Japan 'played down' nuclear risk

The Japanese government withheld information about the full danger of last year’s Fukushima nuclear plant disaster from its own…

The Japanese government withheld information about the full danger of last year’s Fukushima nuclear plant disaster from its own people and from its key ally, the United States, an independent investigation has found.

A report by the Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation said the decision may have put US-Japan relations at risk in the first days after the accident.

The report, compiled over six months from interviews with more than 300 people, delivers a scathing view of how leaders played down the risks of last March’s meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant following a massive earthquake and tsunami.