Japanese government was 'warned that nuclear plants could not withstand quake'

Japanese officials faced added pressure today after it emerged that they were warned more than two years ago that the country's nuclear power plants could not withstand powerful earthquakes.

The international nuclear watchdog raised concerns that safety measures were outdated and a major tremor could cause 'serious problems', leaks cables have revealed.

It is not known what changes the Japanese government made after an official from the International Atomic Energy Agency made the comments in December 2008.

Meltdown: A satellite picture shows the remains of four reactors at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant which have been damaged by the massive earthquake that struck Japan last Friday

Warning: US Embassy cables revealed how the Japanese government was warned that an earthquake could pose 'serious problems' for nuclear plants including Fukushima, pictured, which suffered three explosions

The government will face tough questions on whether they acted on a pledge to upgrade all their nuclear facilities to be able to withstand a quake as powerful as the one that struck last Friday.

Details of the warnings came from a US Embassy diplomatic cable that was leaked to the information website Wikileaks.

The government is said to have responded to the nuclear watchdog's concerns by building an emergency response centre at the Fukushima powerplant.

The doomed plant has suffered three major explosions and one fire that have spilled radiation into the atmosphere and forced thousands of people to be evacuated.

The plant was only designed to withstand 7.0 magnitude quakes but the massive disaster that struck last Friday measured 9.0 on the Richter scale.

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been criticised for 'dithering' and accused by his own people of playing down the crisis.

He is now likely to face even stronger accusations about whether he paid full attention to the advice from the watchdog.

The concerns were first raised at a meeting of the G8's nuclear safety and secutiy group in Tokyo in 2008, The Daily Telegraph reports today.

An unnamed expert was quoted in the diplomat's US embassy cable about safety advice for Japan's nuclear plants.

The document states: 'He [the expert] explained that safe guides for the seismic safety have only been revised three times in the last 35 years and that the IAEA is now re-examing them.

'Also, the presenter noted recent earthquakes in some cases have exceeded the design basis for some nuclear plants, and that this is a serious problem that is now driving seismic safety work.'

The cables reveal how the Japanese government even opposed a court order to close down a nuclear plant that was feared unsafe in the face of an earthquake above 6.5 magnitude. The government later overturned in 2009 the court's ruling top shut down the 'unsafe' plant.

The cable added: 'Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency believes the reactor is safe and that all safety analyses were appropriately conducted.'

Cables also revealed to US officials in Washington that there were concerns that the new nuclear power stations were jeopardising safety ahead of profit.

Quoting a report from a local newspaper, the cable reports: 'We have seen too many cases of cost reduction competition through heightened efficiency jeopardising safety.

Taro Kono, a senior member of the Japan's lower house, told the US said that the Japanese government was covering up nuclear incidents.

The Prime Minister, Mr Kan, was not in office when the warnings were made but they will put added pressure on the government and those who received the warnings.

 Warning: US Embassy cables revealed how the Japanese government was warned that an earthquake could pose 'serious problems' for nuclear plants including Fukushima, pictured, which suffered three explosions

 Meltdown: A satellite picture shows the remains of four reactors at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant which have been damaged by the massive earthquake that struck Japan last Friday

 Cleansing: Officials wearing white clothing to protect themselves against harmful radiation work in a centre to scan residents who have been living within the danger zone of the damaged Fukushima plant

 Reinforcements: Japan's Ground Self-Defence Force soldiers mobilised yesterday to wash away radioactive material leaked from the plant

 Dangerous: A fuel storage tank inside the Fukushima plant's third reactor building that was taken before the disaster struck. Four of the six reactors at the Fukushima No.1 plant have now overheated and sparked explosions