Fukushima panel chief hopes for change in Japan
October 17, 2012 The head of a hard-hitting panel that blamed cultural factors for the Fukushima nuclear disaster voiced hope Tuesday that the tragedy would help open up Japan’s system of government.
The independent commission issued a damning report in July that blamed the world’s worst nuclear accident in a generation in part on Japan’s “reflexive obedience” and ingrained collusion among industry, government and regulators.
Kiyoshi Kurokawa, a professor who headed the panel, visited Washington to present an English-language translation of the report, saying that he wanted to be transparent and to encourage change inside his country.
“Japan has been doing reasonably okay, but I think not really adapting to the changing, uncertain times of this global world,” Kurokawa said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank.
“I think we need all of the pressure for the Japanese establishment to change and adapt,” he said.
“I think it will be very difficult for Japan to change,” he said, while adding that he hoped “in retrospect, maybe 10 years from now” that the panel would be seen as a sign of change in how Japan is governed.
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