Nuclear Technology and Ibaraki Prefecture

criticality accident: This included liability legislation for the fatal 1999 criticality accident at a uranium-processing plant in the village of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture — the site of Japan first nuclear accident resulting in deaths by radiation exposure, according to The Japan Times. Even before Tokai, the government was up to its neck in nuclear technology issues: It was under attack for lack of transparency and an attempted cover-up after a sodium leak caused a fire at the Monju fast-breeder prototype reactor in Fukui Prefecture, and having a rough time persuading Aomori residents to host an experimental fuel-reprocessing plant in the village of Rokkasho. He should know — back then, Fujii was a government bureaucrat in the then-Science and Technology Agency whose job was to design nuclear technology policy. While these issues were brewing, the fatal chain reaction debacle at Tokai struck, escalating public distrust of Japan atomic safety mantra. Transparency and accountability are needed to build public consensus about controversial technologies, Fujii, 44, said. While bureaucrats are primarily tasked with managing budgets and drafting legislation, Fujii learned from his government experience that better communication among regulators, providers and the public is indispensable to adopting any type of disruptive or new technology, atomic energy included. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.