Do You Think that Japanese Authorities and Utilities Could Get Away with Something Like This?

Do you think that the Japanese authorities and utilities could get away with something like this? No, not the longstanding neglect. (underinvestment in infrastructure seems to be a serious, widespread, chronic problem in the US. What will the old urban centers look like in twenty years?) I'm talking about this:

Consolidated Edison, the utility that operates the steam system, insisted its equipment is in good shape.

And this:

"I don't think there is any reason to worry," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in the aftermath of the blast, which killed one person and injured dozens, some seriously. "I think that you see that these pipes generally perform fine."

Imagine:

TEPCO, the utility that operates the Kashiwazaki nuclear power plant, insisted its equipment and safety system is in good shape.

And:

"I don't think there is any reason to worry," Nuclear and Industrial Safety head Yasuhisa Komoda said in the aftermath of the earthquake, which spilled approximately 100 kg of low-radiation waste water into the ocean and overturned several barrels filled with other nuclear waste. "I think that you see that the equipment generally perform fine."

Does anyone doubt that many people at TEPCO as well as Mr. Komoda would be out of their jobs very quickly?

Although we may walk the walk in like manner in a global community, we clearly continue to talk the talk differently.