A 40-member panel of Japanese nuclear scientists was constituted on Tuesday to investigate last year's accident at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in a 20-kilometer radius of the plant operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO).
The panel, set up under the aegis of the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, will undertake a comprehensive study to find out why the accident occurred. It will also interview government and TEPCO officials and come out with a report by December 2013, Japanese media reported.
Headed by University of Tokyo professor Satoru Tanaka, the panel will ask the government and the utility to investigate the massive release of radioactive substances and other connected issues, and then analyze their findings.
Tanaka said the panel, comprising experts from universities and research institutes, would also conduct an internal examination of the Atomic Energy Society itself to determine why it failed to avert the accident. The Society will reform itself if necessary, he added.
Panels set up by the Japanese Diet (Parliament) and the government to investigate the nuclear fiasco have already released their reports, leaving many questions unanswered.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.