On 4 December, prosecutors indicted the government owned PNC (Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Corp) and two of its officials for issuing a false report about the accident at Tokai Mura last March. This accident involved a fire and later an explosion in a bitumen solidification plant for low level liquid waste discharged from the Tokai Reprocessing plant.
In Japan it is a criminal offence to issue a false report about an accident at a nuclear facility. However, if convicted, the two men will only be fined a maximum of ¥200 000 (about $1600) each. It is, nevertheless, another serious blow to the prestige of PNC.
