METI official critical of Japanese federal govt. failures at Fukushima pressured to resign

The Mainichi Daily News reports that a long-time official in the Japanese federal Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), which both regulates and promotes nuclear power, has been pressured to resign his post after criticizing the federal government's failures in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe. Shigeaki Koga, who has served in the ministry for 31 years, is resisting his sudden termination. Previously, he criticized the "revolving door" between high level positions in METI and the Japanese nuclear power industry -- a dynamic which media reports shortly after the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe began hinted may have contributed to the false sense of safety that led to the disaster.