TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's promise that the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant was "under control" in his successful pitch three years ago for Tokyo to host the 2020 Olympic Games "was a lie", former premier Junichiro Koizumi said on Wednesday.
Koizumi, one of Japan's most popular premiers during his 2001-2006 term, became an outspoken critic of nuclear energy after a March 2011 earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns at Tokyo Electric Power Co's (Tepco) Fukushima Daiichi plant, the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986.