"Japan's energy minister admitted on Tuesday that no records were kept of top level discussions in the critical early days on how to respond to the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years."

"The admission, and apology, by Trade Minister Yukio Edano comes in the face of widespread debate over the government's response to the Fukushima nuclear crisis triggered by a massive earthquake and tsunami last March.

'It is inconceivable that there were no records kept. It may have been difficult to keep official logs during the extreme confusion after the crisis, but they could have taken simple memos,' said Kenji Sumita, an emeritus professor at Osaka University who specializes in nuclear engineering.

'Perhaps there were some goings on that the participants did not feel comfortable being made public,' he said."

Yoko Kubota and Shinichi Saoshiro report for Reuters January 25, 2012.
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