Japan’s ex-Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized on Monday saying that the government and its pursue for nuclear energy bore most of the responsibility for the Fukushima Crisis last year

Japan's ex-Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized on Monday saying that the government and its pursue for nuclear energy bore most of the responsibility for the Fukushima Crisis last year, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The nuclear crisis was caused by a nuclear plant which was operated under the national policy," Kan told a parliamentary inquiry into the cause of the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

"I believe the biggest percentage of blame lies with the country," said the former prime minister, who has since then been strongly oppose the usage of nuclear energy.

Kan said, "as the prime minister at the time of the accident, I apologize for my failure to stop it."

The former prime minister later received intense criticism for making a distraction when he visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on March 12, 2011, only a day after it was swamped by a devastating tsunami, as emergency workers were struggling with what would become full meltdowns.

Tens of thousands of people from the areas near the plant were later evacuated after it began releasing radiation. Some of the areas have already been expected to be uninhabitable for decades.

Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), the operator of the plant, one of the world's largest utilities, has been also criticized for ignoring warnings about the potential dangers from quake-generated tsunamis.

At the hearing Monday, Kan also attacked TEPCO for its failure to keep the government informed about the accident.

Kan's public testimony came after a private panel investigating the accident said in February that the ex-Prime Minister's active involvement had helped the country avoid a worse crisis.