Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Thursday again refused to release a confidential record of interviews with the deceased chief of the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, although he said the government might consider doing so at the family¡¯s request.

Suga¡¯s comment came in response to an earlier remark by Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party).

Hashimoto bashed the government for not releasing the record of the government¡¯s interviews with Masao Yoshida, who was head of the plant during the triple core meltdown in March 2011.

The record was produced by a government panel that was investigating the crisis, and handed over to another investigative team set up by the Diet.

Before the hand over took place, Yoshida submitted a written request for the Diet panel not to publicize any of its contents to a third party, according to Suga.

¡°(His) intention was clearly shown. The government needs to keep (the promise), given its relationship of trust¡± with Yoshida, Suga said.

¡°If the bereaved family requests otherwise, we of course should consider it. But at least for now, it is difficult for the government¡± to propose disclosing the record, Suga said.

Yoshida died of esophageal cancer in July 2013.

The daily Asahi Shimbun reported in its Tuesday edition that it acquired a copy of the record, and quoted Yoshida as saying about 90 percent of 720 workers at the No. 1 plant fled to the Fukushima No. 2 power plant amid the meltdowns on March 15, 2011, despite Yoshida¡¯s order for them to evacuate within the No. 1 site.

The No. 2 plant is 10 km south of the No. 1 plant. If true, the report showed Yoshida failed to control most of the plant workers at a critical stage of the meltdown crisis.

Suga has argued that the lessons learned from Yoshida¡¯s interview have already been shared by government officials in charge of nuclear safety.

But on Tuesday, Nuclear Regulation Authority Chairman Shinichi Tanaka said he hadn¡¯t read the interview record yet.