The government's nuclear inspections agency admitted Tuesday it failed to identify cracks in the core shroud of the Hamaoka No. 4 reactor operated by Chubu Electric Power Co., even though it detected telltale signs in 2001.
The failure is detailed in a report by the Industrial and Nuclear Safety Agency, which investigated a series of defects following revelations in August that Tokyo Electric Power Co., Japan's leading power utility, covered up similar reactor faults.
In the wake of the scandal, cracks were identified at a number of Tepco reactors, as well as the No. 4 reactor at Chubu Electric's Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka Prefecture and the No. 1 reactor at the Onagawa plant operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co. in Miyagi Prefecture.