Original subtitles

[somber music playing]

BASED ON TRUE EVENTS

[man 1] What was the meaning

of those days?

No.

It's not right to put it in the past tense.

What is the meaning

of those days?

[man 2] Handle those first!

Be careful. Eyes open now.

[somber music continues]

ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COMMITTEE

[somber music continues]

NUCLEAR ENERGY FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

[flies buzz]

[somber music continues]

[man 1] Moments from now,

I'll have to answer

to everyone here.

Did we make a mistake somewhere along the way?

Or was it just

some sort of destiny we couldn't avoid?

March 11, 2011…

and the first few days after that…

for me…

No, for all of Japan.

What is the meaning of those days?

EPISODE 1

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION

[telephone ringing]

[workers chattering]

MARCH 11, 2011 MAIN ADMINISTRATIVE BUILDING, FLOOR 2

STATION MANAGER'S OFFICE

[man 2] Hi, boss!

How's it going?

-Hey. Here you are. -Thank you.

-Oh, hey, boss. -[man 1] Hey.

Oh, how's the routine maintenance?

Going as scheduled, sir. We'll have Units 5 and 6 done very soon.

And Unit 4?

We're done transferring the fuel into the pool,

so we'll start replacing the shroud.

-Oh, Kinoshita. -Yeah?

The hanami, when's it happening?

It's still being coordinated.

But we started rehearsing already, sir.

-What for? -Our song.

-A song? -You got a part. You're station manager.

Why am I singing? You're a bonehead, you know?

[both laugh]

OPERATION STATUS

[alarmed voices chattering]

[man 2] Earthquake!

[objects clattering]

[people shouting]

[rumbling]

Hey, cover your heads, guys! Come on!

[objects crash]

-[station manager] Protect your heads! -[glass shatters]

[alarm ringing]

[workers shouting, screaming]2

Everybody, cover your heads!

[alarm continues ringing]

[system beeping]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 AND 2

[operator 1] Unit 1, emergency shutdown!

Second unit, emergency shutdown!

NUCLEAR REACTOR THERMAL OUTPUT

Unit 1, all control rods are inserted.

Second unit, all control rods are inserted.

Units 1 and 2, emergency shutdown confirmed! [grunts]

Unit 1 has lost external power!

[operator 2] Second unit has lost external power.

Understood. Units 1 and 2 have lost external power.

-[operator 3] Unit 1, MSIV closed! -[operator 4] Second unit, MSIV closed!

[system beeping]

[beeping continues]

[alarm ringing]

Unit 1, activating emergency diesel generator.

Voltage is normal.

Second unit activating emergency diesel generator.

Voltage is normal.

Understood. Units 1 and 2 emergency generators activated.

[alarm continues ringing]

Okay. You all right?

-[operator 2] I'm okay. -Doing fine, sir.

-I'm okay, sir! -I'm fine.

Omura, cut off the fire alarm, okay?

-And check the monitoring posts next. -[Omura] Yes, sir!

-Check the reactors' status, all right? -Yes, sir.

Unit 1, reactor mode switch shut down.

[operator 2] Second unit, reactor mode switch shut down.

Copy. Units 1 and 2, reactor switches shut down.

[system continues beeping]

Unit 1, emergency cooling IC active.

Second unit, emergency cooling RCIC active.

Emergency cooling system, Unit 1, IC active.

Second unit, RCIC active.

Excuse me, sir. The patrollers, they're young guys.

Shouldn't we call them back to the control room?

-Yes, we should. Handle that, please. -[operator 5] Hey.

-[operator 6] Yes, sir. -[system continues beeping]

[beeping stops]

[rain pattering]

-[station manager] Is everyone okay? -[woman coughs]

[man] Someone help me please!

[man groans]

-[man] Somebody! Help me! -It's all right. I'm coming.

I've got you. All right? Wait a minute.

-[man groans] -Hold on.

How's your hand? Can you get out?

Give me your hand. I'm pulling you out.

-[man groans] -You okay?

-[station manager] All right? -[man] Yeah. Thank you.

-[man] Was that an earthquake? -[Kinoshita] Yeah.

[sighs] That was a huge one, huh?

The lights are all out.

What's with the reactors?

Have they all been cut?

I have no idea.

-Have it checked. -Okay, sir. Right away.

Hey, check Daini Nuclear Power Station too.

If they're shut down, Tokyo's gonna be dark before lunchtime.

[Kinoshita] Yes, sir.

Are you okay?

AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING AT 1:00 P.M.

NATIONAL DIET BUILDING, TOKYO

-That was a big one. -Yeah.

Where's the epicenter?

Off the coast of Sanriku.

I'll have the exact location confirmed.

-Get a damage report. -Got it.

[man 1] Look into this.

For now, you should postpone the audit committee meeting

and head back to your office.

You're right.

-Let's do that. -Got it.

Mr. Chairman, I'd like to request we adjourn so we can gather intel.

-Prime Minister, you're just gonna run? -[man 2] Prime Minister!

You have yet to respond to allegations

of financial groups from Korea making political contributions!

[people shout]

-[man 3] We demand an answer! -[man 4] Excuse me, please!

Allow us to prioritize confirming the extent of the damage.

A national crisis could be ahead.

Sir, shall we?

[man 5] Very well, then. We'll take a recess for proceedings at this time.

[people shout]

TO-OH ELECTRICITY POWER COMPANY

[helicopter whirring]

[man 1] Yes.

TOEPCO HEAD OFFICE, TOKYO EMERGENCY DISASTER RESPONSE HEADQUARTERS

[man 1] Both Itami and Kansai International airports are down?

That's going to be very problematic.

Right, uh, just a second.

The highways and trains, what's the situation?

[man 2] Which ones?

Huh? Well, obviously Nara. I'm on a call with President Nishimura!

-[man 2] I'm sorry. -Just go find out.

[man 2] Yes, sir.

[man 1 sighs] We'll handle things here in the meantime.

I'm sorry, I know it's your day off,

but please get ready to return to the head office right away.

Yes! Someone will reach out about transportation.

Thank you so very much.

VICE PRESIDENT MURAKAMI

[sighs]

[sighs] In addition to Kashima,

the Fukushima Daiichi and Daini power plants are down.

Tochigi, Ibaraki, and Kanagawa

are undergoing widespread outages at this time.

For now, it's vital power is restored.

[chuckles] I don't want Tokyo stuck in a blackout.

Get a read on the situation and respond quickly.

[workers] Yes, sir.

[sighs]

[calming music playing]

[PA system] Attention, workers. Please cease all work and evacuate.

A tsunami warning has been issued.

Workers near the coastline, please evacuate quickly.

OUTSIDE NUCLEAR REACTOR BUILDINGS TEN METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

[PA system] There has been an earthquake.

Attention, workers. Please cease all work and evacuate.

That quake was intense.

I'm worried that it demolished my old house.

[man] I understand that.

But it's dangerous outside the power plant.

We should probably evacuate to where we always go in the drills.

[woman] All right.

[evacuation guide] Please evacuate.

Please evacuate to the seismic isolated building.

Please evacuate to the seismic isolated building. Watch your step.

Step lightly, folks.

[quiet somber music playing]

[workers chattering]

[woman] No reception.

See?

[tense music playing]

[exhales] We can't stay in this spot. Let's head to the seismic safe building.

Go get a head count on each group now.

-We need everybody out. -Got it.

-[Kinoshita] Excuse me, sir. -Hey.

All nuclear reactors from Units 1 to 3 are shut down.

IC and RCIC are operating.

They can activate the HPCI if necessary.

That's great. The cooling systems are functioning.

Yeah.

[station manager] Have workers started to evacuate?

It's being announced over and over.

Get everyone out.

With an earthquake that size, people are surely hurt.

-Ensure their safety is confirmed. -[Kinoshita] Yes, sir.

This way, please!

SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING PARKING LOT THIRTY METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

[man] Are you okay?

Please get a medic.

[Kinoshita] Sure is a good thing we had that evacuation drill a month ago.

Yeah.

SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING

[system beeping]

CONTROL ROOM FOR UNITS 1 AND 2

[operator 1] Pressure decreasing in Unit 1. Currently at 4.5 megapascals.

[operator 2] Hold on. Isn't the pressure dropping too fast?

The temperature is decreasing at over 55 degrees per hour.

It's cooling too quick.

Cut off the IC?

Yeah, follow the procedure and make sure the valve's shut.

We'll see how the cooling speed's affected.

-[operator 1] Copy that. -And I need a check on the generators.

[operator 3] We'll go.

Oh.

More aftershocks might occur, so watch out.

-Yes, sir. -Copy that.

-[operator 4] The valve is at 4,000. -Copy that. 4,000.

[operator 5] The water levels in the Unit 4 TCW surge tanks are falling.

[operator 6] Maybe something's wrong with the pumps.

Or the water level sensor is malfunctioning.

-[operator 5] Someone should really check. -You're right. [sighs]

-Takahira! -Yes?

[operator 6] The reactor building's water levels are falling. Take a look.

-All right, sir. -And take Kirihara.

Okay.

-Kirihara! -Yes?

[Takahira] Come on.

Please register before you enter the building.

FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE EVACUATION SHELTER

-It's all right, folks. Take your time. -[rumbling]

[people scream]

[woman] Stay calm, please!

-[evacuation guide] Please stay calm. -[woman] Take turns bringing you in.

[man] All right, I'm off. I'll head to the power station.

[woman] Okay.

[man] Only turn your phone on when it's absolutely necessary.

No telling when you can charge it next.

Yeah. Okay.

Don't worry. We'll be okay.

[man] Yuto!

-Huh? -[man] Take care of your mom.

Okay.

Hey. Turn it off.

[evacuation guide] Come inside, folks. All right, please take your time.

Right over here. Take your time.

[car starts]

[evacuation guide] Stay calm, ma'am.

You can head inside…

[Takahira] Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm. Okay. You take care.

Yeah. Later.

[sighs] My wife's doing okay.

How are your folks?

MUTSU CITY, AOMORI PREFECTURE

[telephone rings]

[telephone continues ringing]

Hello?

-Oh, hey, bro. -Thank God you answered.

Is Mom with you?

[Kirihara's brother] Mom! It's Koki!

[Kirihara's mom] I'm coming.

Ah, thanks.

-Koki? -[Kirihara] Mom.

Are you guys all right?

Uh-huh. The, uh… The lights are out, but that's it. Safe and all.

-How are you? -It's fine over here.

Lots of shaking though.

Ah. That's great to hear.

You don't need to worry about us, okay?

All right, yeah.

-See ya. -[Kirihara's mom] Bye.

[exhales]

-Was that Koki? -Uh-huh. He said he's okay.

Tell him to hurry up and get the lights on again!

[chuckles]

[girl] He works at an electric company for crying out loud.

-[sighs] Not working. -[Kirihara's mom] It's not?

[Kirihara's brother] There's a TV show I wanted to see tonight.

-[mom] What about homework? -[brother] I can't do it in the dark.

KOKI KIRIHARA JUNIOR MEISTER GOLD

[mom] Where do you think you're going?

KOKI KIRIHARA AWARD FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

[Takahira sighs] Aomori, right?

[Kirihara] Mm-hmm.

Okay.

Let's go.

[tense music playing]

[man] The trains have stopped operating on most lines to run safety checks.

All highways are closed

except for part of the Hokuriku Expressway and the Joshin-etsu Expressway.

And over 4 million households in Kanto have no power.

We're reaching out to TOEPCO for a recovery timeline.

PRIME MINISTER SHINJI AZUMA

Has the power station shut down?

They said it was shut down properly.

I'll get a report on the amount of power Chubu and Kansai Electric can re-route us.

[man on TV] In southern Saitama and northwestern Chiba,

citizens should stay alert for buildings collapsing due to aftershocks.

[door opens, closes]

Once again, today at 2:46 p.m. in the Tohoku--

[Azuma sighs]

[man] We received confirmation.

Twelve thermal power stations in Hamadori, Hitachinaka, Kashima, and Chiba

have shut down.

As have 22 hydroelectric stations.

From just one earthquake?

You're telling me that we lost almost all power from that quake?

Yeah. [sighs]

How long do you think it will take

to get those 30 or so stations running?

Send all employees a Level Three Emergency alert.

[man] Yes, sir.

Good God.

[tense music playing]

[PA system] There has been an earthquake.

Attention workers.

Halt work and evacuate.

[emergency siren wailing]

[PA system] A tsunami warning has been issued.

Workers near the coastline should begin evacuating immediately.

I repeat.

There has been an earthquake.

Attention workers.

Please halt all work and evacuate.

A tsunami warning has been issued.

[seagulls squawking]

[workers chattering]

[car horn honks]

Finally away from there.

Unit 4 was having an inspection. That's why it's so crowded today.

[chuckles]

-What's wrong? -Huh?

-Look. -Oh.

Whoa.

[tense music plays]

Oh, man, this is really bad.

We're not safe here.

-Let's go. -Huh?

Yeah.

Let's get out of here! Come on!

[man 1 grunts]

[man 2] Hurry!

[waves crashing]

[tense music continues]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION THIRTY METERS ABOVE SEA LEVEL

Tsunami! Run!

[people shouting, screaming]

[tense music continues]

[man] Hurry up!

PARKING LOT NO. 2 MAIN ENTRANCE

[creaking]

[creaking]

[tense music continues]

Watch your step.

[Kirihara] Okay.

UNIT 4 TURBINE BUILDING, FLOOR B1

[Takahira gasps] Huh?

[clanging]

[Takahira grunts] Whoa!

[Kirihara] It's water!

[Takahira] What the heck?

Stand up!

[Kirihara grunts]

[Takahira] Kirihara, hurry up!

[tense music plays]

[Takahira] This is really bad.

Hurry! We gotta go now!

[both gasp for air]

[Takahira] Hurry up! Kirihara!

[tense music continues]

[metal creaking]

[water crashes]

[operator 1] Wow.

SHARED OPERATIONAL ASSISTANCE FACILITY

[beeping]

-[sensor beeps] -Huh?

[sensor beeps]

Um, that's odd.

[sensor beeps]

Are you also stuck?

[operator 1] There's an error message and the door won't open.

The outside door is also locked.

Huh? Wait, so we can't go back? Dang! [groans]

-[tense music playing] -[grunting]

Who can you call?

[operator 2] There's an intercom here. I'll try the security room.

[operator 1] Okay.

Darn it. This glass is reinforced, isn't it?

Trying to break it's gonna be hard.

What's that?

Tsunami!

Toda! Get out!

The tsunami's here! [yells]

[tense music playing]

[operator 1 grunting]

[grunting]

[tense music continues]

[operator 1 panting]

[tense music builds]

[glass shatters]

[operator 1 groans]

[operator 1 splutters]

[operator 1 straining]

[gasps]

Open the door!

Let me out!

Let…

[banging]

[breathes heavily]

Let me out!

Let me out!

Let me out!

Let me out!

Let me out!

Let me out!

Let me out!

[splutters]

[splutters]

[groans]

[strains]

[groans]

[tense music playing]

I'm gonna… die! [gasps for air]

[tense music continues]

[gasps for air desperately]

[screams]

[Toda screams]

[Toda screams]

[Toda gurgles]

[tense music continues]

2A EMERGENCY DIESEL GENERATOR

[electricity crackles]

[monitors beeping]

[operator 1] Unit 1, what's the water level?

The reactor's at plus 910 millimeters.

And the second unit?

[operator 2] Plus 1,160 millimeters.

[beeping continues]

FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER STATION STRAIGHT AHEAD 1.5 KM

[car horn honks]

[car horns honk]

[car horn honks]

[tense music playing]

[brakes screech]

[tense music continues]

-[man] What the heck are you doing? -You tell me. I don't know.

[man] Hurry up.

[tense music continues]

[tense music builds]

[music fades]

[water splashes]

[Toda splutters and coughs]

[Toda gasps for air]

[gasps for air]

[breathes rapidly]

[coughs]

[gasps for air desperately]

[metal clanging]

Todoroki, sir?

Mr. Todoroki!

[water rippling]

[coughing and choking]

[Todoroki cries out]

[Todoroki gasping for air]

[both panting]

[monitors beeping]

Water levels are normal at the reactors.

And pressure?

Also normal. It's now 6.9 megapascals.

-IC activating. -[operator 1] Copy.

Just like training, I want readings every five min--

[beeping stops]

-[operator 2] Huh? -[operator 1] What's going on?

-Hey, hey, hey. -[lever clicking]

[system clicks]

[tense music playing]

[tense music builds]

Unit 1, Emergency Diesel Generator inactive!

[operator 2] What?

What did you say?

[operators gasp]

[operator 1] SBO!

[operator 3] SBO!

-[operator 2] SBO! -[operator 4] SBO!

-[operator 5] SBO! -[operator 6] SBO!

[operator 7] SBO!

[tense music continues]

[music fades]

[man 1] We're already seeing major power outages in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE, TOKYO CABINET CRISIS MANAGEMENT CENTER

[man 1] As the sun continues going down,

we expect that the confusion from power outages will worsen.

In order to minimize this,

we'd like to make sure that everyone is on the same page,

uh, as we respond to the situation.

And TOEPCO will start.

Uh, with regard to recovering the 30 stations

that shut down in the emergency,

I, uh, just received word

that they are cooperating with each power station,

and they're giving their full attention and effort to address the situation.

[whispering] Sorry to interrupt. An Article 15 report was issued.

What's an Article 15 report?

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Yes, that's right.

That's what they said, sir.

[tense music continues]

[exhales]

An Article 15 report?

Was that your doing?

Yes. I issued it.

Oh, you issued that to the prime minister's office

without consulting the head office?

The situation had better be critical, Mr. Yoshida.

What's the problem? I want an explanation.

As a result of the earthquake and the tsunami,

Fukushima Daiichi station is under a total station blackout.

SEISMIC ISOLATED BUILDING

[Murakami] A total station blackout? What do you mean?

[Yoshida] Our external power supply was cut off as a result of the earthquake.

The tsunami that followed completely flooded the area,

reaching ten meters above sea level, which is where the nuclear reactors are.

The diesel generators shut down because they were waterlogged.

We've got things turned on at the seismic isolated building

with the gas turbine generators.

However, not a single light is on in the Control Room at the moment.

[telephones ringing]

Are they cooling? The nuclear reactors?

Even without power, the IC should operate, right?

[inhales]

I can't really say.

You what? How can you say that?

The entire station's gone dark.

None of the meters in the Control Room are even functioning.

So we have no way to confirm

what the reactors are doing.

[Murakami] You're right. [sighs]

Article 15 was the right step.

What happens now?

Well, I'm not sure.

We haven't been trained for this situation.

We'll start with referring to the emergency guide

and attempt to create a response plan and call you back.

-Hurry! -On it.

[phone beeps]

[workers chattering]

[sighs]

Regarding the nuclear facilities,

for some of the power stations, the shutdown was automatic.

However, at this time, there's no evidence

of radiation leaking out to the atmosphere.

Our safety has been confirmed today, so, please, I'm asking you all--

[man] We've got some new information

about the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station.

Uh, excuse me.

We'll have to pick up this press conference tomorrow morning.

-[journalists murmuring] -[cameras clicking]

If you have any other questions, I'll take them now.

This is bad. Nothing in here anticipates a total station blackout.

[man] Three Mile Island and Chernobyl had power supplies.

And their reactor monitoring equipment was intact.

[sighs] This is really bad.

[water rippling]

[tense music playing]

[workers clamoring, screaming]

-Oh, are you okay? -[woman] I'm fine.

-Good. -[woman] Thank you.

[somber music plays]

[bird squawking]

[somber music continues]

[somber music continues]

[music stops]

[somber music playing]

[somber music continues]

[somber music fades]