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“Descent from Heaven ” Japan’s nuclear top men in lucrative jobs

bribery handshake2 key industry ministry bureaucrats landed lucrative jobs after
retirement, Asahi Shimbun January 21, 2013 By ATSUSHI KOMORI/ Senior
Staff Writer

Two industry ministry officials who played a central role in Japan’s
nuclear policy at the time of the Fukushima disaster went on to land
senior positions at major financial institutions after they retired
from public life.

The practice of retired bureaucrats ending up in jobs at organizations
or companies that were often once under their jurisdiction is called
“amakudari,” which translates as “descent from heaven,” and has come
under severe criticism due to fears it fosters collusion between
bureaucrats and private companies.

Kazuo Matsunaga, 60, was formerly vice minister of the Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry, and Tetsuhiro Hosono, 60, served as
director-general of the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy.

They held these key posts during the reactor meltdowns at the
Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triggered by the March 11, 2011,
Great East Japan Earthquake, which spawned towering tsunami that
devastated coastlines of northeastern Japan.

Their re-employment will likely ignite controversy, because even now,
more than 150,000 people affected by the disaster have not been able
to return to their homes because of high radiation levels and other
reason…. http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201301210093

January 25, 2013 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Radioactvity increasing in water at Fukushima Unit No. 2 nuclear reactor

water-radiationReport: Radioactivity levels rising at Fukushima Unit No. 2 sub-drain since November  http://enenews.com/report-radioactivity-levels-rising-at-fukushima-unit-no-2-sub-drain-since-november
 January 22nd, 2013
Title: Contaminated water still a serious issue at Fukushima Daiichi
Source: Enformable
Date: Jan 22, 2013
[…] over 220,000 metric tons of contaminated water have been collected and stored on site, still another 75,000 tons remains in the reactor buildings. Every day at least another 40 tons of contaminated water are created […]

The utility has been so far unable to prevent the contaminated water injected into the damaged reactors from flowing out of the buildings into the environment and even escaping directly into the ocean. […]

The levels of radioactivity measured near the Unit 2 Sub-Drain have been on the rise since November […] it is critical to control the seeping of contamination through the local groundwater.
See Tepco’s report here

January 24, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013 | Leave a comment

Fukushima radiation in seafood chain – record level in rockfish

radiation-in-sea--food-chaiRecord cesium levels measured in Fukushima rockfish, signaling radiation woes in food chain far from over in Japan, Part of: Nuclear meltdown in Japan Less than two months shy of the second anniversary of the devastating triple nuclear meltdown at Japan’s coastal Fukushima Daiichi plant, a fish containing more than 2,500 times Japan’s legal limit for radiation has been caught by the plant’s operator in waters near the wrecked facility. Bellona,  Charles Digges, 21/01-201

The ‘murasoi’ fish, similar to a rockfish – indicating an amount of cesium measuring 254,000 Becquerel per kilogram, or 2,540 times Japans limit for radiation in seafood – was caught at a port inside the plant by its owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) Friday, according to AFP.

The utility also released a photo of the fish, caught near an unloading point north of the No. 1 through No. 4 reactors. No fishermen operate in the nuclear plant’s port.

Friday’s catch shatters the previous record for wildlife contamination as a result of radioactive contamination, which was was 25,800 Becquerel of cesium per kilogram found in two greenlings caught about 20 kilometers north of the plant in August 2012, the Asashi Shimbun newspaper reported.

Other countries are also increasingly distressed by the amount of irradiated marine life turning up near their coastlines along the Pacific Rim: Over the summer, Russia’s state English language television station RT reported concern over fish caught off its coast near Japan.

In May, a tuna contaminated by low levels of radiation was found near the California coast, Reuters reported……. http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/fukushima_rockfish

January 23, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013, Japan, oceans | Leave a comment

Japan’s nuclear utilities buy the silence of communities

“This structure of dependency makes it impossible for communities to speak out against the plants or nuclear power,”

Japanese nuclear plant operators charge over 90 million dollars per year to pay local authorities http://enformable.com/2013/01/japanese-nuclear-plant-operators-charge-over-90-million-dollars-per-year-to-pay-local-authorities/  A report by NHK has shown that operators of nuclear power plants in Japan charge the public users over 90 million dollars per year, in order to cover payments made to local authorities in the areas which host the nuclear sites.  Last year, the central government announced that it did not consider these charges as an expense, and that it would no longer allow utilities to charge users to cover them.

Osaka University Professor Tatsuo Hatta says utilities may be able to find other ways to compensate themselves for the payments, and is calling for further transparency.

Kansai Electric has been charging their users around 40 million dollars per year, TEPCO charges around 22 million, Kyushu charges around 10 million, Chugoku charges about 8 million, and Chubu charges about 4 million. Continue reading →

January 23, 2013 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

New safety regulations for Japanese nuclear reactors: in force from July

Japanese nuclear regulators present new safety measures THE HINDU, TOKYO, JAN 21: Japan’s nuclear regulators on Monday presented a draft outline of new safety measures to prevent or minimise the consequences of severe accidents like Fukushima nuclear disaster.

Among other features, the Nuclear Regulation Authority said utilities will be required to build a special safety facility housing a secondary control room for reactor operations to guard against accidents from natural disasters or acts of terrorism, such as intentional aircraft crashes.

Japan’s new nuclear safety standards are expected to come into force in July, replacing the current ones that proved insufficient in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The implementation of new safety standards is a major precondition for Japanese power companies to apply for government permits to put their idled reactors back online…… Continue reading →

January 23, 2013 Posted by | Japan, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

Corporations circle around for lucrative nuclear waste cleanup

money-in-nuclear--wastesUK firms to bid for Japan’s nuclear clean-up
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-firms-to-bid-for-japans-nuclear-cleanup-8458524.html
 MARK LEFTLY, 20 JANUARY 2013 British engineers Amec, Babcock
International, and Atkins are believed to be circling nuclear
decommissioning work estimated to be worth at least $5bn (£3.2bn) in
Japan as a result of the Fukushima disaster.

The new Japanese government is thought to be preparing decommissioning
contracts that will include Fukushima’s Daiichi plant, which was
overwhelmed by a tsunami in 2011, and other reactors in seismically
endangered areas.
A nuclear source said bids could be invited for the clean-up work
before the end of the year, with British groups in a strong position
due to all the decommissioning work that has been undertaken in the
UK.
US-owned Energy Solutions will also be interested.
“This is a huge opportunity,” claimed the source. “Japan should start
making some real progress on decommissioning now.”

January 21, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, decommission reactor, Japan | Leave a comment

Japanese professors remind public of the story of hibakusha

HibakushaThe next few years will be crucial in collecting oral
histories from hibakusha. I feel a sense of responsibility as the last
generation that can learn directly from the victims.

INTERVIEW: Scholars call for greater cooperation between Hiroshima,
Nagasaki in anti-nuclear push January 20, 2013 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
Two scholars who have spent their careers collating first-hand
accounts of atomic victims from Hiroshima and Nagasaki and using those
experiences to push for nuclear disarmament sat down with The Asahi
Shimbun to talk about their research into the 1945 attacks.

Taeko Kiriya, 32, is an assistant professor at the Hiroshima Peace
Institute of Hiroshima City University while Keiko Nakamura, 40, is an
associate professor at the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons
Abolition (RECNA) at Nagasaki University.

Excerpts of the interviews follow:…… Continue reading →

January 21, 2013 Posted by | Japan, social effects | Leave a comment

Japan’s govt confirms cases of badly done nuclear decontamination work

CROOKED CLEANUP: Government confirms 5 cases of shoddy decontamination
work January 18, 2013 THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
The Environment Ministry on Jan. 18 said that there have been five
cases of shoddy decontamination work around the crippled Fukushima No.
1 nuclear power plant and has punished the general contractors
involved in the cleanup effort.

In the five instances, three general contractors were ordered to take
corrective actions, the ministry said on Jan. 18 in its report on the
investigation into the central government-commissioned work, following
reports of the suspected such dumping of potentially radioactive
debris. Two other contractors were given guidance on following proper
procedures.

The ministry also announced that countermeasures would be taken for
preventing illegal dumping in the future….
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201301180075

January 21, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013 | Leave a comment

Fukushima fish – radiation levels 2500 times the legal limit

radiation-in-sea--food-chaiRecord high radiation level found in fish http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/record-high-radiation-level-found-in-fish/story-e6frfkui-1226557111874#ixzz2IRxmSfvD January 19, 2013

  A FISH contaminated with radiation levels more than 2500 times the legal limit has been caught near Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, its operator says.

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) said caesium equivalent to 254,000 becquerels per kilogram – or 2540 times more than the government seafood limit – was detected in a “murasoi” fish.

The fish, similar to rockfish, was caught at a port inside the Fukushima plant, a TEPCO spokesman said.

The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was battered by a towering tsunami following a huge earthquake on March 11, 2011, causing reactor meltdowns which spewed radioactive contamination into the atmosphere.

Fishing around Fukushima was halted and the government banned beef, milk, mushrooms and vegetables from being produced in surrounding areas.

January 19, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013 | 2 Comments

Nuclear reactors in operation – drop in numbers, as IAEA reclassifies 47 Japanese reactors as “Long-term Shutdown” (LTS)

IAEA Shifts 47 Japanese Reactors Into “Long-Term Shutdown” Category 16 January 2013 In an unprecedented move, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has shifted 47 Japanese nuclear reactors from the category “In Operation” to the category “Long-term Shutdown” (LTS) in its web-based Power Reactor Information System (PRIS). The number of nuclear reactors listed as “In Operation” in the world thus drops from 437 yesterday to 390 today, a level last seen in Chernobyl-year 1986 and a dramatic step of the IAEA’s official statistics in recognizing industrial reality in Japan.

nukes-sad-

This is without doubt a unique revision of world operational nuclear data. However, numerous questions remain. The definitions of the IAEA’s reactor status categories remain unclear. Units can remain in the LTS category for many years, without any apparent limit. Japan has now 48 units listed as LTS, one of which is the fast breeder reactor Monju that has not been generating electricity since a sodium fire severely damaged the plant in 1995, while three further units at Kashiwazaki-kariwa have not been generating power since an earthquake hit the site in 2007.

Of the other 47 Japanese units, 42 have been retroactively classified as LTS as of 1 January 2012 (strangely including the 3 Kashiwazaki-kariwa units), while five reactors have retroactively entered that listing between 14 January and 26 March 2012. One reactor, Tomari-3 in Hokkaido—the last one to generate electricity before the country entered a two-month nuclear-free period between 5 May and 5 July 2012—remains, for unknown reasons, in the categories “In Operation” (world overview) and “Operational” (country file). This is despite the fact that only two reactors are currently effectively generating power in Japan, units 3 and 4 at the Ohi plant in Fukui Prefecture.
The future of the Japanese nuclear power plants remains highly uncertain. In spite of a clearly more pro-nuclear government that came in with the election of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, it will likely take years until more power plants could get back on line. Abe stated on 4 January 2013:
“We will first of all determine whether or not to restart nuclear power plants on the basis of scientific safety standards. Then over the course of roughly three years we will assess the futures of existing nuclear power plants and transition to a new stable energy mix over ten years. The new construction or replacement of nuclear power plants is not a matter that is able to be determined immediately. Naturally this is an area in which we should make our determination in accordance with the principle of gradually decreasing our degree of reliance on nuclear power to the greatest extent possible.”
Other sources have also suggested that it could take a long time for nuclear plants to adapt after the newly established Nuclear Regulatory Authority will come up with new safety standards in July 2013.

January 17, 2013 Posted by | 2 WORLD, business and costs, Japan | Leave a comment

Radioactive groundwater leaking into Fukushima reactors

Tepco Official in US: “We are still seeing leakage” — Contaminated groundwater seeping into reactor areas http://enenews.com/tepco-official-leakage-contaminated-groundwater-seeping-reactor-areas
  Title: Fukushima recovery aided by SRS cleanup technology
Source: The Augusta Chronicle
Author: Rob Pavey
Date: Jan. 15, 2013
FUKUSHIMA-2013
[…] Even after almost two years of nonstop cleanup work, managing the flow of water contaminated with radiation continues to be one of site’s most significant challenges, [Masumi Ishikawa, TEPCO’s general manager for radioactive fuel management] said.

“We are still seeing leakage,” he said. “That is an important challenge we must meet.”

Maintaining the essential flow of cooling water to the melted reactors, he said, has been complicated by the need to remove and treat contaminated groundwater that has seeped into the reactor areas since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

[…] Ishikawa said the plant site will almost certainly play some sort of role in the future.

“Our new prime minister explicitly has said, Japan’s revitalization will not happen without the revitalization of Fukushima Dai-ichi,” he said.
See also: ‘Impermeable wall’ between leaking Fukushima reactors and ocean yet to be built — Tepco still working on silt fence (PHOTO)

January 17, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013 | Leave a comment

World’s largest offshore wind farm for Japan

wind-farm-oceanJapan to build world’s largest offshore wind farm, New Scientist,   16
January 2013 by Rob Gilhooly, Tokyo It’s goodbye nuclear, hello
renewables as Japan prepares to build the world’s largest offshore
wind farm this July. Continue reading →

January 17, 2013 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

There’s money in them thar nuclear wastes

Veolia Draws Upon Fukushima to Move Into Nuclear Dismantling, Bloomberg,  By Tara Patel – Jan 15, 2013 Veolia Environnement SA (VIE), which treated radioactive water from Japan’s nuclear meltdown at Fukushima, plans to use the experience to move into decontamination and power plant dismantling.

The water utility and the nuclear research group known as CEA plan to earn as much as 400 million euros ($534 million) in revenue within about four years by cleaning radioactive sites and taking apart installations, they said today.

“The market is developing very quickly,” Veolia Chief Executive Officer Antoine Frerot told a press conference today in Paris. About 300 nuclear reactors will have to be halted worldwide within two decades including in France, Germany, Japan and the U.S., he said.

The shift into the atomic market comes after President Francois Hollande pledged to lower France’s dependence on the energy and shut the country’s oldest plant at Fessenheim. It’s also the first new market Veolia has publicly announced it will enter into since Frerot pledged to pull out of some countries and businesses in a bid to boost profit…… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-01-15/veolia-draws-upon-fukushima-to-move-into-nuclear-dismantling-1-.html

January 17, 2013 Posted by | business and costs, decommission reactor, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan’s nuclear regulator to set rules about tsunami heights

Watchdog to define maximum tsunami heights for nuclear plants January
16, 2013.Asahi Shimbun, By RYUTA KOIKE/ Staff Writer
The Nuclear Regulation Authority decided Jan. 15 to set maximum
heights of possible tsunami striking individual nuclear plants and
obligate their operators to take commensurate safety measures. Continue reading →

January 17, 2013 Posted by | general, Japan | Leave a comment

Cesium near Fukushima now 10 times higher than previous highest measurement

Cesium-137Over 1,000,000 Bq/kg of cesium near Fukushima plant — 10 times higher than highest measurement in prior soil survey 
http://enenews.com/1000000-bqkg-cesium-fukushima-plant-10-times-higher-highest-reading-prior-soil-survey
  January 12th, 2013
 Environment Ministry’s radioactive monitoring in Fukushima with summary translation by Fukushima Diary:
http://www.env.go.jp/jishin/monitoring/result_pw130110-1.pdf
Soil sampled on Oct. 25, 2012 from beside an reservoir in Okuma

Cs-134 : 400,000 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg)
Cs-137 : 650,000 Bq/kg
Combined Cs-134, -137: 1,050,000 Bq/kg
Nikkei’s report on the monitoring says the highest t reading was 96,000 Bq/kg of Cs-134 and -137 during last summer’s research, detected in soil from a reservoir in Namie.

January 14, 2013 Posted by | Fukushima 2013 | Leave a comment

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