by Jan Tzschichhold
The Japanese will probably never forget the 11. March 2011, when one of the strongest earthquakes in history killed thousands of people, destroyed vast areas in the North of Japan and created a nuclear threat that has not be seen since Chernobyl. It will take more than a decade for Japan to fully recover from this tremendous disaster, that represents not only a humanitarian and economical crisis but a crisis of political leadership as well.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, failed to declare a state of emergency right after the catastrophe and its huge dimensions were unfolded. It was therefore impossible to establish clear lines of authority for handling the many-headed crisis. It took the government for example more than 10 days to address the severe shortage of fuel in northern Japan, even though the oil companies were holding huge supplies for an emergency. The official nuclear energy consultant resigned under tears, after he criticized the government for its poor performance regarding the situation of the power plant in Fukushima. (more…)
Global Echos 