Ship of fools...

Bungling officials spark nuclear scare after quake

TOKYO - Bungling Japanese officials sparked a nuclear scare after a strong, late-night earthquake by ticking the wrong box on a fax form -- inadvertently alerting authorities to a potential accident. Employees of the Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO), operator of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata -- where the 6.4-magnitude quake struck -- faxed a message to local authorities seeking to allay any fears of damage.

But TEPCO workers accidentally ticked the wrong box on the form, mistakenly indicating there was an abnormality at the plant rather than there was no problem.

One official filled out the form, and it was checked by a colleague before being sent.

Many Japanese government departments and companies still rely on fax machines for communication.