Strange Japanese press conference calls for jailing of Tepco officials, guilty of criminal error — Says international media damaged ‘Japan Brand’ (1hr VIDEO)

Published: March 11th, 2012 at 9:04 am ET
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Title: TEPCO’s Criminal Error and The Media’s Responsibility
Source: THE FOREIGN CORRESPONDENTS’ CLUB OF JAPAN
Uploaded by: ugayaunviersity
Date: March 8, 2012

Dr. Eiichi Yamaguchi, Chairman of Fukushima Project & Professor, Doshisha University
Morinosuke KAWAGUCHI, Associate Director, Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc

“TEPCO’s Criminal Error and The Media’s Responsibility”, by The FUKUSHIMA Project

With the one year anniversary of the March 11 disaster coming up, what did we really find out, and what can we learn? Did TEPCO make a criminal error on their decisions in the first few days dealing with the biggest nuclear power disaster in 25 years?

What about the media? Did the international media damage Japan’s reputation with their overreaction to the unfolding events? And should the Japanese media have done more to counter the factually incorrect coverage?

FUKUSHIMA Project, a grass-roots investigation committee, which is composed of a group of academics and professionals, conducted a private investigation into TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Power Plant accident, and concluded that they could prove the cause of the accident was a criminal error on the part of TEPCO’s technology management in the first days of the accident.

The group also looked into the media coverage of the crisis, and believes that some international media’s coverage in the first two weeks of the crisis contributed to the tarnishing reputation of the “Japan Brand”. At the same time, with Japanese media’s “poor coverage”, they missed the chance to counter with “defensive coverage”.

FUKUSHIMA Project has published their report, “Fukushima Report: The Essentials of the Power Plant Accident” in January this year in Japanese, while they are searching for a publisher for their English edition, they will come to FCCJ to talk about their findings.

Professor Eiichi Yamaguchi, born in 1955, received his Bachelor and Doctorate degrees in Physics from the University of Tokyo. After working at NTT and several distinguished laboratories, he was appointed as a professor of Doshisha University in 2003.

Morinosuke Kawaguchi, born in 1961, is an Associate Director for Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc. He received Bachelors degree in applied chemistry from Keio University, and a Master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Before joining Arthur D. Little, he worked at the Kansai Research Institute. He was also previously an engineer for 15 years at Hitachi Co. Ltd.

Published: March 11th, 2012 at 9:04 am ET
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31 comments

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31 comments to Strange Japanese press conference calls for jailing of Tepco officials, guilty of criminal error — Says international media damaged ‘Japan Brand’ (1hr VIDEO)

  • jackassrig

    Good God another PHD in Physics. I smell another Steven Chu Chu, Does he have a Nobel Prize.


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    • CaptD CaptD

      Dr. Chu should be directed to return his Nobel for "pushing more nuclear" instead of SAFE SOLAR!

      Another stellar appointee that has pushed for President Obama's largest donors, the nuclear industry!


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    • charlie3

      "Brand Japan"? They are so lost and they have no idea how lost. Brand Japan is long gone, except as an example of how not to behave in a crisis. their pride and "face" is more important to them than their survival.


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  • aigeezer aigeezer

    The other author's agenda interests me. His employer is a major player in "big energy" issues, "big everything", for that matter. I can't figure out which way they are trying to steer perceptions though.

    "Morinosuke Kawaguchi, born in 1961, is an Associate Director for Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc."

    http://www.adlittle.com/energyutilities.html


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  • CaptD CaptD

    Japan's BRAND has been GANGED UP ON by TEPCO and their Gov't regulators that have trashed the Japanese people's HEALTH in order to save TEPCO'S Profits….


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  • CaptD CaptD

    Yet another "fluff" piece to dilute the 3/11 comments in the news!


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  • arclight arclight

    heres the commmittee for the fukushima project

    http://f-pj.org/e-committee.html


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  • kintaman kintaman

    The Japanese "brand" has been damaged by….JAPAN! The Japanese government and TEPCO are responsible for the nuclear accident and the subsequent deception and real nuclear fallout.

    This is the new Japan for the next 10,000 years thanks to TEPCO:

    MADE IN JAPAN = ☢


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  • arclight arclight

    On the 22nd and 23rd of August 2011, three years after the first symposium, we hold a second round of symposiums again in Cambridge. The 2nd International Symposium on Innovation Strategy (ISIS2011) is dedicated to consideration of (1) what is the further development of the analytical framework to inspire persistent technological innovation and (2) what the relationship between "technology" and "technology management" of technology companies should be.

    "Topics for discussion concerning (1) include the positioning, within a companies' overall innovation strategy, of overseas expansion and letting their own researchers join overseas study programmes. Regarding (2), we discuss causes of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster following the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake of the 11th of March this year. We take this opportunity to examine the possibility that "better technology management" of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, could have turned the plant's "uncontrollable" current situation, into a "controllable" situation."

    and this

    ".. In the September of 2008, more than thirty delegates, from Japan and the UK, gathered at the International Symposium on Innovation Strategy (ISIS2008) to discuss this general and critical question. Managers of several Japanese technology companies based in the UK, on-site researchers and academics including Prof Yamaguchi of Doshisha University, founder of ISIS…"

    http://131.111.79.31/ISIS2011/index.html

    nuclear apologists PR .. is my guess! blame the non existant corporation and buisness as usual… i can smell the blood of an IAEA man/woman/belly dancer!! said the giant! :)


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    • MaidenHeaven MaidenHeaven

      Great finds arclight, it helps get the slime out into the light.


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      • arclight arclight

        bit more here from a dec 2011 interview

        "Q. In your opinion, what are other promising alternatives for electricity generation?

        Prof. Iio : I would of course have to first recommend nuclear fusion, as it is my area of expertise. However, unfortunately due to the current technological limitations it will more than likely take about 50 years or more before we can really start to see real benefits from it. However, with inventive totally new ideas, as well as, any kind of technological breakthroughs, we can expect rapid progress in the evolution of this technology in the near future."
        heres the link to the article click on the bottom of it for the other 4 pages!

        http://www.nikkeibp.co.jp/rebuild/en/article_10/index_05.shtml


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        • arclight arclight

          mentions that they want to "slowly" decrease the use of nuclear.. probaly so as not to damage the weapons/medical industry!! says that they should not stop all reactors even though in april.. the last two are closing down….

          smoke and mirrors… these articles reek of "more nukes"

          DU anyone??


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        • or-well

          hey arclight – I read "FUSION" a specialised, VERY narrow-interest magazine in the 1970's! Why? I dunno – it was the 70's!
          Anyway – after reading 2 issues, I felt sick!
          The views presented were INSANE, control-FREAK techno-cornucopian VOODOO globalist sci-fi!
          AND – it was 50 years away then too!


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        • Misitu

          I love this,

          "However, with inventive totally new ideas, as well as, any kind of technological breakthroughs, we can expect rapid progress in the evolution of this technology in the near future."

          Fusion.

          HA!HA!HA!

          Fusion, the power source of the future,

          [you know where this is going]

          always has been, always will be.

          There's a bit of a flavour of that "clean up can start in ten years – if the technology has been invented by then", no?

          Still intoxicated with their teKNo dreams. BAH HUMBUG


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        • Sickputer

          Hopefull fusion is not too far off the appalling thread topic of Japanese Bureaucrats Seek Gaijin and Tepco Scapegoats.

          Yes Obama et al are crapping away about 2 billion dollars on the ITER French fusion project and it also is always about "30-50" years from commercial rollout.

          Fusion is just another pipe dream hazardous radioactive technology to keep the nuclear industry rolling along. I think all the Dr. Frankensteins of nuclear physics worldwide should be rounded up and conscripted to duty at Unit 4 in Fukushima. Issue them a one dollar paper Tydek overalls suit and a 50 cent N-95 paper face mask. Tell them they are there for the duration until no emissions are wafting into the breeze and no contaminated water is pouring into the Pacific Ocean.


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  • Anthony Anthony

    Japan's brand has been tarnished by the outrageous release of radiation by TEPCO.

    Not the media.

    Japan IS irradiated and that's a fact.

    Japan has TEPCO and its Government to hold accountable for that.


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  • arclight arclight

    now i really dont know what to make of this

    heres the conference..

    http://131.111.79.31/ISIS2011/index.html

    go to the thechnical programmes and download the xls file in english or japanese..

    on that is a refernce to a talk by k honda from the fukushima project.. one of five committee members

    http://131.111.79.31/ISIS2011/presentation/K_Honda.pdf

    errr! i really dont know what to make of this mob.. social restructuring, post war reconstruction? where are they going?

    the isis project began in 2008

    the fukushima project has very internet "low profile people" not alot of 2011 info..

    are they using this for a power struggle within the corporations perhaps and the PR has advised them to instill a new nationalist approach?

    a reference was made to the socialist post war clear out in the 50`s

    they want to "improove the school system"

    they are treading a nice line of vague!

    maybe the same PR company helping tony blair with the recent kazahkstan incident!! hmmm! wasnt there something about prince andrew and one of the polygon socialites too?? err back on topic.. :)

    no nukes!


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  • TheBigPicture TheBigPicture

    The root of the problem is "nuclear reactors".


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  • Dogleg Dogleg

    Not quite the same reasons I would prosecute them, but as long as they all get the death sentence who cares!


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  • arclight arclight

    "Kawaguchi is Principal, Associate Director for Arthur D. Little (Japan), Inc, the global strategy consulting firm. His main areas of expertise include an array of strategic issues focusing on the electronics, precision instruments, machine and chemical manufacturing industries. He is an expert in Management of Technology (MOT), Intellectual Property Management (IPM), and Technology and Innovation Management (TIM) in various industries such as telecommunications, electronics and the car industry. His book “Otaku de onnanoko na kuni no monozukuri” received the Nikkei BP BizTech Book Award in 2008. This book has been translated into Korean, Chinese, Thai and English."

    his speech was very confusing.. seemed like he had collated lots of media data

    he said that uk nedia etc stopped reporting the illegal rumours but that the PR damage was already done! he said that the western press should have cleared the stories in japan first..!! and mainly showed that the decrease in buisness was as a result of bad reporting! thats my take… the new goebbels perhaps? minister of information?? why no local groups involved with this mysterious group? no internet presence to speak off??

    of course what about the scary presentation from k honda.. see pdf above :(


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    • Misitu

      Some eminent scientists do lose their marbles. Especially those not present at the coal face anymore due to junkets & allied glamour.


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    • mark_eric

      I believe this is the meme they are going to use to push nuclear forward to the public. He specializes in using technology to monitor and manage technology. See, that is all that is needed to make nuclear TRULY safe. Throw some new-fangled sci-fi monitoring and control technology at it, and you'll never loose control of the message, I mean the reactor, you'll never loose control of the reactor again! Ever!.

      I almost wonder if they're going to pull the Stuxnet(sp?) virus into this. Eventually there is a lot of money going to be made retro-fitting control systems with "real" security.


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    • Misitu

      The scary presentation by K Honda did not surprise me at all, as it merely describes what I'd already come to conclude from viewing the Fuku chaos. It did fill in the gaps nicely though.

      Good to get documentation that backs up one's suspicions.

      I've been convinced for a long time of the potential for unsustainability of a society that draws such a black and white line across basic social ethics. Anyone remember the notorious Endurance game show that Tarrant On TV used to show clips from? [clue: some available on youtube, search Tarrant on tv endurance].

      This mentality has always been a slight worry to me – until they exploded three nuclear reactors – now it's a big worry.

      They only got away with it for years because they produced great cars and flawless electronic toys.

      M.


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  • 3.2.1.2. Economic and social consequences
    …an emergency area of at least a radius of 250km from the Fukushima nuclear power plant should be evacuated first since the beginning of the disaster, because uninhabitable. Other areas should follow according to the rate of soil contamination. The Japanese authorities have chosen to sacrifice the people who live there to supposedly save the Japanese nation.
    But in analysis, the fact is that the Japanese authorities did not want to leave in a hurry, the area of 250km radius, including the Japanese capital Tokyo. The question of who the state or TEPCO will pay the bill may also be the cause of this choice. However, this delay in the decision to abandon that territory, however inevitable, has only a little more to condemn Japan. Indeed, Japan will be needlessly loosing a large portion of its forces, which cease to believe in a nation that sacrifices its own citizens so easily for economic reasons. Today, a generalized doubt sets in when it comes to Japanese food. To this social tension, are added daily population complaints usually nonexistent vis-à-vis the authorities in which it has lost confidence. Sooner or later, the integrity of Japan might be threatened.
    It is the same regarding the country's economy. By polluting all the products of the territory by the mismanagement of the crisis, exports of Japanese products might fall, as they may be rejected by countries with have means of control and which will follow international standard more stringent than that adopted by the Japanese authorities.
    http://kanaky.x90x.net


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