Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

Three years after the triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, neither local communities nor the country’s economy have fully recovered. And one critic says Japan won’t be safe again until it’s made some fundamental changes in its culture.Three years after the triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, neither local communities nor the country’s economy have fully recovered. And one critic says Japan won’t be safe again until it’s made some fundamental changes in its culture.

Japanese researchers say they’ve found a species of algae that could help decontaminate radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant. But they say the plant’s owners don’t seem very interested in the idea.

New images and reports have surfaced of wholesale torture and starvation on the part of the Syrian regime, just as peace talks to end the war are set to start on Wednesday. On the US west coast, scientists dispel fears that Pacific Ocean fish are contaminated with Fukushima radiation. And side-by-side men’s toilets at an Olympic venue have become a social media joke. That and more, in today’s Global Scan.

Host Marco Werman speaks with Jeff Kingston of Temple University Japan about the status of the cleanup, what’s at stake for the government, and the government’s delicate relationship with TEPCO, the company that owns the plant.