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The third explosion at the Daiichi plant in four days damages the suppression pool of reactor No. 2, similar to an explosion occurring at No. 1 over the weekend. Water continues to be injected into "pressure vessels" in order to cool down radioactive material.
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Japan's nuclear agency raises the Fukushima Daiichi crisis from Level 5 to a Level 7 event, the highest level, signifying a "major accident". It is now on par with the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in the former Soviet Union, which amounts to a "major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures."
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Japan's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters reports that reactors 1, 2 and 3 at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a full meltdown.
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The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission's report finds that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis was a "man-made disaster" that unfolded as a result of collusion between the facility's operator, regulators and the government. The report also attributes the failings at the plant before and after March 11 specifically to Japanese culture
