A final report released July 23 by a government panel investigating the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima has concluded that the disaster could have been prevented. The Investigation Committee on the Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Stations of Tokyo Electric Power Company zeroed in not only on the missteps of Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and the Japanese government following the onset of the nuclear disaster, but also on pre-disaster efforts and the organizational and societal backdrop against which the disaster broke out. What has emerged, as a result, is the conclusion that the disaster was not caused by tsunami of unanticipated proportions, but by human error. The committee placed its emphasis not on pinpointing who is responsible for the disaster, but on preventing future incidents to draw out honest testimony from those involved. Because of this, the panel's final report differs from that of the Diet's Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission (NAIIC), in that it refrains from using the term "jinsai," or man-made calamity. Source: The Coming Crisis
