The people of Japan fight back demanding more than an explanation. The astronomical cost to the country and its citizens is not being ignored by the victims of what is already one of the world's greatest nuclear disasters. The clear finding by investigations, including one by the "Japanese diet (parliament)...[which] said that the direct causes of the disaster were foreseeable, "man-made" failures," that the "accident" had been preventable has galvanized prosecutors into action.

AsiaNews.It l 08/02/2012

Prosecutors take aim at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), including its ex chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata. Human errors and negligence by company executives and safety officials are under examination. More than 30 individuals are being investigated. Company has not yet released a public statement.

Tokyo (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Prosecutors in Fukushima began a criminal investigation into last year's nuclear-plant accident after more than 1,300 residents filed a complaint against executives of the Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), including former Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata. The Fukushima City prosecutor yesterday accepted the complaint and will start a probe to determine whether there was professional negligence in Japan's worst civil nuclear-plant accident, which occurred on 11 March 2011, resulting in bodily injury by radiation exposure and the death of hospital inpatients during transfer between hospitals.

Tepco said that prosecutors had not informed them that a complaint against former executives had been accepted. "We can't comment on this because we don't know the complaint's content," a spokesman for the utility said.

However, prosecutors are taking up the case after independent investigation reports were completed. One commissioned by the Japanese diet (parliament) was published in July. It said that the direct causes of the disaster were foreseeable, "man-made" failures.

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