Japenese officials ignored atomic accident risks, Fukushima report says

JAPANESE officials ignored the risks of an atomic accident because they believed in the "myth of nuclear safety", according to a government panel's report on the Fukushima crisis.

"The fundamental problem lies in the fact that utilities, including Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), and the government failed to see the danger as reality," said the 450-page report that was released today.

It said they were bound the "notion that severe accidents do not happen at nuclear plants in our country".

The study, completed by a government-appointed panel including scholars, journalists, lawyers and engineers, also said Fukushima staff were poorly trained to deal with the crisis after the plant's reactors went into meltdown last year.