The BBC reports that the head of the Nuclear Industry and Safety Agency, Nobuaki Terasaka, the head of the natural resources and energy agency Tetsuhiro Hosono, and the vice-minister for economy, trade and industry, Kazuo Matsunaga, have been sacked because of the problems at Fukushima Daiichi.
Also, according to the report, Japan’s Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda is planning to take his share of responsibility for the disatrous events that followed the tsunaki in March and resign, but he did not give a date. Other media reports suggest that prime minister Naoto Kan will not survive the disaster, and will also resign in a matter of weeks.
There are now plans to establish a new independent atomic safety regulatory body.
Regular updates may be found on the website of our sister journal, Nuclear Engineering International, reachable on <www.neimagazine.com> or by clicking on the link in the navigation bar to the left of this page.
The following sites are also posting continuing updates:
<http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/index-e.html>
<http://www.iaea.org/>
<http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/>
<http://bravenewclimate.com/2011/03/15/tepco-reactor-status/>
<http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/>
<http://www.kantei.go.jp/foreign/index-e.html>
