Taiwan lifts Fukushima food ban as it looks to Japan for trade pact support
The island will ease restrictions to allow in produce from five Japanese prefectures more than a decade after the nuclear disaster.
Decision will help smooth the way for Taiwan’s bid to join the CPTPP, Cabinet spokesman says.
8 Feb, 2022
Taiwan will largely lift a ban on some Japanese food imports imposed after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster as it seeks closer cooperation with Tokyo.
Citing the need to join global trade pacts, including the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the island’s government announced on Tuesday it would conditionally lift the ban on food from Fukushima and four other Japanese prefectures later this month.
“For 11 years, Japan has imposed restrictive measures even more stringent than international standards to reduce the risk in relation to food, leading to more than 40 countries, including the 11 member states of the CPTPP to fully lift the ban on related Japanese food imports,” Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said.
Lo said many European countries had also relaxed their bans or required radiation-free certificates for the imports.
“All over the world today, only Taiwan and China maintain the ban, and even Hong Kong and Macau have partially lifted the ban,” he said.
Lo said that after years of reviews and consultations with food experts and scientists as well as examination of international standards and practices, the island finally decided to conditionally remove the ban.
Under the plan, food from Fukushima, Gunma, Chiba, Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures will be allowed in but aquatic products, tea, and dairy products will require proof that they are radiation-free and have certificates of origin.
General bans on wildlife meats, mushrooms and certain kinds of vegetables will remain in place.
Lo said the removal would help smooth the way for the island’s bid to join the CPTPP, which requires high standards for membership.
“For Taiwan to take part in the world trade and economic system and to join the high-standard CPTPP, we need to meet international criteria and refrain from ignoring scientific proof,” he said, adding Taiwan had discussed the issue many times with Japan and must remove unreasonable obstacles if it wants to join the Asia-Pacific trade body.
But he also stressed that the removal was not part of a deal in exchange for Japan’s support on CPTPP entry, though it would help the island’s bid.
John Deng, Taiwan’s top trade negotiator, said Taiwan applied to join the CPTPP last year and through its overseas representative offices or bilateral trade meetings, it had sought support from the 11 member states – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
He said the CPTPP’s review committee had yet to examine Taiwan’s application because it had been busy with Britain’s membership bid over the past year.
Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on her Facebook account on Tuesday that her government would not neglect the health concerns of the public and would uphold food safety on the island.
The main opposition party, the Kuomintang, however, blasted the Tsai government for ignoring public opinion that the food products be banned.
The decision comes despite a 2018 referendum that supported the 2011 ban.
Observers said the decision had more to do with the island’s hopes of winning security and military support from Japan to counter growing threats from Beijing.
“Participation in the CPTPP is a reason, but more importantly, Tsai wants to use the measure to befriend Japan so that it will join the United States to help defend Taiwan in the event of a potential cross-strait conflict,” said Wang Kung-yi, director of the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei-based think tank.
He said Tsai had done all she could to seek support from the US.
Wang said Tsai had also tried hard to cement ties with Japan to counter the mainland especially after former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo said any mainland Chinese attack against Taiwan, either direct or indirect, would affect Japan’s national security.
Beijing considers Taiwan its territory that must control, by force if necessary. It has warned the US and Japan – which both recognise the mainland diplomatically – against military and official support for the island.
Tokyo High Court rejects some of the evidence used in the second appeal against the former management of TEPCO
Feb. 9, 2022
A trial to hold the former management of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) criminally liable. In the second appeal hearing, the court rejected the witness examination and on-site inspection at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant that the designated lawyer acting as the prosecutor had requested.
Tsunehisa Katsumata, former chairman of TEPCO, who was the top management of TEPCO at the time of the nuclear accident, and three other members of the former management team, were charged with manslaughter and forced to stand trial for allegedly failing to take countermeasures against the tsunami at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and causing the death of a patient at a nearby hospital due to evacuation.
The Tokyo District Court in the first trial acquitted them, saying that they could not have foreseen the tsunami, and the designated lawyer acting as the prosecutor appealed.
In the first trial of the appeal held last November, the court’s decision was closely watched, as the court demanded the adoption of documents and witness interviews of experts to support the reliability of the government’s earthquake assessment.
Ms. Riko Muto, head of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Appeal Team, said, “I trust the conscience of the court to find out why the nuclear accident occurred, why it could not have been prevented, and who is responsible for this.
The second trial was held on the 9th. The presiding judge of the Tokyo High Court, Keisuke Hosoda, adopted as evidence the documents submitted by the designated lawyer acting as the prosecutor.
On the other hand, he dismissed as “unnecessary” the questioning of three witnesses, including experts involved in the formulation of the government’s earthquake assessment, and refused to conduct on-site inspections at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and other facilities.
Hiroyuki Kawai, lawyer for the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Lawsuit Group: “I feel disappointed. I didn’t see the slightest sign of a desire to determine the responsibility of the defendants for causing the biggest pollution incident in Japan’s history.
“We don’t know if it’s debris.” Bumpy deposits at the bottom of the reactor.
February 9, 2022
On February 9, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) released a video of the bottom of the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Okuma and Futaba towns, Fukushima Prefecture) taken by an underwater robot during an internal investigation. From the images, it was confirmed that orangeish bumpy deposits were spreading and adhering to the structure inside the vessel. It is possible that it is nuclear fuel (debris) that melted down during the accident. We don’t know if it is debris at this stage,” said Kenichi Takahara, a spokesman, at a press conference.
A video of the bottom of the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor shows a bumpy deposit spreading from the bottom center to the right side of the vessel at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (Courtesy of TEPCO)
According to TEPCO, it is unclear how high the confirmed deposit is; a survey in March 2017 confirmed a deposit of 90 centimeters high near this location. According to TEPCO, the height of the debris is unknown.
A part of the piping that was cut off for the introduction of the robots has sunk to the bottom of the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor (Courtesy of TEPCO)
By around 1:50 p.m. on the 9th, the underwater robot that was deployed on the afternoon of the 8th had moved through the water inside the containment vessel and attached four guide rings with a diameter of 30 centimeters at intervals to the structure inside the vessel. The purpose of these rings was to prevent cables from getting tangled in the structure when the robot, which will be used in the future, moves around, and we were finally ready for a full-scale investigation.
In the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor, an underwater robot moves through the vessel while attaching rings to the structure (TEPCO)
Oil-like suspended matter was observed on the water surface inside the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor. The yellow glow in the center is a pipe illuminated by a light (TEPCO)
The radiation level in the water was 1 to 2 sievert per hour. The radiation level in the water was 1 to 2 sievert per hour. The exposure limit for workers at the nuclear power plant is 50 millisieverts per year, and even if one were to enter the water, it would take only 1 to 3 minutes to reach the exposure limit, so people are not allowed to go near the water.
A worker opens a valve leading to the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor to insert a robot (Courtesy of TEPCO)
Workers insert an underwater robot outside the containment vessel of the Unit 1 reactor (Courtesy of TEPCO)
Of the three reactors that suffered core meltdowns in the March 2011 accident, video footage shows deposits of what appears to be debris in Units 2 and 3, but no debris was found in Unit 1 during the 2005 survey.
Removing the debris is the most difficult task, and it is estimated that a total of 880 tons has melted down in Units 1-3. TEPCO is aiming to collect a few grams of debris from the Unit 2 reactor by the end of this year. (Shinichi Ogawa, Kenta Onozawa)
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/159265?fbclid=IwAR08nc1U0duYKVLHyBgjGnoRnhVI944BMtWrN-6F8HNVGUlKXTpkkFAItm4
Japan halts shipment of black rockfish caught off Fukushima over radiation
February 8, 2022
TOKYO, Feb 8 (Reuters) – Japan’s health ministry said on Tuesday it had ordered the suspension of shipments of black rockfish caught off Fukushima prefecture after radiation exceeding an upper limit was detected in a catch late last month.
The development comes on the heels of an announcement by Taiwan that it would relax a ban on food imports from Japan put in place after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.
The suspension means the targetted fish would not be shipped, regardless of the destination, a ministry official said.
Criminal case of the three TEPCO former executives in appeal
A trial in which three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) were forcibly prosecuted by a resolution of the Public Prosecutors Examination Council for failing to prevent the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
This is a detailed record of the second trial.
The second trial of TEPCO’s forced prosecution began, with the former management once again claiming innocence.
The second trial of the three former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), who were forcibly prosecuted over the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and acquitted in the first trial, began, with the former executives once again claiming their innocence.
Tsunehisa Katsumata, 81, former chairman of TEPCO, Ichiro Takekuro, 75, former vice president of TEPCO, and Sakae Mutoh, 71, former vice president of TEPCO, were indicted for involuntary manslaughter by a resolution of the Public Prosecutors Examination Council for causing the deaths of 44 people, including hospitalized patients in Fukushima Prefecture, during the evacuation process from the nuclear power plant accident.
The Tokyo District Court in the first trial acquitted all three defendants in September 2019, saying that there was no way they could have foreseen the huge tsunami.
The second trial began at the Tokyo High Court on April 2, 2021, and the designated lawyer stated that the first trial decision was wrong because it forcibly denied the reliability of the “long-term assessment,” which is the basic premise of the national government’s view on tsunamis, and argued that the three had a duty to build a seawall and take measures to prevent flooding of buildings.
On the other hand, the lawyer for the former management team reiterated their not guilty plea, saying, “The measures to prevent a huge tsunami were massive and took a long time, and even if they had started before the nuclear accident, they would not have been ready in time.
The next hearing will be held in February 2022, and it will be decided whether or not the judge will conduct an on-site inspection of the plant, as requested by the designated lawyer.
A representative of the victims and their families said, “The focus is on whether the court will conduct an on-site inspection of the plant.
Yuichi Kaito, a lawyer who represented the victims and their families at the hearing, held a press conference and said, “The biggest focus of the second trial is whether the court will conduct an on-site inspection of the plant. Although the court did not make a decision today, I hope that this is an indication of the court’s attitude that it wants to carefully consider the issue. If they do, I think it will increase the possibility that the not guilty verdict of the first trial will be reviewed.
Survivors: “Not guilty is impossible
The father of Hisao Sato, 62, of Fukushima Prefecture, was unable to evacuate from Futaba Hospital in Okuma Town, where he had been hospitalized, after the nuclear accident, and remained there with medical staff and died three days later.
Regarding the fact that the three former executives of TEPCO have once again claimed their innocence, Mr. Sato said, “I couldn’t go and pick up the people who were left behind even if I wanted to because the nuclear power plant exploded. There were tears around the eyes of his father, and I believe he suffered and died. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is absolutely responsible, and there is no way they are innocent.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/special/toudensaiban/?fbclid=IwAR19G_iZOeA8x_1s-x6bDhzeGxz3jsDC-Y90iDjpB0zPEoaIT8QCPahEP-0
Fukushima Unit 1: First internal investigation in 5 years
2022/02/08
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) began an internal investigation of the containment vessel at the Unit 1 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on February 8. An underwater robot was used to collect information on the sediment accumulating at the bottom of the vessel and the molten nuclear fuel (debris) underneath. This is the first time in about five years since March 2017.
According to the images taken by the camera mounted on the robot, the bottom of the containment vessel was bumpy, as if something had accumulated there. A TEPCO official said, “We don’t know yet whether it is a deposit or not, and we will proceed with the investigation.
The investigation was scheduled to start on January 12, but was postponed due to problems during the preparation work. TEPCO is now reconsidering the process, which was set to last until August.
https://www.minpo.jp/globalnews/moredetail/2022020801001260?fbclid=IwAR0YiLHqKhJNuprOuxehkLnPzsAYBMFHgQ_0hcLHnWwpllUn9CFD2zSjR10
Criminal trial of Fukushima nuclear power plant to reach climax at high court on Feb. 9; adoption or rejection of on-site inspection and other measures key
Feb. 7, 2022
The trial to hold former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) criminally responsible for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is reaching a climax in the appeals court. The second trial, to be held at the Tokyo High Court on February 9 at 2:00 p.m., is expected to determine the future course of the trial, according to the designated lawyer acting as the prosecutor and a criminal litigation support group. The reason is that the presiding judge, Keisuke Hosoda, will decide whether to accept or reject (1) the on-site inspection at the nuclear power plant site and (2) the examination of three experts.
Since mid-January, a group of residents who have sued and accused TEPCO executives, criminal lawsuit supporters, and lawyers have held a series of press conferences and meetings to explain the current status of the trial, and on January 21, they submitted a list of signatures in front of the Tokyo High Court demanding a fair trial.
There are about 30 class-action lawsuits across the country seeking damages from TEPCO and the government as civil liability for the Fukushima nuclear accident, with more than 12,000 plaintiffs in total. The total number of plaintiffs is over 12,000. Including individual lawsuits, there are more than 400 cases, but this is the only case in which criminal liability has been sought.
In June 2012, the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Complaint Group filed a complaint against TEPCO executives and government officials. In June 2012, a group of Fukushima nuclear power plant complainants filed a complaint against TEPCO executives and government officials, and prosecutors repeatedly dropped the case. After the prosecutors’ panel twice voted that the case was worth prosecuting, former TEPCO chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata and former vice presidents Ichiro Takekuro and Sakae Mutoh were indicted for manslaughter, and their trial has been ongoing since June 2005. The prosecution alleged that the defendants failed to take protective measures and shut down the reactors when they could have foreseen the possibility of flooding of the buildings, loss of power supply, and explosion due to a tsunami exceeding 10 meters in height, which is the height of the site of the plant.
The Tokyo District Court (presiding Judge Kenichi Nagabuchi) acquitted all three defendants in September 2007, but Yuichi Kaito, a lawyer with the Criminal Litigation Support Lawyers Association, and others pointed out the “biggest and most fundamental error” in the original verdict. The lawyers for the criminal case, including Yuichi Kaido, claimed that the “biggest and most fundamental error” in the original ruling was that the government’s Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion (SUIBON) stated that “there was no foreseeable possibility of a tsunami exceeding 10 meters” without properly judging the reliability of the “long-term assessment” released in July 2002. In response to the long-term assessment, which predicted that a tsunami earthquake of magnitude 8.2 could occur anywhere along the Japan Trench from off the coast of Sanriku to off the coast of Boso, the court only ruled whether the plant should be shut down, and did not examine the “foreseeability appropriate for imposing the obligation to avoid the consequences of building seawalls and making facilities watertight. The report criticizes the government for not examining the “foreseeability that is appropriate for imposing the obligation to avoid the consequences of building seawalls and making facilities watertight.
The designated attorneys reiterated the necessity of on-site inspections in the appeals court. It is obvious at the site that the facilities of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant were built on the ground where a high quay was dug into the sea, and it is easy to understand where a tsunami barrier should have been installed and where watertight construction should have been carried out. It should be.
Three witnesses have been called: Atsuo Watanabe, a former nuclear power plant design engineer at Toshiba Corporation, to provide additional evidence on the specifics of the measures taken to avoid the consequences of submerging the facility and their feasibility; Nobuo Hamada, a former director of the Earthquake and Volcano Division at the Japan Meteorological Agency, and Kunihiko Shimazaki, chairman of the Long-Term Assessment Department at SUIMOTO, to prove the reliability of the long-term assessment.
Takashi Soeda, a science journalist, said, “There are many things that would have been buried in the dark without the criminal trial. (1) Based on surveys of past tsunami deposits, it was possible to predict a tsunami as large as the 869 Teikan earthquake, and Tohoku Electric Power Co. and other companies besides TEPCO had been working on tsunami countermeasures. (2) TEPCO and its employees agreed that a 15.7-meter tsunami was inevitable, but senior management prioritized avoiding management risk over avoiding accident risk and delayed tsunami countermeasures (3) In order to delay countermeasures, Sakae Muto asked the Japan Society of Civil Engineers (3) Mr. Sakae Muto had instructed the Japan Society of Civil Engineers to delay the countermeasures by stalling for time and laying the groundwork for experts to discuss the matter.
One of the victims, Ruiko Muto, a resident of Tamura City, Fukushima Prefecture, said, “If the district court’s decision is confirmed as it is, it would be extremely unjust. Ten years have passed since the accident, and in Fukushima there is no justice at all. We must not leave this kind of society to future generations. I hope the court will show justice.
http://www.kinyobi.co.jp/kinyobinews/2022/02/07/antena-1067/?fbclid=IwAR1x4Hq2ILZ432ZlOn6MVRjkDvOKbjq7QFw9PGIB48Jcg6PlB8X_wTHfyGA
11 Years after the Nuclear Accident, Tomioka Town, Fukushima: A “Reconstruction Base” in a Place Where No One Can Live
February 7, 2022
On January 26, restrictions on entry were lifted in a part of the difficult-to-return area designated in Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture, following the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The town and the government aim to lift the evacuation order for the reconstruction center in the spring of 2023.
The town and the government are aiming to lift the evacuation order in the spring of 2023. This spring, for the first time in 11 years since the nuclear accident, people will be able to walk under cherry blossoms in full bloom in Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture, on January 26, 2022.
On January 26, I walked around the area with a dosimeter in hand to assess the situation of radioactive contamination. The air radiation levels shown in the photo were measured at a height of one meter from the ground. The government’s long-term target for decontamination is 0.23 microsieverts per hour. The average natural radiation level in Japan is estimated to be 0.05 microsieverts per hour.
Houses being dismantled by heavy machinery. The same kind of work was going on here and there in the reconstruction center (The figure is the hourly radiation level near the location where the photo was taken. The unit is microsieverts.)
(3) Along the rows of cherry blossom trees, there were many empty lots after the demolition of houses. (The figure is the radiation level per hour near the location where the photo was taken; the unit is microsievert.)
(4) The remains of a TEPCO employee dormitory. 4) The site of a TEPCO employee dormitory, where bags containing garbage from decontamination were lined up (The figure shows the hourly radiation level near the location where the photo was taken. Unit: microsievert)
The area that is now off-limits is about 390 hectares, mainly in the Yonomori district east of Yonomori Station on the Joban Line. The area used to be a residential area with a famous cherry blossom viewing spot, but now it has become nothing but vacant lots and is in a state of disrepair. Close to the station and surrounding a large park, there were many apartments as well as single-family houses, and there was also a dormitory for TEPCO employees.
There was also a dormitory for TEPCO employees. 5) A light passenger car with a flat tire was abandoned at the site of a former supermarket. (The figures are the hourly radiation levels near the location of the photo shoot, in microsieverts.)
(6) At the Night Forest Tsutsumi Park, the pond had dried up and weeds were growing thickly. Unit: microsievert)
(7) Bicycles and trash from decontamination were placed in front of a house with broken windows (The figure shows the hourly radiation level near the shooting location. Unit: microsievert)
(⑧) At a car dealership along Route 6, the glass was broken and the ceiling had fallen in (The figure shows the hourly radiation level near the location where the photo was taken. Unit: microsievert)
The number of registered residents as of January 1 was 2,729. The town will start a “preparatory lodging” program during the major holidays this spring, allowing residents to sleep in their homes in the reconstruction center. (Kenta Onozawa)
(9) At the temporary storage site for decontaminated garbage, the dismantling of the sandbags that covered the perimeter of the garbage to shield it from radiation was in progress. Unit: microsievert)
10) The boundary between the reconstruction center and the difficult-to-return area. The area at the back of the photo has not yet been decontaminated and there is no prospect of lifting the evacuation order (The figure shows the hourly radiation level near the location where the photo was taken. Unit: microsievert)
The area was designated by the government after the accident at TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant as a “difficult-to-return area” with high radiation levels, and is being developed so that residents can live there after priority decontamination.
https://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/158755?fbclid=IwAR24oLt_xTtnf9fAkfsVdDbNU132uvlGYswOXuiSTyXa4I01HNl38W4Qq5I
IAEA team to visit Fukushima next week to review water release plan
February 7, 2022
TOKYO (Kyodo) — A team of International Atomic Energy Agency experts will visit the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant next week to review Japan’s plan to discharge treated radioactive water into the sea, the government said Monday.
During their stay in the country from Feb. 14 to 18, the experts will evaluate the safety of releasing the treated water, with their visit to the Fukushima plant slated for Feb. 15, according to Japan’s foreign and industry ministries.
The planned release, slated to begin in the spring of 2023, has been opposed by China and South Korea, as well as local fishing communities.
The on-site assessment by the experts led by Gustavo Caruso, director and coordinator of the IAEA’s Department of Nuclear Safety and Security, was initially scheduled for mid-December but postponed due to the rapid spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The team will also exchange views with the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc., the operator of the Fukushima plant, on cooperation in dealing with the treated water, the industry ministry said, adding the IAEA will hold an online press conference on Feb. 18.
Water pumped in to cool melted fuel at the plant, crippled by the 2011 massive earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan, has been accumulating at the complex. It has mixed with rain and groundwater at the site, becoming contaminated.
The water is treated using an advanced liquid processing system. The process removes most radioactive material except for tritium, which is said to pose few health risks. Tokyo decided in April last year to release the treated water into the Pacific Ocean.
To improve the transparency of the water discharge project, Japan’s industry ministry and the IAEA have agreed that the international body will compile an interim safety evaluation report in 2022.
Proposed referendum ordinance to question the pros and cons of nuclear power plant restart: Mayor Kamisada submits opposing opinion
February 8, 2022
An extraordinary meeting of the city council of Matsue City was held today to discuss a draft referendum ordinance on the pros and cons of restarting the Unit 2 reactor of the Shimane Nuclear Power Plant.
A citizens’ group in Matsue City collected more than 11,000 signatures to request the enactment of a referendum ordinance on the pros and cons of restarting the Unit 2 reactor of the Shimane Nuclear Power Plant, and on the 31st of last month, they directly requested Mayor Kamisada to enact the ordinance.
On the 8th, an extraordinary meeting of the city council of Matsue City was held, and Mayor Kamisada submitted a draft ordinance with an opposing opinion, stating, “The most appropriate way to restart the nuclear power plant is not through a referendum, but through responsible discussions by the mayor and city council members, who have been entrusted by the citizens.
The extraordinary city council meeting of Matsue City will be held on March 9 to hear opinions from citizens’ groups, and on March 15, the last day of the meeting, the proposed ordinance will be voted on.
Yumiko Okazaki, co-chair of a citizens’ group that attended the council meeting, said, “I think that the lives and safety of citizens should be the top priority when restarting nuclear power plants. As the mayor of a municipality where a nuclear power plant is located, I would like him to make it a prerequisite to face the concerns and anxieties of the citizens.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/matsue/20220208/4030011494.html?fbclid=IwAR2eyipGnCls3dHbqJJn0sPcRXz_rui4yXrb-bNo7Rn7p3nz6_vC6aaG8hI
Experts to visit Fukushima plant to check water release plan
By MARI YAMAGUCHI February 7, 2022
TOKYO (AP) — A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit Japan’s wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant next week to review plans to begin releasing more than a million tons of treated radioactive water into the sea, a mission the government hopes will assure people of the plans’ safety.
The team of about 15 experts will meet with government and utility officials during their Feb. 14-18 mission, which includes a visit to the Fukushima Daiichi plant, industry ministry officials said Monday.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings announced plans last year to begin gradually releasing the still-contaminated water in spring 2023 after further treatment and dilution. The water is being stored in about 1,000 tanks at the plant which need to be removed to allow for the wrecked plant’s decades-long decommissioning. The tanks are expected to reach their capacity of 1.37 million tons later this year.
The plan has been fiercely opposed by fishermen, local residents and Japan’s neighbors, including China and South Korea.
Japan has sought IAEA’s assistance to ensure the release meets international safety standards and gain the understanding of other countries. The team is expected to include several IAEA officials and an expert from each of 11 countries including South Korea and China, officials said.
A massive earthquake and tsunami in 2011 destroyed the Fukushima plant’s cooling systems, triggering the meltdown of three reactors and the release of large amounts of radiation, and causing more than 160,000 people to evacuate. Water used to cool the highly radioactive reactor cores has since leaked extensively, mixing with groundwater seeping into reactor buildings.
Japanese officials say the only realistic option is to slowly release the contaminated water, diluted with sea water, into the ocean. The discharge is expected to take decades to finish.
Officials say all isotopes selected for treatment can be reduced to low levels except for tritium, which is inseparable from the water but is harmless in small amounts.
The IAEA mission was originally scheduled for December but was delayed due to the global surge of the omicron coronavirus variant. Japan’s industry ministry and the IAEA have agreed to compile an interim report on the water discharge plan in 2022.
Officials say it is now safe to live in most areas around the plant except for its immediate surroundings after extensive decontamination work. They blame “reputational damage,” or incorrect information about the impact of radiation, for delaying the recovery of Fukushima’s agricultural and fisheries industries.
Six people recently filed a lawsuit seeking compensation from TEPCO for thyroid cancers that they believe were caused by radiation from the accident. About 300 people who were children at the time have since developed the illness.
On Jan. 27, five former Japanese prime ministers issued a joint statement urging the European Commission to reverse its decision to include nuclear power as an “environmentally sustainable economic activity” under EU taxonomy, noting the Fukushima tragedy and thyroid cancer in many children there.
Government officials have repeatedly denied links between thyroid cancer in Fukushima and the accident and accused the former leaders of spreading “false information and wrongful discrimination and prejudice.”
Taiwan Lifts Ban on Fukushima Food in Push to Join Trade Bloc
Economic priorities put before people’s health priority by politicians!
February 8, 2022
(Bloomberg) — Taiwan lifted its ban on most food imports from areas around the Fukushima nuclear power plant which melted down in 2011, removing an irritant in the bilateral relationship and making it easier for Japan’s government to support Taiwan joining an Asia-Pacific trade deal.
The decade-old ban on most foods imported from Fukushima and four surrounding prefectures will be lifted from Feb. 18, Taiwan’s government said at a briefing Tuesday. Restrictions will remain on certain food items that carry a greater risk of nuclear radiation, such as mushrooms and the meat of wild animals, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng said at a briefing in Taipei.
“The lifting of the Fukushima ban sends a clear message to the world that Taiwan is willing to follow international standards in order to participate in economic and trade cooperation,” Taiwan’s chief trade negotiator John Deng said at the briefing. “This will provide a great push for Taiwan’s efforts to join CPTPP as Singapore and other member countries have expressed their willingness to welcome governments that can accept high standards.”
The government vowed to implement scientific inspections which are more stringent than international standards in an effort to reassure the public the imports will be safe.
Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in an emailed statement that the government welcomed the move as a first step, but would continue to press for removal of the remaining restrictions.
Domestic Opposition
Taiwan halted imports of food products from Fukushima and surrounding prefectures in 2011 over concerns of radiation contamination after the nuclear disaster triggered by the devastating earthquake and tsunami that year.
The food ban has become a domestic political issue in Taiwan. A majority of voters in a 2018 referendum agreed that it should be kept in place, a position supported by the opposition Kuomintang, which says the government is unable to provide unequivocal science-based guarantees about the safety of food imported from the area.
China, South Korea and Taiwan were the only governments that still ban some or all food imports from Fukushima and surrounding areas, according to Japan’s government.
The decision to lift the ban now could cost President Tsai valuable political capital before key regional elections scheduled for November. The move mirrors a previous decision by Tsai to remove restrictions on imports of pork containing trace amounts of the feed additive ractopamine.
That ban effectively blocked imports of pork from the U.S., which called it the biggest impediment to a bilateral free trade agreement. However after it was lifted, imports of pork from the U.S. fell 86% in 2021 compared to the previous year, according to data from Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture, as consumers shied away from it.
Push for International Integration
The lifting of the ban is seen as a key step in gaining Japan’s support for Taiwan to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, a move which could help the island reduce its economic reliance on China. Complicating Taiwan’s bid to join is the fact that China has also applied for entry, leaving member nations with a tough decision between admitting one, both or neither.
Cabinet spokesman Lo was quick to play down hopes of immediate progress in Taiwan’s CPTPP bid however, warning that ending the ban does not necessarily guarantee Taiwan will be accepted into the bloc but rather it is a prerequisite condition for membership. He also said Taipei’s move was not intended to earn Japan’s backing for Taiwan’s entry bid.
Both Taiwan and China are members of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the World Trade Organization, but Beijing has said that this isn’t a precedent that means that Taipei can also join the CPTPP. The government of the People’s Republic of China views Taiwan is part of its territory, a claim the authorities in Taipei reject. The government of President Tsai Ing-wen is looking to cultivate additional overseas markets to reduce the mainland’s economic leverage.
Those tensions mean a long and politicized application process is likely, with the members divided between nations like Japan, Australia and Canada pushing for Taiwan’s accession, and Southeast Asian countries keen to remain in China’s good graces, making them vulnerable to pressure from Beijing to thwart Taipei’s bid. In an interview with Bloomberg Television in November, Singapore’s Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said there are “political complications” surrounding Taiwan’s bid.
https://www.yahoo.com/now/taiwan-set-lift-ban-fukushima-140007509.html
Five successive prime ministers saying that “many children suffer from thyroid cancer”
February 4, 2022
Environment Minister Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi has complained about five successive prime ministers saying that “many children suffer from thyroid cancer.” However, pediatric thyroid cancer is a rare disease that only occurs in one million people, but after the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident, 266 people (10 years) have been diagnosed out of 38,000 people. Why don’t you say a lot of this?” (Attorney Takayuki Fujioka)
We received a letter of protest from Mr. Yamaguchi, Minister of the Environment, regarding the joint statement by five former prime ministers compiled and released by JAERI. In response to this, JAERI has released a rebuttal and questions. In this video, Hiroyuki Kawai, the secretary general of JAERI, talks about the issues involved. Click here for the full text of the rebuttal and questions
Entry restrictions eased in Tomioka despite high radiation
February 7, 2022
Via Takuya Saito
While entry restrictions were eased, residents were sent home with parents and children. There was a kid running around the house looking happy for the first time in a while, so I tried to measure the scale around it, but there was 8.5( μSv/h) pollution in the high area near the ground. Sad but yet again this is reality.
Release] Protest against the condemnation of the letter of the five former prime ministers
Protest Statement
Feb. 4, 2022
311 Children’s Thyroid Cancer Trial Lawyers: Kenichi Ido, Chief of the Defense Team, Hiroyuki Kawai, Vice-Chairman, Yuichi Kaiwata
Five former prime ministers who are truly concerned about the future of Japan (Junichiro Koizumi, Morihiro Hosokawa, Naoto Kan, Yukio Hatoyama, and Tomiichi Murayama) sent a letter to the President of the European Commission on January 27, 2022. In a letter dated January 27, 2022, five former prime ministers (Ichiro Koizumi, Morihiro Hosokawa, Naoto Kan, Yukio Hatoyama, and Tomiichi Murayama) wrote to the President of the European Commission entitled “Nuclear and Carbon Free: Excluding Nuclear Power from the EU Taxonomy is Possible. -In the letter, he talks about the current situation in Fukushima. In response to the passage in the letter that “many children are suffering from thyroid cancer”, Goshi Hosono, a member of the Diet, tweeted about the current situation in Fukushima, So Yamaguchi, Minister of the Environment, wrote a letter to five former prime ministers, Takaichi Takai, Chairman of the General Affairs Committee of the Liberal Democratic Party, expressed his protest, Uchibori, Governor of Fukushima Prefecture, made an appeal, and Kishida, Prime Minister of Japan, responded to the Budget Committee. The LDP Fukushima prefectural federation has sent a letter of protest, and the government and the LDP have attacked and condemned each other. The reasons for this are that the above passage is “erroneous information” (Minister of Environment, Prime Minister Kishida), “erroneous content” (Chairman of the General Affairs Council Koichi), “contrary to scientific facts” (Hosono Rep.), “encourages unwarranted discrimination and prejudice” (Minister of Environment, Prime Minister Kishida), “brings anxiety to the youth of Fukushima” (Hosono Rep.), and “causes (Hosono), and “spreading rumors based on false information” (Takaichi, Chairman of the Board of Governors).
However, it is an undeniable fact that pediatric thyroid cancer, which was said to occur in only one or two children per million people per year before the Fukushima nuclear accident, has increased in Fukushima Prefecture in the 11 years since the accident, with 266 cases in the Fukushima Prefectural Health Survey and 27 cases in other surveys, for a total of at least 293 cases.
The above accusation by the Liberal Democratic Party may be an attempt to say that radiation exposure is not the cause of the high incidence of childhood thyroid cancer, but this is not a scientifically settled issue and their statement is “inaccurate information. The Fukushima Prefectural Citizens’ Health Study Review Committee and UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) deny the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship, it does not mean that these organizations have the authority to determine the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship. On the other hand, there are many experts who argue that a causal relationship should be recognized.
In this regard, the Ministry of the Environment seems to be based on the so-called over-diagnosis theory that the screening of the Fukushima Prefectural Health Survey only finds a large number of latent cancers that do not progress even if left untreated, but the over-diagnosis theory is not a proven theory. However, the over-diagnosis theory is not a proven theory. On the contrary, the scheme of the Fukushima Prefectural Health Survey was carefully designed to avoid over-diagnosis and over-treatment while fully recognizing the existence of latent cancers among thyroid cancers. When a cancer is found, it is not removed in a hasty manner. Rather, the progress of the cancer is assessed and its invasion into the surrounding tissues and metastasis to the surrounding lymph nodes are carefully investigated, and surgery is performed only in cases that meet the indications for surgery stipulated in the thyroid treatment guidelines. The thyroid surgeon who performed the removal of pediatric thyroid cancer in Fukushima Prefecture has clearly denied that he overdiagnosed the disease.
Pediatric thyroid cancer is said to progress more rapidly than thyroid cancer in adults. Although Fukushima Prefecture has not disclosed the total number of cases, it appears that a significant number of children have had recurrences after surgery. Of the six pediatric thyroid cancer patients who filed a claim for damages against TEPCO on January 27, four of them had their cancers recur after surgery. Is the Ministry of the Environment saying that these cases are also overdiagnosed?
All of the children in Fukushima Prefecture were exposed to a certain amount of radiation. It is natural for children who suffer from extremely rare diseases caused by exposure to radiation to suspect that exposure is the cause. According to a survey conducted by the NPO 3.11 Thyroid Cancer Children’s Fund, the number of children and adolescents suffering from thyroid cancer has been increasing. According to a survey conducted by the NPO 3.11 Children’s Fund for Thyroid Cancer, about 60% of children and their families affected by thyroid cancer believe that the cause of the disease is exposure to radiation. However, lawsuits claiming compensation for damages by pediatric thyroid cancer patients have only just been filed. One of the plaintiffs stated at the press conference for the lawsuit that he could not even tell that he had thyroid cancer. I strongly fear that this series of bashing will make it harder than ever for pediatric thyroid cancer patients and their families to speak out about their feelings and questions. They should be aware that their comments are the ones that “promote discrimination and prejudice” and cause secondary damage to the young people and their families in Fukushima.
What the government and the administration should do is to conduct a thorough investigation into whether or not the high incidence of thyroid cancer in children is caused by exposure to radiation, make the data public, have open discussions with the public, and if a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be denied, have TEPCO promptly compensate the victims. We also need to establish a permanent support system to relieve the suffering of the young people in Fukushima. Rather than suppressing the anxiety of pediatric thyroid cancer patients and their families and silencing them, the role of the government should be to eliminate any discrimination and prejudice that may be caused by the revelation of the facts.
The cause of the high incidence of pediatric thyroid cancer in Fukushima Prefecture must continue to be investigated in order to reach a scientific conclusion. The lawsuit filed by patients against TEPCO has just started. The Lawyers Committee strongly protests against this series of unjustified bashing of the five former prime ministers by the government and the Liberal Democratic Party.
That is all.
Source: Support Network 311: Children with Thyroid Cancer
1 This Month
of the week – Shut Down Drone Warfare!
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
Petition to revoke the licensing of the Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7247
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