Japan: Cultural flaws led to nuclear disaster

The crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station is seen through a bus window on November 12, 2011.

• The report criticizes the plant's operator, regulators and the Japanese government
• It attributes the cause of the failings to Japan's culture of "reflexive obedience"
• It is one of several investigations into the nuclear crisis that displaced thousands

Tokyo (CNN) -- The nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan unfolded as a result of willful negligence before the natural disasters of March 11 last year and a flawed response afterward, a report by a Japanese parliamentary panel said Thursday.

Singling out the plant's operator, regulators and the Japanese government, the investigative report described the critical problems at Fukushima Daiichi following the earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan as "a man-made disaster."

The crippled plant spewed radiation and displaced tens of thousands of residents from the surrounding area.

The report's authors attributed the failings at the plant before and after March 11 specifically to Japanese culture.

"What must be admitted -- very painfully -- is that this was a disaster 'Made in Japan,'" the report said. "Its fundamental causes are to be found in the ingrained conventions of Japanese culture: our reflexive obedience; our reluctance to question authority; our devotion to 'sticking with the program.'"

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), the operator of Fukushima Daiichi, admitted last month that it was not fully prepared for the nuclear disaster.

The company's final report on the disaster said it did not have sufficient measures to prevent the accident. It also acknowledged criticism that TEPCO took too long to disclose information.

Though no deaths have been attributed to the nuclear accident, the earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15,000 people in northeastern Japan.

Japan once again getting power from nuclear energy

There have been several investigations into the Fukushima Daiichi disaster, the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

In December, a government-formed panel of investigators released an interim report saying poorly trained operators misread a key backup system and waited too long to start pumping water into overheating reactor units.

The government's 10-member panel, led by Tokyo University engineering professor Yotaro Hatamura, also said neither TEPCO nor government regulators were prepared for the chance that a tsunami could trigger a nuclear disaster.