Japan to sack three top officials amidst nuclear crisis

Japan to sack three top officials amidst nuclear crisis

2011-08-04 21:24:04 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- Japanese Interior Minister Banri Kaieda on Thursday announced that three top officials will be sacked as the country's ongoing crisis continues, Kyodo news agency reported.

Government officials have been strongly criticized due to the nuclear crisis due to the handling of the electricity shortage, as well as the slow response into resolving issues directly related with the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Among the officials named were Vice Minister for Economy, Trade, and Industry Kazuo Matsunaga, Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency chief Nobuaki Terasaka, and Agency for Natural Resources and Energy chief Tetsuhiro Hosono.

Kaieda, meanwhile, had previously stated that he would resign as a way to take responsibility of the situation. His ministry is in charge of energy policy, but despite his announcement, Kaieda has not been clear of when he would step down. During Thursday's news conference, he said he would "decide for [himself]."

On Tuesday, the highest level of indoor radiation was registered in an air-conditioning machine room, near a pipe at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. According to to the Tokyo Electric Power Plant Co. (Tepco), which operates the plant, radiation dosages of 5 sieverts per hour were detected indoors on the second floor of the plant's No. 1 reactor, but the level could even be higher as radiation exceeded the equipment's max level of measurement.

In addition, Tepco said that radiation doses as high as 10 sieverts per hour were detected outside the buildings for the No. 1 and No. 2 reactors. The highest dose previously detected was 4 sieverts per hour at the floor of the No. 1 reactor building. Experts have warned that anyone exposed to such amounts of radiation in a short period of time would probably die.

Japan's nuclear crisis began since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged on March 11 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami devastated the country. The disaster disabled the cooling systems of the plant, and radioactive elements leaked into the sea and were later found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan. Subsequent power shortages throughout the country have further complicated recovery efforts.

At least 23,482 people were killed, while 8,069 people remain missing. There are still more than 88,000 people who are staying in shelters in 21 prefectures around Japan.

According to the Japan Research Institute, the country's reconstruction efforts will cost between 14 trillion yen ($174.58 billion) and 18 trillion yen ($224.46 billion) in the upcoming 10 years, including 9.1 trillion yen ($113.47 billion) this year alone. Japan has already allocated a 4 trillion yen ($48.89 billion) emergency budget to finance the early phase of reconstruction efforts following the disaster.

On June 23, the government also announced a budget of 2 trillion yen ($24.8 billion) to be distributed to cover the massive compensation claims since the beginning of the disaster being faced by Tepco, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant

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