JAPANESE nuclear regulators trusted that the reactors at Fukushima Dai-ichi were safe from the worst waves an earthquake could muster based on a single-page memo from the plant operator nearly a decade ago.

A LEADING Japanese seismologist warned the country was in danger of a major “nuclear catastrophe” four years ago, but resigned from an advisory panel after his concerns were ignored.

Despite a thriving economic partnership, political ties between Japan and China are at their lowest ebb in years.