"The operator of a Japanese nuclear power plant that blew up after a tsunami last year said on Friday its lack of safety and bad habits were behind the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years, its most forthright admission of culpability."

"The operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, said it accepted the findings of a parliamentary inquiry into the Fukushima nuclear disaster that accused the company of 'collusion' with industry regulators.

An earthquake on March 11 last year generated a tsunami that smashed into the nuclear plant on Japan's northeast coast and triggered equipment failures that led to meltdowns and the spewing of large amounts of radiation into the air and sea.

Takefumi Anegawa, the head of a company reform task force, told a news conference the report by a parliamentary committee contained "so many descriptions about the lack of a safety culture and our bad habits"."

Aaron Sheldrick reports for Reuters December 17, 2012. [2]