The extraordinary destruction caused by the powerful earthquake and consequent flooding unleashed on the East Coast of Japan on March 11, 2011, tremendously impacted not only Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Station and the local region but also the international nuclear community as well. The unprecedented damage and radiological release caused by the earthquake and tsunami exposed a number of potential nuclear plant vulnerabilities that are being globally addressed to this day. The lessons learned by the nuclear community are expected to further enhance the defense-in-depth capabilities of nuclear plants against similarly unprecedented events.

We invite investigators to contribute original research articles as well as review articles that will shed new light on the Fukushima accident, which may help develop an improved, integrated perspective of human, technological, and organizational factors. We also welcome submissions from investigators that address their own analyses of the numerous observations reported thus far. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Advances in evaluating the adequacy of design basis and defense in depth of the current nuclear power plant fleet in light of the Fukushima accident
• In-depth analysis of the Fukushima accident and associated phenomenological aspects in consideration of the vast body of observations and analyses reported thus far
• How to cope with beyond-design-basis external events affecting multiple units and improve resilience of the whole system including design, accident management, and emergency response
• How the probabilistic safety analysis (PSA) should be adjusted to address the site risk from potential multiunit events and issues related to level-3 PSA
• How safety goal and regulatory framework should be amended in light of the Fukushima accident
• Analysis of socioeconomic implications of nuclear accidents in terms of environmental impact, accident cost, liability, and compensation mechanisms
• Insights gained from post-Fukushima safety evaluations of various countries

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal’s Authors Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/stni/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/stni/faip/ according to the following timetable: