The government reacted slowly last year to the nuclear disaster in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, which resulted in the first fatality from radiation exposure in postwar Japanese history, according to a government report obtained by Kyodo News.

The report, compiled by the government's interministry study group, proposes placing emphasis on actually dealing with accidents rather than merely checking the security systems that are designed to prevent them from happening.

The panel was set up last October in the wake of Japan's worst-ever nuclear accident late last September at a uranium processing plant operated by JCO Co. in Tokai. One JCO worker died from radiation poisoning, becoming the first postwar victim of a nuclear accident in Japan. Two other JCO workers were also heavily exposed.

A Science and Technology Agency report compiled last December said 119 residents were exposed to more than the 1-millisievert limit on annual permissible radiation levels in the accident.

The report said the government was slow in collecting information and communicating it to local governments and ministries and agencies, and also tardy in issuing directions.

Among other recommendations, the report says Japan needs to improve its public relations operations during accidents to win international trust.

It also proposes that more doctors and nurses be trained in handling radiation-related illnesses.

According to the report, the Cabinet should set up a group to research crisis management systems, including antiterrorism schemes in foreign countries.