This is the story of the hectic first five days of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi, from the perspective of the people who were actually there – toiling feverishly, round-the-clock, to stop the cascading crisis. The narrative is taken from the official records kept by the Fukushima staff and management from March 11-15, 2011. The account reveals the staff’s personal actions, as well as conversations between staff, plant management, the company’s home office in Tokyo, and Japan’s Prime Minister, as it all happened. What actually happened? What did it feel like to be inside the control rooms and emergency center at Fukushima after all electric power was lost, with no hope of recovery? Why was the accident possible at all? Could it have been avoided? Who may have been responsible? How accurate were the Press reports broadcast around the world? The narrative provides possible answers to all of these questions…and more. Fukushima: The First Five Days neither advocates nor opposes the nuclear energy option. It lets the heroic efforts of Fukushima’s operating staff speak for itself.
