The Japanese Government is being accused of hiding the full extent of the danger at the Fukushima nuclear facility. We hear from a writer who says that's just the tip of the iceberg. And from the Japanese Ambassador to Canada who says the Japanese Government is coping with a rapidly evolving situation the best they can.

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PART TWO

Why Governments Lie - Alex Kerr

We started this segment with a clip from Katsunobu Sakura. He's the Mayor of Minamisoma, Japan. It's a little less than 20 kilometres from the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant. He is not impressed by how the Japanese Government is handling the situation there.

As the crisis at the Fukushima plant has deepened, the Japanese government is being accused of misleading the public about the full extent of the danger posed by the damaged reactors. Alex Kerr says the accusations are well-founded and that this is part of a well-established pattern of behaviour on the part of the Japanese Government.

Alex Kerr has lived in Japan for more than 30 years. Ten years ago, he described what he saw as a dysfunctional country in a book called Dogs And Demons: Tales from the Dark Side of Japan. He was in Kyoto, Japan.

Why Governments Lie - Kaoru Ishikawa

Kaoru Ishikawa has been listening in to Alex Kerr. He is Japan's Ambassador to Canada. He was in Ottawa.

Why Governments Lie - Paul Webster

The accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant was the worst nuclear disaster the world has ever seen. It happened on April 26th, 1986. But it took two days before the extent of the disaster started to become clear. And even today, there isn't a single, agreed-upon account of precisely what happened.

For his thoughts on why governments often don't come clean about nuclear accidents, we were joined by Paul Webster. He is a freelance journalist who has covered nuclear issues extensively. He was in Toronto.

Scandals Ad # 2

We ended this part with another word from our friends at the CBC's Content Factory.

Other segments from today's show:

• Do Government Scandals Matter?
• Spousonomics: Jenny Anderson