable to do anything right, as a whole the nation of Japan came out of these crisis unscathed and ready to ramp up our use of nuclear power, after showing our strong level of safety and teamwork. Our bureaucratic and business leadership shined on a level never before seen in the history of human crises. Japan saved the rest of the world from a potential disaster, and now will lead it in the future of safe, clean, environmentally friendly nuclear energy for the future of humankind!

TEPCO (at least vice president Muto and the plant manager Yoshida) knew big tsunami could hit the plants. It was not "soteigai" TEPCO made its 2008 assessment based on the premise that an earthquake of the same magnitude as the Meiji Sanriku Earthquake in 1896(magunitue 8.3), Jogan Earthquake in 869(magnitude 8.4). The assessment was reported to vise president Sakae Muto and the plant manager Masao Yoshida. Those two were also told that in order to build a coastal barrier, it would cost 10+billion yen and take 4 years. Muto and Yoshida said the assessment had lack of foundation and decided to ignore it.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110826005191.htm http://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20111226/t10014925461000.html

It is all about money and a head in the sand mentality,

The disaster is deemed to be over yet in actity it is just beginning....

Perhaps the more interesting question is has any other country, with nuclear plants ,learned anything from it. Here in the states we are still in denial that it could happen on this level in our country, despite the fact that we have 27 of these same flawed reactors? Cutting corners is certainly the American ways as well and bean counters have the same limits here as in Japan, not too mention that none of our plant operations will have the responsibility for taking care of the disaster they cause either and such plants re limited by law to paying for far less damage than is likely to happen when it does. We have still not done any long term studies on the people that were exposed to Three Mile Island. We really don't want to know how they were and are still being affected.

We don't even want to know the affect of use of all that depleted uranium in weapons, shells and missiles and bombs that we not only are exposing our own troops to long after it has been outlawed by the rest of the world, but all the hapless civilians we have been exposing to it and who will still be affected generations down the line, by genetic damage alone, much less and remaining residue. Just a great way to get rid of nuclear waste, I guess by the bean counters in the US government.

Mr Christopher san,

Perhaps the more interesting question is has any other country, with nuclear plants ,learned anything from it.

Thank you for your comment. I think that is an excellent question. Of course, outsider countries will be studying Japan as a template for how to successfully deal with such a situation, especially with such a powerful earthquake and little to no urban damage. Then there is the fact that no sickness or death can be proven to be linked to the nuclear plant hiccups. This is important as it shows the importance of good planning, solid leadership and Japanese style teamwork. There is much for other nations to learn here. I hope they will send study teams.

@MaboDofuIsSpicyDec, Well, Russia for one. Their handling of Chernobyl was definitely more proactive. They sent up airplanes to seed clouds to precipitate out the radiation released to the air over surrounding farmlands, before it reached major centers. They also sent in workers to check on conditions and to try to manage the situation - sending those people to their deaths albeit. However, Japan had its Kamikaze...

To all the people supporting the government's and Tepco's handling over the nuclear crisis: It's not a matter of whether it was 100% or not - 100% is not practically achievable. The questions are, 1) was their preparedness enough?, 2) was their reaction good enough. Seems neither was the case based on this report..

What I hope for is that the final report high-lights another tendency through-out the nuclear industry/regulators/government - that of willful blindness. This was not a situation of 'souteigai' at all. The Sumatra earthquake of 2004 generated waves 10m - 30m in height. The exact same coastline of Japan already had markers left by past generations showing where giant tsunamis had reached. There were precedents, old and recent, to say 6m was by no means a physical upper limit - as they had previously claimed... Another aspect side-stepped by Tepco/Hitachi/et al. was how they did not heed the warning of G.E., the reactors' own designers, of technical safety issues with the reactor's design - from the 70's... Willful blindness, which is a phenomenon recognized by some countries' courts, is not an excuse. Willful blindness by professionals in their profession translates to criminal negligence.

Not an issue of who didn't do what. Dangerous nuclear technology is the only issue.

Nonanon,

The exact same coastline of Japan already had markers left by past generations showing where giant tsunamis had reached.

I don't think there was any precedent for the level we saw on March 11. There was certainly no human way possible to have predicted waves that high on that particular day. There is no way anyone could have seen it coming.

I don't think there was any precedent for the level we saw on March 11.

Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (日本三代実録, "The True History of Three Reigns of Japan")is an officially commissioned Japanese history text. It says the 869 Jogan Sanriku earthquake and tsunami struck the area around Sendai on 9 July 869. The estimated magnitude was 8.6. "The sea soon rushed into the villages and towns, overwhelming a few hundred miles of land along the coast. There was scarcely any time for escape, though there were boats and the high ground just before them. In this way about 1,000 people were killed." (written in Kambun style)

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/869_Sanriku_earthquake_and_tsunami

Those people 1000 years ago experienced the massive earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku. They kept the record written so that the future generation would learn from the event. It's unfortunate that it's ignored.

[previous massive earthquake/tsunami in Japan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1896_Meiji-Sanriku_earthquake

http://www.seisvol.kishou.go.jp/eq/higai/higai-1995.html

Disillusioned: "It is so ironic how the Japanese spend so much time and money on drills for these kinds of events and then, when the big one came the wheels fell off everything."

People have a weird definition of irony on this site; it's EXPECTED, and therefore not at all ironic. Ironic would be Kosuke Kitajima drowning in a Mr. Turtle pool, or me pointing at yet another radiation leak and saying (not asking, hence irony), "So it's been resolved, huh?"

Anyway, I agree with you that they were utterly clueless, but try to see disaster drills in Japan as more-like sending someone a nengajou -- it's something you have to do, not something with any meaning (for most you send, anyway). Better yet, look at it like a sports day run through at a junior highschool -- they practice for the thing from the start of second term, so there is no actual event. If the events of March 11th had happened on an actual sports day teachers and parents would be looking through the predetermined schedule of events and results to see what went wrong. The PTA would demand a meeting with the school, who would hold a meeting to decide if the meeting should be held and when.

I once tried to suggest to the people in charge of holding the disaster drills in major cities that they put a foreigner in the mix of people posing as victims, and have said foreigner pretend s/he could not speak Japanese. I could not reach anyone too high up the authority chain but the person I DID manage to talk to said it was not 'part of the plan', as though the result of a disaster could possibly be mapped out like a sports day or like the nitwits in government and TEPCO thought this was (before calling out 'out of the realm of expectation'). You can't prepare for the unexpected when you've been told what to expect and that you should expect no more.

Mr Blair,

Thank you for your comment. I have checked that text. It seems the people did experience quite an earthquake at that time! It also seems very close to the same area. Is there any form of damage or rock structure that we can still see now? As you point out, we have experienced an 8.6 magnitude before, but a 9.0 could never be foreseen.

If you're operating a nuclear power plant, no emergency situation should be 'outside our imagination.'

Alien invasion?

name me one country that would have done a better job

Germany.

Britain.

France.

Mr Blair,

Mr.?

The real question is - is the govt, and society any better prepared for a 7, or 8 earthquake hitting close to Tokyo? I don't think so.

They weren't prepared in Kobe and they weren't prepared for March 11 - even thought they should have been. This is earthquake and tsunami country for heaven's sake.

Japanese are just too proud. And they still don't seem to have the ability to imagine and make counter measures for "What if" situations.

Tell them to build a better car, TV set or train and they are fantastic. But their ability to plan for , and respond to disaster is terrible.

Experts at making simple things difficult.

"As you point out, we have experienced an 8.6 magnitude before, but a 9.0 could never be foreseen."

So, this guy is either a gaijin having fun - or he's really Japanese. In which case ....I rest my case.

"I once tried to suggest to the people in charge of ....."

Oh Dear Mr Smith ..... kudos for still trying in spite of what you know about Japan.

There is now a temporary barrier that has been thrown up against the sea.

This Fukushima nuclear mess will take at least 40 years to clean up. Maybe they haven't published the plans yet, but I sure hope they are hard at work designing a new wall to protect the fragile emergency system now in place.

If another tsunami comes along and washes away this barrier tomorrow or the next day, I really do not want to hear anyone say: "We never imagined in our wildest dreams!".....souteigai, again.

The report criticized the use of the term soteigai, meaning outside our imagination

This is where Japan always fails in history. Japan needs to adopt a risk management with a concept " Beyond the Reasonable Doubt".for safety. I hope there is a system in place for the next ones.

j4p4nFTWDec. 27, 2011 - 02:11PM JST

Japan saved the rest of the world from a potential disaster, and now will lead it in the future of safe, clean, environmentally friendly nuclear energy for the future of humankind!

Japan saved the rest of the world from a potential disaster?

LOL. Still leaking tons of radioactive water to the Paific Ocean. What do you wanna do about it? You are polluting the ocean and fish. Do something about it PRONTO! From USA

Safe nuke energy?

On Tofu Islands of Japan, Nahhh.... Ignorant and arrogant!

There is no such thing like "SAFE" nukes as long as you build them on earthquake prone islands. You are dealing with unkown variables.

There are hundreds of tsunami stone tablets dot the coast of Japan. They are warnings across generations, telling descendants to avoid the same suffering as their ancestors. In a small village called Aneyoshi, the stone says, "Do not build your homes below this point!" The villagers have faithfully obeyed the warning and all of them were safely out of reach of the 3.11 tsunami. The waves stopped just 100 meters below the stone, and the village beyond it.

But modern Japan, people are overconfident and believe advanced technology and higher seawalls would protect vulnerable areas, and ignore the ancient warnings.

http://bayourenaissanceman.blogspot.com/2011/04/warnings-from-past.html

If TEPCO and the government had taken those ancestors' warnings more seriously, things could have been different.

Blair, thanks again for good weblinks.

The tsunami stones are warnings across generations, telling descendants to avoid the same suffering as their ancestors,

j4p4nFTWDec. 27, 2011 - 02:54PM JST

Of course, outsider countries will be studying Japan as a template for how to successfully deal with such a situation

Yes, the world has been very compassionate when you guys are in suffering. The sad truth is that we are monitoring all radioactive effects on food, water and humans for the next 10,20,50, 100 years.. Japan a template? Yes, you are.

Recent studies also suggest Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster — which could have health and safety implications far into the future. According to a study led by Andreas Stohl the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, twice as much radioactive cesium-137 — a cancer-causing agent — was pumped into the atmosphere than Japan had announced, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl. The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety found 30 times more cesium-137 was released into the Pacific than the plant's owner has acknowledged. Under a detailed roadmap, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. will remove the melted nuclear fuel, most of which is believed to have fallen to the bottom of the core or even down to the bottom of the larger, beaker-shaped containment vessel, a process that is expected to begin in 10 years. All told, decommissioning the plant will likely take 40 years.

I wouldn't use the word " underestimate " !!!!! I would use the word " stupefied " or " playing down the situation " OR white lies

God Bless Japan

Few points...

Firstly, this has nothing to do with the government's response to the earthquake/tsunami but the response to the nuclear incident. The headline is misleading.

Secondly, before we all blame the government for the location of Dai Ichi, the height of the sea wall etc let's remember how long they have actually been in power (hint it's less than 4 years which is the time one poster said it would have taken to build a sea wall high enough).

Thirdly it's just wrong to tarnish all of Fukushima with the same brush. And helps no-one. It certainly doesn't help the people in the north who's own national post office refuses to deliver to them. But will deliver to Fukushima city which was far more badly contaminated.

Finally going on the tablets point, ALL over Tohoku are signs saying 'expected tsunami inundation area end'. Sadly, in most cases they were wrong.

zichi

There are 124 Meiji-sanriku tsunami stones(114 in Iwate, 10 in Miyagi), 157 Showa-sanriku tsunami stones (7 in Aomori, 84 in Iwate, 66 in Miyagi), 12 Meiji+Showa Sanriku tsunami (Iwate only), 12 Chile tsunami(7 in Iwate, 5 in Miyagi), 3 Edo period tsunami(Iwate only), 8 Unknown (1 in Aomori, 6 in Iwate, 1 in Miyagi). Total: 316 stones. There are a number of tsunami stones in Tokushima prefecture.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/mineot/archives/51877261.html

http://www.jishin.go.jp/main/bosai/kyoiku-shien/13tokushima/material/tksm_22_3.pdf

zichi Dec. 28, 2011 - 02:01AM JST

Six days before the March 11 disasters, Masashi Hayakawa knew that a major earthquake was imminent. Using data gathered at the Seismo-electromagnetics Research Station at the University of Electro-Communications in Chofu, Tokyo, Hayakawa says he found "conspicuous anomalies" that clearly indicated a major event was just days away.

Sadly a science in its infancy - hopefully it will be developed enough to warn before the next big one hits.

Cheers Blair.

I see there are none in Fukushima.

Heda_Madness Dec. 28, 2011 - 10:15AM JST

Finally going on the tablets point, ALL over Tohoku are signs saying 'expected tsunami inundation area end'. Sadly, in most cases they were wrong.

And that's the thing that continues to get me about this focus solely on TEPCO. Over 25,000 people died in the tsunamis - who was suposed to be responsible for keeping the tsunami threat updated? If TEPCO can be faulted for not moving on a report of an increased tsunami risk which caused the release of radiation across a wide area of Japan, then why aren't people being hung out to dry for their lax work causing the deaths of tens of thousands?

whiskeysourDec. 28, 2011 - 05:06AM JST

Recent studies also suggest Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster — which could have health and safety implications far into the future. According to a study led by Andreas Stohl the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, twice as much radioactive cesium-137 — a cancer-causing agent — was pumped into the atmosphere than Japan had announced, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl.

Stohl's report made use of radiation readings across the Pacific - these were not available at the time the Japanese govt. made their initial report - which concerned just readings over land. Indeed, when you compare the readings over land Stohl's and the J-Govs are close.

Inability to operate the pumps to circulate water in the reactor is identified as the cause for core meltdown. What about the source, water? Does TEPCO rely on desalination plants alone for fresh water source? or Is it possible to use sea water to cool nuclear reactor?

If I recall correctly Michael, sea water was usable - but salt build-up could cause corrosion and blockage problems.

Blair,

Thank you for the links and information! Very good readings.

Yasukuni,

The real question is - is the govt, and society any better prepared for a 7, or 8 earthquake hitting close to Tokyo? I don't think so.

As time passes, people are less prepared. My neighbor told me he made a earhquake survival kit after the quake, but now he has eaten all the tinned food, drank all the bottled water and used all the matches and condoms without buying more to replace them! He laughed as he told me this, but I say you must buy more to have food on hand in case of a disaster. He laughs and says we already had the big one.

Quite a good video here guessing the situations inside reactors 1, 2 & 3 and why three is still pretty much unapproachable. I wish TEPCO would produce something easy to understand like this.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/movie/feature_nuclear.html

@Mabo, @j4p4nftw, study your history. Try the net for honest, untampered history texts. US did better than Japan, Soviet Union did better than Japan, UK did better than Japan -- Edo period Japanese did better than modern Japanese in preparing for tsunamis!! Have you not seen the warning stones, saying in Japanese "do not build houses closer to the coast than this"?!? Even Tohoku electric company did better than Tepco in preparing Onagawa nuclear plant for tsunamis!!

With all the world's experience at your disposal, you choose to forget world's lessons, even your own country's!! What credibility do you think you have left?!?