#Fukushima I Nuke Plant: Now the Japanese Have to Deal with Petty Bureaucrats on Top of Inept Politicians

Just shoot these people.

Career bureaucrats at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (what a stupid name), after measuring for the first time the radiation level in the evacuation zone, tell reporters that they should ask the Prime Minister's Office for the interpretation of the data. Sorry we are not about to tell you..

As if this prime minister knows anything.

It is a typically Japanese, petty bureaucratic sneering. The bureaucrats would rather not tell the reporters (and thus to the Japanese people), because, oh we've been told that the prime minister is in charge of the nuke plant problem..

I'm sure it is out of frustration and a whole lot of disdain against Prime Minister Kan, whose grandstanding is probably costing many lives by having critical information withheld (so that he can be the one to break the news to the Japanese people "directly and personally").

However, THERE ARE HUMAN LIVES AT STAKE HERE, AND THIS IS AN UNPRECEDENTED EMERGENCY. Can't you get that into your bureaucratic mess of your head?

From Yomiuri Shinbun (in Japanese; 10:48AM Japan Time 3/16/2011):

The Ministry of Education and Science announced the results of radiation measurement in the evacuation zone where the residents are advised to stain indoors (20 to 30 kilometers), measured for the first time since the accident first happened in Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

At 20 kilometers from the Plant, it measured 330 micro-sievert. The Ministry officials said that "the number is generally considered high, but we suggest you ask the Prime Minister's Office to interpret the number and evaluate whether it has any effect on the human health."

One gets radiated with 600 micro-sievert with stomach X-ray. The Ministry's result is half that level. The Ministry officials said the results were already reported to the Prime Minister's Office.

On March 15 the Ministry decided to start measuring the radiation in the area between 20 and 30 kilometers away from Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. The monitoring vehicle measured radiation at 3 points 20 kilometers northwest. It measured 240 to 330 micro-sievert outside the vehicle, and 190 to 300 micro-sievert inside the vehicle. The Ministry will continue the measurement at different points.

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