Since the tsunami that struck Japan in March of 2011, there has been much controversy surrounding the accuracy of reporting done regarding the disaster at the power plant of Fukushima. Fukushima is a nuclear power plant located in the town of Ōkuma, Japan. It was built on the eastern coastline, which was flooded completely during the Tsunami in 2011. The plant, which is to be considered one of the largest nuclear power plants in the world was destroyed during a triple meltdown of its generators. This meltdown was later declared by the Japanese government as a level 7 disaster, the highest rating recorded since the Chernobyl plant disaster of 1986. Since then the area has been completely evacuated and considered a ghost town.
Many claim that authorities and journalists have not been reporting the disaster and it's effects accurately. For a while the mainstream media in Japan has been apart of a "press-club system". Some would say that this kind of system ties journalists to there sources, and in reality discourages from any sort of investigative reporting to be done. Many journalists that have been covering this story have been tied to the nuclear power industry and there companies. This is leading people to belief that there is a connection to the underestimates of clean up costs and recovery, and the governments control over the mass media.
Independent journalist, Shigeo Abe strongly believes that, what the Japanese media is feeding the public is not the entire picture. “The government says that as long as the radioactive leak can be dammed from the sides it can be stopped, but that’s wrong,” Abe insists. “They’re going to have to build a huge trench underneath the plant to contain the radiation — a giant diaper. That is a huge-scale construction and will cost a fortune. The government knows that but won’t reveal it.” Even with thousands of people that have evacuated the area, still there is no sign of any Japanese reporters covering the area. While dangers still exist in covering a story after a meltdown, journalists were in other words given an ultimatum if found in the area. "We were told by our superiors that it was dangerous, so going in by ourselves would mean breaking that rule. It would mean nothing less than quitting the company.” Many feel that an investigative report should be underway to completely reveal some of the underlining issues regarding recovery efforts. With the power of the Japanese media hanging over journalists it's has been difficult to gain any further information on the current state of the plant. Should the government be questioned by the public and demanded of accurate answers? With the issue of radiation and its environmental effects, it should be in the publics best interest to pressure people in power for accurate information regarding this issue.