In 2008, an expert of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) expressed concern about the fact that nuclear power management system in Japan was reviewed only three times in the last 35 years, according to diplomatic mail sent by U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in 2008, published by Wikileaks site.
Japanese authorities had been alerted to possible problems at nuclear plants in the territory of the archipelago, as stated in the letters from the American diplomats. In December 2008, an IAEA expert, whose name is not revealed by Wikileaks, has sent a warning to Tokyo government about the possibility that the network of nuclear plants in Japan will not withstand a big earthquake.
In response, the Japanese authorities have promised to take measures to increase security at the nuclear plants. Now they will have to answer whether these measures really have helped.
Also, the telegram published by Wikileaks reveal that the Japanese government has opposed the application of a judicial decision on the closure of nuclear plants in the west of the country.
Other letters on the same issue relates to concerns about nuclear safety in nuclear fuel processing of the next generation of nuclear plants; a Japanese lawmaker was quoted as saying in October 2008, in an interview with American diplomats, that the Japanese government hides information about problems occurred at nuclear plants.
According to the data available, Fukushima-1 nuclear plant, the most hit by the devastating earthquake last Friday, was designed to cope with an earthquake measuring 7 degrees, while the disaster of March 11 had a magnitude of 9 degrees.