One reason why some information about the status of the reactors is incomplete and confused-

"Power Cut Doomed Fallout Computer"
"The nation's system (Emergency Response Support System) for predicting the volume of radioactive materials to be released to the environment failed amid the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) power poant due to the power supply cut following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami..."
"The malfunction of the ERSS, coupled with "insufficiencies" attributed to SPEEDI, the System for Prediction of EnvironmentalEmergency Dose Information, which projects the dispersal of radioactive fallout based on ERSS forecasts, is likely to have delayed the evacuation of Fukushima residents.
"Japan sent SPEEDI data to the U. N. but withheld it from the public."
"The failure of the 28 billion yen systems casts further doubts on Japan's disaster-prevention policy."
ERSS is managed by the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization, under the supervision of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

The system is "still unable to collect any data on reactors No. 1 to No. 5."

Too many bureaucratic layers breed failure to respond to emergencies and to pass on critical information to the public.