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Japanese govt must deal with the justifiable fears of nuclear plant communities

Are earthquake-resistance capabilities of nuclear power plants, including surrounding facilities, adequate?

Local governments that host nuclear power plants are refusing to agree to the resumption of operations of reactors that have completed their routine inspections.

Government must address local anxieties over nuclear plants, Asahi Shimbun, 2011/06/18, The central government has to seriously listen to the voices of local governments and swiftly re-examine the standards for resumption of operations by taking into consideration the damages from the March 11 disasters.

What is needed in advancing work is close attention to “the worst case.” Up to now, operations of nuclear power plants were based on the assumption that “accidents do not occur.” As far as Fukushima is concerned, damage has been caused not only by the tsunami, but also the earthquake. Continue reading →

June 19, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Some Japanese mothers rebel against complacency about Fukushima radiation

Japan has long been a country that values consensus – and thus it’s particularly trying for mothers who are speaking out against the very system that’s responsible for educating their children. Most have invested in their own dosimeters, as the local government is not providing daily radiation readings.

The Geiger Club: Mothers Bust Silent Radiation Consensus, WSJ, By Mariko Sanchanta, 18 June 11″…….Some, who were due in March or April, gave birth overseas or as far away from Tokyo as possible. Most expat wives and their young kids left Japan, leaving their husbands here. Continue reading →

June 19, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Japan’s govt changes evacuation system, as “radiation hot spots” are found

places that are outside the evacuation zones but are feared to have concentrations of radiation due to geographical or weather conditions will be designated as “specific evacuation recommendation spots.”…….

Govt refines evacuation system, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 18 June 11 The government has decided to adopt a new system that would recommend evacuation from areas affected by radiation from the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant not by municipality but on a house-by-house basis. Continue reading →

June 19, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, environment, Japan | Leave a comment

75% of Japanese want a nuclear free future – poll results

Japan poll finds most back a nuclear-free future,THE AUSTRALIA N AFP , June 14, 2011  ALMOST three-quarters of Japanese respondents to a newspaper poll favour a gradual phase-out of nuclear energy in the wake of the Fukushima atomic accident.

The Asahi Shimbun daily said in its weekend opinion poll that only 14 per cent were against such a gradual reduction.

The poll also showed 64 per cent of respondents believed “natural energy” such as wind and solar power would replace nuclear power in the future, while 24 per cent said they did not think so……..http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/japan-poll-finds-most-back-a-nuclear-free-future/story-e6frg6so-1226075144056

 

June 16, 2011 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Japan’s’:Nuclear Power Village a cosy closed community of industrialists and govt officials

The nuclear power village is the nickname for a tight circle of government entities, utilities, manufacturers and others involved in the promotion of nuclear power who believe nuclear plants are safe and reject out of hand any opposing views….

But destroying the nuclear village is no easy task. The community involves heavy back-scratching and complex personnel relationships.

NUCLEAR CRISIS: HOW IT HAPPENED / ‘Nuclear power village’ a cozy, closed community, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 16 June 11 Three months have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake triggered a nuclear crisis that shows little sign of ending anytime soon. Continue reading →

June 16, 2011 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

34000 Japanese children to wear radiation badges, as “hot spots” found

Fukushima’sPlan  To Put Radiation Badges on Children Not pleasing parents NPR by MARK MEMMOTT  15 June 11 The news that the city of Fukushima, Japan, plans to give badge-like dosimeters to 34,000 children in September — to gauge how much radiation they’re exposed to from the nearby nuclear power plant that was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami — isn’t sitting well with some parents. ..As Lucy Craft reported forMorning Edition, those parents say the government should be evacuating everyone 18 and under and any woman who is pregnant, not waiting three more months and then only issuing badges that will be checked one a month to determine exposure.

But, as Reuters reports today, the nuclear plant “is estimated to have released just 15 percent of the radiation at Chernobyl, but a complicated software modeling system created by the government to predict where the radiation would drift proved useless.” So-called hot spots are showing up hundreds of miles away

About 40 miles from the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, Fukushima City (population 300,000) is outside the Japanese government’s 12-mile “no-go zone” around that facility…..  http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/06/15/137195386/fukushimas-plan-to-put-radiation-badges-on-children-not-pleasing-parents

June 16, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Radioactive cesium found in whales off Japanese coast

Whales in Japan Could Face Radiation Poisoning Gamut News 15 June 11 Japan is reporting that two whales, caught by whalers there along the northern coast, had traces of radiation assumed to come from leaks at the damaged nuclear power plant. Out of a total of 17 whales caught off the Pacific coast of Hokkaido, two showed traces of radioactive cesium…..http://gamutnews.com/20110615/25100/whales-in-japan-could-face-radiation-poisoning.html

June 15, 2011 |

June 16, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Fukushima Investigation Panel might be taken over by Nuclear Industry

the possibility of METI officials renewing their push for control of the panel. With Kan expected to step down in the near future, the energy mandarins may still have their way. ( Image below from Japan Nuclear Industry Trying To Hijack Fukushima Investigation Panel  )

Japan Nuclear Industry Trying To Hijack Fukushima Investigation Panel by Alexander Higgins – June 13, 2011 Japan’s largest newspaper is reporting that bureaucrats associated with the nuclear industry in Japan are trying to hijack the Fukushima investigation panel.

While the prime minister has rebuked their first attempt, he is expected to step down any time now at which point they will try to take it over again. METI tried to gain influence over Fukushima panel Asashi Shimbum 2011/06/12 – BY SHINJI MURAMATSU Continue reading →

June 14, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Deception and mistrust crippled Japan’s response to Fukushima disaster

many of the residents around the plant who evacuated went north, on the assumption that winds blew south during winter in that area. That took them directly into the radioactive plume, he said — exposing them to the very radiation that they were fleeing….

In Nuclear Crisis, Crippling Mistrust NYT, By NORIMITSU ONISHI and MARTIN FACKLER, June 12, 2011 “…..it became clear that a prime minister who had built his career on suspicion of the collusive ties between Japan’s industry and bureaucracy was acting nearly in the dark. He had received a confusing risk analysis from the chief nuclear regulator, a fervently pro-nuclear academic whom aides said Mr. Kan did not trust. He was also wary of the company that operated the plant, given its history of trying to cover up troubles… Continue reading →

June 14, 2011 Posted by | Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Over-exposure to radiation- six more Fukushima workers reported

Six more Tepco staff exposed beyond limit | The Japan Times Online June 14, 2011 Radiated workers may be drop in Fukushima bucket Kyodo Six more workers involved in efforts to contain the nuclear crisis at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant are feared to have been exposed to radiation above the emergency limit, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday. Continue reading →

June 14, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

100 anti-nuclear rallies across Japan’s cities

around 100 anti-nuclear events were staged nationwide, including in the western cities of Osaka and Hiroshima, which were devastated by a US atomic bomb in 1945. In the capital an estimated 6000 demonstrators, some carrying placards reading “We don’t want nuclear power plants”, marched by the head office of the Fukushima plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), in a rally organised by the Japan Congress against Atomic and Nuclear Bombs..

Japan marks 3 months of pain News.com.au AAP * June 12, 2011 THOUSANDS of people rallied in Japan as the country marked three months since its horror quake and tsunami. Radiation continues to leak from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, 225 kilometres northeast of the capital, amid simmering public frustration over the government’s slow response to the triple catastrophe…. Continue reading →

June 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Lingering radioactive disaster for Japan’s ‘no go’nuclear zone

The narrow strip of hilly coastal country between Fukushima City – a metropolis of 2 million – and the crippled Daiichi nuclear plant on Japan’s east coast, is a no-go zone occupied by an invisible enemy – potentially life-threatening radiation. It is in the ground, in the atmosphere and in the sewerage…..

‘Exploding clouds of radioactive steam and debris were swept by strong winds across a broad arch of countryside, including Iitate and Minamisoma. Mountain forests, streams, rice fields, school grounds and houses were contaminated

A long wait for solace in a ravaged land, Sydney Morning Herald, Russell Skelton, June 11, 2011 Almost 100 days since the earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan, the nation struggles to give hope to its citizens Continue reading →

June 13, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Radioactive strontium found in groundwater and sea near Fukushima

High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant | The Japan Times OnlineJune 13, 2011   Kyodo, Radioactive strontium up to 240 times the legal concentration limit has been detected in seawater samples collected near an intake at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday.

The utility said the substance was also found in groundwater near the plant’s Nos. 1 and 2 reactors. The government’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said it is the first time that the substance has been found in groundwater.The agency said it is necessary to carefully monitor the possible effects of the strontium on fishery products near the plant.

Strontium tends to accumulate in bones and is believed to cause bone cancer and leukemia….High level of strontium found at Fukushima plant | The Japan Times Online

June 13, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Disillusion of Japanese over TEPCO and Fukushima radiation

A long wait for solace in a ravaged land, Sydney Morning Herald, Russell Skelton, June 11, 2011″……..Emotions towards the government and some local authorities vary from fury to resignation. People are incensed by dithering politicians, and last week’s challenge to Prime Minister Kan’s leadership was seen as displaying callous disregard for the national recovery effort.

There is widespread contempt for the mostly anonymous, seemingly slippery and always secretive management of TEPCO. The company has a long history of dodgy auditing and cover-ups at the Fukushima plant.Since the nuclear meltdown, some 80,000 people have been evacuated from the towns and villages surrounding the crippled power station. Nobody interviewed by The Saturday Age within 200 kilometres of the reactor feels safe or has confidence in the government to effectively manage the recovery and reconstruction.
At first, the dithering Democratic Party government set the evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant at 10 kilometres, then 20 and by the end of this month it will be extended to a recommended but voluntary 30 kilometres. The International Atomic Energy Agency has said the exclusion zone should be 40 kilometres, and Australia’s radiation protection authority has suggested a precautionary zone of 80 kilometres….
A long wait for solace in a ravaged land

June 13, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

Mainstream media not reporting the full story on Fukushima disaster

Water remains a primary complication; 15 million highly radioactive gallons await proper treatment and storage. That’s equivalent to about thirty highly contaminated Olympic-sized swimming pools. It is unclear how much of this water has already been released into the Pacific Ocean, but it is likely in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions of gallons. 

Japan Update, Footprints  Sara Barczak , 10 June 11 Unfortunately, the mainstream media is reporting increasingly less on the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Japan. Nonetheless, radioactivity continues to be released into the air and water at the severely damaged facility. Continue reading →

June 11, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | 1 Comment

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