The following is a partial transcript from The Wall Street Journal Interview with Japan senior political figure Ichiro Ozawa, who is calling on Prime Minister Naoto Kan to step down. Ozawa is a long-time rival within the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and is facing charges of improprieties over his fund-raising organization.
Q: By and large, how would you assess the government’s response to the earthquake and nuclear crisis?
A: It’s been two months, actually 70 days, but the situation at the nuclear reactors is still out of control.
The Kan administration’s handling of the situation has been extremely slow. Their understanding of the gravity of the radioactive contamination has been altogether too rosy, or rather they haven’t understood it at all.
The administration hasn’t taken the initiative in making decisions and executing policies. Decision-making equals taking responsibility. So if nobody is taking responsibility, nothing is being decided.
Q: Why didn’t the Kan administration inform the public of the severity of the problems at the nuclear plants? Did they know?
A: Of course the administration knew.
Q: What could the government have done to prevent the flare-up in the nuclear crisis?
A: First of all, it makes no sense to point fingers at Tepco (plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co.), given the current situation. There are a lot of arguments going on, blaming TEPCO, blaming this person and that person. They are all meaningless. There is no point in blaming Tepco. I strongly believe the government must take the leadership and take the initiative in determining what to do. In reality, Tepco is no longer capable of doing anything. (By not facing reality) we are moving toward a tragedy, day by day.
Q: Prime Minister Kan set up a task force and has stationed government officials inside Tepco’s offices so they can keep tabs on the company. Is that enough?
A: When Tepco knew what was happening at the nuclear plants, the government must have known it as well. As I said, they can’t go on blaming others. The government must take responsibility and take the lead in coming up with solutions.
Q: If you had been in charge, would you have disclosed all the information about the meltdown in the initial stage?
A: Yes. I would have. There is no use in holding back information. We have to decide what to do, based on the premise of the information we have. This problem may be contained in Fukushima for now, but the contamination may spread outside of Fukushima. Anxiety and frustration are growing. People cannot live in the contaminated areas. These areas are becoming uninhabitable. Japan has lost its territory by that much. If we do nothing, even Tokyo could become off limits. There is a huge amount of uranium fuels in the plants, much more than in Chernobyl. This is a terrible situation. The government doesn’t tell the truth and people live in a happy-go-lucky…
Read moreWSJ Interview: Japan Senior Political Figure Ichiro Ozawa: ‘If we do nothing, even Tokyo could become off limits. There is a huge amount of uranium fuels in the plants, much more than in Chernobyl. This is a terrible situation. The government doesn’t tell the truth and people live in a happy-go-lucky…’