SCIENCE IN THE NEWS DAILY
Japan Feared 'Demonic Chain Reaction' at Reactor, Report Says
from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)
SEOUL -- A new report vividly portrays the Japanese government's fears in the first hours and
days after the March 11, 2011, tsunami overran a coastal nuclear power plant, including concerns
that officials might have to evacuate Tokyo.
The government was afraid that a "demonic chain reaction" would ensue after the meltdown at
the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, even as it assured the public that all was under
control, according to the report by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation, a private policy
group.
At one point, advisers to then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan began referring to a worst-case
scenario that would not only force the evacuation of tens of millions of Tokyo residents, but
could also cause widespread environmental damage across Japan, the report says. At the same time,
Kan's staff continued to assure the Japanese public and the international community that the
situation was under control.
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