Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan Still Selling His Version of #Fukushima Nuclear Accident After Two Years

He continues to insist that such a huge earthquake and tsunami had never been anticipated. He continues to take full credit for preventing TEPCO from "withdrawing"　（撤退）, which was in fact "taking shelter" (退避）.

Mr. Kan says he was invited to speak at a symposium by Dr. Helen Caldicott on March 11, 2013 in New York City commemorating the Fukushima nuclear accident, but he couldn't come in person, thus the video.

Here's the link to the English transcript, for those of you who'd rather read.

My Experiences as Prime Minister during the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster from Cinema Forum Fukushima on Vimeo.

Mr. Kan remains a hero for many people for saving Japan and the world from a nuclear accident which could have been far worse, and a champion for renewable energy proponents. There are also many who hold him to be criminally liable for what happened.

"Countdown, Meltdown", the book by Mr. Yoichi Funabashi, president of the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation that did the first large-scale investigation of the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident, depicts how Mr. Kan and his cabinet ministers reacted to the accident in the early days. Mr. Kan and Mr. Goshi Hosono, then Mr. Kan's personal adviser, according to Mr. Funabashi, were in mortal fear that Japan would be taken over and occupied by a foreign power (the United States, most likely) if they accepted the foreign help in dealing with the unfolding nuclear disaster.

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