Japan's Nuclear Disaster Secrets?

Many Japanese people are suffering greatly -- from the unknown... They've learned from past experience not to trust the authorities. Corner cutting, rubber-stamp inspections, shabby attempts to hide "dirt" & error, Japanese nuclear industry mismanagement stems in part from poor checks & balances.

Government / corporate efforts fail to reassure the population. Nuclear safety fears are substantial & genuine.

Some people in Japan look back at the Chisso-Minamata mercury poisoning disaster, when the cause & extent of Chisso's pollution were revealed only after decades of misinformation. "Compensation" for destroyed health & loss of life has been slow.

Corporations often respond poorly to accidents. Union Carbide's Bhopal (India) disaster killed many thousands of people in 1984; legal actions still continue. Key officials (such as Union Carbide Chairman & CEO Warren Anderson) refused to appear in court. Justice becomes more difficult to determine. Deception, spin, legal claptrap, smoke & mirrors -- tough for common folk...

The British remember similar episodes of broken trust. UK Agriculture Minister John Gummer tried to reassure a public scared by BSE vCJD. He claimed beef was "perfectly safe" and in front of the press tried feeding a beefburger to his four-year old daughter Cordelia (she refused to eat it).

Individuals cannot be well informed in the face of official misinformation. We need more Japanese press adversarialism in this critical area. So certainly people are afraid. They worry about being tricked, and truth coming out too late.

We're deceived repeatedly. As Pres. George W. Bush said persuasively in his first term: "Fool me once..."   uhhh... mmmm   Quickly fooled again.