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Pentagon’s lack of transparency about China’s nuclear weapons

What the numbers we’re allowed to see indicate is that China’s missile force has been largely stagnant over the past year …. China does not appear to have any operational sea-launched ballistic missiles at this point……
 within the past 12 months it has become a great deal harder for the international community to monitor the development of the offensive nuclear missile forces of the United States, Russia and China.
 Pentagon’s 2011 China Report: Reducing Nuclear Transparency, FAS Security Blog, By Hans M. Kristensen, 25 Aug 11,  The Pentagon has published its annual assessment of China’s military power (the official title is Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China).…..Land-Based Nuclear Missiles

The most noticeable new development compared with last year’s report is that the Pentagon this year has decided to significantly reduce the transparency of China’s land-based nuclear missile force. Continue reading →

August 29, 2011 Posted by | China, USA, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Nuclear power the vital issue in Japan’s leadership race

Nuclear power key topic in Japan leader race, Google News, 27 Aug 11 TOKYO (AP) — Japan’s former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara who is vying to become Japan’s next prime minister says the country should stop building nuclear power plants.

Maehara appeared to take the clearest stand against nuclear power at a news conference Saturday where five ruling party members aiming to replace Prime Minister Naoto Kan outlined their policy goals.

Another top contender for the job is Economy Minister Banri Kaieda. He says he plans to decommission aging nuclear plants found to have problems during stress tests.

Atomic energy is a key topic in Japan following the tsunami-spawned nuclear accident in March. The ruling Democratic party will vote Monday to select a new party chief, who will become prime minister — Japan’s sixth in five years….. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iNKIALDMeliTg7GD1i-HfddhNCLQ?docId=446239253def4a87bfa780998048a5de

August 27, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Japan’s government dumps radiation cleanup responsibility onto local municipalities

Local leaders steamed at government’s ‘buck-passing’ radiation decontamination plan Mainichi Daily News, 26 Aug 11 Local leaders in areas contaminated by the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant are angry and disappointed at the central government’s decontamination plan, which dumps much of the responsibility for the clean-up on municipalities. Continue reading →

August 27, 2011 Posted by | Japan, politics | Leave a comment

Long process of radiation cleanup in Japan

Japan aims to halve radiation in affected areas in 2 yrs

 —  Japan aims to bring radiation levels below 20 millisieverts annually

* Thorough cleanup of areas frequented by children also a priority

* Group launched which will form core of new nuclear watchdog 

By Shinichi Saoshiro TOKYO, Aug 26 (Reuters) – Japan aims to halve radiation over two years in places contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear crisis, removing soil, plants and trees as well as cleaning roofs of buildings in an area spanning thousands of square kilometres.

The cleanup could cost tens of billions of dollars, and thousands of evacuees may not be able to return home for years, if ever. Continue reading →

August 27, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

New evidence that Fukushima’s reactors were failing BEFORE the tsunami

The explosive truth behind Fukushima’s meltdown, Japan insists its nuclear crisis was caused by an unforeseeable combination of tsunami and earthquake. But new evidence suggests its reactors were doomed to fail, The Independent, By David McNeill in Tokyo and Jake Adelstein, 17 August 201

It is one of the mysteries of Japan’s ongoing nuclear crisis: How much
damage did the 11 March earthquake inflict on the Fukushima Daiichi
reactors before the tsunami hit?

The stakes are high: if the earthquake structurally compromised the plant
and the safety of its nuclear fuel, then every similar reactor in Japan
may have to be shut down. With almost all of Japan’s 54 reactors either
offline (in the case of 35) or scheduled for shutdown by next April, the
issue of structural safety looms over any discussion about restarting
them. Continue reading →

August 26, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, Japan, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Radioactive Caesium-137 from Fukushima equal to 10 Hiroshimas

Fukushima caesium leaks ‘equal 168 Hiroshimas’, Google News, 26 Aug 11,   TOKYO — Japan’s government estimates the amount of radioactive caesium-137 released by the Fukushima nuclear disaster so far is equal to that of 168 Hiroshima bombs, a news report said Thursday.

Government nuclear experts, however, said the World War II bomb blast and the accidental reactor meltdowns at Fukushima, which has seen ongoing radiation leaks but no deaths so far, were beyond comparison.

The amount of caesium-137 released since the three reactors were crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami has been estimated at 15,000 tera becquerels, the Tokyo Shimbun reported, quoting a government calculation.

That compares with the 89 tera becquerels released by “Little Boy”, the uranium bomb the United States dropped on the western Japanese city in the final days of World War II, the report said.

The estimate was submitted by Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s cabinet to a lower house committee on promotion of technology and innovation, the daily said…..http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hDHbdpOQcK44jyC_kypHkOo9UkBA?docId=CNG.d3f786cacc8763f78f6176c908ff1fd2.71

August 26, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011 | Leave a comment

No end in sight to the cleanup and the costs of Fukushima radiation

“Fukushima is mountainous and such large-scale and highly concentrated contamination has not taken place on earth before in an area like this. How things will go is unpredictable.”

Japan faces costly, unprecedented radiation cleanup, By Yoko Kubota, TOKYO | Thu Aug 25, 2011 (Reuters) – Nearly six months after the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at the Fukushima nuclear plant, Japan faces the task of cleaning up a sprawling area of radioactivity that could cost tens of billions of dollars, and thousands may not be able to return home for years, if ever. Continue reading →

August 26, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

China stregthening nuclear missiles, in distrust of India

China has strengthened nuclear missiles as deterrent against India: U.S. THE HINDU, NARAYAN LAKSHMAN, 25 AUG 11, China has substituted liquid-fuelled, nuclear-capable missiles with “more advanced and survivable solid-fuelled” rocket systems, and this has been explicitly aimed at “[strengthening] its deterrent posture relative to India,” according to an annual report on the developments within the Chinese military, authored by the United States Pentagon…..

Despite burgeoning defence rapprochement manifested in the Sino-Indian Annual Defence Dialogue established in 2007, India had pulled out of high-level military exchanges following China’s denial of a visa to a senior Indian general in 2010, the Pentagon report said.

Although Premier Wen Jiabao attempted to mend fences during his December 2010 visit to New Delhi “he did not address serious irritants… [and] a high degree of mistrust continues to strain the bilateral relationship,” the report added…..http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2397247.ece

August 26, 2011 Posted by | China, weapons and war | Leave a comment

China finding excessive radiation levels in seafoods east of Fukushima

Excessive Radiation Found in Sea Organisms Near Japan’s Nuke Plant 2011-08-24     Xinhua       Web Editor: Guo  Biological samples taken from waters in the Western Pacific region east of Fukushima, Japan show excessive radiation levels, said a statement from China’s State Oceanic Administration on Wednesday.
The administration suggested that government agencies intensify radiation testing of marine products from the targeted waters to protect public health in China. According to the statement, the levels of strontium-90, a radioactive isotope of strontium, found in squids are 29 times higher than the average background level of samples taken from China’s coastal waters.  This indicates that these waters have been clearly affected by radioactive material that leaked from the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima during the massive earthquake and tsunami disaster on March 11, the statement said.

The samples were also found to contain argentum-110m and cesium-134, which are normally difficult to detect in biological samples from China’s coastal waters, the statement said. Continue reading →

August 25, 2011 Posted by | China, oceans | Leave a comment

Solar energy costs to beat fossil fuels, as China, Japan introduce feed in tariff

“The likelihood that Japan will follow China in rolling out major policy incentives to scale up renewable energy production is an exciting prospect. The demand created by these two Asian giants could well provide the global tipping point that accelerates the emergence of renewables as cost-competitive or indeed cost-beating alternatives to fossil fuel power generation.”

Japan’s Feed In Tariffs Could Accelerate Global Solar Grid Parity, Renewable Energy News,   24 Aug 11,. New legislation in place in China and laws about to be enacted in Japan could be the global tipping point for renewables achieving grid parity with fossil fuel based power generation sooner than most expected. Continue reading →

August 25, 2011 Posted by | India, Japan, renewable | Leave a comment

Following public outcry, Japan to lower the “allowable” radiation limit for schoolchildren

Govt to lower school radiation limit, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 245 Aug 11, The government likely will dramatically tighten its current safety limit–3.8 microsieverts per hour–on the amount of radiation to which children may be exposed during outdoor activities at school facilities, government sources said.

The move will be followed by efforts to decontaminate playgrounds and other school facilities with the aim of reducing the amount of radiation exposure affecting schoolchildren to 1 microsievert per hour.

The action is a response to criticism that the current safety limit is too high. The government has also taken note of the fact that local governments in and around Fukushima Prefecture are taking their own initiatives to decontaminate tracts of land affected by the ongoing nuclear crisis.

In effect, these steps amount to a reconsideration of the government’s current safety standards for radiation exposure, according to observers.

The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry plans to offer financial aid for decontamination projects, with the aim of limiting the annual accumulated radiation students are exposed to at school to 1 millisievert (1,000 microsieverts).http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111904009304576528690610416826.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

August 25, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Japan increasing radiation monitoring, as more “hot spots” appear

Japan Triples Airborne Radiation Checks as ‘Hot Spots’ Spread, Bloomberg, By Tsuyoshi Inajima and Yuji Okada – Aug 23, 2011 Japan will more than triple the number of regions it checks for airborne radiation as more contaminated “hot spots” are discovered far from Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power station.

The government said it will increase radiation monitoring by helicopter to 22 prefectures from the six closest to the plant, which began spewing radiation after an earthquake and tsunami struck the station in March. The plan comes after radioactive waste more than double the regulatory limit was found 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the plant this week.

Authorities have refused to give a cumulative figure for radiation released from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant after estimating in June that fallout in the six days following the quake was equal to 15 percent of total radiation released in the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The authorities have been too slow to widen airborne radiation testing, said Tetsuo Ito, the head of Kinki University’s Atomic Energy Research Institute in Osaka…..http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-24/japan-triples-air-radiation-checks-for-hot-spots-.html

August 25, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Brave Japanese couple continue thier fight against Japan’s powerful nuclear establishment

Taking on the nuclear strongmen, The Canberra Times , 24 Aug 11 “……..Together, Yuichi Kaido and Mizuho Fukushima are perhaps Japan’s most prominent pair of anti- nuclear activists. For three decades, the couple were at the forefront of an often futile fight against the utilities that operated the nation’s reactors, the corporations that built and maintain them and the politicians and bureaucrats who enabled them. Yet in case after case, judges rejected Kaido’s claims that Japan’s nuclear reactors were dangerous. Continue reading →

August 25, 2011 Posted by | Japan, opposition to nuclear | Leave a comment

Radiation evacuees from Fukushima not to return home, ever?

The government is expected to tell many of these residents that they will not be permitted to return to their homes for an indefinite period.

Large Zone Near Japanese Reactors to Be Off Limits, NYTimes.com, By MARTIN FACKLER August 21, 2011 TOKYO — Broad areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant could soon be declared uninhabitable, perhaps for decades, after a government survey found radioactive contamination that far exceeded safe levels, several major media outlets said Monday.
The formal announcement, expected from the government in coming days, would be the first official recognition that the March accident could force the long-term depopulation of communities near the plant, an eventuality that scientists and some officials have been warning about for months. Continue reading →

August 23, 2011 Posted by | - Fukushima 2011, environment, Japan | Leave a comment

Doubts about the safety of India’s nuclear energy programme

How safe is India’s nuclear energy programme?A. Gopalakrishnan in his recent article said, “DAE management classified the audit reports as ‘top secret’ and shelved them. No action was taken on the committee’s findings. LiveMint.com,23 Aug 11,”M. P. Ram Mohan Continue reading →

August 23, 2011 Posted by | India, safety | Leave a comment

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