" They are undoubtedly unable to speak up without fear of reprisal in some situations."

Source? THere are and have been protests and outspoken criticism of the placement of these plants for years. There are demonstrations reported daily in Japan against the use of nuclear power since the earthquake. The mayor/governor of the province surrounding the plant has been apoplectic in his criticism and anger at both the government and Tokyo Electric.
The only "reprisals" I have read of are the shunnings of refugees from the affected areas. Old fears of deformed babies and radiation contamination have resurfaced. Even hospitals are refusing to treat children from the fallout area.
And I can find the source for that if I have to.

Right now we have only part of the story. Time will prove out who cut corners, compromised safety or simply made business decisions that appeared viable at the time. Hopefully, the world will have learned enough to prevent this happening again...but I doubt it.

Just a thought - until a few weeks ago, Tokyo Electric was a model citizen enabling Japan to provide a modern, healthy life for its citizens. I do not for one minute believe that anyone in the company played the Hollywood role of the Evil Corporate Monster whose greed put everyone and anyone in jeopardy. Sometimes, shit happens. When it does, we learn and move on. Or not. The executives and workers of Tokyo Electric are making themselves physically ill while trying to contain the damage. Some will die.

We are just finding out that similar nuclear plants exist here in the US on unacceptable sites endangered by earthquake probability. So - have we learned from Japan? Or will we wring our hands, tut tut a lot and forget about it when the baseball season takes over the front page?