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Court orders Tokyo Electric Power Company pay ¥600 million to 271 plaintiffs

Japan Times 10th Feb 2021, A court has ordered Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay a total of some ¥600 million to 271 plaintiffs over an evacuation caused by
the 2011 nuclear disaster. The Iwaki branch of Fukushima District Court
reached its conclusion Tuesday in a lawsuit filed by 297 plaintiffs —
which included residents of the heavily affected Yamakiya district in the
town of Kawamata who were ordered to evacuate — seeking ¥14.7 billion in
damages from Tepco.

The plaintiff side expressed its intention to appeal to
a higher court. The suit is the second in a series filed by evacuees who
left their homes due to the triple meltdown at Tepco’s Fukushima No. 1
nuclear power plant triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The
plaintiffs excluded the state from the suit as it hoped to achieve an early
resolution.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/10/national/crime-legal/tepco-ordered-pay-%c2%a5600-million-2011-nuclear-disaster/

February 11, 2021 Posted by | Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

Fukushima to Triple Wind Power Generation 

February 9, 2021 Posted by | Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

In desperate economic plight, two Japanese towns willing to host nuclear waste dump

It’s sad that small Japanese towns are being forced to these lengths to protect their economic stability.

Two Japanese Towns Want to Host an Underground Nuclear Waste Dump 5 Feb 21,  https://earther.gizmodo.com/two-japanese-towns-want-to-host-an-underground-nuclear-1846200890    Dharna Noor

No matter how you feel about nuclear energy, nuclear waste is generally something you want to stay as far away from as possible—unless you’re two villages on the Hokkaido, Japan’s second-largest island. The two small fishing towns, Suttsu and Kamoenai, are competing to become the site for a high-level radioactive waste storage site as a means to stay afloat economically. But not everyone is so thrilled about the prospect.

According to national data, Japan has generated more than 19,000 tons of highly toxic atomic waste since it began using nuclear power in 1966. To keep it away from people, back in 2000, the country passed the Designated Radioactive Waste Final Disposal Act to open a call for an underground waste repository for some of it.

At the time, unsurprisingly, no municipalities to sign up to host the toxic stuff. The trepidation only grew when in 2011, an earthquake and tsunami triggered an explosion at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, releasing an unprecedented amount of radioactive contamination into the ocean. It was the most severe nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

But now, times are desperate in Japan’s small villages. Fishing, once a booming industry, is in decline. Many young people are moving into cities where economic prospects are better. As a result, populations are shrinking. Suttsu currently has a population of 2,885, down from nearly 5,000 in 1980, and Kamoenai is home to just more than 800. As Bloomberg noted, both towns were also hit hard by the economic downturn of the covid-19 pandemic last year.

Agreeing to host the nuclear storage facility would be a major boost for either town. By agreeing to preliminary research into hosting the nuclear storage facility, municipalities can rake in up to $19 million in government subsidies over two years. If that first stage goes well, another $66 million becomes available in exchange for a four-year field survey and preliminary drilling. If that goes smoothly, the town would go through a 14-year evaluation period, unlocking even more funding. In total, the potential prize for agreeing to host the facility could be up to $37 billion in investments. So in October, both towns’ officials came forward as potential candidates.

But of course, the prospect of living near an atomic waste dump has sparked opposition from concerned residents of both towns. Nuclear waste can contain toxic elements like uranium and plutonium. Anti-nuclear advocates in Suttsu even pushed for a referendum on the village’s application, but the municipal assembly voted it down. Japanese government officials said their review process is airtight and would protect locals, but in an interview with the magazine Aera, Yugo Ono, a geology professor at Hokkaido University, said the earthquake risk is high and could lead to the stored waste leaking. 

It’s sad that small Japanese towns are being forced to these lengths to protect their economic stability. But at some point, Japan will need to put its nuclear waste somewhere. Let’s just hope when it does, it does so safely.

February 6, 2021 Posted by | Japan, politics, wastes | Leave a comment

Research into radiocesium in forests after the Fukushima disaster: Concerns and some hope

Dynamics of radiocesium in forests after the Fukushima disaster: Concerns and some hope
Scientists compile available data and analyses on the flow of radionuclides to gain a more holistic understanding,  FORESTRY AND FOREST PRODUCTS RESEARCH INSTITUTE, 5 Feb 21, HTTPS://WWW.EUREKALERT.ORG/PUB_RELEASES/2021-02/FAFP-DOR020221.PHP

Research News After the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant (FDNPP) disaster was the second worst nuclear incident in history. Its consequences were tremendous for the Japanese people and now, almost a decade later, they can still be felt both there and in the rest of the world. One of the main consequences of the event    is the release of large amounts of cesium-137 (137Cs)–a radioactive “isotope” of cesium–into the atmosphere, which spread farther away from the power plant through wind and rainfall.

Considering the massive threat posed by 137Cs to the health of both humans and ecosystems, it is essential to understand how it has distributed and how much of it still lingers. This is why the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently published a technical document on this specific issue. The fifth chapter of this “Technical Document (TECDOC),” titled “Forest ecosystems,” contains an extensive review and analysis of existing data on 137Cs levels in Fukushima prefecture’s forests following the FDNPP disaster.

The chapter is based on an extensive study led by Assoc. Prof. Shoji Hashimoto from the Forestry and Forestry Products Research Institute, Japan, alongside Dr. Hiroaki Kato from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, Kazuya Nishina from the National Institute of Environmental Studies, Japan, Keiko Tagami from the National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Japan, George Shaw from the University of Nottingham, UK, and Yves Thiry from the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (ANDRA), France, and several other experts in Japan and Europe.

The main objective of the researchers was to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of 137Cs flow in forests. The process is far from straightforward, as there are multiple elements and variables to consider. First, a portion of 137Cs-containing rainfall is intercepted by trees, some of which is absorbed, and the rest eventually washes down onto the forest floor. There, a fraction of the radiocesium absorbs into forest litter and the remainder flows into the various soil and mineral layers below. Finally, trees, other plants, and mushrooms incorporate 137Cs through their roots and mycelia, respectively, ultimately making it both into edible products harvested from Fukushima and wild animals.

Considering the complexity of 137Cs flux dynamics, a huge number of field surveys and gatherings of varied data had to be conducted, as well as subsequent theoretical and statistical analyses. Fortunately, the response from the government and academia was considerably faster and more thorough after the FDNPP disaster than in the Chernobyl disaster, as Hashimoto explains: “After the Chernobyl accidents, studies were very limited due to the scarce information provided by the Soviet Union. In contrast, the timely studies in Fukushima have allowed us to capture the early phases of 137Cs flow dynamics; this allowed us to provide the first wholistic understanding of this process in forests in Fukushima.”

Understanding how long radionuclides like 137Cs can remain in ecosystems and how far they can spread is essential to implement policies to protect people from radiation in Fukushima-sourced food and wood. In addition, the article also explores the effectiveness of using potassium-containing fertilizers to prevent the uptake of 137Cs in plants. “The compilation of data, parameters, and analyses we present in our chapter will be helpful for forest remediation both in Japan and the rest of the world,” remarks Hashimoto.

When preventive measures fail, the only remaining option is trying to fix the damage done–in the case of radiation control, this is only possible with a comprehensive understanding of the interplay of factors involved.

In this manner, this new chapter will hopefully lead to both timely research and more effective solutions should a nuclear disaster happen again.

February 5, 2021 Posted by | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

Japan’s huge radioactive waste problem

Japan Times 3rd Feb 2021, Two fishing villages in Hokkaido are vying to host the final storage
facility for half a century of Japanese nuclear waste, splitting
communities between those seeking investment to stop the towns from dying,
and those haunted by the 2011 Fukushima disaster, who are determined to
stop the project.

In the middle is a government that bet heavily on nuclear
energy to power its industrial ascent and now faces a massive and growing
pile of radioactive waste with nowhere to dispose of it. Since it first
began generating atomic energy in 1966, Japan has produced more than 19,000
tons of high-level nuclear waste that is sitting in temporary storage
around the country.

After searching fruitlessly for two decades for a
permanent site, the approaches from Suttsu, population 2,885, and Kamoenai,
population 810, may be signs of progress. The towns have focused a debate
that has bedeviled an industry some regard as a vital emissions-free energy
source and others revile as a dangerous liability. The accidents at
Chernobyl in 1986 and Fukushima in 2011 reinforced public skepticism about
both the safety of reactors and our ability to safely store their residue
for centuries. While new generations of fail-safe reactor designs may
eventually help assuage the first concern, the problem of the waste
remains.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/02/03/national/hokkaido-nuclear-villages/

February 4, 2021 Posted by | Japan, wastes | Leave a comment

Kepco seeks prefectural government approval to restart aging nuclear reactors

February 4, 2021 Posted by | Japan, politics, wastes | Leave a comment

Fukushima businesses battle for survival, as few former residents return

Fukushima businesses struggling to stay afloat despite government help,  Japan Times, 29 Jan 21 Commercial complexes built as part of revitalization projects in areas affected by the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011 are struggling to stay afloat.Faced with difficulties due to swelling costs, business operators often turn to local municipalities for financial aid to help them overcome crises. But the financial struggles will not end soon, given that only a portion of the residents who evacuated from the disaster-stricken areas have returned or are expected to.

Those outlets are now facing a testing moment that will determine whether they can continue with their businesses.

A small village in Fukushima Prefecture located northwest of the power plant, Iitate, which was issued evacuation orders after the nuclear disaster, built the commercial complex Michi no Eki Madeikan for ¥1.4 billion. However, business at the commercial building, which has a convenience store and a vegetable stand, has always been touch and go.

Madei Garden Village Iitate runs the business using a ¥33 million payment from the local government. But even with those funds, the operator saw a deficit of ¥9 million in fiscal 2017 and ¥8 million the following year.

Faced with a severe financial crisis, the company was forced to seek financial aid worth ¥35 million from Iitate in 2018.

After revising its business strategy, the company managed to reduce running costs and decrease the deficit to ¥300,000 in fiscal 2019.

“We are expecting a profit in fiscal 2020. I’ll be dealing with the accumulating debt as a priority,” says Rokutaro Kurihara, the company’s managing director.

Kurihara’s company is among those operating at 12 commercial facilities in 10 towns in areas that used to be designated as no-go zones, including the town of Namie and Tamura city.

Since most of the stores and shops shut down when residents evacuated from the region, local governments have built them for returning residents.

But many of them share the same fate as Kurihara’s……  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/29/national/fukushima-business-struggles/

January 29, 2021 Posted by | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

Fukushima nuclear clean-up delayed as new radioactive contamination found

January 28, 2021 Posted by | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

Buddhist leader urges international co-operation in further steps on the Nuclear Ban Treaty

Buddhist Leader Welcomes Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty, Urges International Cooperation to CombatPandemic in 39th Annual Peace Proposal,     Soka Gakkai , Jan 26, 2021,   TOKYO, Jan. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — On January 26, 2021, the 39th annual peace proposal by Daisaku Ikeda, president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) Buddhist association, titled “Value Creation in a Time of Crisis” was released, marking the anniversary of the founding of the SGI.

Ikeda calls for further global cooperation to address the key issues of our time: the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis, and the need to rid the world of nuclear weapons. These issues are not constrained by national borders and cannot be solved by any one government or organization alone……….

Consistent with his decades of action toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, Ikeda welcomes the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force on January 22, 2021, as a “pivotal event ushering in a new era” that will spur a paradigm shift in approaches to security. He calls on Japan to participate in the first meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW, to begin to create the conditions in which future ratification can become possible.

He proposes that a forum for discussing the relationship between nuclear weapons and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) be held during the first meeting of States Parties to the TPNW.

At the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference scheduled for August 2021, Ikeda also urges discussion on the true meaning of security in the light of crises such as the climate emergency and the pandemic.

He calls for the final document of the Review Conference to include a pledge of non-use of nuclear weapons and the freezing of all nuclear weapon development until 2025.

A statement from Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada welcoming the entry into force of the TPNW issued on January 22 can be found at: https://www.sokaglobal.org/contact-us/media-room/statements/tpnw-entry-into-force.html. The SGI has also cosigned an interfaith statement together with more than 170 other religious groups. See: https://sgi-ouna.org/tpnw-eif-interfaith-statement ………..https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/buddhist-leader-welcomes-entry-into-force-of-nuclear-ban-treaty-urges-international-cooperation-to-combat-pandemic-in-39th-annual-peace-proposal-301214677.html

January 26, 2021 Posted by | Japan, politics international, weapons and war | 1 Comment

Local governments growing more reliant on nuclear taxes

Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Mihama nuclear power plant in Mihama, Fukui Prefecture

January 20, 2021

Local governments are increasingly depending on tax revenues from the nuclear plants they host, a relationship that has deepened over the 10 years since the Fukushima nuclear disaster, an analysis by The Asahi Shimbun shows.

That follows the introduction of new tax regimes that ensure a steady flow of nuclear-related tax yields–even when reactors are idle or in the process of being decommissioned. They were brought about largely through increasing existing taxes on nuclear fuels and levying new taxes on spent nuclear fuels kept at the plants.

In fiscal 2011, right after the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, jurisdictions home to nuclear plants and related facilities yielded some 20.1 billion yen ($193.7 million) in taxes. The bulk of that came from taxes on nuclear fuel; many local governments only began collecting spent fuel taxes years after the accident.

But then the figure more than doubled to an estimated 46.7 billion yen in fiscal 2020, ending in March, despite the nuclear plants being offline.

The Asahi Shimbun studied nuclear-related tax revenues received by host municipalities and the 13 prefectures where those municipalities are located.

Local governments can impose taxes on nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel at plants and related facilities through approving ordinances to do so.

Of all the jurisdictions examined, Aomori Prefecture, where nuclear fuel cycle facilities are concentrated, and Fukui Prefecture, which hosts 15 reactors, the most in Japan, account for more than 60 percent earned through those taxes.

The amount for fiscal 2020 is larger than the 40.3 billion yen brought in during fiscal 2010, when the plants were operating.

Nuclear fuel taxes were originally based on the value of reactor fuel.
But all the nuclear plants went offline following the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.

As a result, six prefectures housing nuclear plants reported no tax revenues from nuclear fuel taxes in fiscal 2011.

Desperate to secure income sources even during plant closures, Fukui Prefecture introduced in autumn 2011 a new fuel-tax system based on reactor output capacity–meaning the reactors can be taxed even when shut down.

Other jurisdictions home to nuclear plants followed suit.

In 2014, Ehime Prefecture devised a tax on output capacity that can still be applied when the reactor is undergoing decommissioning. Soon after, Saga Prefecture introduced a similar system.

Nuclear plant operators must pay taxes on spent nuclear fuel to the local government as well as to the prefectural government if ordinances requiring the payment were enacted at both levels. 

Ehime and Saga prefectures began taxing spent nuclear fuel in 2019.

Ikata, home to the Ikata nuclear plant in Ehime Prefecture, introduced a tax on spent nuclear fuels in fiscal 2018, after Genakai, which hosts the Genkai nuclear plant in Saga Prefecture, did the same in fiscal 2017.

Mutsu, located in Aomori Prefecture, is ready to capitalize on playing host to an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel, which is expected to go into operation in fiscal 2021.

The Mutsu city government established new rules in March last year so it can levy tax on spent nuclear fuels. The tax is projected to bring 9.3 billion yen to the city over five years.

Fukui Prefecture introduced a tax regime for nuclear fuels in 1976, ahead of any other local governments with nuclear facilities in the country.

Since then, tax revenues from nuclear fuels and spent fuels brought in by all jurisdictions totaled more than 1 trillion yen through fiscal 2020. And the figure is projected to grow in the years to come.

The driving force behind these local governments expanding their nuclear taxes in new and creative ways is a decline in tax revenues from fixed assets on nuclear facilities, and fewer grants and subsidies coming in from the national coffers to promote nuclear energy.

Many host communities have underlined the need to secure income from hosting nuclear plants, operating or not, to finance new roads and other infrastructure that would be used to evacuate residents in the event of a serious accident.

But a significant number of local governments used tax revenues derived from nuclear plants to cover upkeep of hot spring resorts and other seemingly unrelated facilities, the study shows.

Regional utilities added the amount of taxes on nuclear fuels and spent nuclear fuels they will pay into the electricity rates that consumers paid until 2016, when the retail electricity market became fully liberalized.

Even after the market liberalization, they can do the same to come up with funds to pay nuclear fuel and spent nuclear fuel taxes.

http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14121969?fbclid=IwAR3xTUC90yKJXnA3wd3RmnSW2dxkEHf_6Efrep7bBSXxUDcZd7iZ_u821yk

January 25, 2021 Posted by | Japan | , , | Leave a comment

Tokyo High Court holds TEPCO responsible for Fukushima nuclear crisis

 

No wonder that the global nuclear industry is hellbent on nationalising itself – so that the taxpayer is responsible.  Nobody will want to invest in private nuclear companies after this.

High court denies government responsibility for Fukushima nuclear crisis,  Japan Times, 22 Jan 21,  The Tokyo High Court on Thursday ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant to pay damages to evacuated residents, but it overturned an earlier ruling by Maebashi District Court that had also acknowledged the central government’s responsibility over the 2011 nuclear crisis.

Among around 30 such lawsuits across the country, the decision of the Tokyo High Court was the first high court ruling absolving the state of responsibility, contradicting an earlier decision of the Sendai High Court in September that ordered both the state and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. to pay damages.

The government’s failure to instruct Tepco to take measures against tsunamis “is not found to be significantly unreasonable,” Presiding Judge Akira Adachi said in handing down the ruling.

The lawsuit focused on the reliability of an official long-term quake assessment made in 2002, which has been used in previous rulings to determine the liability of the state and Tepco for their failure to prevent the nuclear disaster.

Adachi noted the assessment had caused a debate since its release, and that the government was unable to predict a huge tsunami.

Implementing measures such as constructing seawalls would not have prevented the tide from entering the nuclear plant, he added.

Thursday’s ruling instead ordered Tepco to pay a total ¥119.72 million to 90 plaintiffs, more than triple the amount awarded in the lower court ruling. ………..https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/21/national/crime-legal/government-denies-fukushima-responsibility/

January 23, 2021 Posted by | business and costs, Japan, Legal | Leave a comment

Fukushima’s former residents demand stricter decontamination of radiation before they would return

Fukushima residents demand stricter decontamination to enable safe return,  Japan Times, 22 Jan 21,   “Will Tomioka go back to how it was before?” Looking at the results of a survey, Kazuyoshi Kamata, vice head of the Yonomori Station northern administrative district in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, reflects on his hometown and its reconstruction following the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant triple meltdown in 2011.In the surveys conducted by the Reconstruction Agency last fall, Tomioka residents listed important conditions in deciding whether they would return to their hometown or not, such as the reopening and construction of new medical, welfare and elder care facilities as well as the resumption and improvement of shopping complexes.

One condition that stands out among the list, though, is a further reduction in the amount of radiation, which 1 in 3 residents raised as an important issue. The government has been decontaminating specially designated areas, where it was once thought that settlement was limited for good but which can be reopened for residents. It has set the annual radiation exposure limit to be lower than 20 millisieverts as one of the standards to lift the evacuation orders.

Now that nearly 10 years have passed since the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, Kamata stressed the need for the government to decontaminate the area under stricter standards so that residents will feel safer returning to their hometown.

“In order to maintain people’s feelings for their hometowns, I want (the government) to stick to the stance of rebuilding our Tomioka in the form that we all want, including restoring the (basic living) environment.”……..

The lifting of the evacuation order in the specially designated area is expected in the spring of 2023, 12 years after the order was first issued.

“Without tackling issues such as restoring the living environment and infrastructure, as well as decommissioning of the Fukushima No.1 plant in a diligent manner, people won’t come back,” said Kamata. …https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/22/national/fukushima-decontaminating-town/

January 23, 2021 Posted by | Fukushima continuing | Leave a comment

Japanese govt plans to extend nuclear funding to communities, but there is public opposition

Funding law for areas home to nuclear plants eyed for renewal  http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14119178, By NORIYOSHI OHTSUKI/ Senior Staff Writer, January 19, 2021  The central government plans to extend by 10 years a soon-to-sunset law that allows extra financial assistance to jurisdictions housing nuclear power plants–its first time up for renewal since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

The potentially controversial move could likely spark debate in the Diet due to widespread opposition to nuclear energy following the accident, triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami.

The law was originally enacted in 2000 as a temporary measure and set to expire after a decade. A group of pro-nuclear power lawmakers had sponsored it to ease the concerns of jurisdictions home to nuclear plants.

Those local governments had become increasingly wary about adding more reactors at the existing plants in their communities after a critical accident occurred in 1999 at a facility operated by JCO Co., a nuclear-fuel processing company, in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Two workers died and hundreds of residents were exposed to radiation in the accident.

The law was designed to provide public funds to local jurisdictions hosting nuclear plants so that their governments could build new roads and ports, and lure in businesses to their areas through tax breaks.

The law was revised to add another decade to its lifespan right before the triple meltdown at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in March 2011, when the Democratic Party of Japan was in power.

But the law is set to expire at the end of March this year.

The central government plans to submit a revision bill to extend the funding mechanism by another 10 years during the current Diet session, after gaining Cabinet approval as early as this month.

The government has decided to extend it given that many localities with nuclear plants proceeded with their public works projects while counting on an extension, according to central government officials.

In fiscal 2019, a total of 14.4 billion yen ($138.7 million) was injected into local communities through the funding provisions, according to the Cabinet Office.

But the soundness of renewing the life of the special temporary law has only rarely been publicly debated.

Critics say there is room to question whether the extension can be justified.

Apart from the temporary law, local governments with nuclear facilities have received a large amount of grants and subsidies from the national coffers to help develop their communities since the mid-1970s. The source of that funding is ultimately the electricity charges that users pay.

The proposed extension follows a pledge by the central government to reduce the country’s reliance on nuclear energy in response to growing public opposition to nuclear power.

January 21, 2021 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Hiroshima ‘peace clock’ reset to 49 days following US nuclear test

January 21, 2021 Posted by | Japan, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Local governments in Japan growing more reliant on nuclear taxes

January 21, 2021 Posted by | business and costs, Japan, politics | Leave a comment

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