Japan PM (physics major) "thought country would collapse" because of Fukushima reactors

[kristopher]

Fukushima nuclear disaster: PM at the time feared Japan would collapse

Justin McCurry
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 8 September 2011 20.26 BST



..."It was truly a spine-chilling thought," he told the Tokyo Shimbun, adding that he foresaw a situation in which greater Tokyo's 30 million people would have to be evacuated, a move that would "compromise the very existence of the Japanese nation".

... "The power was totally lost and there was no cooling capacity," Kan said. "I knew what that meant and I thought, 'This is going to be a disaster'."

His unease grew when his trade minister, Banri Kaieda, told him that Tepco was considering pulling its staff out of the plant and leaving it to its fate. "Withdrawing from the plant was out of the question," he said. "If that had happened, Tokyo would be deserted by now. It was a critical moment for Japan's survival. It could have been a led to leaks of dozens of times more radiation than Chernobyl."

...Kan defended the gradual widening of the exclusion zone, and his conversion to a non-nuclear energy policy: "If there is a risk of accidents that could make half the land mass of our country uninhabitable, then we cannot afford to take that risk."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/08/fukushima-nuclear-disaster-pm-japan


I can't help but feel a deep and enduring fury at the behavior of those who dedicated themselves to ridiculing concerns about the developing crisis.

[villager]

1. ridicule is the main tool of those unswervingly defending the status quo here

n/t

[bananas]

4. I ridicule them back.

It's kind of fun.

[kristopher]

5. Imagine what might have happened if Kan had a law degree instead...

"...Tepco was considering pulling its staff out of the plant and leaving it to its fate."

"Withdrawing from the plant was out of the question," he said. "If that had happened, Tokyo would be deserted by now. It was a critical moment for Japan's survival. It could have been a led to leaks of dozens of times more radiation than Chernobyl."'


We should all be thankful that he made the decision he did.

[AndyTiedye]

2. and the radiation continues to spew

k/r :nuke: :hide:

[madokie]

3. with no end in sight

[nadinbrzezinski]

6. But, but, but it was all hype(tm) from the anti science folks!

:sarcasm:

My problem is they may have to still do that...china syndrome and all.

[SpoonFed]

7. k&r n/t