Fukushima ‘not under control’ – TEPCO official refutes PM’s assurances

A senior TEPCO official contradicted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by saying the radioactive water leakage at the crippled Fukushima plant is not under control.

The official, Kazuhiko Yamashita, was asked his opinion of comments by Abe regarding the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in Buenos Aries last Saturday.

“I think the current situation is that it is not under control” 

Yamashita said at a hearing in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Friday before further apologizing for the leaks.

In reaction to Yamashita’s comments, Democratic Party of Japan Secretary-General Akihiro Ohata told reporters the prime minister should fully explain what led him to his pronouncement last week.

Following Yamashita’s comments, however, TEPCO released a statement clarifying Abe’s position.

“It is our understanding that the Prime Minister intended his statement ‘the situation is under control’ to mean that the impact of radioactive materials is limited to the area within the port of the power station, and that the densities of radioactive materials on the surrounding waters are far below the referential densities and have not been on continuous upward trends. According to this understanding, we share the same views.”

TEPCO moved to downplay Yamashita’s comments.