The key to understanding Japan's nuclear policy crisis is clearly grasped in a New York Times article by Norimitsu Onishi and Martin Fackler. The article, "In Nuclear Crisis, Crippling Mistrust," incisively details how mistrust of the bureaucracy he heads and the companies it oversees crippled Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ability to deal with the unfolding triple meltdown at the Fukushima Daichi power plant.
Events since that June 12 article make it clear that mistrust is paralyzing Japan's nuclear energy industry and policy, and hampering its handling of earthquake and tsunami recovery unrelated to nuclear energy.
Three debacles since June 12 have exacerbated mistrust and helped drop the cabinet's approval rating 9 points to 16% in just one month..
Showing posts with label Matsumoto Ryu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Matsumoto Ryu. Show all posts
2011-07-04
Reconstruction Minister Blasts Tohoku Official — for ‘Bad Manners’
Update: Minister resigns the next day (http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110705x1.html). He didn't even know where some stricken areas are located.
Only one day into this blog, I get reminded of the importance of central government control versus regional government control, which I neglected to add to the outline for this blog.
The reminder is a gaffe by the new Reconstruction Minister Ryu Matsumoto, who lost his temper when Miyagi Governor Murai kept him waiting for a meeting, then blasted the Governor for his lack of manners and failing to remember his military training, and finally threatened to destroy any media company that reported his outburst.
This incident is symptomatic of the Tokyo establishment's attitude toward both the regions and the news media.
Sources:
Takashi Mochizuki, The Wall Street Journal, http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/07/04/reconstruction-minister-blasts-tohoku-official-for-bad-manners, 2011-7-4 (accessed 2011-7-4)
Searchina, http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2011&d=0704&f=national_0704_069.shtml, 2011-7-3 (accessed 2011-7-4)
Only one day into this blog, I get reminded of the importance of central government control versus regional government control, which I neglected to add to the outline for this blog.
The reminder is a gaffe by the new Reconstruction Minister Ryu Matsumoto, who lost his temper when Miyagi Governor Murai kept him waiting for a meeting, then blasted the Governor for his lack of manners and failing to remember his military training, and finally threatened to destroy any media company that reported his outburst.
This incident is symptomatic of the Tokyo establishment's attitude toward both the regions and the news media.
Sources:
Takashi Mochizuki, The Wall Street Journal, http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/07/04/reconstruction-minister-blasts-tohoku-official-for-bad-manners, 2011-7-4 (accessed 2011-7-4)
Searchina, http://news.searchina.ne.jp/disp.cgi?y=2011&d=0704&f=national_0704_069.shtml, 2011-7-3 (accessed 2011-7-4)
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