2/3 TEPCO, the operator of the nuclear reactors that exploded, had a bad track record when it came to safety. Newspapers preferred not to say anything. Right after the explosions, the Japanese meteorological association sent around a memo to its members asking them not forecast the direction of winds (that might carry the radioactive plumes). Those who had friends who spoke German could rely on the forecasts by the Swiss (or Germans). The media would repeated that the Japanese were unafraid.