Japan - after the BIG earthquake

. ENTER . Japan - after the BIG

2014-12-30T10:12:00.003+09:00

[ . BACK to Daily Reports . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Big Earthquake March 11, 2011, 14:46

東北地方太平洋沖地震
magnitude 9:0

. Tohoku Region Pacific Ocean Offshore Earthquake .

東北関東大震災

. Eastern Japan Great Earthquake Disaster .
. Great East Japan Earthquake .

earthquake night -
the stars are as silent
as ever

. Great Eastern Japan Earthquake .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

JAPAN DISASTER-RELIEF DONATIONS

Please help by making a donation, no matter how small.
. Mark Schumacher

Mark is my Daruma friend from Kamakura.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Presented by Dr. med. Gabi Greve
Okayama prefecture

Daruma Museum Japan
World Kigo Database

My home is about 1000 km away from the atomic reactors.
We live high up in the mountains, no worry about tsunami.

I will try and compile a daily report after this triple event of

earthquake
tsunami
Fukushima reactor

Please use the sidebar on the right to navigate this BLOG.

As time goes by (now April 11) there are more rumors spreading and opinions vented.
The damage at the nuclear plant in Fukushima has been upgraded to level 7, like Chernobyl.

I am trying to keep cool amongst all this.

Most entries are a mix of haiku and facts,
from the NHK WORLD online bulletins.

I will try to feature the latest news about the development after the earthquake.

.................................................................................

. . . . . URGENT : as of July 11, 2011

I have to stop the daily reporting.

I will try and keep separate updates on the information of the following topics:

. Radiation problems - INFO .

. Reconstruction efforts - INFO .

. The Political Situation . 　INFO .

. Hamaoka Power Plant . INFO .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Nai no kami 地震神 . 　
The Japanese god of earthquakes

god of earthquakes -
what does it take
to keep you quiet ?

Thank you, Origa san, for your haiga.
Let us hope Nai no Kami accepts this offering.

. Our Haiku Collection of this BLOG .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Super Earthquake March 11, 2011
東北地方太平洋沖地震
magnitude 9:0
with a huge tsunami of more than 10 meters

. Tohoku region Pacific Ocean
offshore earthquake . 　

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. The Great Wave by Hokusai 北斎　津波　.
has become a symbol of the Tsunami.

. Earthquake Daruma .

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

February 2012 - from Feb 12 to 29

2012-02-24T06:01:00.002+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

February 2012 - Sun 12 to Wed 29

Get a calendar to support Japan!

source : www.jnto.go.jp

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

a special for
. February 11, Remember March 11, 2011 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, February 12, 2012

- - - - - at 13:41
Earthquake M 5.0, off Sanriku coast

Oe leads rally against nuclear power plants
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120212a5.html

Temperature rising at No.2 reactor
The temperature at the No.2 reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant keeps rising even after the injection of more cooling water on Saturday night.
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says a thermometer at the bottom of the reactor registered 78.3 degrees Celsius at 10 AM on Sunday.
The reading began to rise in late January to around 70 degrees. TEPCO pumped in more water to push down the temperature, but it rose again on Saturday night to 74.9 degrees.
The temperature continued to climb on Sunday morning to hit its highest level since last December, when the government and TEPCO declared all the reactors were at a state of cold shutdown, with their temperatures below 100 degrees.
TEPCO denied the possibility of nuclear criticality, saying 2 other thermometers at the bottom of the reactor show temperatures at around 35 degrees.
It adds that continuous nuclear fission would generate radioactive xenon, but gas samples collected from near the reactor found the element below the detection limit.
TEPCO is set to dump in boric acid to prevent any nuclear criticality later on Sunday and increase the volume of cooling water by 3 tons per hour.
Under new guidelines, the company must keep reactor temperatures at 80 degrees or below, given thermometers' margin of error of up to 20 degrees.

New quake measuring system developed
Japan's Meteorological Agency is using a new system on a trial basis that identifies a massive earthquake in a short time based on long-period ground motion.
The agency's system uses long-period tremors to determine whether a quake has a magnitude of 8 or higher within 3 minutes.
The system monitors long-period ground motion lasting from 100 to 500 seconds, which is specific to massive quakes.

Emperor to have heart bypass operation
Emperor Akihito is expected to have a heart operation next Saturday.
This will be the Emperor's first operation since he had his prostate removed 9 years ago, after cancer cells were detected.
Doctors used a contrast agent to check the Emperor's coronary arteries and the flow of blood in his heart in a detailed exam at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Saturday. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, February 13, 2012

Fukushima No. 2 reactor temperature rises to 82 C
While the reading is a new high since the cold shutdown in December, Tepco says it has confirmed that sustained nuclear reactions are not taking place in the reactor.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120213a1.html

One reading of Fukushima reactor exceeds 80 C
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says the No.2 reactor is in a state of cold shutdown. This is despite the fact one of its thermometers showed a temperature above 80 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
The reading of the thermometer at the bottom of the reactor began to rise late last month, prompting TEPCO to increase the injection of water into the reactor.
Although the reading temporarily declined, it started to rise again on Saturday and reached 82 degrees at 2:20 PM on Sunday.
The government and TEPCO declared in December that all the reactors were in a state of cold shutdown, with temperatures below 100 degrees. ... TEPCO says it will carefully monitor the reactor and will not rule out the possibility that its temperature might actually be rising.

TEPCO carefully monitoring No.2 reactor
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is carefully monitoring the No. 2 reactor one day after the reading of one of its thermometers topped the critical safety threshold of 80 degrees Celsius.
The reading of the thermometer at the bottom of the containment vessel shifted between 80 and 90 degrees even after plant workers increased the amount of water injected into the reactor to about 17 tons per hour.
As of 10 AM on Monday, the reading stood at 91.2 degrees.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company says the thermometer could be malfunctioning, as 2 other thermometers at the same height are showing temperatures of around 33 degrees.
It says 3 other thermometers about 1.5 meters below the others show that temperatures inside the reactor are falling.

Regulators OK Ohi reactor stress test results
Japan's nuclear safety agency has approved the results of stress tests on 2 reactors at a nuclear power plant in central Japan. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the evaluation in its report on the No.3 and No.4 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in Ohi Town, Fukui Prefecture after a panel of experts met on Wednesday.
The report says the tests on the reactors were conducted appropriately and measures for earthquakes and tsunami are in place at the plant.
Of Japan's 54 reactors, 51 are now offline. The report is the first to be compiled by the agency about stress tests on suspended reactors.
The agency is set to submit its report to Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission as early as Monday after briefing Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yukio Edano.
The commission will consider the agency's report and the stress tests, taking opinions from experts into account. The government will make the final decision on whether to approve restarting the reactors. However, there is an obstacle to the resumption as it requires the consent of local governments hosting the reactors.
The governments of Fukui Prefecture and Ohi Town have not put priority on the stress tests and are urging the central government to create new safety standards based on the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last March.

Safety agency: Restarting Ohi reactors is proper
Japan's nuclear safety agency has submitted a report on the results of stress tests on two nuclear power plant reactors, saying restarting them is appropriate.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency submitted its report on reactors No. 3 and 4 at the Ohi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture to the Nuclear Safety Commission on Monday. ...

Nuclear accident scenario kept under wraps
A document submitted to the government 2 weeks after the Fukushima nuclear accident suggested that the Tokyo metropolitan area might have to be evacuated. But the government failed to acknowledge the existence of the document until the end of last year.
The Atomic Energy Commission report was compiled at the request of Naoto Kan, who was Prime Minister at the time.
The commission's chief, Shunsuke Kondo, said the document explains possible contingencies following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident as well as preventive measures.
The report said massive amounts of radioactive materials could be dispersed from the plant if containment vessels were damaged or used fuel was exposed to the air if water injection failed.
It said under such a scenario, residents would have to be evacuated from an area within 170 kilometers of the plant and within 250 kilometers on a voluntary basis. This would include the Tokyo metropolitan area.
The report recommended that different methods should be used to cool down the reactors.
Kan told NHK last September that his government had made a simulation based on the worst-case scenario. But the report was not treated as an official document until it was discovered in the commission's office at the end of last year.
A Japanese civic group investigating the Fukushima nuclear accident is looking into the reasons why the document was not made public.

Water pipes to be made quake-resistant
The Japanese government says it will help local communities go ahead with making tap water-infrastructure quake resistant in the Pacific coast areas.
The health ministry plans to subsidize up to half the cost to local governments for the improvement work.
In providing such help, the ministry will give priority to the areas with the greatest risk of getting powerful earthquakes of 6-minus on the Japanese scale of zero to 7.
The ministry says only one-third of the water pipes in Japan are earthquake resistant as of March last year due to tight funds.
After the March 11th earthquake, 2.3 million households in 19 prefectures were left without municipal water, some for more than five months. But in areas with earthquake-resistant pipes, the water supply remained unaffected.
The ministry says it wants the improvement work to be carried out as soon as possible.

Japan economy shrinks 1st time in 2 years
Japan's economy in 2011 shrank for the first time in 2 years, as the March quake and tsunami knocked it off a recovery path.
The Cabinet Office says the nation's Gross Domestic Product fell 0.6 percent in the October-December period from the previous quarter in real terms. That translates to an annual drop of 2.3 percent.

Hokkaido nuke plant holds accident drill
A disaster preparedness drill has been held at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido.
The drill, held by Hokkaido's prefectural government on Monday, assumed a major nuclear accident with a possible leak of radioactive substances. About 1,000 officials from Hokkaido and 4 towns and villages around the nuclear plant took part.
The participants examined how they would collect information and measure radiation in the wake of an accident. The drill was conducted at an emergency response facility, or off-site center. ...

Government approves additional funds for TEPCO
Japan's industry minister has warned Tokyo Electric Power Company, operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, that it must accept state control in order to get a capital injection.
Yukio Edano told TEPCO President Toshio Nishizawa on Monday that the company will not receive public money unless the government gets adequate voting rights in return. He said the government will not otherwise accept the business revival plan the utility is to submit by the end of March. TEPCO needs a large amount of financial aid to cover compensation payments to victims of the nuclear disaster at the plant and for alternative thermal power generation in place of nuclear energy.
Nishizawa said TEPCO will bear the government's requirement in mind in working out its revival plan.
The president told reporters after the meeting that his company will discuss details of a capital injection request with a government-backed organization for the victims.
Providing that it acquires the voting rights, the government has decided to give the utility nearly 9-billion dollars in additional financial aid to be used for compensation payments. The money is separate from the proposed capital injection fund for TEPCO.

TEPCO:broken thermometer may show high temperature
Tokyo Electric Power Company says a malfunctioning thermometer at the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is likely to blame for the high temperature reading in one of the reactors.
The reading of one of the thermometers at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor began to rise late last month. On Sunday the temperature exceeded the critical safety threshold of 80 degrees. On Monday the reading rose to 94.9 degree Celsius at noon.
The utility firm says it thinks the thermometer is broken since the readings of 2 other thermometers set at the same height dropped to about 33 degrees.
The company says an inspection showed that a cable inside the thermometer is probably cut, resulting in a false reading.
Monday, February 13, 2012 21:17

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

. . . . . at 12:38
Earthquake M 5.5, off Ibaraki

. . . . . at 15:27
Earthquake M 6.2, off Ibaraki
Felt as 1 from Aomori to Shizuoka

.................................................................................

. Sendai - Valentine Chololates KIZUNA　絆 .

Reactor 2 heat spike reading said faulty
A thermocouple device in the pressure vessel of reactor 2 at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 power plant reads over 285 degrees but Tepco dismisses the reading, claiming the device is faulty.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120214a1.html

Oi reactor stress tests approved by NISA
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120214a5.html

TEPCO:broken thermometer may show high temperature
Tokyo Electric Power Company says a malfunctioning thermometer at the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is likely to blame for the high temperature reading in one of the reactors.
The reading of one of the thermometers at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor began to rise late last month. On Sunday the temperature exceeded the critical safety threshold of 80 degrees. On Monday the reading rose to 94.9 degree Celsius at noon. The utility firm says it thinks the thermometer is broken since the readings of 2 other thermometers set at the same height dropped to about 33 degrees.
The company says an inspection showed that a cable inside the thermometer is probably cut, resulting in a false reading.

Search begins for children missing in tsunami
A search for missing victims of last year's devastating tsunami has begun on a river in Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan, by draining part of the stream.
The search near Okawa elementary school came for the first time since the March disaster, at the strong request of the parents of children whose whereabouts are still unknown. On Tuesday, machines that can float and work in water entered the drained river near the school and removed debris from the riverbed.
The river had been dammed 1.3 kilometers upstream and the water inside pumped out before the work. 70 of 108 pupils at the school were killed in the disaster, with 4 still listed as missing.
The search for the 4 children and more than 40 other missing people will run about 10 days.
Many of the young victims were evacuating the school ground when the tsunami hit on March 11th last year.

Geothermal power plants may be allowed in parks
A panel of Japan's Environment Ministry has come up with a basic plan to conditionally allow geothermal power generation in national parks.
Japan is thought to have the world's 3rd-largest geothermal resources thanks to its many regions of volcanic activity. But development of the resources is lagging, as 80 percent is in national parks where such development is restricted.
The plan compiled on Tuesday says a 1974 government directive restricting development in national parks should be abolished.
The plan includes a proposal that construction of wells to draw underground steam should be allowed if slanting pipes are inserted outside the parks, if such work does not affect scenery.
Based on the recommendations, the ministry plans to decide next month on a new policy on geothermal power development.

TEPCO: No.2 reactor thermometer likely broken
The operator of the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima suspects a thermometer that has been showing rising temperatures in one of the reactors is malfunctioning.
The thermometer at the bottom of the Number 2 reactor showed a reading of 251.2 degrees Celsius as of 11 AM on Tuesday, while the 2 other thermometers showed temperatures of around 31 degrees.
On Monday afternoon, the thermometer in question showed a reading of more than 200 degrees.
Earlier on Monday, Tokyo Electric Power Company passed an electrical current through the thermometer and found that resistance was about 1.7 times the normal level.
TEPCO says this happens when a wire is broken. ...

Govt and TEPCO play tug-of-war over voting rights
Difficult negotiations between the Japanese government and the operator of the tsunami-hit nuclear plant over voting rights of the company will soon begin in earnest.
Tokyo Electric Power Company wants the government to have less say over the funds it provides the firm.
Industry minister Yukio Edano told TEPCO President Toshio Nishizawa on Monday the government would not accept the company's business revival plan unless it gets adequate voting rights. The plan includes an injection of public funds to boost the firm's finances.
Some government officials think it should have majority voting rights over the company if it is to receive public funds. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Governor: Why no arrests over crisis?
Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda wants to see Tokyo Electric Power Co. held criminally responsible for the Fukushima nuclear crisis.
At a regular news conference, he sharply criticized the utility and questioned why nobody in Tepco has been arrested.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120215a3.html

Documentary on Fukushima town is screened at Berlin film festival
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120215a6.html

Hirano to review 3/11 response
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120215a9.html

Fukushima farming hard row to hoe !!!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120215f1.html

Store debuts Zambia bamboo bikes
F.I.G bike's Harajuku branch earlier this month began selling the unique Zambikes, produced by social venture firm Zambikes established by Americans and local people in Lusaka in 2006, according to Takaya Fukuda, sales department manager at the bicycle shop.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120215f2.html

N-safety panel apologizes for defective standards

The head of the government's nuclear safety commission says government guidelines for nuclear safety need to be reviewed.
Haruki Madarame made the remark on Wednesday in response to questions at the Independent Investigation Commission of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, a panel established in the Diet.
Madarame said he has to admit that the government guidelines for nuclear safety are defective in many ways.
He apologized for insufficient wording in the guidelines for taking measures against the danger of a tsunami and for inappropriate wording stipulating that it is not necessary to prepare for long-time power loss.
Madarame also spoke about the handling of data from a system to predict the spread of radioactive substances. He said it is a misunderstanding to argue that more swift evacuation would have been possible if the data had been made public more quickly. But he said the data should have been disclosed at an earlier stage of the accident.
The Industrial Safety Agency's former chairman Nobuaki Terasaka was also present at the meeting to answer questions.
Terasaka said he feels sorry that the government task force on the nuclear disaster did not make minutes of its meetings. Terasaka was the secretary general of the task force in the wake of the nuclear disaster.
He added that work is underway to reproduce records of the meetings based on summaries of memorandums that are available.

Shiga governor to open political training school
The governor of Shiga Prefecture in western Japan has announced she will open a school to train political candidates. The move comes amid growing changes to politics at the local level in Japan.
Governor Yukiko Kada says her school will be named "Mirai Seiji Juku," or "Political School for the Future." She hopes to train as many politicians as possible to share responsibility for the future.
Kada says the school will be open to anyone who wants to study politics, and that she hopes many women and young people will attend. ...

N-safety panel apologizes for defective standards
The head of the government's nuclear safety commission says government guidelines for nuclear safety need to be reviewed.
Haruki Madarame made the remark on Wednesday in response to questions at the Independent Investigation Commission of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident, a panel established in the Diet.
Madarame said he has to admit that the government guidelines for nuclear safety are defective in many ways.
He apologized for insufficient wording in the guidelines for taking measures against the danger of a tsunami and for inappropriate wording stipulating that it is not necessary to prepare for long-time power loss.
Madarame also spoke about the handling of data from a system to predict the spread of radioactive substances. He said it is a misunderstanding to argue that more swift evacuation would have been possible if the data had been made public more quickly. But he said the data should have been disclosed at an earlier stage of the accident.
The Industrial Safety Agency's former chairman Nobuaki Terasaka was also present at the meeting to answer questions.
Terasaka said he feels sorry that the government task force on the nuclear disaster did not make minutes of its meetings. Terasaka was the secretary general of the task force in the wake of the nuclear disaster.
He added that work is underway to reproduce records of the meetings based on summaries of memorandums that are available.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Nuclear safety boss faults agency, utilities
The Nuclear Safety Commission chief apologizes for mistakes and safety shortcomings that surfaced amid the Fukushima nuclear meltdowns, blaming them on bureaucrats and utilities.
Haruki Madarame and Nobuaki Terasaka, former head of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120216a1.html

'Long-period' quake warning urged
Experts reviewing the impact of "long-period ground motion" on tall structures call for the creation of a new, enhanced warning system.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120216a2.html

Governors slam Tepco's price hikes
The governors of Tokyo and nine other prefectures submitted a petition Wednesday calling Tepco's planned electricity rate hikes "extremely regrettable" and urged the utility to first accelerate efforts to restructure and rationalize its operations.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120216a8.html

Hamaoka locals evasive on no-nuke future
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120216f1.html

A new phase in reconstruction
The Reconstruction Agency was established Feb. 10, 11 months after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku region. Political confusion has delayed the establishment of the agency that will serve as a command center for reconstruction from the disasters and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120216a1.html

Nuclear evacuation drill held in Ehime Prefecture
Evacuation drills for a serious accident at a nuclear power plant were held in Ehime and Shimane prefectures, both in western Japan.
The evacuation zones around nuclear plants were expanded from 10 kilometers to 30 kilometers after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last March.
The drill in Ehime was based on a scenario of a reactor cooling system failure at the Ikata nuclear power plant after a huge earthquake. Temblors have raised fears of radioactive substances leaking from the plant.
About 10,000 people -- the largest ever -- took part in the evacuation drill, which made use of full-size buses and helicopters. In addition, Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels were mobilized for the first time. ...
A 65-year-old man said he expects panic if there really were an accident, and doubts whether things would go so smoothly.

TEPCO reports reactor thermometer problem to govt
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has attributed abnormally high temperature readings at one of the facility's reactors to a malfunctioning thermometer.
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, reported the analysis of the problem at the Number 2 reactor to the government's nuclear safety agency on Thursday.
The thermometer at the reactor has been showing much higher readings than 2 others.
The utility said it's highly unlikely that temperatures could rise so high unless at least 60 percent of the melted nuclear fuel in the reactor were concentrated near the thermometer. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, February 17, 2012

Reconstruction plan of Iwate
source : www.pref.iwate.jp - PDF file

Rare Tohoku debris disposal test starts
A city in Shizuoka Prefecture begins incinerating Iwate tsunami debris on a trial basis, aiming to become only the second municipality outside Tohoku to help dispose of disaster rubble.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120217a1.html

Panel OKs lower cesium limit for food !!!
A government panel approves a proposal for far stricter limits on radioactive cesium in food products, paving the way for the health ministry to enforce new limits.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120217a2.html

Shimane, Ikata nuclear plants hold crisis drill
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120217a3.html

U.S. clashed over IAEA inspections in 1960s: papers
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120217a5.html

Tickets on sale for disaster relief lottery worth record YEN500 million in total
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120217f3.html

Tokyo grain bourse may close as trading volumes plunge
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120217n3.html

Tokyo announces plan for 2020 Summer Olympics
The city of Tokyo is bidding for the 2020 Summer Olympics.

The city has outlined a plan to host the Games with a vision for Japan's recovery from last year's earthquake and tsunami.
The city's Games bidding committee submitted its application to the International Olympic Committee on Monday. It announced the hosting plan at a news conference on Thursday.
According to the plan, Tokyo's vision for the Games is to boost reconstruction from the March 11th disaster that struck eastern Japan. It says Tokyo aims to show the world that sports can encourage those struggling with hardship.
The plan includes using Japan's National Stadium as a main site for the Games. The stadium was used for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and is to be renovated.
Tokyo aims to organize a compact event, with most other venues for events within 8 kilometers of the stadium.
As a symbol of recovery, preliminary soccer matches would take place in disaster-hit Miyagi Prefecture.
Under Tokyo's plan, the Olympics would be held for 17 days from July 24th to August 9th.
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara chairs the city's bid committee for the Olympics. He said the plan is even better than the one it presented for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Japan's top gymnast and world champion Kohei Uchimura said he hopes the world sporting event will help Japan rebuild itself. He added that he will do his best in this summer's London Olympics to help Japan win the right to host the 2020 Games.
Tokyo and 4 other cities are in the running to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics after Rome gave up on its bid. The 4 cities are Azerbaijan's capital of Baku, Qatar's capital Doha, the Turkish city of Istanbul, and Spain's capital Madrid.
The IOC plans to review all the bids in May and choose the winner at its general assembly in September, 2013.

March tsunami traveled at 25km/h in Sendai
Japanese scientists say the tsunami triggered by the March 11th earthquake last year was traveling as fast as an elite-level marathon runner when it hit the Sendai Plain in northeastern Japan.
The speed means it was almost impossible for people to escape the tsunami if they started running after seeing it.
Associate Professor Shunichi Koshimura and his group at the Tohoku University Disaster Control Research Center analyzed aerial footage of the tsunami filmed by NHK around the mouth of the Natori River about an hour after the powerful quake.
Their calculations found the wave traveling at 25 kilometers per hour across an open field about 1 kilometer from the coast in Sendai City.
The tsunami also traveled at 8 kilometers per hour in an area 2 kilometers from the coast in Natori City.
It kept moving twice as fast as the average human walking speed even after losing momentum to soil and various obstacles.

Yokosuka groups object to disaster debris burial
Residents in Yokosuka, near Tokyo, are objecting to a plan to bury incinerated disaster debris from eastern Japan at a site in their neighborhood.
Representatives of 10 community groups delivered a letter to the local governor on Friday, seeking a retraction of the disposal plan.
The community groups are concerned that wreckage from the disaster zone could be contaminated with radioactive fallout from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
They say the governor decided to accept the debris without consulting residents, and that the disposal site lacks equipment to safely store contaminated ash. ...

March 2011 disaster digital archives in the making
Almost a year on from the catastrophic earthquake that hit northeastern Japan, a wide range of organizations is building digital archives to preserve memories of the events of March 11th for future generations.
Among them, Tohoku University is collecting photos and video of damage caused by the quake and tsunami, as well as documenting the subsequent reconstruction, mainly in the northern prefecture of Miyagi.
The university is based in Sendai, which was hit hard by the disasters. It aims to hand down its archives in cooperation with other universities and private firms. The collection can be seen at www.dcrc.tohoku.ac.jp/archive

Major internet search engine operators Yahoo and Google are also preparing their own archives through a joint effort to collect photos and video. They say a total of about 50,000 items have been contributed by users of their sites so far.
Yahoo's collection is at http://archive.shinsai.yahoo.co.jp while
Google's is at www.miraikioku.com
Elsewhere, the National Diet Library is preparing to release a collection of post-disaster materials from the websites of various municipalities. Many people regularly referred to local-government sites in the wake of the disasters.
Some municipalities are digitizing their materials and the minutes of various meetings made after the disasters for future examination.
Experts note that digital archive operators need to sort out issues like the copyright of collected materials and the standardization of formats for the various types of data gathered by a variety of organizations.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, February 18, 2012

U.S. kids make drawings to cheer Tohoku counterparts
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120218a5.html

Foreign visitors off for 11th month
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120218a8.html

Nagoya aid for tsunami-hit city starts to pay off
A shiitake grower farmer in disaster-hit Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, is working to cultivate a sales channel in the Chubu region, while a Nagoya-based civil engineering company launches an office near the Tohoku city.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120218cc.html

Learning a foreign language: blood, sweat and beers
AMY CHAVEZ
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120218cz.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, February 19, 2012

- - - - - at 14:54
Earthquake M 5.1 - Northern Ibaraki

Plum festival opens at Mito's Kairakuen garden
An annual Plum Festival has opened at the Kairaku-en garden north of Tokyo.
Kairaku-en in Mito City, Ibaraki prefecture, is known as one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan. The 130,000-square-meter garden has some 3,000 plum trees of about 100 varieties.
Garden officials say because of the colder than usual weather this winter, only about 50 trees have come into bloom.
On Saturday, visitors could be seen strolling among the trees, and photographing the ones with blossoms.
Last year's earthquake damaged some of the garden's slopes. It also cracked the clay walls in an old summer house of a feudal lord on the grounds. Restoration work was completed earlier this month.
Park officials say they expect the best time to see the blossoms in full bloom will likely be around mid-March.

Emperor's heart operation ends successfully
Japanese doctors have successfully completed a heart bypass operation on Emperor Akihito.
The emperor is now in an intensive care unit where he is being closely monitored by doctors.

Nuke crisis caused by Japan, not quake: Kan
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan admits Japan was woefully unprepared for last year's nuclear disaster, acknowledges the response by the state and Tepco was deeply flawed, and says the crisis laid bare massive vulnerabilities in the nuclear industry.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120219a2.html

AKB48 thanks China for 3/11 aid with Beijing concert
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120219a6.html

Media ratchets up fear of another major earthquake
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fd20120219bj.html

From Aboriginal land to Japan's nuclear reactors
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120219x3.html

Tsunami debris to drift back from US West Coast
A US research institute says some of the debris created by a massive tsunami that hit Japan last March will likely wash ashore on Hawaii after drifting close to the US West Coast.
About 3 million tons of debris, including wrecked buildings and fishing boats, are confirmed to be floating on the Pacific.
Research is under way by a Kyoto University-led group of scientists and a US research institute to foresee where and when the debris would drift ashore. Japan will send a team of scientists and environment ministry officials to Hawaii later this month.
A US study shows that the tsunami debris will pass through waters north of Hawaii this year, and approach the US West Coast next year. ...

Japan's agricultural and fishery exports drop
Japan's exports of agricultural and fishery products in 2011 fell by about 8 percent from the figure for the previous year in the aftermath of the nuclear accident in Fukushima last March.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry says exports of farm, forestry and fishery products and processed food stood at about 5.7 billion dollars.
The drop is largely attributed to the nuclear accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi plant caused by the March 11th disaster. 47 countries and territories imposed restrictions on food imports from Japan, including a request for radiation test certificates.

Tsunami debris to drift back from US West Coast
A US research institute says some of the debris created by a massive tsunami that hit Japan last March will likely wash ashore on Hawaii after drifting close to the US West Coast.
About 3 million tons of debris, including wrecked buildings and fishing boats, are confirmed to be floating on the Pacific.
A US study shows that the tsunami debris will pass through waters north of Hawaii this year, and approach the US West Coast next year.
The direction of drift of most of the debris will then shift toward Hawaii in 2014 and some will likely wash ashore on Hawaii. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, February 20, 2012

Emperor to be released from ICU on Monday
Japan's Emperor Akihito is in stable condition after undergoing heart bypass surgery, and is expected to return to a hospital room from ICU on Monday.
The Emperor successfully underwent surgery at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Saturday after he had been diagnosed with angina.

Last KEPCO nuclear reactor to be shutdown Monday
The last nuclear reactor operated by Kansai Electric Power Company is to be shut down later on Monday for regular inspections.
KEPCO says it will begin shutting down the No. 3 reactor at Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui, central Japan, late on Monday afternoon. The work is scheduled to be completed early Tuesday morning.
With this shutdown, only 2 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors will remain online, but they too will be shut down by late April.
As all of KEPCO's 11 reactors will be offline starting Tuesday, the utility has called on households and firms in the region to reduce their use of power by 10 percent from the year before. The measure will remain in place until March 23rd. ...

Media allowed access to Fukushima Daiichi plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company has given members of the media access to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant for the first time since the government declared 2 months ago that reactors had been stabilized.
The utility gave reporters a bus tour of the facility on Monday. The visit coincides with inspections by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency that began on February 6th.
The bus passed by reactor cooling systems and spent fuel pools where 43 incidents of water leaks have occurred since January. Workers have swathed pumps on trucks with sheets and wrapped pipes with insulation materials to prevent leaks.
Reporters were allowed to get off the bus on a hill near the No.4 reactor and see first-hand its building, which was damaged by a hydrogen blast last March. ...

New robots on their way to Fukushima nuclear plant
Two Japanese-made robots will be used to examine the inside of reactors at the damaged nuclear power plant in Fukushima.
A group of researchers at Chiba Institute of Technology developed the remote-controlled robots named Quince Number 2 and Number 3.
On Monday, a truck carrying the pair left for Fukushima from the school's campus in Narashino, Chiba Prefecture. ...

40% of residents' exposure tops annual limit
More than 40 percent of the people surveyed in 3 municipalities near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were exposed to radioactivity levels above the annual safety limit in the 4 months after the disaster.
Fukushima Prefecture released on Monday the results of its survey of external radioactive exposure among some 9,750 residents of 2 towns and a village after the accident last March. This number excluded people working in places with high radioactivity, such as a nuclear plant.
Participants were asked about their behavior over a 4-month period immediately following the nuclear accident in order to estimate their external exposure.
Forty-two percent of the respondents are estimated to have received more than one millisievert --- the annual limit for the general public --- in the 4 months following the disaster.
Estimated exposure exceeded 10 millisieverts for 71 people. The highest dose was 23 millisieverts for an adult woman.
Among young people under the age of 20 at the time of the accident, the highest exposure was 18.1 millisieverts over 4 months.
The prefecture is conducting the survey on all its 2 million residents.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Enrollment fall amid nuclear crisis puts German school in financial bind
Following a sharp drop in enrollment amid the nuclear crisis, the century-old German School of Tokyo Yokohama is seeking aid from Berlin to overcome financial difficulties.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120221a2.html

Debris disposal test gives low cesium level
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120221a4.html

Residents of three towns received as much as 23 millisieverts of radiation
in the four months after the meltdowns : residents of Namie, Kawamata and Iitate
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120221a6.html

Last nuclear reactor in western Japan shuts down
The last nuclear reactor in western Japan has shut down for regular inspections.
Kansai Electric Power Company, the operator, said it completed the shut down procedures for the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture about 3:50 AM on Tuesday.
Now, only 2 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are running. But those two in the central prefecture of Niigata and in the northern prefecture of Hokkaido will be shut down by late April.

Nuclear Safety Commission to review stress tests
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission says the first stage of the stress test is not sufficient to asses the safety of nuclear power reactors.
A team of 11 people, including commission members and outside experts, will examine the first-stage test results of the 2 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in western Japan on Tuesday.
Commission Chairman Haruki Madarame said on Monday that the initial round only checks the equipment that are essential for maintaining safety in times of natural disasters. ...

Experts criticize Nuclear Safety Agency
Japan's nuclear safety agency has been criticized by its own panel of experts for rushing to approve stress tests for halted nuclear reactors.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency last week gave its first nod of approval for the test results on 2 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in western Japan.
The agency reached the conclusion after cutting off debate by the panel of experts days earlier.
At the panel's meeting on Monday, Professor Emeritus Hiromitsu Ino of the University of Tokyo said discussions hadn't been exhausted, and he feels deceived.
Masashi Goto, a lecturer at the Shibaura Institute of Technology, said the panel's job is to fully review plant safety to prevent another nuclear accident.
Goto said he cannot understand why the agency was rushing to reach a conclusion.
An agency official pointed out that the experts' panel had met 8 times since last November. He said the agency thought conditions were met to endorse the results at the Ohi nuclear plant.
Having a stress test approved is a key step for restarting the country's nuclear reactors. Most of them were halted for regular inspections after the March 11th disaster.

Survey: 95% of disaster debris not yet disposed of
The Japanese Environment Ministry says 95 percent of debris from last year's disaster in northeastern Japan has yet to be disposed of more than 11 months on.
The March 11 quake and tsunami created more than 22 million tons of debris on the coasts of hardest-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures alone.
The ministry said on Tuesday that just over one million tons, or 5 percent, of debris has been either incinerated or buried. 72 percent is still stored at temporary sites.
The ministry says many of the incinerators planned for disaster-stricken municipalities have yet to enter operation. It cites the difficulty in finding sites for new incinerators.
The ministry also says disposal in other areas of Japan, expected to shoulder 4 million tons of debris, has hardly begun.
Environment Minister Goshi Hosono told reporters the ministry's goal of completing disposal by the end of March, 2014 is unrealistic.
He asked municipalities outside the disaster-affected region to help, noting that delays are greatly hampering reconstruction.

Radiation monitoring system launched at schools
Japan's government has begun monitoring radiation levels at schools, parks and other sites frequently visited by children in disaster-hit Fukushima Prefecture.
The Education Ministry on Tuesday launched the system for showing data from 2,700 monitoring sites on its website.
The ministry introduced the system in response to residents' worries about radioactivity levels that have risen since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last March.
Website users can choose a place on a map and check the latest radiation levels there. Choosing Fukushima City brings up a list of 368 monitoring sites and their radiation levels.
The system also offers average radiation levels in 10 minutes, and graphs showing changes in radiation at chosen sites.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Just 5% of Tohoku disaster debris disposed of
Only 5 percent of the debris generated by the devastating earthquake and tsunami last March has been incinerated or otherwise disposed of, and Environment Minister Goshi Hosono calls for local governments nationwide to help with the massive cleanup.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120222a1.html

Takahama reactor offline; two still on
Kansai Electric Power suspends reactor 3 at its Takahama nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture for scheduled maintenance and inspections, leaving only two out of the nation's 54 commercial reactors still online.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120222a3.html

Reactor stress tests alone not enough
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120222a4.html

North Tokyo Bay Big One could top the scale: study
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120222a6.html

'Thank You' visitor campaign starts
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120222a2.html

Seabed near nuke plant to be covered with cement
Tokyo Electric Power Company will begin cementing the seabed near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent radioactive materials from spreading at sea.
On Wednesday, the utility plans to start pouring cement and clay over a 70,000-square meter area near the water intakes of the plant's 6 reactors. The seabed is about 6 meters deep.
The company says a 60-centimeter layer on the seabed will prevent the spread of contaminated mud and sand for about 50 years.
Extremely high levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in the area. The cesium mainly came from melted nuclear fuel rods from 3 of the reactors and contaminated water that leaked into the sea.
There is growing concern that ships will scatter the contaminated sand when work begins to retrieve the fuel rods in several years' time.
Tokyo Electric will start full-scale application of the cement in late February and hopes to complete the task in 4 months.

Int'l conference on natural disasters planned
Japan will host a ministerial level meeting on natural disasters in July to share lessons from the great earthquake and tsunami last year.
The government will hold the 2-day international conference in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture with cooperation from the United Nations and World Bank.
Other disaster-hit prefectures of Fukushima and Iwate will be hosting some of the conference sessions. ...

US nuke regulator releases March 11 transcripts
Newly released transcripts of the US nuclear regulator show it contemplated an evacuation advisory for US citizens near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant soon after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. The regulator's thinking was based on a worst-case scenario of meltdowns at all 3 operating reactors after they sustained heavy damage in the disaster.
On Tuesday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission released more than 3,000 pages of transcripts, covering in-house conferences over 10 days from March 11th last year, when the massive quake hit northeastern Japan.
The documents show a senior member calling for evacuating people within a radius of 50 miles, or about 80 kilometers, from the plant about 2 days after the disaster on March 12th US eastern time.
Cesium had been detected within the plant compound, apparently leading the official to believe the cores of the reactors could be partially damaged.
On March 16th US eastern time, Chairman Gregory Jaczko pointed out the Number 1, 2 and 3 reactors may all melt down in the worst case.
Executive director for operations Bill Borchardt said the United States would issue an evacuation advisory for people within a radius of 50 miles if a similar case occurred in the country.
The US ultimately issued an evacuation advisory for its citizens on March 16th.
The Japanese government issued an evacuation notice for those within a radius of 20 kilometers and also urged those in areas between 20 to 30 kilometers to stay indoors.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Transcripts sketch out NRC's 3/11 confusion
Transcripts of phone conversations immediately after the March disasters, released by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, reveal the early sense of urgency and confusion about the crisis unfolding at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120223a1.html

Cesium found 640 km off Fukushima in June
Radioactivity from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster has been detected as far away as 643 km offshore in the Pacific Ocean.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120223a2.html

Fearing radiation, Naha cuts Aomori snow fete
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120223a3.html

Wooden school building undergoes fire test
A 3-story wooden school building was burnt to the ground in a fire-resistance test on Wednesday. The test was conducted as part of planned revisions to a law prohibiting the construction of 3-story wooden school buildings.
The National Institute for Land and Infrastructure Management held the test at its compound in Tsukuba City, north of Tokyo.
The building was 15 meters high, 16 meters long, and 50 meters wide. It was built at a cost of 300 million yen, or about 4 million dollars, by academic and industrial researchers. ...
The test was based on a scenario in which a fire started on the first floor. Flames engulfed the structure after one hour, but the building's thicker pillars and beams still stood. The entire structure collapsed after 2 hours. ...

Transport ministry to develop tsunami lifeboat
Japan's transport ministry will develop lifeboats that allow evacuees to live at sea for several days after a tsunami.
The head of the ministry's Shikoku bureau told reporters on Wednesday that the lifeboats' design will be based on those that are mandatory for large ships.
The craft will be able to accommodate 20 to 50 people, have food stored on board, and be equipped with toilets.
They'll be installed at elementary schools, kindergartens and senior citizens' homes, so that children and the elderly who cannot evacuate fast enough can survive a tsunami.
Officials aim to make the lifeboats strong enough to withstand the impact of floating debris.
They plan to finalize the boats' design and functions over the coming months.

Foreign registrants in Japan down for third year
The number of foreigners registered in Japan has dropped for the third straight year.
The Justice Ministry says there were 2.07 million foreign registrants in Japan as of the end of last year, down 2.6 percent from a year ago.
Foreign registrants in Japan peaked at more than 2.2 million in 2008, but have since been in decline due to Japan's economic slump.
The drops are significant in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, which were hardest hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami. Iwate and Fukushima saw a drop of 15 percent each, with Miyagi at 13 percent.
Ministry officials blame last year's decline on the exodus of foreigners from Japan after the quake, tsunami, and nuclear plant accident in Fukushima.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, February 24, 2012

Rice-cake lifting contest in Kyoto
Contestants competed to lift and hold giant rice cakes for as long as they could at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto on Thursday.
71 people took part in the traditional event, aimed at fostering good health, at Daigoji Temple.

Festival of the Five Powerful Deities:
. WKD : Godairiki-San 五大力さん.

Antiterror backup plans mulled for nuke security talks
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120224a4.html

Tohoku teen feels guilt of being lone survivor
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120224f1.html

Guitars made from tsunami-felled tree
Guitars made of wood from a pine tree felled by the tsunami last March will feature in a musical depicting people striving to rebuild from the disaster.
The guitars were presented to the director of the musical at the studio of guitar maker Kenji Koike in Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Friday.
The pine used to make the instruments was brought from Miyagi, one of the prefectures hardest hit by the earthquake and tsunami.
One guitar has been made to produce a powerful sound to match its design, which features the waves of the tsunami and a symbolic lone pine tree that survived the disaster.
Another one generates softer tones to go with its images of cherry blossoms and a fully laden fishing boat, symbolizing the reconstruction.
Koike says the difficult part was to dry the wood, as it had been soaked in seawater.
The guitars will be played at the musical, to be held on March 18th in Tokyo.

Fukui governor rejects restart of idle reactors
The governor of Fukui Prefecture has said he will not allow its nuclear reactors to restart without stricter government safety standards.
Issei Nishikawa was reiterating his view at a regular prefectural assembly session that began on Friday.
Nishikawa said the government must correct its inconsistent response to the Fukushima nuclear accident, clarify its views about why nuclear plants are needed and should be restarted, and seek public understanding.
On Tuesday, a nuclear reactor in Fukui was shut down for regular inspections, leaving only 2 of Japan's 54 reactors running. ...

Govt asks for party support for debris disposal
Japan's environment minister has asked political parties to help break a deadlock over disposal of debris from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.
Goshi Hosono asked executives of governing and opposition parties on Friday to have their members persuade local governments and residents to accept the debris.
Hosono told Mikio Shimoji, the secretary general of the junior coalition partner People's New Party, that the debris is hampering reconstruction efforts. ...

Foreign nuclear experts discuss Fukushima
Foreign nuclear experts are discussing the Fukushima nuclear accident at a conference in Tokyo.
The Japanese government panel investigating the disaster is sponsoring the 2-day conference as part of efforts to verify what happened.
The panel invited 5 experts from abroad, including the head of the French Safety Authority, Andre-Claude Lacoste, and Richard Meserve, a former chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ...

Domestic output of Japan's carmakers up 19%
Japan's major carmakers are catching up on lost production caused by local and overseas disasters. January figures show a rise in domestic output by nearly 19 percent from a year earlier.
Total production of 8 major firms climbed for the fourth straight month to almost 800,000 units, a rise of 18.8 percent. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, February 25, 2012

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

sources
. . Bulletins from NHK WORLD . .
. . Japan Times - JT . .

January 2012

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Ink stones from Ogatsu town, Ishinomaki
石巻雄勝町

The Ogatsu stones will be made into ink stones like this one which was made before the disaster or be used for roof tiles and wall tiles of houses.
Ogatsu stone accessories are also being produced.
source : peaceboat.jp/relief

. . . CLICK here for Photos !

. WKD : inkstone, 翡翠硯（すずり） suzuri .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Daruma Tea Cup to help Tohoku
復興だるまとして、日本団結してがんばりましょう

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

February 11, Remember March 11, 2011

2012-02-11T05:24:00.021+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The twelfth month after the earthquake starts !

eleven months later -
nothing can erase
these memories

. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . Joys of Japan .

Join the Friends on Facebook !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. From Driftwood to Dragon Wood .

“Ryuboku kara Ryuboku e”
流木から龍木へ

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Take your time to expolore this

See how Japan has rebuilt in the
11 months since the earthquake and tsunami

. news.nationalpost.com/ .

The Buddha of Fukushima’s Forbidden Zone:
A Photo Essay
This is the story of Naoto Matsumura, Tomioka City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan–the last man standing in Fukushima’s Forbidden Zone.
source : www.japansubculture.com

Books about Japanese Culture
source : www.worldcat.org

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Gabi reports:

It is now eleven months since the great earthquake, tsunami and reactor crises.

. News from January, 2012 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

quote

Fukushima: 1 Jahr danach

Mehr Krebs durch das Reaktorunglück in Fukushima?
Der überwiegende Teil der Strahlendosis der Bewohner der kontaminierten Gebiete ist auf die externe Exposition zurückzuführen. Die japanische Regierung hat mit der Evakuierung der Menschen im 10km-, später im 20km-Umkreis um das Kernkraftwerk bereits am 11. März begonnen, also zu einem Zeitpunkt, als die Freisetzung großer Mengen an Radioaktivität noch nicht stattgefunden hatten. Daher haben die Evakuierten sehr wenig Strahlung abbekommen.

Es ist so unendlich viel Kritik an der japanischen Regierung geäußert worden und an der einen oder anderen Stelle kann man das auch unterstützen, aber generell haben sie sehr gut und sehr vorsichtig gehandelt. Abgesehen von der Bevölkerung weniger Orte wird es nur sehr wenige Japaner geben, die mehr ionisierende Strahlung durch die Unfälle in Fukushima abbekommen, als durch eine oder zwei CT-Untersuchungen“, gibt Dr. Jacob zu bedenken.

Auch wenn kein Anstieg der Krebserkrankungen zu erwarten ist, hat die Katastrophe für betroffene Japaner lebenslange Folgen: ob sie das Trauma der Entwurzelung und den psychosozialen Stress verarbeiten können, ist unklar. Psychosozialer Stress kann auf die Dauer extremere Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheit haben, als eine Strahlenexposition innerhalb niedriger Grenzen.

source : news.doccheck.com/de
- backup -

But there are also the other voices:
We May Yet Lose Tokyo… Not to Mention Alaska…
and Now Georgia, Too
Arnie Gundersen reports
Warning that Fukushima is "far from over," Tasaka said official assurances of the complex's alleged safety were based on "groundless optimism."
source : www.commondreams.org

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bulletins from NHK Online

source : www3.nhk.or.jp

Worker checks urged to prevent nuclear terrorism
Japan's Atomic Energy Commission has for the first time laid out its measures to prevent possible terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants.
A working group at the state agency has compiled a report on enhancing safety at the country's nuclear plants.
The report calls for insisting that power companies check personal information, such as the criminal and financial records, of all plant employees.
Such a measure is in place in most major countries that have nuclear plants, but Japan hasn't introduced the system due to personal privacy considerations.
After the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant triggered by the earthquake and tsunami of March 2011, plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, lost track of 10 workers. Their whereabouts remain unknown.
This is because the utility had failed to confirm the names and addresses of workers, let alone information such as criminal records.
The report also calls for stricter management where necessary of several radioactive substances that are widely used in hospitals and research institutions.

TEPCO says no damage to spent fuel at Fukushima
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it has found no damage to spent fuel rods that will be the first to be removed from the plant's reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company on Friday released video of the storage pool at the No.4 reactor building taken by an underwater camera the previous day.
The utility says the footage shows debris fell onto the rack containing the fuel rods but apparently caused no damage. Visibility in the pool is reportedly about 5 meters.
Tokyo Electric aims to start removing more than 1,500 rods from the pool next year as the first step in a 40-year plan for decommissioning the plant.
The No.4 reactor was offline and had no active fuel when a powerful earthquake and tsunami disabled the plant on March 11th last year.
But a hydrogen explosion blew off the reactor's roof and sent wreckage into the pool, making it difficult to assess conditions inside.

Population outflow continues in disaster-hit areas
Saturday marks 11 months since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. Cities and towns hit hard by the disaster have seen a rise in the outflow of residents.
As of Friday, the National Police Agency put the number of dead from the disaster in the Tohoku region at 15,787 and those missing at 3,302.
An increasing number of people in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures have relocated after the disaster to look for jobs or avoid the impact of the nuclear accident.
Fukushima Prefecture lost more than 53,000 people by the end of last year in reaction to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
The stricken municipalities have expressed concern that the population outflow could hamper their reconstruction efforts. They are also worried that a drop in tax revenues could threaten their existence.

Oil tank swept by tsunami to be kept as monument
A fish processing company in Ishinomaki City has decided to keep an oil tank that was swept away by tsunami 11 months ago as a memorial.
The tank measures 11 meters in height and 9 meters in diameter and is shaped like a can of seafood. The tank is lying on a road 300 meters away from where it was originally located.
The tank and the images painted on its surface were designed to make it look like a can of seafood produced by the company. Before the disaster, it served as advertising.
The seafood firm says it will move the tank back to the company's premises where it will put it on display.
A vice president of the company says some people originally wanted the tank dismantled because it brought back sad memories. But he now says such memories should be remembered for future generations.
He says if people come to see the salvaged oil tank, it will help with the city's reconstruction.

Oil tank still standing before tsunami

Oil tank now

Emperor Akihito undergoes heart examination
Emperor Akihito has undergone a heart examination at a hospital in Tokyo for restricted blood flow.
The 78-year-old Emperor arrived at the University of Tokyo Hospital on Saturday morning accompanied by Empress Michiko. The examination lasted for about one hour.
Doctors decided to conduct the detailed examination after an electrocardiograph test found an inadequate supply of blood was getting to his heart during light exercise.
... The Emperor has been on medication for the past year ever since doctors found that hardened arteries around his heart were constricting and reducing the amount of oxygen and nourishment getting to the heart muscle.

Temperature inside No.2 reactor rises again
Tokyo Electric Power Company says the temperature inside the No.2 reactor at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has risen again.
The utility successfully lowered the temperature last week after injecting more water.
But a thermometer installed at the bottom of the reactor detected an increase to around 71 degrees Celsius from Friday night to Saturday morning.
Two other thermometers in a different place on the reactor bottom kept on showing 35 degrees Celsius.
TEPCO says it will continue to monitor the situation closely as it believes the reactor is in a state of cold shutdown. But the utility says it will consider pouring more water in if the temperature rises further.

Opening ceremony of Tokyo Gate Bridge
Hundreds of officials and construction workers have attended the opening ceremony of Tokyo Gate Bridge, a new landmark roadway following Rainbow Bridge.
A tape-cutting ceremony was held at the bridge entrance in Tokyo's Koto Ward on Saturday, one day before its opening to the public. Then a motorcade of dozens of electric vehicles and buses crossed the bridge.
The 2.6 kilometer bridge crosses over Tokyo Bay, linking the south end of Koto Ward to landfill islands. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Voices from around

. Daily Radiation Levels - LIST 　

. . . . .

Japan Times:

11 months on, Reconstruction Agency makes official debut
The Reconstruction Agency finally make its official debut, 11 months since the devastating Great East Japan Earthquake, and its mission is to speed up the process of rebuilding the Tohoku region.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211a2.html

Antinuke petitioners to lobby assembly
A citizens' group pushing for a referendum in Tokyo on scrapping Tepco's nuclear reactors has to persuade metropolitan assembly members to back its plan -- a daunting, and potentially insurmountable, step.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211a3.html

Tepco to shut down last reactor in March
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211a5.html

Kansai exec forum skims atomic power debate
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211a7.html

Most Singaporeans still shunning visits to Japan on nuke safety fears
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211f2.html

Nationwide antinuke rallies planned
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211b2.html

Red tape impeding reform of nuclear-reliant energy policy
The hulking system that once guided Japan's pronuclear power stance worked just fine when everybody moved in lock step, but its size and complexity have proved ill-suited for resolving conflict at a time of nuclear crisis.

Nearly a year after the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, decision-makers still can't agree on how to safeguard reactors against future accidents, or even whether to operate them at all.
Some experts say this indecision reflects the Japanese tendency to search for — and sometimes depend on — consensus, even when there is no prospect of one emerging.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211f1.html

Edano to Tepco:
'Turn over new leaf' or we'll cut you off

Trade minister Yukio Edano said Friday that the government will not accept Tepco's request for additional financial aid unless the utility clearly shows it is ready to "turn over a new leaf" in light of the nuclear crisis. ...
"My current evaluation is that the company has not shown at all its will to become a newborn Tepco," Edano told reporters, without elaborating.
... Tepco has already won government approval to receive ¥891 billion in aid from the state-backed Nuclear Damage Liability Facilitation Fund, but has said it needs to also raise prices to offset rising fuel costs. The utility has turned to thermal power generation after the Fukushima crisis caused a public backlash against atomic energy and led to reactor closures.
Meanwhile, Edano said the government will survey around 400 residents living near the crippled plant at the time of the meltdowns to enhance disaster preparedness measures.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120211a7.html

Tepco to sell \300 billion in securities
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120211a8.html

Cabinet OKs gas, fuel disaster revision
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120211a9.html

A future free from nuclear energy? Yakushima may be ready
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fe20120212rh.html

Japan: failure or success?
A recent spate of articles in The New York Times comparing Japan's overall condition with America's was so welcome in Japan that the gist of the initial article was read out by a questioning lawmaker in the Diet.
The article by Eamonn Fingleton (New York Times, Jan. 6) painted a rosy picture of Japan. Fingleton's update of Ezra Vogel's "Japan as Number One" study was an answer to TV analysts like David Gergen, who described Japan on CNN as "a very demoralized country."
..... Japan's economy and society have major weaknesses obvious to both inside and outside observers, but its strengths are easy to overlook. Japan's current condition offers important lessons that need balanced consideration.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120212a1.html

U.N. honors 'Forest Hero' fisherman
The U.N. Forum on Forests held a ceremony Thursday for the recipients of its Forest Hero award at U.N. headquarters in New York.

The six people honored included Japan's fisherman-turned-environmentalist Shigeatsu Hatakeyama, 畠山重篤 68, from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture. Hatakeyama is the founder and chairman of Mori wa Umi no Koibito (Forests are Lovers of the Sea), a nonprofit environmental conservation organization.

Hatakeyama has been planting trees upstream of the Okawa River, which flows into Kesennuma Bay. He also runs oyster and scallop farming businesses in the city.

"Even though I lost nearly everything in the (March 11) disasters, the sea came back very quickly," Hatakeyama said. "I believe it was because the river and the forest behind it had solid foundations."

In choosing Hatakeyama as an award recipient Wednesday, UNFF recognized his devotion to the area. "He is known as 'Grandpa Oyster,' after spending more than 20 years developing the forest environment that keeps the Okawa River clean and his oysters healthy," UNFF said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120211a6.html

.................................................................................

High radioactive content detected in ash from wood stoves
Ash from wood-burning stoves in Miyagi Prefecture has been found to contain alarmingly high levels of radioactive cesium.
Up to 59,000 becquerels of cesium per kilogram has been detected in samples from the northeastern prefecture, the Environment Ministry said Feb. 10.
In late January, the ministry inspected logs and ash collected from private households in nine municipalities in the south of Miyagi Prefecture, close to the border with Fukushima Prefecture, site of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The radioactive content in the ash ranged from 1,180 becquerels per kilogram in a sample from Kakuda to 59,000 becquerels per kilogram in a sample from Marumori.
A log from Marumori came from a local forest and had been stored outdoors, ministry officials said.
... Radioactive substances in wood condense rapidly during incineration. That likely explains the high cesium content, sources said.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201202110053

Atomic energy panel urges background checks for nuke plant workers
An atomic energy panel is calling for background checks on workers at nuclear power plants to guard against possible terrorist attacks at such facilities.
The step, proposed by a committee of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission at the Cabinet Office on Feb. 10, was first considered in 2005. But the government shelved the original proposal by a council at the industry ministry, which oversees the nuclear power industry, citing the protection of privacy.
Among the major economies that operate nuclear power facilities, Japan is the only country that has yet to introduce the process.
A new nuclear power regulator, to be established in April by consolidating relevant government functions, is expected to discuss the introduction of background checks.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201202110027

Grass blamed for holes in Fukushima water hoses
Weeds were the culprit that poked holes in vinyl chloride hoses for transporting radioactive water under treatment at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Feb. 9.
Twenty-two cases of water leakage were reported between July and December 2011.
The hoses make up a 4-kilometer conduit to purify radioactive water that is used to cool nuclear reactors and pump it back into the reactors.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaster/fukushima/AJ201202100007

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Jahrestag Fukushima: 1.000 Kraniche für Japan

Der Kranich ist in Japan ein Symbol der Anti-Atomkraft-Bewegung.
Gleichzeitig steht er für Glück und Gesundheit, wenn man ihn verschenkt. Dieses Geschenk wollen wir den Menschen in Japan zum Jahrestag der Reaktor-Katastrophe machen.
Wir falten 1.000 Papier-Kraniche, die wir am 11. März persönlich vor Ort übergeben werden.

http://www.bund.net/1000kraniche

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Survivor decides to share video of tsunami destroying hometown
RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture—

Eiji Yoshida had long kept secret his video footage of the tsunami engulfing buildings in this northeastern city. For the 68-year-old former teacher, the video represented a painful reminder of the horrific images he would rather forget.

But he recently began sharing the video, 2 minutes and 26 seconds long, and 65 photos of the tsunami with acquaintances after deciding that the lessons learned from the disaster must never be lost.
source : ajw.asahi.com/article/0311disaste

.................................................................................

9 months from 2011 Japan earthquake/tsunami
Rikuzentakata-shi, Iwate, Japan
by Taisaku Nogi (shared at Joys of Japan)
source : www.facebook.com/media

.................................................................................

Radioactive Material:
You Can't See It, and You Can't Smell It Either

Japan reggae artists MC Rankin and Dub Ainu Band deliver a cautionary message about radioactive material through this song and music video -
source : www.youtube.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Priest fights radiation in Fukushima
Zen monk Koyu Abe has undertaken the task of searching out radioactive "hot spots" and cleaning them up, storing irradiated earth on temple grounds. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant suffered a series of explosions and meltdowns after the massive earthquake and tsunami last March 11.

FUKUSHIMA (Reuters) -
On the snowy fringes of Japan's Fukushima city, now notorious as a byword for nuclear crisis, Zen monk Koyu Abe offers prayers for the souls of thousands left dead or missing after the earthquake and tsunami nearly one year ago.

But away from the ceremonial drums and the incense swirling around the Joenji temple altar, Abe has undertaken another task, no less harrowing -- to search out radioactive "hot spots" and clean them up, storing irradiated earth on temple grounds.
... Last summer, Abe grew and distributed sunflowers and other plants, such as field mustard and amaranthus, in an effort to lighten the impact of the radiation and cheer local residents.

CHANGE OF FAITH
Now he is trading his ceremonial robes for a protective mask, working with volunteers to track down lingering pockets of radiation and cleaning them up.
source : news.yahoo.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Valentine 2012

Sendai's first Valentine's Day since disasters about more than just love

Chocolates with positive messages have emerged as big sellers in Sendai for the first Valentine's Day since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
At the Fujisaki department store downtown, chocolate gifts made with locally produced sake or honey and carrying messages of gratitude are gaining in popularity.

"It is probably because consumers want to support products using food from disaster-hit areas," said a member of the store's sales promotion team.

Fujisaki offers different kinds of chocolate-related items using ingredients from Miyagi Prefecture to support tsunami-hit areas.
One product is made with six different types of sake brewed in the prefecture, while coffee beans roasted in the city of Ishinomaki and covered with chocolate are another popular treat. Chocolates in the shape of a honeycomb and made with honey produced in Sendai are also selling well.
This is the first time such products have been sold for Valentine's Day, the store said.

As people grew to value "kizuna" — a Japanese word for "bond" — between family and friends after the disaster, the store prepared candy sets with a message saying "Thank you" in five different languages, including Japanese and English, so that people can express their gratitude.

In a similar spirit, the Mitsukoshi department store in Sendai is donating part of its proceeds from chocolate products to disaster areas. One bears the label "Charity Box" and sells for ¥2,400, of which ¥1,000 will be donated through the Japanese Red Cross Society.

Kiyomi Hishinuma, 42, who bought chocolate at the store for her husband, spoke of the spirit behind many gifts this Valentine's Day, 11 months after the disasters.
"The person I counted on the most when the quake hit was my husband," she said.
"I bought more expensive chocolate than usual to show him my gratitude."
source : Japan Times

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Daruma from Takasaki 高崎　復興祈願だるま

Print one out and hang it in your prayer corner!

ganbaro !! Nihon
ガンバロー　日本

がんばろう　日本　Ganbaro Nippon !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. February 12, 2011 and on . . .

. Toys and Talismans from Japan .　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Fukushima: 1 Jahr danach

2012-02-10T10:06:00.001+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

source : news.doccheck.com/de

Fukushima: 1 Jahr danach

Wie viele Krebsfälle wird es aufgrund des Unfalls in Fukushima geben?
Einige Forscher glauben, dass es wenige bis gar keine sein werden. Trotz aller Kritik haben die Behörden zügig gehandelt – zumindest was den Schutz der Bevölkerung vor Strahlenexposition angeht.

Am 11. März 2011 zerstörten ein Erdbeben und ein darauf folgender Tsunami den Nordosten Japans. Mehr als 15.000 Menschen starben dabei, über 3.000 gelten noch immer als vermisst. Im Kernkraftwerk Fukushima Daiichi führten verschiedene Stör- und Unfälle zur Freisetzung großer Mengen an Radioaktivität und zur Einstufung als „katastrophaler Unfall“ auf der Internationale Bewertungsskala für nukleare Ereignisse.

Dekontamination: ein Unterfangen mit Hindernissen
Es gibt keine genauen Angaben über die momentane Situation im Kernkraftwerk Fukushima. In regelmäßigen Abständen hört man noch immer, dass kleinere Lecks auftreten. Doch insgesamt scheint die Situation so weit unter Kontrolle zu sein, dass keine größeren Mengen an Radioaktivität mehr austreten werden; kleinere Freisetzungen sind noch immer möglich. Diese werden jedoch, nach Aussage von Dr. Peter Jacob, dem Leiter des Instituts für Strahlenschutz am HelmholtzZentrum München, die Kontaminationen der Umgebung nicht wesentlich verändern. Dennoch sind die direkte Umgebung des Kernkraftwerkes, sowie besonders der Nordosten Japans von zum Teil starker Kontamination der Böden betroffen. Hier spielt besonders das Radionuklid Cäsium-137 mit einer Halbwertszeit von etwa 30 Jahren eine Rolle. Aus diesem Grund planen die japanischen Behörden eine Dekontamination.

Gebiete außerhalb der 20km-Evakuierungszone, in denen die prognostizierte Strahlenexposition der Bevölkerung im ersten Jahr nach dem Unfall zwischen einem und 20 Millisievert liegt, sollen schrittweise dekontaminiert, und damit wieder bewohnbar und für die Landwirtschaft nutzbar gemacht werden. Bis August 2013 sollen die Strahlenwerte mindestens halbiert werden. Einen Zeitplan für das Gebiet innerhalb der 20km-Evakuierungszone gibt es bisher nicht. In einigen Gemeinden hat bereits eine Abtragung des Bodens begonnen, doch – wie Dr. Peter Jacob aus mehreren Quellen erfahren hat – gibt es derzeit noch keine geeigneten Orte, um das kontaminierte Erdreich zu lagern. So scheint es in manchen Orten riesige Berge an strahlendem Boden zu geben, die unter Planen und Erdreich abgedeckt aufbewahrt werden. Die Regierung strebt die Einrichtung eines Zwischenlagers für etwa 30 Jahre an, um die mehreren Millionen Kubikmeter Erdreich zu deponieren.

„Das könnte ein großes Tal sein, das mit besonders quellfähigen Tonmineralen abgedichtet wird. Eine weitere Tonschicht oben auf dem Lager könnte verhindern, dass Regen eindringt. Da sich das Cäsium fest an Tonminerale anlagert, dürfte es nicht entweichen. Allerdings müssten wir Wasser, das eventuell aus dieser Deponie heraussickert, überwachen“, wie ein Mitarbeiter einer japanischen Organisation erklärt, der mit seiner Firma Böden dekontaminiert. Doch bis dahin müssen die Gemeinden den strahlenden Boden selbst lagern. Angeblich wird die belastete Erde zum Teil direkt am Ort der Abtragung vergraben. Besonders absurd erscheint es, Schulen und Kindergärten abzuwaschen und in Schulhöfen den Boden abzutragen, um ihn dann im Schulhof zu vergraben. Die Werte sinken zwar auf ein Niveau, wie es auch natürlich vorkommt, doch die Eltern sind selbstverständlich beunruhigt.

Das Ziel einer Dekontamination ist es, langfristig die jährliche Strahlendosis auf weniger als 1 Millisievert (mSv) zu senken. Zum Vergleich: auch 20 Jahre nach dem Unfall in Tschernobyl gab es Gebiete, in denen die jährliche Strahlendosis bei zwei oder drei Millisievert lag. Wie viel ist eigentlich 1 mSv? Was ist beispielsweise eine Strahlendosis, die jeder Bürger in Deutschland pro Jahr aufnimmt? Das Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz gibt den Mittelwert für die gesamte natürliche Strahlenexposition in Deutschland mit 2,1 mSv an. Dieser Wert setzt sich zusammen aus der natürlichen Höhen- und Bodenstrahlung, der Inhalation von Radon und der Ingestion durch Nahrungsmittel. Eine Exposition von 1 mSv und darunter wird als unbedenklich angesehen; der zulässige Grenzwert der effektiven Dosis für berufliche Strahlenexposition beträgt in allen europäischen Ländern 20 mSv pro Kalenderjahr, bzw. 100 mSv in fünf Jahren.

Strahlenexposition der Bevölkerung – ein Vergleich mit Tschernobyl
Eine Kontamination der Bevölkerung durch Nahrungsmittel spielt in Japan eine untergeordnete Rolle – auch dank der strengen Grenzwerte, die die japanische Regierung sehr frühzeitig festgelegt hat. Lebensmittel werden in verschiedenen Phasen kontaminiert: direkt nach der Katastrophe erfolgte die Kontamination über die Oberfläche der Pflanzen. Daher waren Blattgemüse mit großer Oberfläche besonders stark kontaminiert. Pflanzen, die zum Zeitpunkt der Freisetzung der Radionuklide noch keine Früchte trugen, wurden zu diesem Zeitpunkt nur an den Blättern und am Stamm kontaminiert. Doch über die so genannte Translokation wurden die radioaktiven Substanzen aufgenommen und durch inneren Transport in die reifenden Früchte transportiert. In den Folgejahren erfolgt die Kontamination dann durch inkorporierte Radionuklide aus dem Boden. „Der größte Unterschied zwischen Tschernobyl und Fukushima vom Gesichtspunkt der Strahlenexposition der Bevölkerung, ist der Konsum der kontaminierten Milch. Japan hat sofort Grenzwerte gesetzt, während in der ehemaligen UdSSR die Milch weiter getrunken wurde“, erklärt Dr. Jacob. „Aus diesem Grund gibt es dort so viele zusätzliche Fälle von Schilddrüsenkrebs. Das 131Iod wurde mit der Milch inkorporiert.“

Ein Unterschied zu der Situation in Tschernobyl liegt darin, dass in Japan ein großer Teil der radioaktiven Emissionen über dem Pazifik niedergegangen ist, und dass auch kontaminiertes Wasser ins Meer geleitet wurde und möglicherweise noch geleitet wird. Wie viel Aktivität tatsächlich in das Meer gelangt ist, ist nicht bekannt. Offenbar ist aber die Verdünnung so stark, dass es bis auf Ausnahmen keine wesentliche Belastung von Fisch aus der Region gibt.

Mehr Krebs durch das Reaktorunglück in Fukushima?

Der überwiegende Teil der Strahlendosis der Bewohner der kontaminierten Gebiete ist auf die externe Exposition zurückzuführen. Die japanische Regierung hat mit der Evakuierung der Menschen im 10km-, später im 20km-Umkreis um das Kernkraftwerk bereits am 11. März begonnen, also zu einem Zeitpunkt, als die Freisetzung großer Mengen an Radioaktivität noch nicht stattgefunden hatten. Daher haben die Evakuierten sehr wenig Strahlung abbekommen. „Es ist so unendlich viel Kritik an der japanischen Regierung geäußert worden und an der einen oder anderen Stelle kann man das auch unterstützen, aber generell haben sie sehr gut und sehr vorsichtig gehandelt. Abgesehen von der Bevölkerung weniger Orte wird es nur sehr wenige Japaner geben, die mehr ionisierende Strahlung durch die Unfälle in Fukushima abbekommen, als durch eine oder zwei CT-Untersuchungen“, gibt Dr. Jacob zu bedenken. Die mittlere effektive Dosis eines CTs liegt bei 8,1 mSv, die Brustdosis einer Mammografie bei 5 mSv (0,5 mSv effektive Dosis).

Im Oktober 2011 wurde ein Screening-Programm für Kinder aus der Nähe von Fukushima initiiert. Etwa 360.000 Kinder und Jugendliche unter 18 Jahren sollen bis zu ihrem 20. Lebensjahr alle zwei Jahre untersucht werden, anschließend alle fünf Jahre. Dadurch sollen Veränderungen der Schilddrüse und weitere Erkrankungen entdeckt werden, die auf den Einfluss ionisierender Strahlung zurückgeführt werden können. Der Strahlenforscher Dr. Jacob ist jedoch der Meinung, dass in Japan mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit keine messbare Zunahme an Krebsfällen auftreten werde: „das wäre im Widerspruch zu allem, was wir bisher wissen“. Davon geht auch Wolfgang Weiss aus, Vorsitzender einer wissenschaftlichen Kommission, die im Auftrag der UN die Folgen radiaktiver Strahlung untersucht (UNSCEAR). Einzig die Tatsache, dass nun intensiver untersucht wird, könnte nach seiner Einschätzung zu einer Erhöhung der Zahlen führen: Untersuchungen des Instituts für Strahlenschutz zeigen, dass nach der Reaktorkatastrophe in Tschernobyl in Weißrussland dreimal mehr spontane Schilddrüsenkarzinome registriert wurden, als vor dem Unglück.

Hier muss abgeschätzt werden, wie groß der Effekt ist, der allein durch intensivere Untersuchungen begründet ist. Autopsiestudien haben in der Vergangenheit gezeigt, dass zwischen zwei und 30% der Untersuchten zuvor unentdeckte Mikrokarzinome der Schilddrüse haben, die vermutlich nie Krankheitswert erlangt hätten. Im Fall von Tschernobyl zeigten Dr. Jacob und seine Kollegen im Jahr 2006 in einer Studie, dass etwa 60% der Schilddrüsenkarzinome in Weißrussland unter denjenigen, die zum Zeitpunkt des Unfalls Kinder oder Jugendliche waren, durch die Strahlung verursacht wurden.

Auch wenn kein Anstieg der Krebserkrankungen zu erwarten ist, hat die Katastrophe für betroffene Japaner lebenslange Folgen: ob sie das Trauma der Entwurzelung und den psychosozialen Stress verarbeiten können, ist unklar. Psychosozialer Stress kann auf die Dauer extremere Auswirkungen auf die Gesundheit haben, als eine Strahlenexposition innerhalb niedriger Grenzen.

Der Reaktorunfall in Japan hat für uns in Deutschland keine Gesundheitsgefahr zur Folge gehabt, die Folgen der Explosion in Tschernobyl spüren wir dagegen noch heute: Pilze und Schwarzwild, besonders aus dem Bayrischen Wald, sind noch immer stark belastet. Doch der Verzehr von 200g Pilzen mit 4.000 Bequerel 137Cäsium pro Kilogramm hat beispielsweise eine Exposition von 0,01 mSv zur Folge, ist also vernachlässigbar, wenn die Pilze nicht täglich genossen werden.

Mit einem Flug von Frankfurt nach Tokio belastet man sein persönliches Strahlenkonto übrigens mit 0,06 mSv.

Dr. Christine Hutterer
Medizinjournalist/in
München

http://news.doccheck.com/de/article/207772-fukushima-1-jahr-danach/

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. BACK TO
February 11, 2012 　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

February 2012 - Feb 10

2012-02-10T07:30:00.005+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

February 2012

Get a calendar to support Japan!

source : www.jnto.go.jp

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

NISA OK on stress tests but gets poor PR grade
IAEA The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has been doing a good job overseeing reactor stress tests but needs to communicate better with the people living nearby, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency official.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120201a1.html

Fukushima village urges residents back
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120201a3.html

Fukui nuclear plants key issue in Kyoto mayor race
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120201a4.html

Snow-related deaths rise to 51 in Japan - NHK
Deaths from snow-related accidents are increasing at a faster pace in Japan, as heavy snowfall hits northern parts of the country.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says 51 people have died in snow-related incidents so far this winter, excluding traffic accidents. Thirty of them have died in the past 15 days.

Niigata Prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast has 12 deaths, the largest number, followed by Hokkaido with 10 and Aomori Prefecture with 9.

Japan's smoking rate falls below 20%
The health ministry says the smoking rate in Japan has fallen below 20 percent for the first time since recordkeeping began in 1986.
A ministry survey shows the rate was 19.5 percent in November 2010, down 3.9 percentage points from a year earlier.
The smoking rate for men fell by 6 points to 32.2 percent, while the figure for women was down 2.5 points to 8.4 percent.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, February 2, 2012

More heavy snow dumped in Northern Japan.
Some temporary homes have frozen water pipes and need to get water by tank lorry.

51 deaths laid to blizzards; more snow forecast
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120202a7.html

Heavy snow stalls 100 cars in Aomori
Heavy snow has stranded more than 100 cars on a main road in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan.
Prefectural officials say traffic has been stalled since Wednesday evening on a nearly 40-kilometer stretch.
The stranded cars include a school bus carrying 6 junior high students. All of them were evacuated to a nearby building.
The prefecture has mobilized about 20 plows to clear snow and free the vehicles.
Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura has asked the Self-Defense Forces to dispatch disaster relief units.

3 dead in avalanche at hot spring in Akita
An avalanche at a hot spring resort in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan, has killed 3 people.
A 40-meter stretch of snow on a mountain slope near Tamagawa hot spring in Senboku city collapsed at around 5PM Wednesday, crushing 3 structures housing bedrock baths.
3 people who were in the baths--a man and two women--were rescued and taken to a hospital, but were later pronounced dead.
The structures, which are about a 15-minute walk from an inn, were reportedly buried under 1.5 meters of snow.

Snow around the hot spring was 2.87 meters deep as of 6PM Wednesday.

Heavy snow in Japan affecting wide areas
Heavy snow is affecting wide areas of Japan, an avalanche at a hot spring resort in Akita Prefecture, northern Japan, has killed 3 people.
A 40-meter stretch of snow on a mountain slope near Tamagawa hot spring in Senboku city collapsed at around 5PM Wednesday, crushing 3 structures housing bedrock baths.
3 people who were in the baths--a man and two women--were rescued and taken to a hospital, but were later pronounced dead.
The structures, which are about a 15-minute walk from an inn, were reportedly buried under 1.5 meters of snow.
Snow around the hot spring was 2.87 meters deep as of 6PM Wednesday.
Heavy snow has stranded more than 100 cars on a main road in Aomori Prefecture, northern Japan.
Prefectural officials say traffic has been stalled since Wednesday evening on a nearly 40-kilometer stretch.
The stranded cars include a school bus carrying 6 junior high students. All of them were evacuated to a nearby building.
The prefecture has mobilized about 20 plows to clear snow and free the vehicles.
Aomori Governor Shingo Mimura has asked the Self-Defense Forces to dispatch disaster relief units.
Meteorological Agency officials say more heavy snow is expected across wide areas of Japan onThursday.
The officials say a winter pressure pattern is gaining strength, bringing snow along the Sea of Japan coast in northern and western Japan.
The fresh snow will add to the already massive snowfall that has hit the country this winter.
As of Thursday morning, Ohkura Village in Yamagata Prefecture had about 3.6 meters of snow. About 1.3 meters of snow had piled up in Aomori City.
Weather officials are calling for caution about traffic disruptions, avalanches and snow-related accidents.

.................................................................................

Pipe leaks water from reactor 4 fuel pool
Tepco discovers that 8.5 tons of radioactive coolant water leaked in reactor 4 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, somewhat higher than its initial estimate of 6 litters, but says none flowed outside the building.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120202a3.html

24% of coastal municipalities lack plans for issuing evacuation alerts
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120202a9.html

Milk makers begin radiation checks
Major Japanese milk producers have announced that screening tests for radiation will soon begin at about 180 milk factories in response to growing concerns among consumers.
Municipalities have been conducting radiation checks before raw milk goes to factories, but only a few have been checking the milk after it's produced.
Ever since the health and welfare ministry decided to strengthen food safety standards for milk from April, there has been a growing call from consumers for more screening.
Under the tougher standards, milk will be allowed to contain only 50 becquerels per kilogram, one quarter the current permissible level.
The Japan Dairy Industry Association says the screening will be conducted in Tokyo and 16 prefectures in eastern Japan.
It will announce the result by the end of this month.

Nuclear safety agency proposes new safeguards
The government's nuclear agency has made a new proposal to bolster safety at nuclear power plants. The proposal calls for nuclear plant operators to install various types of backup power generators.
At the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the loss of all power sources in the earthquake and tsunami last March led to meltdowns at its reactors.
The proposal also asks operators to waterproof reactor-cooling facilities to prevent high waves from flooding the buildings. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, February 3, 2012

. Setsubun, the "Seasonal Divide" .
Throwing beans at the demons !

This morning was minus 9 centigrade in my valley, the coldest in years.
We got just about 5 cm of snow, but the coastal regions are dumped in snow again.

Avalanche kills trio as snow toll rises
Deadly blizzards have wreaked havoc in coastal areas along the Sea of Japan, but the Meteorological Agency warns of more heavy snowfall to come.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120203a1.html

Mercury hits record lows in Japan
A cold air mass over Japan brought the coldest morning of the season on Friday. Temperatures marked record lows in many parts of the country.
Officials say the weather is clear in many places, after days of heavy snow. Temperatures hit all-time lows at 38 locations across Japan.
In the southwestern island of Kyushu, the temperature was minus 14.7 degrees Celsius in Oita Prefecture. It was minus 10.6 degrees in Kumamoto Prefecture.
The cold weather suspended operations at a thermal power plant in Oita Prefecture in the morning. The plant operator says the cause was frozen air pipes, and that power-generating turbines are now being restored.
Elsewhere in Japan, it was minus 26 degrees in Nobeyama-kogen in the central part of the country. Minus 15.5 degrees was recorded in Okayama Prefecture in western Japan.
Weather officials said sub-zero temperatures were experienced at most of the observation points across the country.
Tokyo was among them. The temperature was minus 1 degree.

Deaths from snow-related accidents reach 63
Heavy snow is wreaking havoc in Japan, raising the number of deaths from related accidents.
The Fire and Disaster Management Agency says such accidents, excluding those related to traffic, have claimed 63 lives so far this winter.
The death tolls in Hokkaido and Niigata Prefecture are 13; in Aomori and Akita, 10; and in Nagano, 8.
Forty-one of the victims were aged 65 or older, and 80 percent of the accidents occurred when victims were clearing snow from roofs or other places.
The agency calls on people to use lifelines and helmets when clearing snow, and to refrain from working alone.

.................................................................................

Chiba homeowners sue realtor for March 11 liquefaction damage
A group of residents in Chiba Prefecture sue real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan for about \700 million in liquefaction damage related to the Great East Japan Earthquake.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120203a2.html

Tokyo holds drill for stranded commuters
About 10,000 people in Tokyo have taken part in a drill to practice what they need to do if they become stranded when a major quake strikes the capital.
The problem occurred after the March 11th earthquake. The disaster halted trains and paralyzed road traffic. More than 5 million people were stranded in Tokyo and its neighboring areas, and many tried to head home on foot. Ambulances and other emergency vehicles were stuck in traffic jams.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is advising people to stay where they are if another disaster occurs.
The participants in Friday's drills gathered at Shinjuku station and 2 other major terminals.
About 1,000 people in Shinjuku were informed by TV broadcasts to mobile phones and Twitter that they could take shelter at the Tokyo government building.

Safety checks to begin at Fukushima Daiichi plant
Japan's nuclear safety agency will begin inspecting the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant from Monday to see if it can safely remain in a state of cold shutdown.
Officials from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency plan to check equipment and contingency preparations by examining manuals and interviewing workers during their three-week inspections.
Among the seven types of equipment to be checked is a reactor cooling system that recycles decontaminated water from the facility. ....

Flu epidemic peaking in Japan
Japan's health officials say the influenza epidemic has peaked. In some areas, more people had flu than at any time in the past 10 years.
A survey of medical facilities by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases found an estimated 1.7 million people sought flu treatment during the week through January 29th. The figure was up 620,000 from the previous week. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Record lows recorded at 38 locations
The country experiences severe cold weather and temperatures drop to record lows at 38 locations nationwide.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120204a1.html
and
Cold weather kills 180 in Europe
More than 180 people have died in a cold snap gripping much of Europe.

My morning was a bit warmer, only the usual minus 3 centigrade and no new snow.

.................................................................................

Safety checks to begin at Fukushima Daiichi plant
Japan's nuclear safety agency will begin inspecting the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant from Monday to see if it can safely remain in a state of cold shutdown.
Officials from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency plan to check equipment and contingency preparations by examining manuals and interviewing workers during their three-week inspections.
Among the seven types of equipment to be checked is a reactor cooling system that recycles decontaminated water from the facility. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Sales tax may be raised higher than 10% due to welfare reforms: Noda
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120205a6.html

Nuclear crisis given lightweight treatment
JEFF KINGSTON
The nuclear crisis seems grafted on to the author's main focus and previous books on Japan's dysfunctional bureaucracy and the collusive and corrosive ties between business, politicians and the bureaucracy.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fb20120205a1.html

State mediator urges partial redress for evacuees
A state arbitration body has urged Tokyo Electric Power Company to make advance payments to people affected by the Fukushima nuclear accident before the final amount of compensation is decided.
NHK has learned that the arbitrator recommended last Monday that the utility should pay about 20,000 dollars to a family of 4 from Tomioka Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
The family had filed a complaint with the arbitrator, saying they are unhappy with the proposed standard monthly payment of 1,300 dollars. The family also says they are running out of money as the dispute remains unsettled.
The arbitrator says it recommending advance payments because the survivors need money to rebuild their lives.
The family's lawyer says this will help many people who are facing financial difficulties.
Tokyo Electric says it is studying the recommendation.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, February 6, 2012

Temperature rises at Fukushima No.2 reactor
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the temperature in the No.2 reactor remains high despite the injection of additional water.
A thermometer at the bottom of the reactor showed 73.3 degrees Celsius on Monday morning. It was around 45 degrees on January 27th and 71.7 degrees at 4 PM on Sunday.
Tokyo Electric Power Company began injecting 10.6 tons of water per hour from around 1:30 AM on Monday. That's one ton more per hour than before.
The utility says 2 other thermometers placed at the bottom of the reactor have been giving readings of about 44 degrees.
It says the flow of water in the reactor may have changed after plumbing work, causing difficulties in cooling the nuclear fuel.
In December last year, the government and TEPCO declared the 3 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant had been successfully put into a state of cold shutdown as their temperatures had fallen below 100 degrees. But the situation inside the reactors remains unknown.
TEPCO says the regulations set after the state of cold shutdown

Govt to create more decontamination bases
The Environment Ministry plans to decontaminate more public facilities in Fukushima Prefecture to use them as bases for cleaning up radioactive substances.
The government wants to decontaminate no-entry and evacuation zones around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant. It hopes to create a safe environment so that residents can return to the area.

Nuke plant operators paid $2 bil. to localities
Newly disclosed documents show that nuclear power plant operators in Japan have paid more than 2 billion dollars to local authorities hosting their facilities over the past 4 decades.
NHK obtained information about the payments from 44 prefectures and municipalities based on the information disclosure system.
The information shows that the payments have reached 2.1 billion dollars since construction of nuclear plants began in the late 1960s.
Of the amount, Tokyo Electric Power Company which operates the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant paid nearly 460 million dollars. Other utilities have continued making payments ever since the accident at the plant.
Power companies pay the money to promote the construction of nuclear plants. Some local governments ask for donations to invest the money in the regional economies.
The utilities view the payments as part of the cost of generating power and pass the expense on in utility fees. But an economy ministry panel said last week that the payments should not be counted as a cost.
Host communities have spent the money in various ways. They include public works projects, events and scholarships as well as statues of animation characters and promotional videos.
The host communities also receive subsidies from the central government, but the payments decrease in stages. Until 2003, they were only allowed to use the money to construct public facilities.
The payments are apparently convenient for some communities that are struggling to find ways to maintain the facilities.

Monday, February 06, 2012 20:48
Temperature at No.2 reactor remains high
Attempts to cool the temperature in the No. 2 reactor of the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have only partially succeeded despite the injection of more cooling water.
The temperature in the reactor has gradually risen from about 45 degrees Celsius registered on January 27th.
In the past 4 days, the temperature has climbed more than 20 degrees to above 70 degrees.
The plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company began pumping more water into the reactor at around 1:30 AM on Monday. But at 7 AM, the temperature stood at 73.3 degrees and at 5 PM, 69.2 degrees.
The utility firm says 2 other thermometers elsewhere in the reactor gave readings of about 44 degrees.
TEPCO says the rise in temperatures indicate that the flow of water in the reactor may have changed direction after plumbing work, and is no longer able to properly cool down the melted down nuclear fuel. ...
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Nuclear Safety Commission, Haruki Madarame, says that a recurrence of nuclear criticality is unlikely.
But he criticized TEPCO and the nuclear safety agency for their handling of the matter. He says they are failing to properly explain the state of the reactors to the people.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Utilities face hike in redress fund ante
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120207a4.html

Foreign bloggers take in disaster zone
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120207a8.html

Cuisine targeted for UNESCO list
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120207b1.html

Questions over stress tests
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120207a1.html

Temperature remains high at damaged reactor
An unknown rise in temperature at one of the reactors at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is troubling its operator. Tokyo Electric says the temperature hasn't gone down even after it increased the volume of cooling water on Tuesday.
One of the thermometers at the bottom of reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant gradually rose to about 70 degrees Celsius since January 27th. It had stayed around 45 degrees before.
In an effort to lower the temperature, the operator increased the amount of water sprayed on the nuclear fuel by 3 tons to 13.5 tons per hour Tuesday morning.
But Tokyo Electric said readings were down only about 3 degrees after some 5 hours of operation, hardly showing signs of improvement.
The utility said the flow of water in the reactor may have changed after plumbing work in late January, causing difficulties in cooling part of the melted nuclear fuel.
It added that no temperature rise has been observed at 2 other thermometers in the same reactor and that it will continue to carefully monitor the reactor.
TEPCO has been unable to visually confirm conditions inside the reactors since the nuclear disaster last March because of high radiation.

Vents introduced to pressurized water reactors
Japanese nuclear power plant operators say they will introduce a venting system to pressurized water reactors to enhance safety in case of emergencies.
On Tuesday, the Federation of Electric Power Companies announced the plan at a meeting of experts discussing nuclear energy policies.
Venting systems are designed to release gas, which includes radioactive substances, from containment vessels to protect them from damage.
The system is installed in boiling-water reactors, but power suppliers had said that pressurized water reactors do not need vents. They had said pressure does not rise easily in containment vessels of pressurized water reactors, which are much larger than those of the boiling water type.
At the Tuesday meeting, the federation officials explained that in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, they will install vents for both types of reactors.
The plan will also include filters to cut the amount of released radioactive substances to less than one 1000th. They said that they will make vents operable by hand from remote sites in case power is lost. Power suppliers will study detailed designs of the vents.
Of 54 atomic power plant reactors in Japan, 24 are of the pressurized-water type. Of these, 22 are currently suspended. In total, 51 reactors are currently suspending operations.

Toyota profits down 72%
Toyota Motor says its operating profit for the April-December period in 2011 decreased 72 percent from the same period in the previous year. ..

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

. . . . . at 21:01
earthquake M 5.7 at sea offf Sado 佐渡付近

Nuke dangers nowhere near resolved: Kan's crisis adviser !!!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120208f1.html
. . . . . and
Crisis never came close to scenario meriting Tokyo evacuation: panel chief
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120208f4.html

Water rate increased for reactor 2
Workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant increase the amount of water injected into reactor 2 to the highest level since the plant achieved cold shutdown in December as concerns grow over rising temperatures at the bottom of the pressure vessel.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120208a2.html

High cesium found in earthworms
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120208a3.html

Damage by animals to be studied
The Environment Ministry said Tuesday it will research reports of increased damage caused by wild animals in nuclear crisis-hit Fukushima and three surrounding prefectures this month and consider countermeasures.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120208a7.html

Child population drops in disaster-hit prefectures
The number of children has significantly decreased in 3 Japanese prefectures hit by the March 11th disaster.
The Education Ministry says the child population as of May 1st in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima fell by more than 27,000 from a year earlier to about 834,000.
Fukushima saw the biggest fall of 5.8 percent, or more than 17,000, followed by a decrease of 2.3 percent in Iwate and minus 1.7 percent in Miyagi.
The ministry says the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is to blame for an 11-percent decline in the number of kindergarteners and a nearly 8-percent drop in the elementary school population in the prefecture.
It says smaller children are more vulnerable to radiation and are likely to have been evacuated to other prefectures.
The child population in the 3 prefectures had been falling even before the disaster due to the low birthrate.

Cesium detected in worms near Fukushima plant
Researchers say high levels of radioactive cesium have been detected in earthworms caught in areas around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The researchers from the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute checked cesium levels in earthworm samples they collected at 3 locations.
The institute says about 19,000 becquerels of cesium per kilogram of worms were detected in Kawauchi Village 30 kilometers from the plant, about 1,000 becquerels in Otama Village, 70 kilometers from the plant, and 290 in Tadami Town, 130 kilometers away. . . .

Vents introduced to pressurized water reactors
Japanese nuclear power plant operators say they will introduce a venting system to pressurized water reactors to enhance safety in case of emergencies.
On Tuesday, the Federation of Electric Power Companies announced the plan at a meeting of experts discussing nuclear energy policies.
Venting systems are designed to release gas, which includes radioactive substances, from containment vessels to protect them from damage.
The system is installed in boiling-water reactors, but power suppliers had said that pressurized water reactors do not need vents. They had said pressure does not rise easily in containment vessels of pressurized water reactors, which are much larger than those of the boiling water type.
At the Tuesday meeting, the federation officials explained that in the wake of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, they will install vents for both types of reactors.
The plan will also include filters to cut the amount of released radioactive substances to less than one 1000th. They said that they will make vents operable by hand from remote sites in case power is lost.
Power suppliers will study detailed designs of the vents.
Of 54 atomic power plant reactors in Japan, 24 are of the pressurized-water type. Of these, 22 are currently suspended. In total, 51 reactors are currently suspending operations.

Temperature decreasing inside Fukushima reactor 15:31
Tokyo Electric Power Company says it has been able to lower the temperature inside the No.2 reactor at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant by increasing the amount of water being injected into it.
TEPCO had been struggling to deal with rising temperatures inside the reactor. A thermometer located at the bottom of the reactor read 45 degrees Celsius on January 27th, but rose to over 70 degrees on Sunday. The cause is unknown, and two other thermometers at the reactor have shown no such increase.
TEPCO said on Wednesday that the temperature inside the reactor was 66.7 degrees at 5 AM, 5.5 degrees lower than a day earlier. The temperature gradually declined after the company increased the rate of water injection by 3 tons to 13.5 tons per hour on Tuesday.

70% of nuclear reactor hosts cautious on restart
An NHK survey has found that more than 70 percent of Japanese municipalities that host nuclear power plants are cautious about restarting the reactors.
51 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are currently out of operation. Restarting them would require the approval of local municipalities.
NHK surveyed 29 municipalities, excluding those in Fukushima Prefecture.
5 of them, or 17 percent, said they would give the go-ahead for the reactors to resume operation. But 21 municipalities, or 72 percent, said they wouldn't allow it, or that they cannot yet decide. ....

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, February 9, 2012

- - - - - 21:30
earthquake M 5.7 at Sado Island

Quake stops water supplies in Sado - NHK
An earthquake in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Wednesday night temporarily cut off water supplies to some parts of the prefecture.
The quake occurred near Sado Island at around 9:00 PM.
It registered 5 plus on the Japanese scale of 7 in Sado City, and 3 in Joetsu and Nagaoka.
About 3,400 homes in Sado city were left without water for about 3 hours after the quake triggered a switch that automatically stopped the flow.
The quake also shattered windowpanes at a gym and partially damaged a school in the city. There were no reports of injuries.

A cold night, minus 7 celsius in my valley.

.................................................................................

Emails bare NRC's Fukushima chaos
In the confusion that followed the earthquake and tsunami that damaged the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex last March, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission was standing by to help, but groping for information.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120209a2.html

Reactor 2 temperatures said trending lower
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120209a6.html

Stress tests evaluation to be concluded
Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency plans to approve safety tests on 2 nuclear reactors in central Japan in a final report scheduled for submission shortly.
The Agency says a panel of experts on Wednesday agreed to complete their evaluation of computer-simulated stress tests for the 2 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.
The government tests were ordered last July for suspended reactors in an effort to win the consent of municipalities hosting nuclear power plants.
At Wednesday's meeting, some experts argued that the test results were only simulations and should not be used to restart the reactors. But the Agency decided to end the debate, saying it will take full responsibility for the tests while also considering those cautious views.
The Agency says it has concluded that the tests have been conducted appropriately. It says sufficient safety measures have been taken for the reactors to counter quakes and tsunami as powerful as those that hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The final decision on whether to restart the reactors, however, lies with the government. Even if it decides to give the go-ahead, local municipalities will be difficult to convince.
Many complain that the official assessment of the Fukushima accident is not complete yet and that the stress tests have been done just to ease local anxieties.

TEPCO investigates Fukushima plant fuel pool
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has started taking a closer look at spent fuel inside a storage pool at one of its 4 reactor buildings, in preparation for the eventual removal of the fuel.
Tokyo Electric Power Company put a remote-controlled underwater camera inside the storage pool for Reactor Number 4 on Thursday to examine conditions inside. The firm says it will insert the camera several more times in March.
In one of the first steps in a 40-year plan for decommissioning the plant, Tokyo Electric plans to start removing the spent fuel from Reactor Number 4 by March 2014.
The reactor was off line at the time of the accident on March 11th and no active fuel was inside the reactor.
But the reactor had 1,535 spent fuel rods stored in a pool above the reactor -- more than any of the 3 other reactors. The temperatures in the pool rose steeply in March, raising fears that a partial meltdown might have occurred.
A hydrogen explosion blew the roof off the reactor building, sending debris falling inside the pool, and making it very difficult to look inside the storage pool.

see Reconstruction

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, February 10, 2012

Petition ready for Tepco nuke vote
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120210a9.html

Osaka chief woos Shanghai tourists
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120210b3.html

Constructing green cities to save the economy
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120210a1.html

a special for
. February 11, Remember March 11, 2011 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

sources
. . Bulletins from NHK WORLD . .
. . Japan Times - JT . .

January 2012

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ZENKON湯

zenkon 善根　is the spirit of supporting the henro pilgrims in Shikoku。

A company from Marugame, Shikoku had developed a simple bathhouse, put together easily, lit through white acryl plates in the walls.
The bathtub holds three people.

source : zenkon-you.blogspot.com
香川県丸亀市柞原町字上所306番2 イスノキ1F

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . Political Situation - INFO 03 July, August, September

2012-02-09T07:14:00.000+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

SPECIAL : The Political Situation

INFO 03 July, August, September, December 2011

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Since May 2011 and maybe even before that, the opposition is trying hard to oust prime minister Kan, even on his trip to Europe they kept going ...

Most of the population does not want a change of government right now, though.

This political infight at a time when unity and support for the people of Tohoku is needed most of all is quite sad to observe.

The main source of the bulletins is from
source : NHK world news .

Here I collect updates of the development.
Since this is going to take more time than I envisaged, it will come in more parts.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan 菅直人

May 2011 till Sunday, June 5, 2011
. The Political Situation - PART 1 .

June 2011
. The Political Situation - PART 2 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Friday, July 01, 2011

Mr. Kan's thoughtless headhunting
Following the Reconstruction Design Council's submission last weekend of proposals for the reconstruction of areas affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the subsequent nuclear disaster, Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Monday appointed Mr. Goshi Hosono, one of his aides, as minister to deal with the nuclear crisis, and made disaster management minister Ryu Matsumoto minister in charge of the reconstruction, both posts newly created.
Mr. Kan also made a move that will most likely backfire. He appointed Liberal Democratic Party Upper House member Kazuyuki Hamada 浜田和幸 as internal affairs parliamentary secretary in charge of the reconstruction.
This action will harden the LDP's attitude and make Diet deliberations on measures for the reconstruction extremely difficult. It even alienated some Democratic Party of Japan leaders, including the DPJ's Diet affairs committee chief Jun Azumi.

Clearly Mr. Kan tried to headhunt 10 or more LDP Upper House members to enable the DPJ to control the Upper House but ended up recruiting only Mr. Hamada. He should be criticized for making such a reckless move without careful preparation.
Other DPJ leaders should also be criticized for their failure to stop him from taking such a step.

On Monday, Mr. Kan also made it clear that he will not resign until the Diet passes a bill to issue deficit-covering bonds to finance the initial fiscal 2011 budget, the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011, and a feed-in-tariff system bill to make power companies purchase all the electricity generated through renewable energy sources.

This announcement will be taken as another attempt to prolong his political life. He had announced in early June that he would step down in the near future.
The announcement could lower his trustworthiness as a national leader, creating the impression that he is only interested in staying in power.

Apparently behind his announcement is the sly calculation that the more the opposition opposes the passage of the three bills, the longer he will remain as prime minister.
Mr. Kan should be ashamed for causing political confusion as well as his inconsistency over energy policy. While he pushes the feed-in-tariff bill, he has endorsed a move to restart nuclear power plants, except the Fukushima and Hamaoka facilities.
source : Japan Times

. . . . .

source : Japan Times
Kan's exit will spur reforms talk: Edano
Full discussions will commence on how to improve the social security system once Prime Minister Naoto Kan resigns, based on the latest reform plan that proposes raising the consumption tax in stages to 10 percent by the mid-2010s, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday.
Economy and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano, a key player in efforts to improve the social security system, reported the plan to a Cabinet meeting Friday.
After the meeting, Edano told a news conference that the reform plan was not only crafted by Kan's Cabinet but by the government, noting it will remain valid even after the prime minister's resignation, the timing of which has not been decided.
...
Kan, criticized for his perceived lack of leadership, announced last month his intention to resign after passing bills to rebuild the devastated northeast in the current Diet session, which runs through the end of August.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Sengoku urges Kan to resign soon
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku on Saturday urged Prime Minister Naoto Kan to step down soon, saying a clean break is necessary.

"A leader who remains in his post after expressing his readiness to resign will end up having no authority," Sengoku told reporters in the city of Tokushima. "It would be better to avoid such a situation."
Kan has expressed his willingness to step down amid strong criticism from both opposition and ruling party lawmakers over his perceived lack of leadership in dealing with the aftermath of the March 11 disasters and the nuclear crisis.
However, the prime minister has indicated he will not resign until three key pieces of legislation are passed this Diet session, which runs through Aug. 31 — the second extra budget for fiscal 2011; a bill to let the government issue deficit-covering bonds; and a bill aimed at promoting the use of renewable energy sources. ...
source : Japan Times

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Monday, July 04, 2011

Monday, July 04, 2011 22:27 - NHK
Threatening letters sent to Kan and Ozawa
Police are investigating who was responsible for sending 2 letters demanding that Prime Minister Naoto Kan resign.
One of the letters was delivered to Kan's office on Friday. It was in an envelope that also contained an 8 centimeter long knife blade.
The letter said that if the prime minister didn't resign, Kan would be "punished by heaven".
Police say a similar envelope was delivered one day earlier to the office of former Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa.
The envelope contained an awl and a letter saying that Kan must step down for the sake of Japan's reconstruction.
Police say both envelopes were believed to have been mailed from Osaka Prefecture.
They are treating the 2 letters as attempted blackmail by the same person, judging from the handwriting.
Both letters end with the name Sekihotai.
In the 1980s, a group calling itself Sekihotai claimed responsibility for a series of threats and attacks against the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wednesday, July 06, 2011

Wednesday, July 06, 2011 11:58 - NHK
Kan under increasing pressure to resign
Prime Minister Naoto Kan is under growing pressure to step down following the resignation of his reconstruction minister.
Ryu Matsumoto quit his post on Tuesday, after coming under fire for making insensitive remarks to governors of regions hit hard by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Kan says he intends to pull his Cabinet together and improve its handling of reconstruction measures.
On Wednesday at a Lower House Budget Committee meeting, the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and the New Komeito plan to make clear Kan's responsibility for appointing Matsumoto.
They say the prime minister's refusal to leave is hampering recovery efforts, and that they will demand he step down immediately.
Some senior officials of the main governing Democratic Party are openly criticizing Kan for his handling of Matsumoto's resignation.
Diet affairs chief Jun Azumi has warned that the Kan administration will collapse if it gives no consideration to party members overseeing Diet affairs.
DPJ supreme advisor Kozo Watanabe, who supported Kan at last year's party leadership election, also said Kan should resign as soon as possible.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saturday, July 9, 2011

quote
Kan under fire from his own team
Cabinet gets apology for flip-flop on reactor restart
Prime Minister Naoto Kan apologized to his Cabinet on Friday morning over the confusion he caused by his sudden order that "stress tests" be conducted on all nuclear power plants in Japan.

During a closed meeting with Cabinet ministers, various participants expressed dissatisfaction with Kan, who is now intent on holding the safety tests before now-idled reactors are restarted.
The administration scrambled to unify its policy and is expected to announce new safety guidelines, including the stress tests, as early as possible.
"My instruction was inadequate and came too late, and I feel responsible for this. I would like to offer my apology," Kan was quoted as saying by national policy minister Koichiro Genba.
Public safety commission chairman Kansei Nakano urged Kan to come up with a coordinated safety policy.
"It is not good to continue giving off the impression that the Cabinet is inconsistent. I would like (Kan) to make efforts to unify" the government's policy, Kansei said.
Just last month, industry minister Banri Kaieda said the reactors undergoing regular checkups cleared the safety criteria and asked local governments to reactivate them amid strong national concern over the radiation-spewing Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
But under the prime minister's recent orders, Kaieda had to announce the government's plan to conduct the stress tests, triggering confusion and anger among local governments and residents living near nuclear plants.
... "I am very sorry for causing concern and inconvenience to the people, especially those in Saga's Genkai," said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano. "It is my responsibility for the overall coordination of the Cabinet . . . and I need to explain the situation clearly as soon as possible."
source : Japan Times

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Monday, July 11, 2011

Monday, July 11, 2011 19:45 - NHK
Kan support rate falls to 16%
A recent NHK poll shows the support rate for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet has dropped to 16 percent, the lowest since the Democratic Party took power 2 years ago.
Some 1,100 people responded to the survey, conducted last weekend.
The support rate for the Kan Cabinet fell by 9 percentage points from last month. The disapproval rate has risen 11 percentage points to 68 percent.
Forty-two percent of the respondents supporting the Kan Cabinet said it looks better than any other potential ruling bloc. Equally 42 percent of respondents not supporting the cabinet said it lacks the power to carry out policies.
Asked when Kan should step down as prime minister, 38 percent said he should do so immediately. Twenty-eight percent said they want him to step down by the end of August, when the current session of the Diet ends. Fourteen percent said between autumn and year-end, while 10 percent said next year or later.
Asked what should be done regarding the nation's nuclear power plants, 2 percent said more nuclear plants should be built. Twenty-five percent said they are in favor of the status-quo, while 42 percent said the number of plants should be reduced. Twenty-one percent said all nuclear power plants should be eliminated.
The approval rate for the Democratic Party stands at 13.6 percent, down nearly 7 percentage points from last month and the lowest since May 2007.
The approval rates for the other main political parties are as follows:
Liberal Democratic Party, 23.4 percent; New Komeito party, 3.4 percent; Your Party, 2.8 percent; Communist Party, 2.2 percent; Social Democratic Party, 1 percent; People's New Party, 0.1 percent. The rate of respondents not supporting any party was 46.2 percent, the highest since this type of poll began.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Survey: 70% of voters want Kan out by end of August
Seventy percent of voters want Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign by the end of August while his Cabinet's approval rating slumped to 15 percent, an Asahi Shimbun survey showed.
The approval rating is the lowest since the Democratic Party of Japan took power in 2009, dipping below even the 17 percent recorded during the final days of the administration of Yukio Hatoyama, Kan's predecessor.
The telephone survey, conducted July 9-10, received valid responses from 1,920, or 58 percent, of 3,312 voters chosen randomly across the nation. The survey excluded voters living in parts of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures that were heavily damaged by the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.
... Only 23 percent said Kan should remain in office until "September or later."
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107120462.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

until today, see the daily reports for the news.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Sunday, August 14, 2011 02:16 - NHK
Mabuchi: Grand coalition not easy
Japan's former land minister says it will not be easy to achieve the finance minister's goal of a grand coalition with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller ally the New Komeito.
Sumio Mabuchi spoke to reporters in the western city of Nara on Saturday. His comment came after his political rival, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, expressed his intention of seeking a grand coalition government if he is elected as the country's next leader.
Mabuchi is also expected to run as the next leader of the Democratic Party of Japan. The winner will automatically become the country's prime minister.
Mabuchi said the DPJ must consider every option for a future political framework, inclining a grand coalition with the 2 opposition parties.
But he said the DPJ must consider which option is more realistic, implying that the idea may not be easily achieved.
.
Grand coalition at issue for DPJ election
The upcoming presidential election of Japan's governing Democratic Party is likely to focus on whether to seek a grand coalition with opposition parties.
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and former land minister Sumio Mabuchi have expressed their intention to run in the election to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The name of agriculture minister Michihiko Kano is also being talked about.
On Saturday, Finance Minister Noda told reporters that he will seek a coalition with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and its smaller ally, New Komeito, to form a national salvation government.
Noda said a coalition will be needed to address many issues, including reconstruction from the March 11th disaster and ensuing nuclear accident.
Also on Saturday, former land minister Mabuchi told reporters that there's no need to deny opting for such a coalition and that he will keep all options open.
But he suggested he will adopt a realistic approach, taking into consideration the fact that the opposition Liberal Democrats are cautious about forming a coalition with the Democrats.
The members of the Democratic Party are divided over forming a grand coalition. Some say it is vital for smooth management of the divided Diet. Others say it is unacceptable because the party will have to dramatically review its election pledges.
Mabuchi also remarked on Noda's comment about a government-proposed temporary tax hike to finance reconstruction programs.
He said he doubts if the government can force the people to shoulder a huge increase in financial burdens as the economy could shrink following the March 11th disaster and the Fukushima accident.
He also warned that the finance minister should not consider the tax hike without careful consideration of timing.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, August 18, 2011

DPJ presidential election to be held in late Aug. - NHK
The Secretary General of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, Katsuya Okada, has indicated that he wants the DPJ presidential election to take place sometime between August 28th and 30th.
The DPJ executives met on Wednesday. They agreed to leave the decision on when to hold the party's presidential election up to Okada and Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who doubles as DPJ President.
The winner of the vote will almost certainly become next prime minister after elected by the Diet.
During the meeting, Okada said the passage of a bill to promote renewable energy, one of the 3 conditions cited by Kan for his resignation, is likely to happen on August 26th.
Okada added he hopes the Diet will elect the next prime minister during the current session which ends on August 31st.
Another party executive said the upcoming presidential race should be held only after sufficient time has been taken by the party to prepare as the winner will become the next prime minister.
So far, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and former land minister Sumio Mabuchi have announced their intentions to run in the election.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Candidate Kaieda eases on Ozawa
Trade minister Banri Kaieda announces his run for the DPJ presidency and prime minister, and hints he may lift the suspension on former party leader Ichiro Ozawa.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110820a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Monday, August 22, 2011

Reprieve for Ozawa won't fly: Okada
Democratic Party of Japan Secretary General Katsuya Okada speaks out against lifting the ruling party's suspension of former leader Ichiro Ozawa.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110822a1.html

Cabinet polls at new record low of 15.8%
The support rate for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Cabinet tumbles to 15.8 percent -- the lowest since the tough-talking lawmaker took office last year.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110822a2.html

Bureaucrats blame Kan for sapping their initiative
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/eo20110822a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Kan: Cabinet will resign next Tuesday - NHK
Prime Minister Naoto Kan says that his Cabinet will resign en masse next Tuesday following the Democratic Party's leadership election, if the Diet enacts a bill on renewable energy as expected on Friday.
The bill is the last one of 3 conditions cited by Kan for his resignation.
At an informal Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Kan said he wants his ministers to be prepared because things will proceed as planned if there are no special changes in the political situation.
Kan said sooner or later, his Cabinet will be succeeded by the next, and there will be more than clerical affairs to tend to.
He also said that vice ministers and parliamentary secretaries of each ministry should hand over their duties from the viewpoint of managing and overseeing their offices.
The prime minister instructed the ministers to be prepared so that outstanding problems and affairs are properly handed over.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Mr. Maehara enters DPJ race
Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara decided Tuesday evening to run for the Democratic Party of Japan presidential race to choose a successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Mr. Maehara, sure to become a strong candidate, should present a clear future vision of Japan and a direction it will take because Japan is now steeped in a sense of helplessness.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110824a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, August 25, 2011
9 candidates to vie for DPJ presidency - NHK
Campaign staff of candidates in the ruling Democratic Party's leadership election have gathered at a party meeting to learn about election procedures.
The campaign for party president will be announced on Saturday after the Diet passes 2 key bills on Friday.
On Thursday, staff of 9 candidates including former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara and Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda attended the meeting at party headquarters.
The chairman of the party's central election committee Issei Koga noted pending issues such as the March 11th disaster.
He said so he would like a proper election that revives the party and prevents the creation of a political vacuum.
398 party legislators with voting rights will cast their ballots for party president next Monday.
Separately, former Democratic Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told followers that they need not necessarily choose from among those named.
He said the new administration must greatly change Japan's handling of the nuclear accident, and urged them to find the most appropriate person to do so.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Friday, August 26, 2011

Kan announces stepping down as PM
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan says he is stepping down as ruling Democratic Party President on Friday. He will also resign as Prime Minister soon.
He made the announcement at a meeting of Democratic Party lawmakers on Friday.
Kan said at the meeting that he is stepping down now that 3 key bills have been enacted. Earlier in the day, a bill authorizing the government to issue deficit-covering bonds and another promoting renewable energy passed the Diet. The 3rd key bill, a supplementary budget for this fiscal year, has already been enacted.
Kan said he will also step down as Prime Minister and have his Cabinet resign en masse once his successor as party President is elected.
Kan said he's done everything he should have done and promised to keep working hard, both as a politician and a member of Japanese society. He wants to help Japan recover from the effects of the massive quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster and to end the country's dependence on nuclear energy.
He also expressed hope that the Democratic Party will enact reforms to win public trust, ensure free debate and unite to support policy decisions.
The Democratic Party decided to hold its Presidential election on Monday, with campaigning to begin on Saturday.

Saturday, August 27, 2011 07:51
5 candidates run for Democratic Party presidency
Five candidates are running for the presidency of Democratic Party of Japan to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
At a meeting of Democratic Party legislators on Friday, Kan announced he was stepping down following the passage of 3 key bills in the Diet.
The party will accept the candidates' official registrations on Saturday before holding an election to select the new leader on Monday. The winner is certain to become the next prime minister, as the party holds a majority in the House of Representatives.
Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara announced his candidacy on Tuesday. The others followed on Friday.
The 4 are Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda; Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Michihiko Kano; former land and transport minister Sumio Mabuchi; and Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda.
The 5 candidates are to hold a debate at the National Press Club in Tokyo on Saturday.
Public opinion polls show Maehara in the lead. But Kaieda is backed by former Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa, who heads the party's largest faction, and by former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. Kaieda belongs to Hatoyama's faction.
Maehara has defended the party's decision to suspend Ozawa over a political funding scandal.
Noda is seeking support from all factions by emphasizing the need for fiscal reconstruction.
Kano is calling for the party to unite by putting an end to the rivalry between supporters and opponents of Ozawa.
Monday's vote will involve balloting by 398 Diet members belonging to the party. The party has suspended the membership of 9 other legislators.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Kan bows out, says he did best he could
Prime Minister Naoto Kan officially announces he will resign after 15 turbulent months in office during which the nation experienced its greatest postwar disaster and one of the world's worst nuclear crises.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110827a1.html

Ozawa looks to back Kaieda out of field of five
Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa plans to back industry minister Banri Kaieda out of the five candidates who have announced they will run in the party's presidential election.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110827a2.html

Five face off over policies ahead of poll
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110828a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Monday, August 29, 2011

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . result of the election

. Noda Yoshihiko　野田佳彦 .

Monday, August 29, 2011 17:16
Noda elected new DPJ president
Japan's main governing party, the Democratic Party, has elected Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda as its new leader.
He is almost certain to become the next prime minister.
The Democratic Party held a leadership election on Monday with 5 candidates running for the top post.
None of them won a majority in the first round. Economy minister Banri Kaieda and Noda advanced to a runoff.
Of the 395 votes from lawmakers, Noda secured 215 while Kaieda garnered 177.
Following his victory, Noda said he will bear the responsibility of leading the party, and he asked the lawmakers for support.
He also said he feels bonds with the other candidates and wants to leave their election fight behind. He added that he is deeply attached to his party and expressed his resolve to unite its members.
Noda will succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has expressed his intention to step down as the leader of the party and the head of the government.
The cabinet is expected to resign en masse in the next couple of days and the Diet will elect a new prime minister.
Noda, who is also the Finance Minister, held a news conference on Monday shortly after he won the Party leadership election.
He said he wants to speed up reconstruction efforts in areas hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. He added that he will listen to various opinions and wants to visit disaster-hit areas soon.
On a possible tax increase to finance reconstruction projects, Noda said he wants to wait for the government tax panel to present multiple options to the new party leadership.
He ruled out the possibility of calling a snap general election. He said Japan cannot afford a political Vacuum and people should work together to help reconstruct northeastern Japan.

Monday, August 29, 2011 20:07 - NHK
Ozawa cautious about cooperation with Noda
Former Democratic Party leader Ichiro Ozawa says he will wait and see before deciding whether to cooperate with newly elected party leader Yoshihiko Noda.
Ozawa was speaking at a meeting of about 100 in-group lawmakers, following Monday's party presidential election.
Ozawa said he hopes Noda will be successful as prime minister and that he wants to support him but that depends on who Noda appoints as party executives.
He said that he will have to find out whether the party unity that Noda is calling for are just words.
The lawmakers who attended the group meeting on Monday included former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama and economy minister Banri Kaieda, who was supported by the Ozawa group in the election but finished second.

Monday, August 29, 2011 19:04
Fukushima evacuees' response to Noda
Residents of Iitate Village near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have asked newly elected Democratic Party head Yoshihiko Noda to step up the rebuilding of their community.
Almost all of the villagers had to evacuate after the accident at the nuclear plant.
A 43-year-old woman who fled to Fukushima city says she doesn't want Noda to forget his responsibility of restoring the lives of the evacuees. She said she wants him to visit Fukushima to learn what the people there truly need, and to work to pave the way for reconstruction.
A 56-year-old woman said she wants the new government to decontaminate her village so she can return home. But she said she has little hope the new leadership will make a difference, as Japan's prime ministers change all the time.

Monday, August 29, 2011 19:04
Overseas reaction on Noda
The US government will likely keep a close watch on Yoshihiko Noda to determine his political skills.
A US State Department official has told NHK that the United States will continue to work with the new prime minister to tackle a wide range of issues, include helping the restoration process in regions devastated by the March disaster.
The fierce tug of war involving the ruling and opposition parties over Kan's resignation in recent months has prompted concern among US officials that Japanese politics may be becoming dysfunctional.
The White House is scheduling brief talks between US President Barack Obama and Noda when he visits New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting in late September.
In China, state-run Central Television provided live coverage of Monday's leadership election. The broadcaster called Noda "a dark horse," as he is less known in China than some of the other contenders.
The online version of the Communist Party's official newspaper, the People's Daily, says Noda is conservative and takes a hard-line position towards China. It cites his remarks regarding Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's top war criminals and the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea claimed by China.
An NHK correspondent says China will closely monitor Noda's foreign policy, as bilateral relations have become strained over the islands and other issues.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported that Noda's past remarks and actions have raise concern that the biggest dispute between Japan and South Korea --- over territorial rights in the Sea of Japan --- may escalate.
But Yonhap also quoted a South Korean government official as expressing hope that Noda will recognize the importance of ties between the 2 countries.
Russia's state-run television has reported that newly elected Democratic Party leader Yoshihiko Noda will face a tougher task as prime minister.
It says Noda will have to shoulder a heavy burden, including addressing the ongoing nuclear reactor accidents, ballooning government debt and a deteriorating economy.
Referring to Noda as the sixth prime minister in the past five years, the Russian TV station said Japan's political scene will remain unstable because there are few politicians who can control all the factions.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 12:21
Kan issues statement upon resignation
Kan issued a statement when he resigned on Tuesday, expressing hope for Japan's revival under his successor.
The statement said Kan's government had compiled an integrated plan to reform taxes and social security, and that he hopes the ruling and opposition parties will debate and press ahead with the reforms.
Kan also apologized that his cabinet could not respond satisfactorily to the March 11th disaster and nuclear accident. He said he and his ministers gave their very best and worked in all sincerity, but it is up to future generations to judge their performance.
Kan said he earnestly hopes that Japan will revive powerfully under the incoming cabinet.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 14:22
Noda elected PM by both houses of Diet
The new leader of the main governing Democratic Party, Yoshihiko Noda, has been elected Japan's 95th Prime Minister in both houses of the Diet.
The Lower and Upper Houses of the Diet voted to elect Noda on Tuesday afternoon. Noda was chosen as the new DPJ leader on Monday.
He succeeds Naoto Kan, who resigned earlier in the day.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 16:42
Okada calls on Noda to serve for at least 2 years
A top official of Japan's governing Democratic Party says he is sorry to see the 3rd prime minister since his party came to power 2 years ago.
DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada told NHK on Tuesday that a 4-year term in the lower house of the Diet should be served under one national leader. He called on the new prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to stay in office for the remaining 2 years.
Okada said his party should respect its agreement with the opposition Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito, and consult with coalition partner People's New Party on various issues to obtain their cooperation in running the Diet.
He called on the parties to govern the country for the people, instead of indulging in party politics, and to cooperate in doing what is needed for Japan.
He also urged DPJ members to put past differences aside and unite under the chosen leader.

Auto association wants Noda to correct yen rise
The chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association says he wants the incoming prime minister to exercise strong leadership in reviving Japan's economy and stabilizing the lives of the country's people.

Noda appoints Koshiishi as DPJ Secretary General
Newly elected Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has offered a key post in his governing Democratic Party to a person close to the party's heavyweight, Ichiro Ozawa, in an effort to unite the divided party.
... Koshiishi is known for his close cooperation with former party leader Ozawa and former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011 23:20
Noda says he will seek party approval for policies
Newly elected Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says his government will seek approval from the policy chief of the governing Democratic Party before making important decisions.
Noda told reporters on Tuesday that he agreed on the principle with the new Chairman of the party's Policy Research Committee, Seiji Maehara.
The move is apparently designed to reflect criticism over a series of surprise announcements of important policies made by his predecessor, Naoto Kan, without the prior consensus of the ruling party. Kan often caused confusion as to whether his sudden remarks were his own or those of the ruling party. Referring to the nomination of Azuma Koshiishi as the party secretary general, the prime minister said he believes Koshiishi can assert leadership to unite party members of both houses of the Diet.
Noda added that he believes his nomination of new party executives will bring about party unity and will benefit the public.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011 18:38 - NHK
DPJ lawmakers endorse new leadership
Lawmakers of Japan's governing Democratic Party have approved their new leadership under new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda.
At a meeting with lawmakers on Wednesday, Noda said the party needs leaders who will allow each member to exert their full potential. He added that he selected personnel for the posts based on their ability to win consensus and handle issues in a strategic way.
The lawmakers then endorsed the appointment of the party's Upper House leader, Azuma Koshiishi, as Secretary General; former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara as chairperson of the Policy Research Committee; and former Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano as head of the Diet Affairs Committee.
Koshiishi vowed to do his best to meet expectations that the party should be united.
Maehara said he wants to listen carefully to the opinions of all party lawmakers in policy discussions.

. . . .. Japan Times . . . . .

Noda takes over, starts key selections
Yoshihiko Noda becomes the nation's 62nd prime minister and faces the task of leading the recovery from the March disaster.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110831a1.html

Public looks to Noda to provide stability
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110831a4.html

Noda a grappler, wears many hats !!!
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110831f1.html

Days of Ozawa's influence seen dwindling
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110831a5.html

Leading a nation in crisis
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110831a1.html

. . . .. Japan Times . . . September 01 ..

Noda's key first task: filling Edano's shoes
One of Prime Minister-elect Yoshihiko Noda's main tasks will be picking a right-hand man to fill the shoes of departing Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110901a1.html

Noda hoping to hold talks with Obama soon
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110901a6.html

Noda taps Osamu Fujimura 藤村修 to be right-hand man
Newly appointed executives of the Democratic Party of Japan promise the leading opposition parties that they will uphold agreements to give up or scale back some of the key pledges the DPJ made before taking power, including the monthly child allowances.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110902a1.html

quote
Noda, likening himself to loach fish,
says charisma isn't everything
Japan’s next prime minister admits he is no Mr Charisma—Yoshihiko Noda likens himself to a marine bottom-feeder rather than a glittering goldfish. But that, he says, is his appeal.
source : www.japantoday.com
dojoo　鰌　is not such a bad image in Japan.

. WKD : Loach (dojoo 泥鰌)

Friday, September 02, 2011 11:41
Noda Cabinet lineup announced
The Cabinet lineup of Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has been announced.
Osamu Fujimura, Noda's close aide and the new Chief Cabinet Secretary, read out a list of the new ministers on Friday morning.
National Policy Minister Koichiro Gemba will become the foreign minister, and the ruling Democratic Party's former Diet affairs chief, Jun Azumi, the finance minister.
Post-disaster reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano and nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono will retain their posts. Hosono will also serve as the environment minister.
Vice health and welfare minister Yoko Komiyama will become the health and welfare minister. Agriculture minister Michihiko Kano will retain his post. The Democratic Party's former Diet affairs chief, Yoshio Hachiro, will serve as the trade and industry minister.
Upper House member Yasuo Ichikawa has been appointed defense minister, and Democratic Party Vice President Kenji Yamaoka is the new minister for the abduction issue. Upper House member Renho will be the minister in charge of government revitalization and civil service reform.
Shozaburo Jimi from the junior coalition People's New Party will retain his position of postal reform and financial services minister.
The Cabinet will get its official start after Noda and the ministers are sworn in by the Emperor at the Imperial Palace later on Friday.

Will this new cabinet end the political crisis and bring faster reconstruction to Tohoku?

Friday, September 02, 2011 16:08 -NHK
Opposition criticizes Noda Cabinet lineup
Opposition parties are critical of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet lineup.
Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Tadamori Oshima said Noda chose the lineup with an inward-looking mindset for the sole purpose of balancing the powers of party factions.
He said the Liberal Democrats have no interest in forming a "grand coalition" with such a weak cabinet.
Oshima also said that Noda, who was the finance minister in the previous cabinet, must have a consumption tax increase on his mind. He said that if this is the case, Noda should seek a public mandate by putting the tax increase at the center of the policy platform of the governing Democratic Party.
The leader of the opposition New Komeito party, Natsuo Yamaguchi, said Noda's cabinet gives the impression of party unity, but is actually an assortment of conflicting players put together rather forcibly.
Yamaguchi said the cabinet does appear to be steady, but he's not sure that it will be able to take quick and appropriate action.
He said his party will closely watch the Noda administration to see if it can tackle key domestic and diplomatic challenges in a satisfactory manner.

Friday, September 02, 2011 18:07 - NHK
Fukushima residents want new cabinet to work hard
People in Fukushima Prefecture, site of the ongoing nuclear plant accident, have expressed hope that Japan's new cabinet will be aware of their needs.
The mayor of Futaba Town, located within the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the crippled plant, said he wants the cabinet to first deal with compensation for people affected by the accident.
Speaking in Saitama, the prefecture north of Tokyo where the town's office has been relocated, Katsutaka Idogawa urged the cabinet to do its best for an early recovery of Fukushima and the rest of Japan.
In Fukushima City, the prefectural capital, a man in his 40s welcomed the reappointment of Goshi Hosono as minister in charge of the nuclear crisis. The man said he can expect continuity in tackling a difficult issue.
A woman in her 20s said she wants the new ministers to see the disaster area with their own eyes and respond to local needs.
Residents being forced to live in temporary housing said they want the government to quickly contain the accident so that they can return to their homes.

Friday, September 02, 2011 20:09
Noda vows to speed up reconstruction efforts
Japan's new Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, says he will speed up recovery from the March 11th earthquake and tsunami and work to contain the nuclear accident in Fukushima as his top priorities.
Speaking to reporters after he launched his Cabinet on Friday, Noda also pledged to rebuild the economy and tackle Japan's fiscal crisis.
Noda said restoration and reconstruction following the disasters remain top priority. He said the previous Cabinet did its best in the effort but that it was accused of not doing enough to build temporary housing, clean up debris and support survivors. He said his Cabinet's biggest mission will be to speed up restoration and reconstruction.
Noda also referred to the contamination of wide areas by nuclear fallout from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He said the government will lead the decontamination effort beyond the barriers of government ministries and agencies. He said the government will do all it can to ensure the safety of pregnant women and children. He said there will be no revival of Japan without the revival of Fukushima.
The new Prime Minister said he will rebuild the economy, despite the limitation of energy supplies, by preventing the historic rise of the yen against the dollar from causing a hollowing out of Japan's industry.
He said he will tackle the fiscal crisis Japan already faced before the March 11th disasters and take every possible measure to avoid a credit crisis. While stressing the urgent need to restore fiscal health, Noda said he is not a fiscal fundamentalist and that he wants to take a realistic approach.
He promised to strike a balance between economic growth and fiscal reconstruction.
Noda said the government will promote administrative reforms to achieve a thorough cut in wasteful spending.
He also said he must execute the previous government's plans to double the consumption tax rate from the current 5 percent by the mid 2010s to fund ballooning social security costs.

Business leaders express hope for new Cabinet
Leaders of Japan's major business organizations have responded favorably to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's new cabinet.
The chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, Yasuchika Hasegawa, welcomed the lineup, saying it was created out of consideration for unity within the ruling Democratic Party and steady implementation of policies.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Defense chief calls himself an amateur
New Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa called himself an "amateur" regarding security issues, but excused his lack of expertise by saying that's what the concept of civilian control of the military is all about.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110904a3.html

Noda Cabinet support rate at 63%
The initial support rate for the Cabinet of new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda stands at 62.8 percent, a poll showed Saturday, suggesting the public is optimistic the fresh administration will reunite the Democratic Party of Japan.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110904a2.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, September 10, 201
Hachiro resigns

Japan's Economy, Trade, and Industry Minister has tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. The Prime Minister accepted it.
Yoshio Hachiro 鉢呂吉雄 abruptly resigned after making an inappropriate remark about radiation on Thursday.
Following a visit to the areas around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Hachiro joked to reporters that he had been infected with radioactivity.
He also described the area as a ghost town.
He later apologized saying he had used a wrong expression that could cause misunderstanding.
The Noda Cabinet was inaugurated only 8 days ago, on September 2nd.
Tatsuo Hirano, a ruling Democratic Party member and the minister in charge of the reconstruction in northeastern Japan, told reporters that the resignation is regrettable as the Noda Cabinet has just begun to engage in rebuilding the area and dealing with the Fukushima accident.
Asked about the Prime Minister's responsibility for Hachiro's appointment, he said there may be such an assertion but the Cabinet must concentrate on resolving existing problems.
The vice president of the largest opposition Liberal Democratic Party, Tadamori Oshima, told NHK that the Prime Minister needs to take responsibility for the appointment and that his party will demand an explanation from the ruling party in the Diet's Budget Committee.
He also said the problem occurred because the Prime Minister had failed to appoint the proper person for the position. He said such an appointment based on the DPJ's internal factions is, and will be, doomed to fail.
He added that the people have lost trust in the Cabinet and its efforts to resolve the Fukushima crisis.

Monday, September 12, 2011
Noda picks Edano as new trade minister
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda picked former chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano as the country's new Economy, Trade and Industry Minister on Monday.
On Saturday, the trade minister, Yoshio Hachiro, resigned from his post for making inappropriate remarks about radiation contamination in Fukushima Prefecture. This came only 8 days after Noda launched his Cabinet.
... While serving as Chief Cabinet Secretary since January, Edano led the government's efforts to cope with the Fukushima nuclear accident.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, October 03, 2011
Kan resumes pilgrimage in Shikoku
Former prime minister Naoto Kan has resumed his pilgrimage to 88 Buddhist temples on the southwestern island of Shikoku.
Kan had visited 53 of the 88 temples on the circuit before becoming prime minster in June 2010.
About one month after stepping down as the nation's leader, he restarted the pilgrimage that he began in 2004. On Monday, wearing a white pilgrim costume and a straw hat, he visited the 56th spot on the traditional route, Taisanji temple in Imabari City, and other temples.

He was seen chatting with local residents and posing for photos with other pilgrims after reciting sutras at the temple.
Kan told reporters that he finally has an opportunity to complete the pilgrimage, and that he prayed for recovery from the nuclear crisis caused by the March disaster.
He said he will stay in Shikoku until Sunday to continue on the joiurney.
The 88 Temple Pilgrimage is a 1,200 kilometer-long religious trek around the island of Shikoku. The temples are associated with an eighth century Buddhist monk and scholar, Kukai, better known as Kobo Daishi.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20111005a4.html

. Shikokul Henro - my Information .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Junior lawmakers threaten to quit DPJ
Three junior lawmakers are set to quit Japan's main governing Democratic Party to protest the government's plan to raise the nation's consumption tax.
The 3 Lower House members met on Monday night with former Democrat Kenko Matsuki, who deserted the party early this year.
They assert that the planned tax increase would violate an election pledge the party made 2 years ago when it came into power.
The 3 lawmakers are planning to tender their resignations as early as Wednesday, with an eye to forming a new party with Matsuki. They are urging other junior Democrats to join in, so that the new party can start with about 10 members.
The 3 lawmakers and Matsuki are all close to former Democratic Party president Ichiro Ozawa -- regarded as a key behind-the-scenes power broker.
Ozawa is also opposed to the plan by prime minister and party president Yoshihiko Noda to raise the consumption tax to finance ballooning social security costs.
Noda faced a different revolt last Saturday, when a Lower House member said he will leave the party to protest the government's plan to resume construction of a dam in his election district.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

9 junior lawmakers to quit Democratic Party
Nine junior lawmakers have submitted their resignations to Japan's main governing Democratic Party to protest the government's plan to raise the nation's consumption tax.
The 9 Lower House members handed in their resignations on Wednesday morning to the party's acting secretary general.
They said the planned tax increase by the administration of prime minister and party president Yoshihiko Noda violates an election pledge the party made 2 years ago when it came to power.
The party executives say they will not immediately accept their resignations and will try to persuade them to stay in the party.
The 9 lawmakers say they will not change their minds. They add they will form a new party early in 2012 to realize the election pledge made by the DPJ.
Eight out of the 9 are close to former Democratic Party president Ichiro Ozawa -- regarded as a key behind-the-scenes power broker. The other one is close to former prime minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Noda faced a different revolt last Saturday, when a Lower House member left the party to protest the government's plan to resume construction of a dam in his election district.

Lawmakers offer explanations for quitting DPJ
Nine members of Japan's lower house of parliament who quit the governing Democratic Party say they will launch a new party early next year.
The lawmakers held a news conference on Wednesday, hours after submitting their resignation in protest against the government's plan to raise the consumption tax.
Speaking on behalf of the 9, Akira Uchiyama criticized the tax hike, saying the party won public support by promising not to raise the tax for 4 years.
He also criticized the government for scrapping its earlier decision to halt the construction of Yamba Dam as an unnecessary public works project.
Uchiyama said the 9 lawmakers will announce the new party's name and organization by January 1st, and that the party will try and help the DPJ reform itself.
He added that all the lawmakers will run for office from single-seat constituencies in the next Lower House election.
Uchiyama also said he has not received any advice from DPJ heavyweight and former party leader Ichiro Ozawa, but he believes Ozawa understands his intention to quit the party.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, December 29, 2011

DPJ members bolt party over Noda tax plan
Nine Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers resign in protest of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's policies after a plan is raised to hike the consumption tax.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111229a1.html

DPJ panel wrestles with tax hike plan
Executive members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's tax panel propose a plan to double the sales tax by 2015, sparking a revolt.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111229a2.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, February 09, 2012

More than 1,000 apply for Hashimoto cram school
A cram school for aspiring politicians to be opened next month by Japan's rising political star Toru Hashimoto has drawn more than 1,000 applicants nationwide.
The Osaka City mayor, who heads the One Osaka Party, plans to open the school next month with an eye on Japan's next general elections. He's seeking 400 students aged 25 and above.
Applicants include former lawmakers, incumbent local assembly members, bureaucrats, lawyers and housewives. Entrants will be selected through interviews and examination of their application forms.
Hashimoto's school will aim to train candidates for the next general election, and to draw up policies for his party's debut in national politics.
Hashimoto is a lawyer who became a popular TV personality.
He was chosen as Osaka governor in 2008 at the age of 38, becoming the youngest prefectural governor in Japan at the time.
Last April, Hashimoto's party won a majority of seats in the prefectural assembly, and became the number one party in the Osaka municipal assembly. He himself was elected the city's mayor in November.
Hashimoto has made no secret of his desire to enter national politics. Lawmakers in Tokyo are wary of his outspoken style, which has made him popular among voters.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

May 2011 till June 5, 2011
. The Political Situation - PART 1 .

June 2011
. The Political Situation - PART 2 .

. BACK TO
DIARY - daily reports 　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . Reconstruction - INFO

2012-02-09T04:50:00.000+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Reconstruction Efforts

I have reported about them in the daily entries.

Starting from July, I will add them here.

The main source is the daily news from NHK world online.
source : NHK WORLD .

Handling of the debris is a priority before real reconstruction can begin.
The handling of the radioactive debris from Fukushima poses special problems.

. Temporary Housing - INFO

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . June 30, 2011

quote
Hope and reconstruction
After two and a half months of deliberation, the Reconstruction Design Council on June 25 submitted to Prime Minister Naoto Kan a set of proposals for the reconstruction of the Tohoku-Pacific coastal region, which was devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and Fukushima Prefecture, which is suffering from the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

The time has come for the government, which has been slow to respond to the disasters, to push reconstruction at full speed.

Mr. Kan and his Cabinet members and aides must make strenuous efforts to put the reconstruction on a smooth path: flesh out the council's proposals by working out the details of bills needed to implement them, and writing second and third fiscal 2011 supplementary budgets to pay for the effort.

In its proposals, the council presents a basic approach of "disaster reduction," in place of the traditional approach of completely containing major natural disasters.

In addition to building "hardware," such as embankments and sea walls, the new approach pushes "software," such as an emphasis on evacuating people to safe zones once a calamity strikes and restrictions on the construction of buildings in areas likely to be hit by disasters. Given the experience of March 11, the new approach seems reasonable.

The central and local governments must adjust to this new approach to disaster planning when adopting policies and budgets.

As a principle for reconstruction, the council stresses that municipalities and residents should play leading roles in reconstruction planning and that the central government should support them. This is a reasonable approach, too, but it is easier said than done.

It is very likely that opinions within municipalities are divided over designs of their future communities. The reconstruction efforts will offer local governments and residents a chance to learn anew the democratic process for finding the best solutions.

The council proposes creating "special zones" in selected devastated areas to revitalize local industries through such means as tax privileges and deregulation. The central government should determine local needs and devise the best solutions for each zone.

The central and local governments should refrain from imposing their ideas on special zones on local residents and industries. In fact, fishing cooperatives have expressed opposition to the idea of allowing private companies to enter the fisheries business.

Focusing on Fukushima Prefecture, which is exposed to radiation from the crippled power plant, the council is calling on the central government to monitor radiation levels there coherently and continually, and to remove radioactive debris and soil quickly. It also calls for the establishment of a research center for the development of renewable energy sources and to concentrate medical-industry related research in the prefecture.

In view of the severity of the crisis at Fukushima No. 1, the council is calling on the central government to establish new safety standards for nuclear power plants.

The council also stresses the importance of promoting green energy sources by making power companies buy electricity generated by such sources at fixed prices as well as of promoting a system under which small power generating facilities are dispersed throughout the nation.

The council did not call for the long-term goal of phasing out nuclear power generation. This points to the existence of strong pressure from bureaucrats within the council's secretariat who represent the views of Japan's nuclear power establishment.

Apparently concerned about Japan's deteriorating financial conditions, the council proposes raising consumption, income and corporate taxes to repay "reconstruction bonds" the government will issue to cover the cost of the reconstruction, which is expected to total more than ¥10 trillion.

It is clear that the Finance Ministry exerted its influence on the council members to adopt this proposal. But the government already has a plan to raise the consumption tax to pay for welfare spending. It will also have to increase taxes to pay compensation to people who have been infected by hepatitis B through mass vaccination.

Under the government plan, people would face triple tax increases, which would negatively impact Japan's economy. The government should seriously consider whether there are other ways to raise funds and be very careful about the timing of tax increases.

In pushing reconstruction, the central government must take utmost care so that administrative jockeying over turf by various government ministries and agencies does not impede or slow the rebuilding work and that local governments receive sufficient grant funding without any strings attached. It may have to take drastic measures.

The council will have to carefully monitor whether the government faithfully carries out its proposals, which are designed to bring "hope" to people, and to restore and strengthen their sense of "bonding."

source : Japan Times

Debris removal, recycling daunting,
piecemeal labor

Removing and disposing of the debris generated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami are crucial parts of the recovery process as the people in the devastated region move forward with rebuilding their communities.

More than three months after the magnitude 9.0 quake, splintered wood, concrete blocks, steel reinforcing bars and all kinds of other waste are gradually being cleared from commercial and residential areas. The wreckage is brought to temporary collection points that are rapidly growing into mountains of rubble.

Read this interesting summary here:
source : Japan Times

quote
Radioactive debris dilemma unresolved, growing worse
No grand plan; hot spots spread; schools just hide dangerous soil
The government's master plan to restore the quake-hit region includes moving housing from the coastline to higher ground, creating "eco-towns" that rely on reusable energy and "making Tohoku better than what it was before the disaster."
The goals are ambitious.
...
The government's indecision will also be a burden for many students in Fukushima as the summer heat begins to hit the region.
"The temperature is way past 30 degrees, but we need to keep the windows closed. We don't have a choice," Takahiro Saito, an official with the Nihonmatsu board of education, told The Japan Times.
Located in central Fukushima Prefecture, some schools in Nihonmatsu were forced to remove soil from their playgrounds after radiation from the Fukushima No. 1 plant contaminated the region.
The education ministry has set a nonbinding target to reduce radiation exposure of Fukushima Prefecture students while they are at school to 1 millisievert or less a year, which means the radiation on school grounds has to measure less than 1 microsievert.

Although radioactivity rose above 6.0 microseiverts per hour at some school grounds in his area, Saito said the numbers improved dramatically after the topsoil was scraped away. The campuses are now below the government-set limit, he said.
And yet the dirt was merely dumped at corners of school grounds and covered with blue plastic tarps because it can't be handled as normal industrial waste. The central government hasn't set up a guideline on the matter.

To cope with the heat, Nihonmatsu in May became the first city in Fukushima to come up with a plan to provide air conditioners in all of its elementary and junior high schools.
According to Saito, 306 air conditioners will be set up by the end of July.

The monetary cost will be high, but measures against the heat — especially with the windows sealed tight to avoid inflow of contaminated dust — is indispensable.
"We needed to answer the concerns of the parents, who were simply terrified with the thought of their children spending the summer in classrooms with the windows shut tight," Saito explained.
...
source : Japan Times

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July 12, 2011

Radiation, debris vex Tohoku's fishermen
Four months after the quake and tsunami hit communities along the Tohoku coastline, fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture and nearby areas still find themselves in uncharted waters as contamination of the sea remains a major obstacle to their business.
... The first signs that radiation was spreading at sea came to light on April 4, when radioactive cesium and iodine higher than allowable standards was found in "konago" sand lance caught off Kitaibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture.

The finding sparked fears of radioactive contamination in a variety of fish, and news continued of further radioactive spills into the sea.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110712f1.html

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 19:19 - NHK WORLD
Smart city to be built in Kashiwa
A project aimed at building an energy-efficient community called a smart city by using renewable energy and state-of-the-art IT technology is to be launched in Kashiwa City, near Tokyo.
The government of the city in Chiba Prefecture and real estate developer Mitsui Fudosan announced an outline of the project at a news conference on Tuesday.
The smart city is to be built on a 273-hectare plot in northern Kashiwa, where the developer, the University of Tokyo and Chiba University, among others, are jointly developing a so-called campus city.
The smart city is to contain office buildings equipped with solar power generation systems.
The city is also to have a biomass power generation using kitchen waste from restaurants and an air conditioning system operated through geothermal power generation. The systems are to provide 7 percent of the electricity needed in the area.
The developers say advanced IT technology will be used to save power in an integrated manner, cutting emissions by 40 percent if energy is converted into carbon dioxide.
Mitsui Fudosan Chairman Hiromichi Iwasa said the project is significant for the reconstruction of disaster areas in northeastern Japan. He said the developers want to promote a model of the Kashiwa project in other areas of Japan and abroad.
Kashiwa Mayor Hiroyasu Akiyama says he hopes the local government, the private sector and universities will jointly create the city to present a future vision of the world.
三井ホーム.、スマートシティプロジェクト
柏の葉キャンパス（千葉県柏市）Kashi no Ha Campus

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July 12, 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011 15:56 - NHK
Fish market reopens in northeastern Japan
A fish market has reopened in a huge tent at one of Japan's busiest fishing ports, 4 months after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami struck the northeast.
Ishinomaki, which had the nation's 3rd largest haul of fish in the last fiscal year, is in Miyagi Prefecture. Almost all its facilities including quays and processing plants were devastated by the tsunami. Electricity and running water have been partially restored at the port.
On Tuesday, squid, flatfish and other fish were unloaded. Celebrating the reopening, the president of the fish market, Kunio Suno, called it a symbol of restoration. He told a crowd that he doesn't know how long it will take but he hopes the market will flourish again. The auction started after immediately after his speech.
One seller said the squid was twice its usual price because it was the first auction since the disaster.
A buyer said since it was a special day, he bid regardless of the price. The buyer said he wants to quickly deliver the fish to his retail customers.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July 15, 2011

Japan Times:

Tohoku land-use guidelines take two-track approach
The government will allow municipalities devastated by the March 11 tsunami to construct fish processing firms along the coast but request them to build hospitals and welfare facilities inland, according to draft guidelines on land use in disaster-hit areas.
The draft documents were compiled by the government to outline new land use policy so private entities can accelerate their housing and industrial development.
They will also be used as a reference for municipalities in compiling their reconstruction policies.
According to the draft, the government asks that municipalities designate areas to be given priority for rebuilding and to identify land safe from tsunami for building municipal offices, schools and residences.
...
Five safety scenarios
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is considering focusing on five scenarios, including the possibility of both an earthquake and tsunami hitting a reactor, when assessing safety under the stress tests to be introduced, government sources said.
The scenarios, worked out after referring to the European Union's stress tests, include the possibility of earthquakes or tsunami hitting a reactor unit separately as well as in combination, the sources said.
...
Clean energy bill debated
The Diet began deliberations Thursday on a bill to promote renewable energy, one of the conditions set by Prime Minister Naoto Kan under which he would consider resigning.
...
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110715a3.html

. . . . .

Friday, July 15, 2011 17:29 - NHK
Quake-hit facility loses cultural status
A section of a historic building in northeastern Japan will lose its designation as an important cultural property after being badly damaged by the March 11th earthquake.
The advisory panel of the Agency for Cultural Affairs conveyed the decision to the culture minister on Friday.
The Ishioka Daiichi Power Plant in Ibaraki Prefecture is a hydroelectric power station built using reinforced concrete. It was completed in 1911 as Japan's first power generating facility.
Ten sections of the plant were added to the national list of important cultural properties in 2008 for their historical value.
But the March 11th quake severely damaged the plant, toppling its concrete water tank, one of the designated properties, from the foundations.
The advisory panel concluded the tank's structure would be difficult to repair, and that the collapsed ground it stood on impossible to restore.
More than 700 nationally designated cultural assets were damaged in the March 11th disaster. The Ishioka water tank is the first to have its designation revoked, although the plant's 9 other historic structures remain on the cultural property list.

. . . . .

quote
Volunteers wanted more than ever for disaster areas
Four months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, volunteers are still desperately needed in the hardest-hit areas for jobs ranging from clearing debris from homes to delivering relief materials and food.
About 483,000 volunteers have helped reconstruction in disaster-hit prefectures in the three and a half months since the March 11 disaster, compared with 1.17 million volunteers who pitched in over the same period after the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake.
The Japan National Council of Social Welfare surveyed the number of volunteers in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures between March 11 and June 26.
In terms of volunteers per day, the greatest number, about 11,500 people in three prefectures, performed volunteer work on May 3. Since then, volunteer numbers dropped to 6,000 on average on weekends and 3,000 on weekdays.
"We need many helping hands," a local volunteer organization member said.
...
source : www.asahi.com

. . . . .

Friday, July 15, 2011 17:27 - NHK
Aquarium in Fukushima reopens
An aquarium in Fukushima Prefecture has reopened after a 4-month closure due to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Aquamarine Fukushima in the coastal city of Iwaki was crowded with visitors on Friday. The aquarium lost 90 percent of its fish and other aquatic creatures in the disaster, but has gradually brought back seals, otters and other animals that were evacuated to other facilities.
Children cheered upon seeing schools of fish in large tanks, while many people gathered to watch a baby harbor seal swim around.
The pup named Kibou, which means "hope" in Japanese, was born in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, at a facility where his mother was brought after the disaster.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July 16, 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011 06:30 - NHK
Earthquake survivors get debt relief
The Japanese government and banks have developed guidelines for providing debt relief to survivors of the earthquake and tsunami.
Many disaster victims are burdened with two sets of loans -- those they had before March 11th and new ones that they need to rebuild their homes and businesses.
A panel composed of officials from the government and the Japanese Bankers Association released a proposal on Friday that would allow survivors to write off their debts without having to file for bankruptcy.
According to the guidelines, relief would be available to those whose debt is greater than the total value of their assets, including real estate holdings.
People who earn above a set threshold will be required to pay off their loans, but over an extended term.
Applications for the debt waiver will be accepted from August 22nd.
The head of the panel that drafted the guidelines, Shinjiro Takagi, says the program is intended for people whose situation is unstable after losing their homes and jobs.
He added that the panel hopes to use the guidelines to help victims who are suffering at the disaster sites.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July, 20, 2011

3/11 victims face welfare cuts - Japan Times
Cases have surfaced in which municipalities in Tohoku have stopped welfare payments to victims of the March 11 earthquake-tsunami and subsequent nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The reason given for removing these people from the list of recipients of seikatsu hogo (livelihood assistance) is that they have received relief money from the Japan Red Cross or compensation for the nuclear accidents from Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
In view of these people's sufferings and unstable conditions, the municipalities' decision seems harsh and callous. They should dispense with a uniform application of formulas when deciding whether disaster victims are eligible for welfare payments. Instead they should look at the specific conditions of disaster victims.
Municipal workers should remember the purpose of seikatsu hogo — literally, life protection — to guarantee the minimum standard of living to people and help them become self-supporting.
... According to the rules for the distribution of donations sent to the Japan Red Cross, ¥350,000 is to be paid for one dead or missing person, ¥350,000 for a family whose house was destroyed, ¥180,000 for a family whose house was half-destroyed and ¥350,000 for a family within 30 km of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Tepco made a provisional payment of ¥1 million in compensation to a family within 30 km from the power plant or in special evacuation zones. The compensation for a single-person household is ¥750,000.
... It is clear that municipalities basically regard the relief money and the compensation as income.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110720a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . July 21, 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011 07:31 - NHK
Outline of reconstruction plan compiled
The Japanese government has drawn up the outline of its reconstruction plan for areas devastated by the March 11th disaster.
The outline calls for setting up special reconstruction districts, where deregulation will be promoted, and fast-track procedures will be made available to utilize land. Easing tax burdens and providing financial support will also be considered.
The outline also calls for building advanced solar energy and wind power generation systems to promote renewable energy businesses, and creating eco-friendly towns in the disaster-hit areas.
Regarding the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant, the outline proposes a research institute to be set up to help decontamination activities in the prefecture with the cooperation of universities and companies.
The government hopes to decide a basic policy based on the outline by the end of this month.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . August, 27, 2011

On TV I watched how they now put in insulation material in the walls of the prefab homes. They take off the walls, add the insulation and put the tin walls back in place ... this could have been done in the first place. The cold winter in Tohoku is nothing new ...
They also started to put old tin cans on strings and put them on the roofs of the prefab, to keep it cooler ... about 10 degrees, they said, would the temperatures inside go down (now that the summer is almost over ... ) and I wonder about the noise of the tin cans on the tin roofs ...

仮設住宅空き缶で屋根を“断熱”
source :　NHK Japanese News .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . . . . August, 28, 2011

Sunday, August 28, 2011 11:00 - NHK
New plan for evacuation zone created
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission has decided to create a new plan for evacuation zones for people living near a nuclear power plant in the event of an accident.
Under current government guidelines, an evacuation zone is based on the predicted amount of radioactive substances released from a troubled plant and weather conditions.
But under the new plan, an evacuation zone will be declared immediately after an accident without waiting for data.
The International Atomic Energy Agency's standard sets the zone with a radius of 3 to 5 kilometers from a plant.
Following the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident in March, it took almost 5 hours for the government to issue the first evacuation order after it received reports on the matter.
The commission is also considering setting an evacuation zone according to the size and number of reactors involved in an emergency. In Fukushima, the evacuation area exceeded the 10-kilometer radius from the plant which was initially projected by the government.

Monday, September 05, 2011 11:52 -NHK
Charity concert for reconstruction held in Ibaraki
A citizens' group in Ibaraki Prefecture, north of Tokyo, held a charity concert on Sunday to support the restoration of local historic buildings damaged by the March 11th earthquake.
The Makabe district of Sakuragawa City is known for its streets lined with old warehouses dating back to the late Edo period, some 200 years ago.
Singer and guitarist Chuei Yoshikawa performed popular songs at one of the warehouses on Sunday.
About 100 people sang along and clapped to the music.
Proceeds from the concert will be used for the reconstruction of local communities.
A 63-year-old man said the audience got charged up singing popular songs from the past, and that he hopes this kind of event will cheer people and help them to recover from the disaster.

Thursday, September 08, 2011 - NHK
Noda: govt to seek legislation to rebuild Fukushima
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised his government will do all it can to enact legislation to help Fukushima Prefecture recover from the nuclear accident.
Noda responded to a request for the legislation from Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato on Thursday in his first visit to the prefecture since taking office last week.
Noda began the meeting with an apology, saying the government is heavily responsible for leaving many Fukushima residents still in shelter since the nuclear accident, which was triggered by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Noda said there will be no revival of Japan without the revival of Fukushima.
He added that his Cabinet will approve a plan to allocate 220 billion yen, or about 2.8 billion dollars, from reserve funds in the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011, to help revive the prefecture.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. September 11, 2011 .
THEN and NOW

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, Sep. 15, 2011

quote
Iwate survivors wonder, worry about future
Elderly and young alike unsure what lies in store for their towns, lives

The coastal town of Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, used to have a railway station, cafes, restaurants and medical clinics, but all that remains now are the foundations and twisted iron support bars of buildings.

In the months since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami devastated the town, various reconstruction efforts have made progress: Temporary accommodations have been built for some of the survivors living in shelters, and debris has mostly been cleared up in Yamada's central commercial and residential areas.
But for the town's disaster survivors, daily life hasn't gotten much better or any easier.
Above all, they worry about how their local community will look after it is rebuilt, and wonder what their lives will be like after they move out of their temporary housing in the future.
For elderly residents of Yamada, whose population is steadily aging and declining, one of the most pressing problems is receiving medical care.

Before the disaster, it only took Aiko Domeki, 77, a few minutes by bicycle to visit her doctor, who she used to see three times a week, at a local clinic.
But now, a trip to her doctor entails a 30- to 40-minute walk from her temporary housing, which was built on top of a hill as a safety measure against future tsunami.
As a result, Domeki, who has high blood pressure, only visits the clinic around once a month.
... Children living in temporary accommodations are also having a tough time, said Kikuchi, who has a 3-year-old daughter. For example, there is no playground or equipment for kids to use near her housing, forcing them to play indoors — which for some neighbors is a nuisance.
Kikuchi also called on the ruling and opposition parties to stop bickering and instead work together to rebuild devastated areas. ...
source : Japan Times

.................................................................................

quote
Yamada Hachiman Shrine, Oosugi Shrine
In Yamada there lies Yamada Hachiman Shrine, positioned on elevated ground commanding a view of the Yamada coast, and Oosugi Shrine, formerly based 150m from the sea. The “Yamada Festival” which is held between these two shrines, is the biggest festival in the town. Since childhood the people of Yamada have heard the music of this festival and seen the procession of the mikoshi, so much so that the love for festivals runs in their blood.

At any rate, the passion for this event is certain as so many people return to their hometown not for the Obon season, but instead, in September at the time of this festival. However, through the impact of the earthquake and tsunami Oosugi shrine has been destroyed and furthermore the mikoshi and performing arts props have all been taken by the tsunami. Nevertheless, Sato is determined to restore the festival in order to continue the performing arts traditions passed down through generations and to call those who have fled back to Yamada.
source : wawa.or.jp

山田八幡神社・大杉神社復興祈願例大祭
with more videos to watch
source : www.youtube.com

山田町芸能祭 The Festival at Yamada Shrine, September 17 / 18 2011
source : okuderazeki.at.webry

.................................................................................

Saturday, Sep. 17, 2011

Accelerate reconstruction
Six months after the massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the Tohoku Pacific coastal areas on March 11, people there are continuing to rebuild together their lives. In Fukushima Prefecture, people have suffered not only from the natural disasters but also from the disaster at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Those who have not been directly affected by these catastrophes, in particular politicians, should never underestimate or make light of the suffering and sorrow of those who have been directly impacted in Tohoku. The government must do its utmost to accelerate the reconstruction from the triple disasters.
... n the disaster-hit areas, vital infrastructure such as roads and power have mostly been restored and more than 90 percent of planned fabricated houses have been built. But some 75,000 people have been forced to evacuate their communities and are living in the homes of relatives or friends or in shelters.
A survey by Kyodo News of the resident registers in 37 municipalities in the coastal areas of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures shows that 49,886 residents have left. There is a possibility that this number may be higher as many have left without changing their resident registers to reflect their new places of residence.
In the city of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, 9,011 residents have left — the largest number among the 37 municipalities. The town of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, suffered a 13.7 percent drop in its population — the greatest percentage among the municipalities. Some 1,408 people there — nearly 10 percent of the town's population — died in the disasters, including the mayor.
MORE
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110917a1.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sunday, September 25, 2011 - NHK
Intl flights resume at Sendai Airport
Sendai Airport in northeastern Japan has resumed international services that had been suspended since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami. Passengers boarded the first flight to Seoul, South Korea, on Sunday.
About 30 airport and local government officials attended the reopening ceremony at the terminal building. They offered silent prayers for the victims of the March 11th disaster.
Transport minister Takeshi Maeda congratulated the officials and staff who worked enthusiastically to achieve a recovery only half a year after the catastrophe.
Sendai Airport restarted domestic services in July, but many international airlines delayed making a decision because they wanted to see the outcome of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The president and CEO of Asiana Airlines, Yoon Young-doo, said his airline decided to resume operations one month earlier than planned as strong demand from local residents is expected. He added that he is happy to see the departure of the first flight since March 11th.
Flights to Guam and Taiwan will be restarted next month, and services to Beijing will resume from March next year.

Monday, September 26, 2011 - NHK
Noda pledges to focus on reconstruction
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says his government will put priority on recovery and reconstruction from the March 11th quake and tsunami and containing the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
Noda spoke at the beginning of the 2-day Lower House Budget Committee session that opened on Monday for the first time since he took office in early September.
Noda said his Cabinet's priorities are reconstruction and efforts to bring the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant under control.
He said it will also steadily implement measures to revive the Japanese economy and respond to growing concerns over the global economic crisis.
On calls for increased disaster reconstruction efforts, Noda said he wants to respond quickly to survivors' requests for rubble removal and provide support for those in need in the affected areas.
The prime minister said the government and governing parties are in final discussions on a third supplementary budget to promote reconstruction projects.
He said he will do his utmost to hold talks with opposition parties so that a bill is submitted to the Diet at an early date.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Kirin revives beer plant in Sendai
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110927a1.html

Saturday, October 01, 2011 22:33
Sendai Airport Transit resumes entire service
A train line that connects Sendai City and Sendai Airport resumed complete service on Saturday.
The tracks and terminal were destroyed by the March earthquake and tsunami.
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/01_20.html

Saturday, October 01, 2011 22:33 - NHK
Free farm opens for Fukushima evacuees
An agricultural organization in Saitama Prefecture has made available farmland for use by people who have evacuated from Fukushima Prefecture.
The 1,000-square-meter farm in Kazo City is located near an evacuation center housing people from Futaba Town.
In a ceremony on Saturday, Futaba Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa said he was glad that the farm was opened with the support of many people.
After the ceremony, about 20 people planted about 50 broccolis.
Many of the evacuees are farmers, and the land is being made available to them for free. The displaced farmers plan to give the vegetables they harvest to other evacuees.
Hidenori Kamura is a farmer from Futaba. He said he has been frustrated because he has not been able to touch any soil for more than half a year. He said he once again wants to grow tasty vegetables.

Monday, October 10, 2011 - NHK
Symposium on post-disaster reconstruction held
Mayors of disaster-hit municipalities in northeastern Japan have called for wide-ranging cooperation to rebuild their devastated communities.
6 mayors from cities and towns in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures took part in a symposium on post-disaster reconstruction as panelists in Tokyo on Sunday. The meeting was organized by the Japan Society for Disaster Recovery and Revitalization.
The mayor of Shinchi Town in Fukushima, Norio Kato, said rebuilding railroads is essential for disaster recovery, but that fiscal conditions in affected areas are very severe. He asked the state to cover expenses, adding that local communities will take responsibility for securing land for the railroads.
The vice mayor of Minamisanriku Town in Miyagi, Kenji Endo, said his town suffered catastrophic damage in the March 11th disaster and received massive support from neighboring communities. He added that further cooperation between coastal and inland areas will become important for disaster preparedness.
The organizer said it wants the panelists' comments and requests to be reflected in developing and implementing recovery plans for affected areas.
The leader of the organization, Kansei Gakuin University Professor Yoshiteru Murosaki, said he was able to learn the needs of the disaster areas. He added that his organization wants to offer knowledge, data and information in support of reconstruction efforts.

Friday, October 14, 2011 - NHK
Govt. to outline concrete plans for reconstruction
The Japanese government will explain the details of its reconstruction plans as early as next week to local governments hit hard by the March earthquake and tsunami.
The government has included its rebuilding plans in the third fiscal 2011 supplementary budget.
But cities and towns in disaster areas are complaining that they may have to delay the crafting of their own reconstruction plans unless the central government informs them of details of its projects.
In response to their calls, the land and infrastructure ministry will hold briefings for officials of cities and towns in Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima prefectures as early as late next week.
It will explain that the central government will shoulder all the costs of its planned projects.
The ministry will scrap the ceiling on subsidies for developing residential sites on high ground, where coastal houses are to be moved to escape future tsunami. The central government will also subsidize the relocation of houses, hospitals and stores. In addition, the state will bear the cost of a project to raise ground levels to prevent tsunami damage.
The central government will allow local governments to forcibly seize land to develop city areas for a short time. It will grant tax breaks to the owners of seized land.
The cities and towns in the disaster zone will estimate project costs and choose areas for development based on the state's guidelines.
.
IMF urges Japan to raise taxes for reconstruction - NHK
The International Monetary Fund has urged Japan to raise taxes to help pay for reconstruction from the March earthquake and tsunami and rehabilitate public finances.
The director for the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department, Anoop Singh, released a report on the economic outlook for his region at a news conference on Thursday.
The report calls for Japan to be fiscally disciplined in securing sufficient financial resources for reconstruction.
Singh noted that although the Japanese government is considering raising taxes to help fund reconstruction, a tax increase is necessary not only for rebuilding but also for fiscal consolidation.
The report upgrades Japan's economic growth forecast for next year to 2.3 percent, up 0.2 points from its prediction 6 months ago.
The IMF attributes the upward revision to the earlier-than-expected recovery of supply chains for auto parts and other products that suffered major disruptions due to the disaster. It also cites a projected increase in corporate capital investment during reconstruction.
The report proposes that to boost economic growth, Japan should further liberalize its trade by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade agreement.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

December18, 2011

sanrikufukkou
Arbeitskreis Wiederaufbau Tohoku

Zusammen mit der Präfektur Iwate und der dortigen Präfektur-Universität planen wir im Sommer 2012 (und folgende) auf dem Campus in Miyako ein Symposium mit deutschen und japanischen Experten (aus Wissenschaft, Wirtschaft und den betroffenen Gemeinden) mit angeschlossenem Sommerworkshop für deutsche und japanische Studenten.

Geplante Schwerpunkte

- Wiederherstellung der Infrastruktur
- Ökologische Stadtplanung
- Erneuerbare Energieversorgung
- Entwicklung neuer Wirtschaftskonzepte
- Aufarbeitung der Traumata

source : sanrikufukkou.wordpress.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

February 9, 2012

Lack of bidders in Tohoku reconstruction
A lack of bidders for construction projects in northeast Japan is hampering efforts to rebuild areas devastated by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
The land and transport ministry has decided to take immediate measures to address the situation.
Repair of damaged roads and sewage systems is underway in the devastated areas. But labor costs are skyrocketing due to a shortage of workers. Local construction firms remain reluctant to bid in auctions since last fall for fear of losing money.
In December, 45 percent of infrastructure auctions in Miyagi Prefecture and 51 percent in Fukushima failed to find winners. In Iwate, 16 percent of all construction auctions failed.
To address the situation, the land and transport ministry says it will adjust the fees for construction projects commissioned by local governments, in response to rising labor costs in the devastated areas.
Currently, only local companies are allowed to participate in reconstruction auctions. But the ministry says it will allow firms from outside the disaster-affected areas to join hands with local partners so they can jointly bid for such projects.
The ministry will also allow a chief construction manager to concurrently serve as chief construction manager of other projects.
These measures will come into effect by the end of February.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Fukkoo Daruma - Rebuilding with Daruma
復興

東日本大震災復興構想会議
Higashi Nihon Daishinsai Fukkoo Koosoo Kaigi

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Temporary Housing - INFO

. BACK TO Daily Reports .　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

January 2012

2012-01-31T08:10:00.007+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

January 2012

. The Year of the Dragon .

. Join the Dragon Friends .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, January 1, 2012

The first sunrise in my valley was wonderful!

Radiation in Japan :
Fukushima 0.96
Tokyo 0.054
Aomori 0.028
Shizuoka 0.039

. Daily Radiation Levels .

Arrival of 2012 observed
Many worshippers have paid their first visit of the new year to shrines and temples in Japan, praying for the health of their family and rebuilding of life from the March disaster last year.
At Tokyo's Meiji Shrine, after a drumbeat signaled the arrival of 2012, people threw money into boxes for offerings, and prayed.
Some of them bought charms to ward off bad luck, while others wrote their wishes on wooden plaques.
A high school student said that 2011 was a depressing year with the March disaster but she intends to overcome the difficulty and enjoy life with strong conviction this year.
Meiji Shrine officials say they expect more than three million visitors during the first three days of January, about the same number as in previous years.
In Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture, which was hit hard by the tsunami in March, many people gathered on top of a hill to welcome the first sunrise of the year.
When the sun began to rise behind a mountain, many took photographs. As the sun shed light over the devastated area, some pressed their hands together and prayed, facing toward the area where many lives were lost.
A 52-year-old woman who lost her house to the tsunami said she still feels sad looking at the affected area. She said that 2011 was a year of hardship, and she hopes 2012 will be a happy one.

DIY cesium scanning store may be 'new normal'
The triple disasters in March set the unthinkable in motion in 2011, and the surreal sight of a DIY radiation testing facility standing next to an Internet cafe in a Chiba city raises a question for Japan: Is this the new normal?
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120101f1.html

What 2011 means for Japan in 2012 and beyond
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120101c2.html

Japan's population decline accelerated in 2011
2011 saw the fewest number of newborns since the end of World War Two in Japan. The decline in the country's population is accelerating.
The health ministry estimates that one million 57 thousand babies were born in 2011. That's a drop of about 14,000 from the previous year.
The number of deaths in 2011 was estimated at one million 261 thousand. That's up around 64,000 due to the aging population and the March disaster. ...

Temporary problem with reactor monitoring system
The Japanese government's nationwide nuclear reactor monitoring system failed to provide data for at least 24 hours before being restored on Saturday afternoon.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says that on early Friday afternoon a rapid reaction point near Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture reported that all data from the Emergency Response and Support System was not showing up on its screens.
The system monitors pressure, temperature, and other real-time conditions of reactors at nuclear power plants across the country, as well as radiation dosage in surrounding areas. The system also predicts future conditions of reactors based on such data.
The information can be accessed from terminals at the agency and rapid reaction points around the country.
The agency says its investigation discovered that a facility of the state-affiliated operator of the system was not transmitting any data for unknown reasons.
But the system recovered without any grave result at around 2:30 PM on Saturday. The agency says it is looking into the cause of the problem and how long the system was out of operation.
The agency says it regrets that important data became temporarily inaccessible. It also apologizes for a delay in the announcement.

Emperor delivers New Year message
The Emperor and Empress have received New Year greetings from family members at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
Sunday's ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Cabinet.
Lower House Speaker Takahiro Yokomichi and Upper House President Kenji Hirata offered good wishes to the Emperor and the Imperial family on behalf of the nation's lawmakers.
The Emperor said in a speech that he prays for the Japanese people and the country's development on the occasion of the New Year.
The Imperial couple also received greetings from foreign ambassadors stationed in Tokyo.
In his message to the Japanese people, the Emperor said Japan is facing difficulty following the March disaster and other hardships.
The Emperor said he hopes the people's hearts will always be with the afflicted and that everyone will persevere and work together to build a brighter future.
On Monday, the Emperor, Empress and other Imperial family members will appear on the veranda of the palace 5 times to receive greetings from the public.

Powerful earthquake hits Tokyo
A strong earthquake struck Tokyo and surrounding areas on Sunday afternoon.
The earthquake occurred at around 2:28 PM local time.
Japan's Meteorological Agency says the earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.0, with its focus 370 kilometers deep near Torishima Island in the Pacific Ocean.
The agency says the quake registered 4 on the Japanese scale of zero to 7 in 7 prefectures.

The jolt was felt in a wide area, from the northern main island of Hokkaido to the western part of Honshu Island.
The coastal cities of Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, and Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, were among those that felt the strongest tremor.
Tokyo Electric Power Company said no new developments are reported at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and nearby Daini nuclear plant.
The agency hasn't issued a tsunami alert.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, January 2, 2012

Snow and a strong cold front in Japan.

New year begins with strong quake
A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 jolts a wide area in eastern and northeastern Japan on Sunday afternoon.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120102a2.html
(Friends in Tokyo reported it was quite terrifying . . . )

Challenges ahead at Fukushima nuclear plant
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant has to juggle two daunting tasks this year. One is to continue cooling the damaged reactors. The other is to start preparing for decommissioning.
The Japanese government said 2 weeks ago that the reactors at the plant had reached a state of cold shutdown -- the second phase in the program to bring the plant under control.
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company released a work schedule showing that decommissioning may take 40 years.
The nuclear fuel must be removed from reactors 1, 2, and 3 before the reactors and their buildings are scrapped. Some of the fuel is believed to have melted and fallen through to the containment vessels.
This year, TEPCO will remove debris from the Number 4 reactor building, which was damaged by explosions, so it can start removing spent nuclear fuel.
As part of its preparations for decommissioning, TEPCO will conduct research and develop technology for decontaminating the inside of the reactor buildings and repairing the containment vessels.
The nuclear fuel needs to be cooled as it is still emitting heat. TEPCO plans to halve the length of the 4-kilometer-long pipes used for cooling and treating contaminated water. It also plans to install a new facility to remove radioactive strontium from waste water.
Professor Hisashi Ninokata of the Tokyo Institute of Technology says there is always a risk that contaminated water in the pipes will leak. He says TEPCO should minimize the hazards by preventing groundwater from seeping into buildings and by making the system that filters waste water more compact.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

. . . . . at 3:28
Earthquake M 5.1, off Ibaraki coast
Felt as 2 in the region.

Fukushima meltdowns set nuclear energy debate on its ear
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120103f1.html

Emperor wishes public a better year
Emperor Akihito says he hopes 2012 will be a better year for the Japanese people as the country continues to recover from last year's earthquake and tsunami.
He gave his annual New Year greetings to the public on Monday, addressing thousands of well-wishers from the balcony of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo.
More than 8,000 people stood in the cold to wait for the palace's main gate to open at 9:30 AM local time.

Ritual lion dance performed in tsunami-hit Miyagi
Dancers in a tsunami-hit town in northern Japan performed a traditional New Year lion dance to remember the victims and pray for reconstruction.
The Watanoha district of Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, has staged the dance each year for more than 400 years. Traditionally, performers go from house to house on New Year's Day to pray for the safety and prosperity of families.
But this year, the performance was more solemn. The local group lost its costumes to the tsunami, so dancers from other districts came to perform on sites where homes once stood.
After the performance, children placed their heads in the mouth of the lion -- a ritual for good luck. Adults prayed to the lion head.
A local community leader said he hopes the performance helped restore the community's bond so the people can work together on reconstruction.

Fukushima coming of age ceremony outside hometown
More than 20 young people who once lived in the no-entry and evacuation zones near Japan's damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant celebrated their 'Coming-of-Age Day' on Monday.
Japanese are legally considered adults when they turn 20, which is when they can vote, smoke, and drink.
People from Katsurao in Fukushima Prefecture are not allowed to go home, so attendees of this year's ceremony gathered in a hotel in Miharu. About 60 percent of Katsurao's population is living in temporary housing in the town. ...

Governments in Japan review disaster prevention
Japan's central and local governments are considering a revision of the current anti-earthquake and tsunami measures following the March 11th disaster and resulting meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The central government's council, which consists of Cabinet members and experts added a section of tsunami prevention measures in December to the basic plan for disaster management.
This year, the central government plans to integrate information on how authorities and the public should respond to nuclear accidents.
It will also reexamine the possibility of changing the laws regulating the roles of the central and local governments when natural disasters hit.
Japan's Meteorological Agency will change the wording for warnings and information on tsunami to make them easier to understand for the public. It aims to implement a new system by the end of the year using the revised phrasing.
An expert panel formed by the Japanese government will disclose its forecast on major earthquakes and tsunamis in the spring. Such natural disasters are likely to happen along a submarine trough located south of Japan's main islands, extending west from the Tokai region.
The panel will compile a revised estimate of damages from the expected huge tremors and waves by summer or fall.
It is likely the new projection will force the central and local governments to reassess where in Japan disaster preparation measures should be enforced.
Authorities may also need to reconsider current designated evacuation areas, as well as systems to distribute necessary information to the public.

Job measure in hardest-hit areas urgently sought
Finding employment is taking on an added urgency for survivors of last year's disaster in northeastern Japan.
More than 1,000 people in three prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami will see their unemployment benefits expire later this month. The figure will rise further in February.
The labor ministry says that as of November more than 64,000 people had received unemployment benefits in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. The figure is nearly double the previous year's.
The ministry says that of the total, as many as 1,300 people will lose their unemployment benefits by the end of this month, and 2,700 in February.
Survivors seeking stable employment have had trouble finding work. Many jobs in disaster-hit areas are temporary.
Survivors who qualify receive unemployment benefits for at least 10 months. Payments can be extended, depending on an individual's employment situation.

Hosono: Fukushima as center for nuclear safety
Japan's nuclear crisis minister says he wants to make Fukushima Prefecture an international center to promote nuclear safety.
Goshi Hosono spoke Tuesday to NHK and explained a plan to set up an international institute in Fukushima, where specialists would be trained in nuclear safety and advanced radiological medicine would be studied. He says training personnel will be one of the major issues to overcome with respect to nuclear safety.
Hosono says the prefecture will be a relevant venue to learn about the basic principles of nuclear safety, as well as the long process of scrapping the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The work is expected to take 30 to 40 years.
Hosono says he believes lessons learned from the ongoing nuclear crisis, including the use of medicine for people exposed to radiation, must be made available to the rest of the world.
Hosono also notes his ministry will concentrate on the development of robots that will be used to dismantle and dispose of the damaged reactors. The project is expected to rely heavily on robots to remove spent fuel rods and handle other highly radioactive material.
The nuclear crisis minister says he believes Japanese industry will be able to boost their competitiveness by taking advantage of the new technologies that will be developed to deal with the decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

. Radiation Problems - INFO .

New Year fish auction at tsunami-hit Kesennuma
The fish market in Kesennuma northeastern Japan has held its first auction of the New Year. The city in Japan's disaster-hit northeast is a major tuna and swordfish port.
About 200 officials from local fishing cooperatives and marine-product companies attended the inaugural ceremony on Wednesday. They prayed for bumper hauls this year and for success in rebuilding the port.
... The market re-opened last June after the city was reduced to rubble in the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

Fukushima students back after New Year holidays
Elementary and junior high school students in Fukushima City have returned to class earlier than usual after the New Year break.
Most of the city's schools held ceremonies on Wednesday to mark the beginning of the 3rd term. ...

Disaster-hit sake maker celebrates first brewing
A Japanese sake maker in Iwate Prefecture has celebrated the New Year with its first brew since the March disaster last year.
The 160-year-old brewery in Miyako City restarted production three weeks ago. The factory was rebuilt where the former plant was destroyed by the tsunami.
On Wednesday, the maker finished producing its first sake. Master brewer Katsutoshi Tsujimura checked the aroma and taste.
He said he's happy the new product has the same good qualities as before. He added that he hopes many people will enjoy it.
The newly brewed sake was quickly bottled and served at a New Year's event.

Calligraphy performance in quake-hit city
Schoolgirls in Ofunato City have demonstrated their skill at calligraphy to express hopes for early reconstruction of the region severely hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
The 7 teenage girls gave a New Year calligraphy performance at a shopping mall on Wednesday.
Dancing to the music of popular pop group AKB48, they took turns writing "Furusato-Kesen" on a large sheet of paper.
They then worked together using a 1.7-meter-long, 15-kilogram brush to write the Chinese character "tamashii," or soul.
The performance was applauded by spectators.

New Year's arrow festival in Nikko
A New Year festival with shooting arrows symbolizing prayers for good health and safety took place at a shrine in Nikko, north of Tokyo, on Wednesday.
The annual ritual at Futarasan Shrine is based on an ancient legend. It's said that a master archer shot an arrow that settled a territorial dispute between the deity of Mount Nantai in Nikko and the divinity of Mount Akagi, about 40 kilometers away to the southwest.
Shinto priests and archers wearing traditional costumes shot 2 arrows each in the direction of Mount Akagi.
The shrine compound was crowded with spectators. Many rushed to where arrows fell to the ground in the hopes of claiming one. It's believed they bring good luck.

Futaba mayor opposes radioactive soil storage
The mayor of Futaba Town in Fukushima Prefecture says he opposes the government's plan to build a facility for storing radioactive waste soil in Futaba County.
Mayor Katsutaka Idogawa expressed for the first time his opposition to the facility in his New Year address to town employees on Wednesday.
The mayor said he cannot accept the facility because townspeople who evacuated would not be able to return once it is built.
The central government officially requested late last month that a temporary storage facility for radioactive waste soil be built in Futaba County. The county has eight municipalities, and it is also home to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The entirety of Futaba Town is designated as a no-entry zone. The residents and the town office have been evacuated to a city in Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

NISA pledges to regain public trust
The head of Japan's nuclear safety agency has called for every possible effort to regain public trust in the government's energy policy.
Hiroyuki Fukano said on Wednesday that he is deeply sorry his agency was not able to prevent the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
He said the agency's officials should remember that many Fukushima residents are still displaced from their homes.
Fukano said it is not easy to regain public trust in nuclear safety. He added it has completely been undermined by the accident and the officials must go back to basics.
The government agency, launched 11 years ago, will be united with the Nuclear Safety Commission and merged into a new nuclear safety body in April.
The new body will face many challenges. The agency was heavily criticized in a government report on the nuclear accident released in December.
The report said agency officials working on the emergency task force at the Fukushima plant evacuated in the initial stages of the accident. It also said the agency's collection and release of information was insufficient.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Disasters kick-started dormant volunteer spirit
The March disasters generated an unprecedented outpouring of volunteerism as people from all over Japan pitched in to help the survivors and rebuild affected areas, and the strong spirit of helping will aid relief efforts in future disasters, experts say.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120105f1.html

Peace Boat, a Japanese nonprofit organization
Hunger Free World
Japan International Volunteer Center

Tohoku orphans get aid despite donation shortfall
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120105a3.html

German promotes knitting to keep Tohoku disaster victims active, close
Bernd Kestler, who teaches knitting in Yokohama, from Germany.
Knit for Japan
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120105f3.html

Year's first auction held at Tsukiji fish market
The first auction of the New Year has been held at Tokyo's Tsukiji market, the biggest wholesale fish market in Japan.
Before the start of Thursday's trade, a vendor said damage from the earthquake and tsunami last March highlighted the seafood industry's dependence on northeastern Japan. He pledged to help revive the disaster zone by selling fish from that area.
The day's auction kicked off at around 5:00 AM.
A 269-kilogram bluefin tuna from Aomori Prefecture fetched a new record high of more than 740,000 dollars.
This was 260,000 dollars higher than the record set last year.
In recent editions of the year's first auction the highest bidders for tuna had mostly been overseas sushi restaurants. But this year's successful bidder was a Japanese sushi chain based in Tsukiji itself.

New nuclear safety agency's performance questioned
The new nuclear safety agency will be tasked with overhauling Japan's nuclear regulations, but has yet to come up with concrete safety rules.
The new agency, which will be launched under the Environmental Ministry in April, faces the challenge of providing supervision and advice to power utilities in the event of an emergency.
The agency will take over the functions of the industry ministry's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. It will also be responsible for the advisory functions of the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission.
The new agency is to be staffed with 485 people.
Japan's government has allocated a budget of nearly 650 million dollars for the agency in its financial plan for the next fiscal year, unveiled late last month.
That's up nearly 180 million dollars from this year, a sign that the agency is expected to strengthen crisis management, upgrade its regulations and take on more work.
The government has come under fire for being slow to collect and release existing data after the nuclear accident last March, and for not instructing the operator of the crippled Fukushima plant to prepare for a huge tsunami.
The government says the new body must secure experienced, professional personnel and cultivate a sharper sense of crisis among officials in addressing safety.
A Cabinet Ministry senior official preparing for the launch of the new agency says it must protect the people and the environment.

Municipalities to be prepared for nuke accidents
More than 130 Japanese municipalities are stepping up preparations for nuclear accidents after the government tripled the size of emergency zones around nuclear plants to 30 kilometers.
Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission expanded the size of the zones from 10 kilometers last November.
The move follows the issue of evacuation orders to areas up to 30 km from the stricken Fukushima plant, far beyond the government's initial expectation.
The expansion includes not only communities hosting nuclear power plants but also surrounding areas, multiplying the number of municipalities involved.
These local governments must now boost disaster preparedness by setting evacuation routes and securing shelters.
Many are reaching out beyond prefectural borders with plans to share food and other goods, and dispatch staff in the event of nuclear disasters.
The government almost tripled the funding for nuclear disaster preparedness to 108-million dollars in a budget plan for the next fiscal year.
But further financial help will be needed for the municipalities within the expanded emergency zone.

Fukushima mayors seek help over waste storage
Municipalities around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have asked for help from the prefectural government over the central government's plan to temporarily store radioactive waste in the communities.
Representing 8 towns and villages in Futaba County, Tomioka Town Mayor Katsuya Endo made the request when he met Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato on Thursday.
Endo said the municipalities take the state government's proposal seriously but that it is too much of a burden for them to handle alone.
He asked the prefecture to act in coordination with the municipalities and set up a forum for regular meetings, citing the difficulty they face as a result of mass evacuation from their areas following the nuclear accident.
Governor Sato responded positively to the request and promised to create a forum for talks.
The municipalities are divided over the central government's plan on interim storage of radioactive soil and debris. The mayor of Futaba Town, Katsutaka Idogawa, voiced opposition while some other local leaders say they have no choice but to accept it.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, January 6, 2012

We got snow yesterday, but not this morning.

Heavy snow plasters Sea of Japan
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120106a6.html

Tokyo exodus nuke report's worst scenario
Areas as far as 170 km away from the Fukushima nuclear plant faced the risk of being declared permanent evacuation zones, according to a worst-case scenario at the height of the crisis by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120106a1.html

Domestic robots failed to ride to rescue after No. 1 plant blew
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120106f1.html
(this is a very interesting article ! )

When China rules, Chinese will not set the rules
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120106a1.html

March earthquake created nearly 7,000 aftershocks
Japan's Meteorological Agency says last March's magnitude 9.0 earthquake was followed by nearly 7,000 aftershocks strong enough to be felt by humans.
The agency says its analysis of seismological data as of the end of last year identified 6,757 such aftershocks since March 11th.
The agency also says that Japan experienced a total of 9,723 earthquakes strong enough to be felt by humans last year.
The number is more than seven times larger than the total for the year before.

Last night a few just below M5

2012年1月6日　19時50分茨城県沖 4.2
2012年1月6日　9時52分根室半島南東沖 3.7
2012年1月6日　8時33分福島県沖 4.6
2012年1月6日　6時01分茨城県沖 4.4
2012年1月6日　1時51分宮城県沖 4.9
2012年1月6日　0時26分宮城県沖 3.4
2012年1月5日　22時17分福島県中通り 4.1
2012年1月5日　17時49分福島県沖 3.9

March disaster forced over 500 firms to shut down
More than 500 companies across Japan went bankrupt due to the earthquake and tsunami that hit the country's northeast last March.
Private credit research firm Teikoku Databank says the disaster forced 510 firms to fail in the roughly 10 months through December 31. Their total liabilities stood at 727.3 billion yen, or around 9.4 billion dollars. ...
. . . . . 2011 auto sales in Japan hit lowest in 34 years

Govt to limit life of nuclear reactors to 40 years
The Japanese government wants to pass a new law that limits the life of nuclear reactors to 40 years.
Nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono on Friday announced a review of nuclear safety regulations following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. The proposed 40-year limit is included in new draft regulations on nuclear reactors and nuclear fuel material.
According to the draft, the government will not allow reactors to operate for more than 40 years, but may grant extensions on request.
Extensions will be subject to government checks on the obsolescence of the facility, and the plant operator's capacity to provide appropriate maintenance.
This is the first time for the government to try to regulate the lifespan of nuclear plants.
Hosono said the government will also revise safety standards against earthquakes, tsunami and other disasters with new knowledge and technology in protective measures and require power companies to comply with new standards.
The government will submit the legislation to the ordinary session of the Diet by the end of this month at the earliest, ahead of the planned launch of a new nuclear safety agency in April.

Azumi: watching euro's fall carefully
Japan's Finance Minister Jun Azumi says he is carefully monitoring the euro's fall against the yen, and urged eurozone countries to try harder to address their debt problems. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Nuke regulators get teeth via bills
The government aims to legally force nuclear plant operators to take measures against severe crises and follow the latest safety measures.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120107a1.html

British 'rakugo' artist helps Tohoku smile
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120107f1.html

Market network helps community bounce back
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120107a1.html

NGO uses chocolate to support Fukushima kids
A nongovernmental group that in 2006 launched an annual chocolate-selling campaign to support child cancer patients in Iraq will use a portion of this year's proceeds to help children in Fukushima Prefecture.
Minoru Kamata, chief of the Japan Iraq Medical Network, ...
... The chocolates can be bought at www.jim-net.net
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120107b3.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, January 8, 2012

more minor earthquakes since yesterday
2012年1月8日　6時04分茨城県沖 4.2
2012年1月8日　2時31分福島県沖 3.3
2012年1月7日　21時35分宮城県沖 4.0
2012年1月7日　21時30分茨城県沖 3.5
2012年1月7日　19時47分福島県沖 4.6
2012年1月7日　17時22分福島県沖 4.6
2012年1月7日　10時17分茨城県沖 4.0

Praying for good health
Every year on January 7th, people across Japan dig into bowls of hot rice porridge to pray for good health in the New Year.
This year, farmers in Fukushima Prefecture offered visitors the traditional rice porridge flavored with 7 spring herbs, but only after making sure it was free of radiation.
A group at a farmer's market in Shirakawa city on Saturday prepared rice porridge in a big pot. The rice and other ingredients were all locally grown.
Fukushima prefecture is still suffering from the aftereffects of the accident at the nuclear power plant last March. But no radiation was detected in the food.
A shopper of her 60s from Shrakawa City said she was happy to taste the traditional food and hoped to stay that way throughout the year.
About 200 visitors enjoyed the hot meal free of charge.

March 11 survivors facing hardships
An NHK survey on people living in a temporary housing complex following the March 11th disaster paints a grim picture.
NHK surveyed about 1,100 families living in a housing complex in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, from October to November. 757 households responded.
47 percent of the households excluding those living on pensions say they had lost their jobs because of the disaster.
29 percent of those who lost jobs are in their 50s followed by 23 percent in their 60s.
34 percent of the jobless households say they are living on less than 100,000 yen, or 1,300 dollars, a month.
67 percent of the self-employed have still not found employment. 21 percent of them say they have no income at all.
In a separate survey, the Japan Research Institute found that up to 120,000 people remain unemployed.
Some 4,000 survivors in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures are expected to lose their unemployment benefits starting this month.
The survivors say job creation is the most pressing issue for them to rebuild their lives and the affected areas.

Over 330 pets rescued from Fukushima no-entry zone
Many pets have been abandoned in the no-entry zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. More than 330 dogs and cats were rescued in December.
The Environment Ministry and Fukushima Prefecture have conducted rescue operations for dogs and cats in the no-entry zone. The animals were left there because, either their owners died in the March 11th disaster, or they could not take them to evacuation shelters.
... Several hundred more pets are believed to be in need of rescue. The ministry plans to continue the operations after observing the situation in the no-entry zone.

4,000 buildings designated as tsunami shelters
A survey has found that Japanese municipalities designated around 4,000 buildings to serve as tsunami shelters as of October of last year, with the number doubling in the few months after the March 2011 disaster.
The Cabinet Office and land ministry conducted the survey of coastal prefectures, excluding the hardest-hit Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, on buildings designated as emergency shelters in the event of a tsunami.
The results were compared with those of the previous survey carried out 4 months earlier in June.
Among more than 1,100 buildings examined in June, nearly 18 percent have never been assessed for quake resistance based on 1981 guidelines, leading to concern about their structural strength. .....

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, January 9, 2012

. . . . . at 7:13
Earthquake M 5.0 - off the coast of Iwate

Prepare for decontamination
Decontamination — financed with government money — of areas contaminated with radioactive substances released by Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant will start this year.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120109a1.html

Japan to install tsunami monitoring system at sea
The Japanese government will install a large scale tsunami monitoring system on the Pacific seabed to speed up it's warning process.
The education and science ministry plans to install an underwater cable near the Nippon Trench in the Pacific Ocean, seismometers on the seabed, and underwater tsunami detectors using hydraulic pressure sensors.
Seismometers and tsunami detectors will be installed by March 2013 in waters off the Boso Peninsula and the Sanriku Coast. The locations are north and south of the focus of the major earthquake that hit wide areas of northeastern Japan last year. Additional monitors will be put in place off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture and near the Nippon Trench, close to the focus of the 2011 earthquake.
A total of 150 locations will be positioned by March 2015.
Separately, the Meteorological Agency will install seismometers at 3 locations in waters about 400 kilometers off the northeastern coast some time this year. The data of the seismometers will be collected by satellites and will be used to detect a massive earthquake that is expected to occur east of the Nippon trench in the Pacific Ocean.
The data will help the Meteorological Agency release tsunami information or warnings.
Akira Nagai, the chief of the agency's tsunami monitoring division, said these systems will help the agency gather necessary data as they can monitor tsunami closer as they occur.
During the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan's Meteorological Agency was able to monitor tsunami waves before they reached the Japanese coast, because of underwater global positioning systems off northeastern Japan.

Noda wants temporary storage facility in Fukushima
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has asked the governor of Fukushima to allow the government to build a facility in the prefecture to temporarily store radioactive soil. Noda visited a disaster-hit area for the first time this year and met Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato at the prefectural office on Sunday.
Noda said the fight is not over yet, even though he declared last month that the Fukushima Daiichi reactors had reached a state of cold shutdown -- the second phase in the program to bring the plant under control.
He said the government will intensify its efforts to deal with decontamination, compensation and health management issues.
Noda asked Sato to consider the request that Environment Minister Goshi Hosono made late last year to have a storage facility built in Futaba County.
Sato said he would like the government to remember that many people from Fukushima were unable to celebrate the New Year in their hometowns.
He said children are the future of Fukushima and their health must be protected. He urged Noda to provide free medical services to all Fukushima residents under the age of 19.
Sato said the damage caused by the accident was so severe that it had seriously undermined confidence in the government's nuclear policy.
He asked Noda to shut down and dismantle all 10 reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini plants as called for in the reconstruction plan.

Noda hopes to restore healthcare in disaster zone
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says he hopes to restore healthcare in areas affected by the March 11th disaster and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Noda visited a private hospital in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture, on Sunday.
The hospital is 24 kilometers from the damaged plant. ...

Japan to launch new energy policy by summer
Japan is scheduled to launch a new energy policy by summer. The plan is expected to feature less dependency on nuclear power generation and liberalized utility fees for households.
The government is conducting a thorough review of the country's energy policy in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis last March. On the agenda are a reduction of the nation's dependence on nuclear power generation, and a possible separation of power generation and distribution. ...

Govt to create disaster-aid inventory database
The Japanese government will launch a national database of food and other goods to enable speedy aid distribution in times of disaster.
The government is drawing lessons from last year's March disaster, when it took considerable time and trouble to secure urgently-needed supplies.
The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry believes the problem occurred due to its poor grasp of commercial stocks of food and daily supplies. ...

Ishinomaki fire brigade mourns comrades
A fire brigade in tsunami-hit Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture has dedicated its New Year ceremony to members who perished in the March 11th disaster.
The ceremony on Monday began with a moment of silence for the 27 members who were killed while leading residents to safety and in other courses of duty.
The community brigade had 2,300 members at the time of the disaster. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Monju operator paid 109 million yen in 'member fees' to related entities
The Japan Atomic Energy Agency paid 109 million yen in "membership fees" to various bodies in 2009, raising suspicions that tax money for financing the experimental Monju reactor was abused.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120110a2.html

Experts developing disaster awareness video book - NHK
A group of experts in Japan is developing a digital book to help people better prepare for natural disasters. The devastating earthquake and tsunami last March led to the project's creation.
The visual effects experts and disaster prevention researchers are developing the book for tablet computers.
They will use videos of the March 11th disaster, erupting volcanoes, and typhoons. A quiz and advice on evacuation will be superimposed. ...

Tokyo Fire Dept adding extra radiation squad
The Tokyo Fire Department plans to introduce a second unit specializing in radiological disasters, following the nuclear accident in Fukushima.
Tokyo's Fire Department currently has 4 special units for disaster-response and rescue activities.
One of them is trained to handle radioactive and chemical substances. It was sent last March to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to measure radiation and spray water into one of the disabled reactors.
This special unit's deployment to Fukushima left no one able to deal with a possible emergency in Tokyo. To address the gap, the city's Fire Department decided to launch a second unit with the same expertise. ...

KDDI to begin e-mail tsunami warning service
Japanese telecom firm KDDI will begin providing texted tsunami warnings to its mobile phone subscribers.
Japan's Meteorological Agency issued tsunami warnings across eastern Japan soon after the huge March 11th earthquake. But power cuts knocked out TV and public radio systems so the alerts failed to reach many.
KDDI will begin sending out evacuation advisories from local government to some mobile phone subscribers at the end of this month. This service will be expanded at the end of March to include tsunami warnings.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Remember March 11, 2011

. January 11, Remember March 11 .

until January 20

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Qatar Japan 2012 - Celebrating 40 Years of Friendship!
The year 2012 marks the 40th year of diplomatic relations between Qatar and Japan. Qatar-Japan 2012 is a year of fantastic cultural, educational, and sporting activities in celebration of this significant milestone. The events are designed to explore the unique cultures of both nations and showcase the shared interests of their people.
source : qatarjapan2012.com

There is an article in the Japan Times today (I still have to locate it)
about financing the exchange from children of Tsunami Tohoku to the village of Yubari in Hokkaido, for some holiday fun.
It reads like a great private initiative to help Tohoku.

Edano: Tainted cement on Tepco tab
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120121a7.html

3/11 memorial to be held in Tokyo
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120121b3.html

Tepco may be run by outside directors
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120121a2.html

Kansai Electric facing heavy loss
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120121a3.html

Quake shrinks Tokyo condo supply
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120121b3.html

Industry seeks background to new nuke plant limit
The head of the organization representing Japan's power suppliers says he will ask the government to clarify the scientific rationale for setting a 40-year operations limit on all nuclear reactors in the country.
Makoto Yagi, chairman of the Federation of Electric Power Companies, made the remarks on Friday.
He was referring to the Japanese government's proposal to impose the 40-year limit on the lifespan of nuclear power plants, with extensions of up to 20 years possibly available on a one-time-only basis.
Yagi said the design of any such system should be rational and scientific.
He said he will seek an explanation from the government on how the restrictions have been set. Yagi, also president of Kansai Electric, said he will do his best to restart the No 3 and No 4 reactors at the utility's Ohi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture.
The government's Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency earlier evaluated the results of stress tests on the 2 Ohi reactors as appropriate, paving the way for restarting the idle reactors.
The final decision to resume operations at nuclear plants is in the hands of central government.
However, the Fukui prefectural government says it will not allow the reactors to return to service unless Tokyo comes up with new safety measures after examining closely the cause of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Hosono explains decontamination steps for Fukushima
Japan's Environment Minister Goshi Hosono says the government will step up its efforts to remove radioactive materials from areas near the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In a ceremony to mark the opening of the ministry's new office in Fukushima City, Hosono said the government plans to set up 5 branches of the office in Fukushima Prefecture and increase the number of staff from the current 69 to 200 in April.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Cabinet kept alarming nuke report secret
The government buried a worst-case scenario for the Fukushima nuclear crisis that was drafted last March and kept it under wraps until the end of December, sources in the administration say.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120122a1.html

State takeover of Tepco could last at least 10 years
Tokyo Electric would be effectively nationalized for at least a decade under a plan being considered by the entity funding its nuclear disaster compensation.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120122a2.html

Protesting nuclear power !!!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120122a2.html

Misogi ritual takes place in tsunami-hit Kamaishi
A group of eight men walked into the cold ocean waters off tsunami-hit Kamaishi City in Iwate Prefecture on Saturday as part of a purification ritual.
A shrine in the neighboring town of Otsuchi holds the event on the coldest day of the year according to the traditional Japanese calendar.
But as the breakwater in Otsuchi was damaged by tsunami and is no longer safe, the venue this year was moved to Kamaishi.

Contaminated crushed stone found in more houses
More buildings containing crushed stone contaminated with radioactive substances have been found in Fukushima Prefecture.
It is believed that the crushed stone used in concrete was contaminated by the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March last year.
The stone comes from a quarry in Namie Town, which was designated as an evacuation zone following the accident.
Earlier this week, high levels of radioactivity were detected in a new apartment building in Nihonmatsu City. ...

Kan to speak in Davos on nuclear plant safety
Japan's former prime minister Naoto Kan will stress the importance of safety measures at nuclear power plants when he makes a speech at the World Economic Forum on Thursday.
The annual economic forum, to be held from Wednesday to Sunday in Davos, Switzerland, will have a session focusing on the March 11th disaster in northeast Japan.
In the session on Thursday, the former prime minister will talk about safety issues at nuclear power plants, based on his experiences over the failed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Kan will urge that all the nuclear plants in operation should be equipped with multiple backup power supply. At the Fukushima plant, the loss of all power for a long time exacerbated the situation.
Kan is also expected to call for international cooperation on the development of energy-saving technology and use of renewable energy, citing the need to bring about a world not dependent on nuclear power.

No records of nuclear disaster taskforce meetings
It has been revealed that the government's nuclear disaster taskforce did not keep any records of its meetings after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.
Experts say this is a significant loss, as the minutes could help to prevent mistakes from being repeated.
The taskforce, headed by the prime minister and including all the Cabinet members, was launched on the day of the accident on March 11th last year.
It made important decisions, including the designation of evacuation areas, basic policies on decontamination and restrictions on the shipment of agricultural produce. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, January 23, 2012

. . . . . at 20:45
Earthquake M 5.1 off Fukushima
It was felt as 1 from Aomori to Shizuoka !

Off-clock radiation exposure ignored - TEPCO
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120123a5.html

10,000 people to claim more payouts from TEPCO - NHK
Around 10,000 people from an area in a no-entry zone around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are preparing to file suit to seek more compensation from the Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Recently, residents of the Odaka district in Minamisoma City, Fukushima Prefecture decided to file a class-action suit with the governmental organization set up to mediate disputes with TEPCO for damages.
They insist the current payment from the utility is insufficient.

School board apologizes for tsunami deaths
The education board in Ishinomaki City, northeastern Japan has admitted responsibility and apologized for the large number of deaths among students at the Okawa Elementary School in last year's tsunami.
70 of the school's 108 students were killed in the March 11th disaster and 4 remain missing.
The education board had provided differing accounts of the situation at 2 previous briefing sessions for parents. It had only taken limited questions, drawing criticism from parents. ...

IAEA checks Japan's nuclear safety test results
The world's nuclear watchdog has begun reviewing the safety test results for 2 of Japan's halted nuclear reactors.
The team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency started their 9-day inspection on Monday. They will advise the Japanese government if the test results and the method used were appropriate.
Ninety percent of Japan's nuclear reactors are offline due to concerns that they could be vulnerable to major earthquakes and tsunami. Passing the safety checks is a prerequisite for the idled reactors to resume operation.
The team will examine if the computer-simulated tests for 2 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in Central Japan were carried out appropriately in line with international standards. ...

Govt to compile record of nuke crisis responses
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura says the government hopes to record how it came up with policies to deal with the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Fujimura made the comment on Monday after it was found that the government's taskforce failed to keep any records of its responses to the accident on March 11th.
The taskforce of Cabinet ministers headed by the prime minister was set up on that day. It made policy decisions on the designation of evacuation areas and decontamination. ...

US to give dogwood to Japan's disaster-hit areas
The United States plans to present 3,000 dogwood seedlings this spring to Japan's northeast as another symbol of the 2 allies' friendship. The area was hit by a devastating earthquake and tsunami last March.
In 1912, then Tokyo mayor Yukio Ozaki gave the United States 3,000 cherry tree saplings. They were later planted along the Potomac River in Washington DC.

Antarctic research ship gives up reaching base
The Japanese icebreaker Shirase has given up trying to get any closer to the country's Antarctic research base due to impassable ice and snow.
The science ministry said on Monday that the vessel is now 21 kilometers from Japan's Showa Station in Antarctica and cannot advance further. ...

Govt drafts new safety steps for nuclear plants
The Japanese government is calling on local authorities near nuclear power plants to come up with new measures to prepare for possible nuclear accidents.
The government made the request on Monday at a briefing for about 100 local officials on its new draft measures for nuclear accidents. The existing measures have been under review since the accident in Fukushima.
The minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, Goshi Hosono, said the government has renewed its pledge to prevent accidents. He asked the participants to work with the government in drafting new disaster management plans and safety regulations. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

New 'Big One' forecast: four years
The risk of Tokyo and southern Kanto being hit by a major temblor is about 70 percent in the next four years, says a new study from the University of Tokyo.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120124a1.html

Tohoku job market harder on women
Women are facing greater difficulty than men in finding jobs in the most damaged parts of the Tohoku region, a labor ministry survey says.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120124a2.html

Tainted stone tied to 60 buildings so far
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120124a4.html

Another nuclear reactor going offline
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to shut down a reactor in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, for a regular inspection on Wednesday. This means 93% of Japan's nuclear reactors will be out of service.
When TEPCO shuts down the No.5 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-kariwa nuclear plant, its No.6 will be the only active reactor proiding power to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
All of TEPCO's nuclear power plants in Fukushima Prefecture are out of service due to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi. The others in the region are undergoing repairs or regular checkups. ...
From Wednesday, 50 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors will be inactive.

Reconstruction agency to be set up on Feb 10
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says the agency to oversee the reconstruction of areas damaged by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami will be launched on February 10th.
Noda stressed at a cabinet taskforce meeting that the new government arm should provide "one-stop service" to disaster-hit municipalities.
He said the agency must play an authoritative role in the rebuilding efforts, and urged the ministers to be fully prepared to support the agency. ...

Radioactive release from Fukushima plant rises
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the amount of radioactive substances being released from the plant has risen slightly. It attributes the rise to increased human activities onsite.
Tokyo Electric has been measuring the levels of radioactive substances released from damaged reactors at the plant since the accident in March.
The level measured onsite was 800-trillion becquerels per hour immediately after the accident.
Readings continued to decline, and in November and December dropped to 60 million becquerels per hour. That is about one 13 millionth the initial level.
But the company says the levels were slightly up to 70 million becquerels per hour in January.
The company says that radioactive materials around the No. 2 reactor, the surrounding of which is still highly contaminated, were stirred up by a number of workers going in and out of the building.
They were working to insert an optical fiberscope into the containment vessel as an initial step toward decommissioning the reactor.

10% sales tax not enough to attain fiscal health
Japan's government says it may not be able to meet its goal of balancing the budget by 2020, even if it doubles the consumption tax rate to 10 percent by 2015.
The government released its long-term financial forecast on Tuesday.
It shows that the deficit of the country's primary balance will exceed 16 trillion yen, or 210 billion dollars, in fiscal 2020. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The coldest morning so far, minus 5 in my valley.

Tokyo wakes up to snow, traffic snarl
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120125a3.html

Tepco down to one operating nuclear reactor
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120125a7.html

93% of Japan's nuclear reactors offline - NHK
Tokyo Electric Power Company shut down a reactor in Niigata Prefecture, central Japan, on Wednesday for a regular inspection. Fifty of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors, or 93 percent, are now out of service.
The No.5 reactor of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant stopped operating on Wednesday morning.
The plant's No.6 reactor is now the only one providing power to the Tokyo metropolitan area.
TEPCO's nuclear plants in Fukushima Prefecture are all offline after last year's accident at Fukushima Daiichi.
TEPCO will boost the capacity of its thermal power plants and ask companies and households to voluntarily save electricity. ...

Nuclear plants to prepare for faults 5km away
Japan's nuclear safety agency will instruct utilities nationwide to reassess the earthquake resistance of their nuclear power plants to comply with stricter new standards.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says utilities should prepare for fault movements that take place 5 kilometers or more from the plants.
The agency will also ask utilities to prepare for an earthquake stronger than the maximum ever recorded in the vicinity of their nuclear facilities.
Officials will continue to refine the quake-resistance standards for nuclear plants after soliciting more opinions from experts.
The new policy follows recent findings by seismologists. The agency says a magnitude 7 earthquake that struck Fukushima Prefecture in April last year resulted in the movement of a fault that was thought to be inactive. The fault is located about 50 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The agency added that the active fault could have been found earlier if drilling or other surveys had been conducted.

Fukushima panel to finalize report by late July
A government panel says it will finalize by late July its report on the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The 9-member panel held a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, the first since it released an interim report in December.
Panel leader Yotaro Hatamura told reporters afterwards that the final report will cover items that were not mentioned in the previous one.
He said the panel will conduct hearings with those who were cabinet ministers at the time of the accident to investigate the government's decision-making process.
The panel will also report on measures taken at the nearby Fukushima Daini plant after the March earthquake and tsunami.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Still colder than yesterday !
Snow forecast in cm :

source :　NHK weather

- - - - - at 5:26
Earthquake M 4.6, off Ibaraki

- - - - - at 5:47
Earthquake M 5.1, off Miyagi
Felt as 1 from Aomori to Chiba.

Nation logs its first trade deficit since 1980
Japan suffered its first trade deficit in over three decades in 2011, a year that saw natural disasters and a nuclear crisis, a historic rise in the yen and a sharp drop-off in global demand stemming from the European financial crisis.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120126a1.html

Radioactive gravel tied to more prefabs
It is highly likely that radiation-tainted gravel quarried near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was used to build three temporary housing complexes in Fukushima Prefecture, sources say.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120126a1.html

Photos found in tsunami aftermath displayed
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120126a2.html

Asian quest for energy security
East Asia's three top industrial powers, all heavily dependent on imports of Middle East oil, have moved quickly to try to secure their supplies as the West tightens sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
China, Japan and South Korea sent ministers to Arab oil-exporting neighbors of Iran earlier this month to check whether alternative supplies to fuel their economies and transport systems would be available in case Iranian oil sales are curtailed.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/eo20120126mr.html

Another reactor to be shut down for inspection NHK
The operator of a nuclear power plant in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, says it will shut down another reactor for regular inspections. The decision means that 51 of Japan's 54 reactors - 94 percent - will be offline.
The Chugoku Electric Power Company says it will begin Thursday evening shutting down reactor-2 of its Shimane power plant. The work is scheduled to be completed early Friday morning.
The plant's only other reactor is already offline for regular checkups. With the addition of the ongoing shutdown, all the nuclear power plants run by the company will be suspended.
... All 54 reactors in Japan will be offline by late April if there are no restarts before then.

IAEA inspects Ohi nuclear plant
A team of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors has observed a tsunami drill at a nuclear power plant along the Japan Sea coast.
The 10-member team visited the Ohi plant in Fukui Prefecture on Thursday to assess safety measures of the operator, Kansai Electric Power Company.
The utility carried out a drill based on a scenario in which a tsunami cuts the plant off from its outer power supply. Such an outage took place at the Fukushima Daiichi plant last March. ...

Fukushima decontamination plan worked out
Japan's Environment Ministry has compiled a 2-year plan to complete decontamination of some evacuation zones around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The ministry said on Thursday that the plan is part of an effort to allow evacuees to soon return home from the government's exclusion zone and another mandatory evacuation zone covering 11 municipalities.
A deadline of March 2014 is set for areas with radiation levels up to 50 millisieverts a year.
The ministry says the plan puts top priority on schools, parks and other facilities for children, as well as hospitals and fire departments.
The ministry hopes to finalize the schedule by March after consultations with the municipalities.
For areas with radiation levels above 50 millisieverts a year, the ministry says it will implement decontamination model projects to decide how to handle the issue.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Friday, January 27, 2012

. . . . . at 10:09
Earthquake M 4.8 - off Miyagi

. . . . . at 13:19
Earthquake M 5.1 - off Chiba

. . . . . at 14:27
Earthquake M 4.4 - off Chiba

MORIOKA, Iwate Prefecture
Well-known authors and celebrities provided inspirational messages for a booklet to encourage high school students in Iwate Prefecture affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/social_affairs/AJ201201150003

.................................................................................

Freedom of press hurt by nuclear crisis: group
Freedom of the press fell in Japan last year as "excessive restrictions" on reporting during the Fukushima nuclear crisis dragged its ranking down to 22nd in the world.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120127a3.html

IAEA team inspects two idled reactors at Kepco's Oi plant
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120127a7.html

94% of Japan's nuclear reactors offline
A nuclear reactor has been shut down for regular inspections in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan. This leaves only 3 of Japan's 54 reactors in commercial operation.
The Chugoku Electric Power Company halted the No.2 reactor at the Shimane nuclear plant on Friday morning.
The No.1 reactor is currently undergoing regular inspections. The operator is also conducting safety tests on the reactors, a prerequisite for deciding whether they can be restarted. ...

TEPCO studying joint natural gas procurement
Tokyo Electric Power Company is studying the possibility of jointly procuring natural gas with other electricity and gas suppliers.
The goal would be to curb the rise of fuel costs for thermal power plants.
TEPCO estimates that its fuel costs will increase by more than 800 billion yen, or around 10.3 billion dollars, in the current fiscal year through March. The rise stems from the suspension of nuclear plant operations following the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which TEPCO runs. ...

Fukushima mayors frustrated with slow compensation
Mayors in Fukushima Prefecture are voicing frustration over the slow pace of compensation payments for the nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Twelve mayors on Friday met with a government panel drafting compensation guidelines.
The mayors' municipalities are designated as evacuation zones due to high levels of radiation from the plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company.
Okuma Town Mayor Toshitsuna Watanabe asked the panel to quickly finalize the guidelines so that evacuees who cannot return home for many years can start new lives.
Panel chief Yoshihisa Nomi said the utility has so far paid monthly redress, on the assumption evacuees will be able to return home. He said the panel may consider lump sum payments for people who may have to wait 20 years to go home. ...

Quake and strong yen dent car sales in 2011
Auto production in Japan fell by more than 1 million units last year due to local and overseas disasters, and the strong yen.
Figures released by Japan's 8 major carmakers on Friday show a drop in output of 13 percent, or 1.2 million units from the previous year. The firms built less than 8 million vehicles domestically in 2011. ...

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Summer power curbs said unlikely
Curbs on power use may not be necessary next summer even if all 54 of Japan's commercial nuclear reactors are suspended by then, trade minister Yukio Edano says.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120128a1.html

Nuclear foes defy order to remove tents from the grounds of METI
Antinuclear activists camping out at the industry ministry ignore an order to take down their tents, and hundreds of people turn out at the ministry to show their support for the protesters.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120128a2.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Sunday, January 29, 2012

. . . . . at 16:46
Earthquake M 4.7, Yamanashi, five lakes around Mt. Fuji
山梨県東部・富士五湖
2012年1月29日　0時02分 - 2.9
2012年1月29日　0時23分 - 2.2
2012年1月29日　15時20分 - 2.9
2012年1月29日　16時51分 - 4.7
2012年1月29日　17時41分 - 2.9
2012年1月29日　17時46分 - 3.2
2012年1月29日　18時31分 - 2.3
2012年1月29日　18時43分 - 2.9
2012年1月29日　20時44分 - 2.6

(there have been quite a few minor earthquakes in this region today !)

Active 200-km fault found off Honshu's Kii Peninsula
A team from the University of Tokyo finds an active fault line around 200 km long off Honshu's coast that probably produced some of Japan's largest earthquakes.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120129a1.html

State won't fund free medical care in Fukushima
The government will not pay for free medical care to be provided to people aged 18 and younger in Fukushima Prefecture, reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano announces.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120129a3.html

Gov to purchase new cesium detection equipment
Japan's health ministry will subsidize half the cost of installing highly sensitive radioactive cesium detectors in an effort to strengthen food safety standards nationwide.
Subsidies will be distributed to local governments around the country and tougher safety standards will take effect in April.
Under the new safety standards, general food products will be allowed to contain 100 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, an 80% reduction from the current permissible level.
Baby food and milk will be allowed to contain 50 becquerels and drinking water just 10 becquerels.
The guidelines state if a conventional test detects half the radiation safety level in any food item, then that item should be subject to a stricter screening method.
The health ministry decided that more sensitive equipment is needed, which can detect levels as low as 25 becquerels of cesium.
Some of the devices currently installed in local government offices are unable to measure low levels of cesium or are too slow at taking measurements.

Radiation study of wildlife planned in Fukushima
Japan will launch a comprehensive study to monitor the impact of radiation exposure on wild animals and plants around the damaged nuclear plant in Fukushima.
Fukushima Prefecture requested the study, which will be conducted by the Environment Ministry with the cooperation of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences.
Levels of radioactive cesium in wildlife will be tested at 25 locations, both at land and sea. The proposed testing sites include places with high levels of radiation and areas with less radiation for comparison purposes.
The species to be studied include Japanese red pine and bristlegrass, as well as rats, frogs, and mussels.
They were picked from species designated by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, an organization which deals with effects linked to exposure to radiation.
Collection of some species has already begun. Researchers will check plant and animal appearance, chromosomes, and reproductive function for the influence of any radioactivity from the damaged plant.
The rate of germination of seeds will also be studied.
The ministry suggests that the study would have to take into account the effects of weather and other factors on the growth of wildlife. But it says it hopes to provide new insights by accumulating a sizable amount of data.
The ministry plans to compile an interim report by March 2013.

Giant fault to magnify tsunami found in west Japan
Scientists have found a 200-kilometer-long cliff on the seabed off Kii Peninsula, western Japan. They warn it could magnify the scale of tsunami in the event of a major earthquake.
A team of researchers from University of Tokyo and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology found the giant fault using a deep-sea research vessel.
They say the underwater cliff crosses neighboring focal zones for major earthquakes that periodically hit western Japan.
The 200-kilometer-long drop-off is up to 1,000 meters tall. . . .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Monday, January 30, 2012

Hosono urges towns to aid disposal effort
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120130a4.html

Frozen water blamed for leaks at Fukushima plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company has found water leaks in 14 locations at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The utility says the leaks apparently occurred after frozen water ruptured the pipes and the leaked water did not contain any radioactive materials.
Tokyo Electric said about 40 liters of water leaked from a cooling system for a spent fuel pool at the No.4 reactor on Sunday, but the flow stopped when workers closed the valve.
The company said the leak forced the system to stop for one hour and 40 minutes, but the pool's temperature did not rise.Tokyo Electric said 7 tons of water had leaked from the No.6 reactor.
The temperature fell to minus 8 degrees Celsius on Sunday morning near the damaged plant.
Ruptured pipes caused 3 water leaks on the previous day.
Tokyo Electric official Junichi Matsumoto admitted that the utility failed to take sufficient steps to prevent frozen pipes. He said it will take quick action to protect the pipes from the cold weather.

TEPCO ordered to prevent water leaks at reactors
Japan's nuclear safety agency has instructed the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent water leaks at the plant.
The move follows the discovery of water leaks on Sunday in 14 locations at the damaged plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company says about 40 liters of water leaked from a cooling system for a spent fuel pool at the No. 4 reactor, forcing the system to stop for one hour and 40 minutes. The utility also says that 7 tons of water leaked from the No. 6 reactor.
The company says that the leakages apparently occurred after frozen water in pipes loosened the pipes' connections or broke some parts. The company adds that the leaked water did not contain radioactive materials or had already been processed to remove them.
Similar water leaks occurred in 3 locations at the plant on the previous day.
Responding to the agency's call for preventive measures, TEPCO has decided to conduct frequent checks on early mornings when temperatures often drop below zero and protect pipes from the cold with insulation materials or heaters, if necessary.
The utility says measures are already in place to protect critical systems, such as those used for cooling reactors.

More water leaks found at Fukushima nuclear plant
More water leaks have been found at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company told reporters on Monday morning that it has discovered 2 additional water leaks at the nuclear plant.
This comes after it was announced on Sunday that nearly 8 tons of water was found to have leaked in 14 locations at the plant.
One of the 2 new findings involves about 30 liters of water that has leaked from a device that is removing salt from contaminated water. The other leak is from a valve of a pipe that is injecting water into a reactor.
TEPCO says leaked water has neither spilled out of the plant, nor flowed into the sea.
The utility firm is trying to determine whether water in some of the pipes froze and cracked the pipes, or loosened the pipes' connections.
It plans to quickly implement preventive measures, including carrying out more patrols early in the morning and wrapping insulation around the pipes and other equipment.
The temperature on Monday morning around the plant dropped to minus 8.7 degrees Celsius.

Hiroshima Atom Bomb Dome undergoing check
The Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima is undergoing an inspection to check for possible deterioration from age.
Hiroshima City has been conducting the survey every 3 years since 1992 to check for damage on the walls and the degree of the dome's tilt. The dome was heavily damaged by the 1945 atomic bombing, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The dome was built in 1915 and was originally known as the Industrial Promotion Hall.
The inspection was opened to the media on Monday after scaffolding was erected around the building.

Japan-made robots ready for Fukushima mission
Japanese researchers have completed the development of 2 new robots for work at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The robots, built by researchers at Chiba Institute of Technology and other organizations, will succeed Japan's first and sole domestic robot that has been used at the damaged reactor buildings since the nuclear crisis began in March 2011.
The first model began its mission at the power plant in June to measure radioactivity inside buildings and take video footage. But, in October, the device got stuck after becoming tangled in cables. . . . . . One of the 2 robots is equipped with a new device that allows more accurate measurements of radiation levels. The other carries a new scanner to measure 3-dimensional space.
The 2 robots will be deployed at the Fukushima power plant by mid-March.

Exxon Mobil to downsize Japan operations
US oil giant Exxon Mobil is downsizing its business in Japan.
The growing popularity of fuel-efficient vehicles and the decreasing number of cars is slowing down demand for gasoline in the country.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Another cold wave over Japan.
Incredible amounts of snow for the coastline of Nihonkai.

Fukushima No. 1 pipes freeze, leak
Two more water leaks are found at the crippled Fukushima power plant after 14 others linked to freezing weather halted cooling of a spent-fuel pool.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120131a1.html
(Imagine these engineers, not thinking about winter temperatures . . .)

Upgraded Quince robots ready for second foray
New robots for exploring the radiation-tainted Fukushima plant are ready for action, three months after an older version got stuck inside.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120131a2.html

Cyber-attack disrupts website of nuclear crisis panel
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120131a6.html

Population in Tohoku declines
The 3 Japanese prefectures hit hard by the March 11th disaster experienced a net decline in population of more than 40,000 people.
The internal affairs ministry announced on Monday the result of last year's demographic survey conducted in the northeastern prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.
Statistics show that 129,385 people moved out of the prefectures, while 88,159 moved in, resulting in a net decline of 41,226.
The population in the area has decreased more than 40,000 for the first time since 1970.
Fukushima Prefecture lost a net 31,381 people, the worst among the 3 prefectures.
The ministry says the figure shows that many people left Fukushima Prefecture following the earthquake and tsunami and the accident at the nuclear power plant.

Scientists warn of huge quake east of Japan Trench
Japanese researchers say the March 11th disaster has increased the risk of a major quake and tsunami east of the Japan Trench off northeastern Japan.
The research was carried out by a group at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
The Japan Trench is where the Pacific Plate begins to sink under the tectonic plate extending from land.
The March 11th earthquake originated closer to land from the plate boundary.
The research group installed 20 seismometers on the seabed east of the Japan Trench to analyze aftershocks that occurred between late April and early July last year.
The data showed that the March quake apparently changed the dynamic force deep inside the Pacific Plate. . . .
maybe also Mount Fuji will erupt ?

Govt plans Fukushima decontamination test-run
Japan's Environment Ministry has unveiled a model project designed to decontaminate areas with high levels of radiation around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
In a test-run for a wider clean-up, the ministry will first try to decontaminate 3 closed sections of a national expressway running through the no-entry zone near the plant.
The ministry last week announced a 2-year plan to decontaminate by March 2014 some evacuation zones where radiation levels have dropped below 50 millisieverts per year.
Radiation levels over a total 5 kilometers of expressway slated for the new project have ranged from a little to substantially above 50 millisieverts a year.
The ministry plans to assess the project's effectiveness in a test-run from the middle of March through July.

Tsunami alerts to be revised
Japan's Meteorological Agency has come up with new guidelines for issuing tsunami alerts after an earthquake.
Following the massive earthquake that hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011, the emergency alerts issued to the public underestimated the possible tsunami height.
A panel of tsunami and disaster prevention experts compiled the revised guidelines at its final meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday.
The new guidelines call for the Meteorological Agency to simplify the predicted heights of tsunamis from the current 8 levels to 5. The new levels measured in meters are 1, 3, 5, 10 and over 10 meters.
If an earthquake's strength is not immediately known, the guidelines call for weather officials to issue a maximum alert without a numerical tsunami height prediction.
Such alerts will describe the possible tsunami either as giant or high, and urge people to immediately take shelter or evacuate.
The Meteorological Agency intends to put the new guidelines in place by the end of the year.

IAEA endorses nuclear stress test oversight
International nuclear inspectors say the way Japan's nuclear agency has been overseeing safety tests at idled reactors is in line with international standards.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspection team James Lyons submitted a report to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency's Director General, Hiroyuki Fukano, on Tuesday.
The report notes that Japan's agency has been making on-site visits to reactors and disclosing the evaluation process.
It says as the regulator overseeing the stress tests, the agency's assessment of procedures carried out by power companies was appropriate. ...
.
Govt okays bill for new nuclear regulatory agency
Japan's government has approved a bill to launch a new nuclear safety regulator in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
The bill, endorsed at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, calls for the new agency to be created in April as an outside body of the Environment Ministry.
The aim is to strengthen safety controls and unify supervision of nuclear power generation. ...
The government's legislation also stipulates for the first time that the operating life of a nuclear reactor be limited to 40 years.
One-time extensions of 20 years at most would be possible, but only in rare and exceptional cases.

Cranes heading for north
In a signal that spring is on its way, cranes have begun flying to the north, after wintering in Japan.
More than 13,000 cranes have been in Izumi Plains, in the southwestern prefecture of Kagoshima, since last October. The area is the largest wintering district for cranes in Japan.
On Monday morning, a lead group of 17 white-necked cranes took off. They were followed by one group after another, all winging their way toward northern regions, including Siberia. The departure was 2 days earlier than last year. Groups of cranes will continue to take off on their journey north until April.
No bird flu has been detected among the cranes this winter. But the prefecture's association for crane protection will continue to observe the birds closely until April.
Severe cold weather and heavy snowfall continues to prevail in wider parts of Japan, but the birds seem to be saying that spring is around corner.

Kawauchi village to return home in April
The mayor of a village near the troubled Fukushima nuclear power plant has announced a schedule to start bringing home all evacuees in April.
Mayor Yuko Endo of Kawauchi Village visited Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato on Tuesday to explain the schedule for reopening the village's office, elementary and junior high schools and a child-care center at their original locations in April.
They were shut down following the catastrophic nuclear accident in March last year and all of the village's population of about 3000 was forced to evacuate as the entire area was situated in an evacuation zone.
In September, part of the village was declared safe for them to return. But only about 200 people, or 7 percent of the total, have returned home, due to a lack of jobs and a delay in the decontamination of radioactive materials.
The mayor says that he wants to pave the way for as many residents as possible to return home.
The nuclear accident forced the wholesale evacuation of 9 municipalities in Fukushima, including their local governments. Kawauchi will be the first to return home.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference that Kawauchi Village has now taken the first step forward in its efforts to bring everyone back home.
He said the government will speed up its work to decontaminate the village and provide other support.

Rock band to tell the world about 3.11 disaster
A Japanese-Canadian rock band has been named an envoy to tell the world how Japan is recovering from last year's earthquake and tsunami.
Japan's Foreign Ministry has appointed about 20 people, including celebrities and disaster-area municipal employees, as "kizuna ambassadors," named for the Japanese word for the ties that bind people together.
One of them is the Sendai-based rock band Monkey Majik, with 2 Japanese and 2 Canadian members.
The group has been taking part in various volunteer activities.

Continue:

. February 2012 .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

sources
. . Bulletins from NHK WORLD . .
. . Japan Times - JT . .

December 2011

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kibo ("Brimming with Hope")
Recipes and Stories from Japan's Tohoku
Written by Elizabeth Andoh
source : www.randomhouse.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Team Heal Japan
Sean Muramatsu
http://www.teamheal.jp/

Knit for Japan
Knitting charity to support victims of the Tohoku earthquake in Japan.
東日本大震災の被災者のための編み物慈善活動
Bernd Kestler

source : knitforjapan.wordpress.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Sanriku Fukkoo　三陸復興 Help Sanriku ! .

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

New Year Poetry 2012 - HAIKU

2012-01-26T01:32:00.000+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

New Year Present -
let us embrace
the Joys of the World

Invitation to a linked verse for 2012 !

Please join with your short form poetry,
using the last word of the poem you find last.

Here it would be WORLD

world wide web--
all languages sharing
the haiku season
Carole MacRury

season of Joy -
don't just click "like"
add your poem !
Gabi

poems have words
which all bear meanings -
colourful butterflies
Ioana Dinescu

butterflies...
the sunrise warms
a cloud
Dennis Chibi

cloud funding -
Tohoku gets
another boost
Gabi
'Social funding' helps artists make dreams come true
- The Mainichi Daily News

another boost --
the youngest child places
the Star on the tree
Karen Cesar

kizuna 絆　

trees trashed by waves -
death helps to foster
new bonds
Gabi

bonds strengthen
between those in need
of a helping hand
Dennis Chibi

in his tiny hands
a gift from above
first snow
Judith Gorgone

Snow white and clean
cover the earth like a blanket
Aleks Song

blanket of mist
the patient hills
wait for
Johannes Manjrekar

sunrise warmth -
the little kitty yawns
and licks the sun
Surmeet Maavi

sun
dragon's breath
in the sky
Susan E. Buffington

skyward
the rainbow fills
my lungs
Don Baird

lungs fill with cold air
that make the breath blow smoke rings -
dragon nostrils curl
Pat Geyer ‎

winter sun ~
a few ice crystals remain
in the curl of a leaf
Elaine Andre ‎

in the curl of a leaf
your lost
contact lens
Donall Dempsey

new vision ~
a Japanese lens
on the camera
Elaine Andre ‎

camera
catching the moment
forever
Sandip Sital Chauhan ‎

forever -
life goes on
in Tohoku
Gabi Greve

in Tohoku
the great dragon
arches its spine
Karen Cesar ‎

. . . . . January 25

spine cold -
if this word exists
it's this morning
Gabi

it's this morning!
another chapter
in your story
Karen Cesar ‎

story of the mountain
engraved on my old boots
and worn out backpack
Surmeet Maavi

break of thick clouds,
how bright
is the sun...
~hideo on a cold new year day

the sun
shining its light
on withered leaves
Sandip Sital Chauhan

on withered leaves
a thin trail of slime --
climbing Mount Fuji!
Karen Cesar

Fuji sunrise -
sharing the view
on YOUTUBE -
Gabi

source : www.youtube.com

the globe shrinks ~
community on YouTube
vis-a-vis
Elaine Andre ‎

YouTube music
through my window
the wedding band
Johannes Manjrekar

wedding band
plays melodies again
in the video tape
Surmeet Maavi

wedding band
wail of police sirene
into window
Gennady Nov

window shopping –
the snow still fresh
on the reindeer
Johannes Manjrekar

reindeers already gone
to northern land
leaving snow ...
Hideo Suzuki ‎

snow on the road -
my white cat looks suddenly
a little bit grey
Ioana Dinescu

grey sky
the little girl's
luminous face
Johannes Manjrekar

face...
she hides hers
to save his
Susan E. Buffington

- - - - - Shining face
a woman gave birth to a baby
Aleks Song

baby steps
when linking HAIKU -
Joys of Japan
Gabi Greve

.................................................................................

. Joys of Japan - Poetry .

Please join
or leave your poem as a comment to this page !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

January 11, Remember March 11 - Jan 20

2012-01-20T16:04:00.004+09:00

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The 11th month after the earthquake starts !

ten months later -
nothing can erase
these memories

. Remember March 11, 2011, 14:46 　

. - The End of the Year 2011 - .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. . Joys of Japan .

Join the Friends on Facebook !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Gabi reports:

It is now ten months since the great earthquake, tsunami and reactor crises.

. News from December, 2011 .

The Japan Times will cease uploading the daily map of radiation levels in eastern Japan
because conditions appear to have stabilized.
Significant events that result in further radiation releases will be monitored.

. DAILY Radiation Eastern Japan .

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Bulletins from NHK Online
source : www3.nhk.or.jp

Hiroshima peace clock reset after US nuclear tests
An atomic bomb museum in Hiroshima has reset a clock known as the "Peace Watch" to protest nuclear tests conducted by the United States last year.
The clock at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum displays the number of days since the world's last nuclear test.
Museum Director Koichiro Maeda on Tuesday pressed the button setting the clock back to 55, the number of days since the US last carried out a test on November 16th. ...

Cabinet approval rate plunges to 30%
An NHK poll shows the approval rate for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's cabinet has plunged by half after 4 months in office. ...

Fukushima fishermen pray for disaster victims
At a fishing port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, some 100 fishermen and others observed silent prayers for the dead and missing in the March 11th disaster, exactly 10 months after the calamity on Wednesday.
These fishermen remain unable to resume work and instead have to clean debris from around the devastated port.
One of them is a man who lives in emergency housing after being evacuated from his home near the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. He said there is no telling when the seawater will be decontaminated, and he is frustrated at being unable to go to sea.
Many Fukushima fishermen are forced to stay on land because radioactive substances continue to be found in excess of government safety limits in fish caught off the prefecture.
Fukushima suffered triple disasters --- the earthquake, tsunami and the ensuing nuclear accident. In addition to the 1,605 dead and 217 missing, about 156,500 residents remain evacuated in and outside the prefecture.
Many of the evacuees are expressing worry and frustration, as it remains uncertain when they can return home.
The March 11th disaster left a total of 19,294 people dead or missing, mostly in northeastern Japan.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Voices from around

Japan Times:

In Tohoku, Noda touts recovery agency
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Tuesday visited two cities hit hard by the March 11 disasters and vowed to speed up efforts to rebuild the Tohoku region by launching a reconstruction agency as early as next month.
"Everyone's livelihoods are at stake, so we will tackle (reconstruction) with speed," Noda told reporters after visiting Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture. "We want to ensure that the reconstruction agency will be centralized to heed the requests of disaster victims."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120111a8.html

Schools in Minamisoma getting back to normal
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120111a7.html

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

If anyone can make Tohoku smile,
the candy man can

A group of confectioneries whose offices and factories are located in the six prefectures that form the Tohoku region will be selling a joint packaged set to show solidarity in support of reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

"We decided that it was crucial that Tohoku come together as one right now to overcome difficulties," said Shuhei Sasaki, head of Ragueneau Sasaki, which produces various pastries that use Aomori's trademark apples.

Sasaki called upon fellow colleagues in the trade to join the project and began preparations in June last year.

The colorfully packaged set called "Michinoku-shu" (Distant province), features dainty morsels developed specially for the joint effort by six companies: Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture-based Ragueneau Sasaki Inc.; Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture-based Kurata Co.; the Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture plant of Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture-based Granver; Kotobuki Sanshokumonaka Honpo Ltd. of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture; Kineya Inc. of Kaminoyama, Yamagata Prefecture; and Kashiwaya Co. of Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture.
source : ajw.asahi.com

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, January 12, 2012

. . . . . at 12:20
Earthquake M 5.8 off Fukushima
with minor quakes of 4.8 and 3.8 within a few hours.
. . . . at 14:37
Earthquake M 5.4 off Miyagi
..... at 16:49
Earthquake M 4.4 off Fukushima
..... at 18:22
Earthquake M 4.2 off Fukushima
..... at 18:41
Earthquake M 4.0 off Ibaraki

Key antinuclear confab will offer lessons for global thought
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120112a5.html

Police hunt for missing 10 months on
SENDAI — Police carried out an intensive search for people still missing in the March 11 disasters in Miyagi Prefecture on Wednesday, 10 months after the massive quake and tsunami wreaked havoc on Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku region.
The death toll reached 15,844 in 12 prefectures as of Tuesday, including 9,506 in Miyagi, 4,667 in Iwate and 1,605 in Fukushima prefectures, with 3,450 people remaining unaccounted for, including 1,861 in Miyagi and 1,368 in Iwate, National Police Agency data show.
Wednesday's search was focused on the coastline of Kesennuma, one of the hardest-hit areas in the region, where bodies and belongings of victims may have been washed ashore. No new bodies have been found in Miyagi since Dec. 13, according to police.
"It has become difficult to find bodies 10 months after the disaster, but we hope to continue our search efforts," a police officer in charge said.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120112a8.html

No. 1 plant radioactive water leak kept ashore
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120112a9.html

Reconstruction bonds spark strong individual demand
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120112a1.html

Reactor monitor failure caused by bad maintenance - NHK
The operator of a nuclear monitoring system covering Japan says the system malfunctioned last month because of poor maintenance.
The Emergency Response and Support System failed to transmit data to terminal screens at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency for more than 24 hours from December 30th. The agency also failed to notice the problem for more than one hour.
The system monitors pressure, temperature, and other real-time conditions of reactors at nuclear power plants around the country, as well as radiation levels in surrounding areas.
An investigation by the government-affiliated corporation that manages the system revealed that the data-processing functions malfunctioned because of poor maintenance.
The corporation says it will step up its maintenance of the system by rebooting its server software twice a year and introducing an automated alarm system.

Local govts start discussing waste soil storage
Fukushima prefecture and municipalities near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have started discussing whether to accept the central government's plan to temporarily store radioactive waste in their communities.
The first round of talks on Thursday came after the central government in December requested permission to build storage facilities in an area where 8 towns and villages are located.
Futaba Town was absent from the meeting, as the town mayor earlier this month expressed opposition to the plan, citing lack of local consent.
During the discussion, some municipalities said the central government should further explain the entire picture of radioactive waste disposal.
They also agreed to ask Futaba Town to participate in upcoming talks, saying all the communities need to cooperate in the matter.

New Year poetry reading held at Imperial Palace
The annual New Year's poetry reading took place at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Thursday.
This year's theme for the 31-syllable "waka" poems was "kishi" a Japanese word meaning "shore".
... Poems by Imperial family members were also recited.
The Emperor's poem describes the view of a tsunami-hit coastal area in Iwate that he saw from a helicopter with the Empress in May.
It translates as:
What was it like then/ When the tsunami came to shore/ I look down and wonder/ Below me spreads the blue sea/ Quiet and perfectly still.
The Empress expressed her thoughts for people who stand on shores, regardless of the season, waiting for someone to return.
A poem by the Empress translates as:
To stand there and wait/ For someone to come back home/ Through the four seasons/ So no "shore" do we find / In the haiku compendium.
The Imperial Palace says the Empress seems to be describing her feelings not only for the families of those who are missing after the March tsunami but also for those who repatriated from overseas after World War 2.

Local govts start discussing waste soil storage
Fukushima prefecture and municipalities near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have started discussing whether to accept the central government's plan to temporarily store radioactive waste in their communities.
The first round of talks on Thursday came after the central government in December requested permission to build storage facilities in an area where 8 towns and villages are located.
Futaba Town was absent from the meeting, as the town mayor earlier this month expressed opposition to the plan, citing lack of local consent.
During the discussion, some municipalities said the central government should further explain the entire picture of radioactive waste disposal.
They also agreed to ask Futaba Town to participate in upcoming talks, saying all the communities need to cooperate in the matter.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Friday, January 13, 2012

Fukushima to test milk from 10,000 mothers
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120113a4.html

Co-op checking meals for cesium
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120113a5.html

The Emperor recounts visit
to tsunami-devastated shores in New Year's poem :

What was it like then
When the tsunami came to shore
I look down and wonder
Below me spreads the blue sea
Quiet and perfectly still.

Empress Michiko :

To stand there and wait
For someone to come back home
Through the four seasons
So no "shore" do we find
In the haiku compendium.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120113a6.html

Nuke plant testing body told not to rely on makers - NHK
The organization in charge of assessing the safety of Japan's nuclear plants has been advised not to rely on manufacturers that conduct quality checks on their own products.
An independent panel of experts made the recommendation in a final report on inspections of nuclear fuel rods conducted by the government-affiliated Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization in 2008.
The organization admitted last year that it failed to notice mistakes in a manufacturer's manual used to clear the fuel rods during the inspections. The panel found similar problems in checks on other components of a nuclear reactor.
Questioning the independence of the organization, the report recommends that it make its own manuals and keeps records of its meetings with manufacturers for review.
A lawyer who chairs the third party panel says that an examination should be independent and that examiners and examinees should not collaborate.
Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization says that it plans to create a time schedule for reviewing its screening procedures.

Over 90% of Japan's reactors to be offline
This week another nuclear reactor in Japan will be shut down for regular inspections. With this addition to the list, more than 90 percent of the reactors in the country will be out of service.
Shikoku Electric Power Company will start procedures on Friday to reduce the power output from the No.2 reactor at the Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime Prefecture, western Japan.
The reactor will shut down on Saturday for a 3-month inspection.
When it shuts down, 49 of the country's 54 reactors will be out of service.
Stress tests are required before the reactors can resume operations.
In addition, Ehime Prefecture and Ikata Town officials say they can't decide whether to approve resumption of operations for the nuclear reactors until the central government draws up new safety guidelines that take into account the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Other local authorities are also cautious about putting nuclear reactors in their areas back online.
All currently operating nuclear reactors in Japan are scheduled to undergo inspection by this spring, at the latest.
If the present deadlock continues, the country could see all 54 nuclear reactors shut down.

Noda replaces 5 ministers in reshuffle
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has appointed Katsuya Okada, former secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, as deputy prime minister.

Nankai quake may cause sustained jolts in Osaka
A panel of seismologists has predicted that a magnitude 8 earthquake in western Japan would cause long-period ground motions lasting more than 5 minutes in the commercial hub of Osaka.
Long-period tremors often occur during powerful earthquakes and have cycles of at least several seconds. They do not weaken much by distance, and can sway high-rise buildings far from the epicenter.
The government's Earthquake Research Committee on Friday released a map of long-period ground motions for a major quake in the Nankai region of western Japan. The simulation was based on a magnitude 8 earthquake that struck the region in 1946. The quake killed more than 1,300 people.
The results show that long-period tremors would intensify in the plains and basins of Osaka, Aichi and Tokushima Prefectures with ground movements likely to last for 5 minutes or longer. Osaka is more than 200 kilometers from the Nankai region.
The jolts would be further amplified in areas that lie on thick layers of soft sediment. A tremor with a cycle of 3 seconds would shake buildings by more than 50 centimeters in both directions in Osaka's waterfront and some inland areas.
In the magnitude 9 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan last March, long-period jolts shook high-rises and damaged oil tanks hundreds of kilometers away in Tokyo, Osaka and other regions.

TEPCO deposits $1.5 bil. at legal affairs bureau
The operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has deposited 120-billion yen, or around 1.56-billion dollars, with the state in place of insurance coverage.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, made the deposit at the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau on Friday, due to little prospect of finding private-sector insurers to provide coverage for the firm's power plants.
The firm is currently covered by the Japan Atomic Energy Insurance Pool, an industry organization established by 23 non-life insurers. But the group decided last August that it would not renew TEPCO's contract after it expires on Sunday.
Japanese utilities operating nuclear power plants are legally obliged to secure 120-billion yen to prepare for accidents by obtaining coverage from non-life insurers.
The science and technology ministry says the deposit is the first made by a power company at a legal affairs office in place of insurance coverage.
TEPCO says it is still seeking coverage from private-sector insurers.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Shareholders to sue Tepco directors
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120114a6.html

4,000 in Tohoku to lose jobless benefits as extensions end
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120114a8.html

Tepco to humbly seek state nod to hike rates
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120114a1.html

Nankai quake may cause sustained jolts in Osaka
A panel of seismologists has predicted that a magnitude 8 earthquake in western Japan would cause long-period ground motions lasting more than 5 minutes in the commercial hub of Osaka.
Long-period tremors often occur during powerful earthquakes and have cycles of at least several seconds. They do not weaken much by distance, and can sway high-rise buildings far from the epicenter.
The government's Earthquake Research Committee on Friday released a map of long-period ground motions for a major quake in the Nankai region of western Japan. The simulation was based on a magnitude 8 earthquake that struck the region in 1946. The quake killed more than 1,300 people.
The results show that long-period tremors would intensify in the plains and basins of Osaka, Aichi and Tokushima Prefectures with ground movements likely to last for 5 minutes or longer. Osaka is more than 200 kilometers from the Nankai region.
The jolts would be further amplified in areas that lie on thick layers of soft sediment. A tremor with a cycle of 3 seconds would shake buildings by more than 50 centimeters in both directions in Osaka's waterfront and some inland areas.
In the magnitude 9 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan last March, long-period jolts shook high-rises and damaged oil tanks hundreds of kilometers away in Tokyo, Osaka and other regions.

TEPCO deposits $1.5 bil. at legal affairs bureau
The operator of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has deposited 120-billion yen, or around 1.56-billion dollars, with the state in place of insurance coverage.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, made the deposit at the Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau on Friday, due to little prospect of finding private-sector insurers to provide coverage for the firm's power plants.
The firm is currently covered by the Japan Atomic Energy Insurance Pool, an industry organization established by 23 non-life insurers. But the group decided last August that it would not renew TEPCO's contract after it expires on Sunday.
Japanese utilities operating nuclear power plants are legally obliged to secure 120-billion yen to prepare for accidents by obtaining coverage from non-life insurers.
The science and technology ministry says the deposit is the first made by a power company at a legal affairs office in place of insurance coverage.
TEPCO says it is still seeking coverage from private-sector insurers.

Japan's new cabinet launched
Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has launched his reshuffled cabinet.
5 new ministers were officially appointed at an attestation ceremony at the Imperial Palace on Friday.

Former PM attends Fukushima accident hearing
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan has attended a meeting of a Japanese civic group that is investigating the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The Independent Investigation Commission of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident held a closed-door session on Saturday to hear how the government dealt with the accident.
It was Kan's first appearance at such an occasion even though government and Diet panels have held similar hearings.
The commission says Kan described the situation inside the prime minister's office immediately after the nuclear accident.
It quotes Kan as saying that, until then, there was no denying that everyone in Japan believed in the safety of nuclear power plants.
Kan encouraged the 6-member commission, saying it is meaningful that different groups including civic ones investigate the accident.
The head of the commission, Koichi Kitazawa, said the other hearings shed light on how politicians tried to tackle the nuclear crisis even though they were skeptical about the functions of political organizations and their management systems.
He said his group intends to pursue its investigation so that a similar crisis will not happen in Japan again.
The commission will make its report public at the end of next month.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Yokohama antinuclear conference draws thousands of activists, experts
A two-day antinuclear conference kicks off in Yokohama with the aim of sharing lessons from the Fukushima crisis and fostering global momentum against atomic power.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120115a3.html

New Year shinto ritual held in quake-hit Miyagi
The traditional Shinto ritual of burning New Year decorations has been performed in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture to pray for good health.
Miyagi was extremely hard hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Monday, January 16, 2012

Antinuke confab urges backing for victims' rights
International organizers wrap up a large antinuclear conference in Yokohama by demanding proper support for victims of the Fukushima disaster and spelling out their rights, including "the right to evacuation, health care, decontamination and compensation."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120116a2.html

Disaster left cities in limbo: mayors
Mayors from municipalities dotting the region around the shattered Fukushima nuclear plant tell how the disaster shattered communities and marked the beginning of a long journey that may never end.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120116a3.html

Concrete sold to over 200 firms may be tainted
The Japanese government is investigating the distribution of crushed stones that may contain radioactivity from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It has found that concrete made of the stones has been sold to more than 200 firms.
The probe comes after radioactive cesium was detected in a new apartment building in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture where the concrete was used. Readings of up to 1.24 microsieverts per hour have been recorded inside the building which is higher than outside.
The gravel comes from a quarry in Namie that was designated as an evacuation zone in April.
The quarry operator says it shipped more than 5,000 tons of crushed stones to 19 firms in the weeks after the accident. The government has set no limit on radiation in stones and sand used for construction even after the nuclear accident.
The company president told reporters on Monday that he never imagined that stones from his quarry would cause such a problem and that he wants to apologize to residents of the building for their exposure to radiation.
The economy ministry says 2 of the 19 firms sold concrete made of the stones to more than 200 companies. It believes that the concrete was used in housing construction and on roads.
The city found that the radioactive cesium level on the first floor was 1.24 microsieverts per hour, which is higher than outside.

Radiation levels on the second and third floors were much lower.
The officials say that the gravel used on the first floor came from a stone-crushing site in Namie Town in an evacuation zone near the crippled plant.
The city says it will ask the tenants of the first-floor apartments to move out and will interview the other residents.
The city and the central government will confirm the cause of the contamination and check if gravel from the same site has been used elsewhere.

Shareholders to sue TEPCO executives
Tokyo Electric Power Company shareholders will be suing the utility's current and former executives over the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.
Last November, 42 shareholders demanded the company's auditors file a lawsuit against 60 people who held executive posts.
They requested over 5.5 trillion yen, or about 71 billion dollars, in compensation.
But on Monday, TEPCO notified the shareholders in writing that it will not take legal action against them. The utility stated that the size of the March 11th tsunami was unforeseeable. It said because of this, the executives cannot be held responsible for the nuclear disaster.
In response, the shareholders say they want to file a suit with the Tokyo District Court by the end of January.
Hiroyuki Kawai, a lawyer representing the shareholders, criticized TEPCO auditors for claiming the tsunami was unforeseeable and expressing no remorse.

Iwate Pref. to commisssion land assesments
Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan says it will commission outside experts to make property assessments of areas struck by a tsunami last March.
Governor Takuya Tasso announced on Monday that the prefecture will ask a group of licensed real estate appraisers to assess the value of flooded land.
The experts will focus on more than 60 locations in 12 municipalities along the tsunami-hit coast and submit the results at the end of March.
Iwate is the first among the 3 worst-hit prefectures to introduce such assessments.
Municipalities are usually in charge of land assessment, but evaluating tsunami-flooded areas is proving difficult. ...
Communities along the coast are planning to relocate houses and buildings to higher ground or inland areas. ...

TEPCO submits results of first stress test
Tokyo Electric Power Company has submitted to the government the results of stress tests on 2 nuclear reactors along the Japan Sea coast.
TEPCO handed over to the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency on Monday test results of the No.1 and No.7 reactors at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant in Niigata Prefecture.
It says the tests show that the facilities are capable of surviving an earthquake 1.3 times the strength the plant was designed to withstand. It also says it could endure a tsunami of up to 15 meters - nearly five times that of the safety standard set by the company.
This is the first time TEPCO has filed its test results.
The assessment on the safety of nuclear power plants is a precondition for restarting reactors that have been suspended for regular inspections.
Utilities across Japan have so far submitted stress test results on 14 reactors, which account for nearly 30 percent of the reactors that have been shut down for regular inspections.
TEPCO's senior vice president, Zengo Aizawa told NHK that the utility considers the 2 reactors as being safe.
However, he said the company wants to explain the results to the local authorities and residents, and that it is still not the right time to restart the reactors.
Meanwhile, Niigata Governor Hirohiko Izumida says he questions the wisdom of carrying out such a test when the accident at the Fukushima nuclear plant has not yet been fully inspected.
He says that it's still too early to decide whether to restart the reactors.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

11 hot-zone holdouts refuse to leave Fukushima homes
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120117a4.html

Victims of 1995 Kobe Hanshin quake remembered
Tuesday marks the 17th anniversary of an earthquake that hit the port city of Kobe and its surrounding areas. Local communities are holding numerous ceremonies to remember the nearly 6,500 people who died in the disaster.
At noon in a disaster-prevention center in central Kobe, about 400 people offered a silent prayer for the victims of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, while elementary school children rang bells.
Participants at the event included officials from Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima, the 3 prefectures that were hardest-hit by the earthquake and tsunami in eastern Japan on March 11th last year. ...

Fukushima to help residents in contaminated condo
Officials in Fukushima Prefecture will support residents living in an apartment building where contaminated concrete was used.
The decision comes after radioactive cesium was detected in the building in Nihonmatsu City. The concrete used was made from crushed stones that may contain radioactive materials from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. ...

Concrete material distribution to be probed
Japan's central government and Fukushima Prefecture plan to investigate the distribution of gravel from quarries possibly tainted with radiation from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. ... .
see - Radiation Problems

Tokyo Electric to hike corporate user fees by 17%
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has announced that it will raise electricity rates by an average 17 percent for corporate users, starting in April.
Company president Toshio Nishizawa said at a news conference on Tuesday that corporate users with contracts of 50 kilowatts and above will be asked to pay an extra 2.6 yen, or about 3 cents, per kilowatt hour. This applies to as many as 240,000 businesses.
Most high-voltage users, such as department stores and large office buildings, will see their electricity bills go up by 18.1 percent, while most small and medium-size supermarkets and offices will see a raise of 13.4 percent.
TEPCO expects fuel costs for thermal power plants to surge by more than 10 billion dollars in the current fiscal year that closes at the end of March, because it's not known when its nuclear power plants can be restarted.
The utility says a raise in electricity rates is inevitable, despite efforts to streamline management and cut costs.
The company is also considering a new discount service for corporate users, such as lower fees for those that save electricity when demand peaks in the summer.
TEPCO has yet to raise home electricity rates, which would require government approval.
Nishizawa said the company will wait until after the government's review of the electricity bill system, and discussions on a comprehensive business plan to be drawn up by the end of March.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

a very COLD morning !

Tepco pushes April 1 17% business rate rise
Tepco will seek an average 17 percent rise in electricity rates for corporate users to finance growing fuel costs stemming from boosting thermal power generation in light of the triple-meltdown crisis at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nb20120118a1.html

U.S. forces given SPEEDI data early
The science ministry provided data on the radioactive fallout to U.S. forces a few days after the crisis erupted at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant -- far earlier than the public was informed.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120118a1.html

State seeks to keep power to order No. 1 plant evacuations
The government will seek to retain the power to issue evacuation orders and establish evacuation zones even after the state of emergency is lifted when the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant is resolved, government sources said Monday.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120118a2.html

Evaluation of "stress tests" to be disclosed
Japan's nuclear safety agency will announce on Wednesday that the safety tests for two nuclear reactors were appropriate. This will be the first step in the resumption of the country's halted nuclear plants, although getting approval from local municipalities will be another issue.
Ninety percent of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are halted due to concerns they could be vulnerable to major earthquakes and tsunami.
The government ordered the computer-simulated stress tests to be carried out before the idle reactors could be restarted. The nuclear safety body has received the results for 14 reactors so far.
The agency's experts will meet on Wednesday to give their assessment of the tests for 2 reactors at the Ohi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, central Japan.
The operator, Kansai Electric, had submitted a report that 2 reactors could withstand an earthquake 1.8 times the intensity and a tsunami 4 times the height of the estimated maximums for the area.
The experts are expected to conclude that an appropriate method was used for the tests. They will report their evaluations to the government after seeking advice from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The government of Fukui Prefecture has criticized the stress tests, saying they do not take account of the lessons of the Fukushima Daiichi accident.

Preparations going on for reactor endoscopy
Preparations are under way to use an endoscope to examine the inside of a containment vessel of the damaged No. 2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. ...
TEPCO says Tuesday's operation went smoothly and it will insert the endoscope on Thursday as scheduled. It hopes to gain the first internal view of one of the damaged reactors since the accident.

Govt to allow 20-yr extension to nuke plants
The Japanese government has said that the lifespan of nuclear power plants can be extended up to 20 years beyond the currently proposed 40-year limit.
Some experts are criticizing the plan as having no scientific basis.
The proposal was announced by a taskforce within the Cabinet Secretariat, which says extensions would be granted on a one-time-only basis.
Earlier this month, nuclear crisis minister Goshi Hosono proposed a 40-year limit to the lifespan of nuclear power plants as part of a review of safety regulations following the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Hosono said the 40-year limit and any extensions would be strictly enforced by law.
A professor of nuclear engineering at Kyushu University, Kazuhiko Kudo, questioned the extension plan, saying he has difficulty understanding why the lifespan of nuclear reactors was set at 40 years in the first place.
Kudo said the government should clarify the scientific basis of its decisions, adding that officials should first address the problems of operating aging reactors and other points that need improvement.
The taskforce says the extension plan is in line with global standards. It adds that the plan would be subject to strict safety rules.
The government plans to submit a draft of the legislation to the Diet by the end of January, ahead of the planned launch of a new nuclear safety agency in April.
.
Fujimura: nuke life extension will be limited
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura says there has been no basic change in the government's policy to limit the life of nuclear power plants to 40 years.
Fujimura was speaking to reporters on Wednesday. He was referring to the plan by a Cabinet Secretariat taskforce to propose extending the life of nuclear power plants up to 60 years.
He said the 40-year restriction remains the pillar of planned revisions in nuclear safety regulations. He said extension of a nuclear plant's life would be allowed in very few, exceptional cases.
Fujimura added that strict conditions will be in place for approving extensions beyond the 40-year limit.

Fukushima group urges wider compensation
Residents of Fukushima Prefecture dissatisfied with a compensation program for victims of the nuclear crisis are demanding that all those in the prefecture be compensated.
A state supervisory panel decided last month to grant residents of 23 municipalities of the prefecture reparations for their mental suffering from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
26 other municipalities in the Aizu area and southern regions of the prefecture are not eligible for compensation.
The municipalities set up a task force on Wednesday to protest what they call discriminatory treatment. It adopted a resolution urging that reparations cover all residents in the regions, or about 450,000 people.
The task force plans to petition the government and nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company on Thursday at the earliest.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Nuke opponents warn of more Fukushimas
The government's plan to allow nuclear reactors to operate as long as 60 years shocks antinuclear experts and activists, who warn of a sequel to Fukushima.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120119a2.html

Electricity goes out at nuke plants
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120119a5.html

Haiku a day helps you work, rest, play !!!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120119f1.html

Woman helps restore famed Iwate pine forest washed away in tsunami
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120119f2.html

Shifting gears in reconstruction
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/ed20120119a2.html

Stress test meeting held up by protest
A meeting of the Japanese government's nuclear safety agency to discuss the results of stress tests on 2 reactors has been held up by a public protest.
A panel of experts appointed by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency was slated to give its assessment on Wednesday of computer-simulated stress tests on 2 reactors at Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, along the Japan Sea coast.
But 20 people opposed to restarting the reactors forced themselves into the meeting room at the trade and industry ministry headquarters in Tokyo.
They are protesting the agency's decision not to allow observers in the room. Instead, observers are asked to monitor the meeting on a video screen in another room.
Trade and industry minister Yukio Edano told reporters that a meeting in which experts are asked to offer opinions and hold discussions must be held in a peaceful manner.
The assessment of the stress tests is the first step in restarting the country's nuclear reactors, 90 percent of which have been halted due to concerns over their vulnerability to major earthquakes and tsunami.

Govt says stress tests were appropriate
Japan's government panel says the safety tests for 2 nuclear reactors were appropriate. It is the first case where the government has given an assessment of such tests.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency held a meeting of an expert panel on Wednesday to give its assessment of computer-simulated stress tests on 2 reactors at Oi nuclear plant in Fukui Prefecture, along the Japan Sea coast.
People opposed to restarting the reactors staged a protest against the agency's decision not to allow observers at the meeting. So, the agency changed the meeting room and opened discussions after a delay of over 3 hours.
Two of the 8 panel members were absent from the meeting, saying that it is inappropriate to keep out observers.
Industry minister Yukio Edano told reporters that the ministry will release video footage of the meeting on its website as soon as possible.
The agency plans to give its final assessment of the 2 reactors after receiving inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency later this month.
The government needs to obtain local consent before allowing the resumption of the reactors' operation.
But Fukui Prefecture says stress tests alone are not enough to base a decision on, citing the need for the government to propose new measures based on the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

TEPCO failed to link data device to backup power
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it failed to supply emergency electricity to a devise that sends information on the reactors to a government nuclear safety agency.
Tokyo Electric Power Company revealed this at a news conference on Thursday.
The device ceased to send real-time data because it was not connected to a backup power supply and lost electricity immediately after the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The device provides key information including reactor temperatures and radioactivity levels near buildings to the government-controlled Emergency Response Support System, or ERSS.
The lack of real-time data may have affected the government's immediate response to the disaster.
TEPCO says it had planned to connect the device to an emergency power source in November 2010 -- 4 months before the March 11th disaster. The utility says it did not complete the procedure as an available cable was too short to connect the device.
TEPCO adds that it discussed a date for connecting the device with the government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. But TEPCO says it did not see connecting the device to emergency power as an urgent task.
Senior agency official Yoshinori Moriyama says the agency plans to ensure that all nuclear plants across Japan install backup power and that the agency will diversify methods of data transmission.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Friday, January 20, 2012

Winter's first snow in Tokyo
Tokyo and Yokohama got their first snowfall of the season on Friday.
The first snow came 17 days later than usual in central Tokyo and 13 days later in Yokohama.

Camera peeks inside reactor
Tepco inserts an industrial endoscope into the primary containment vessel of reactor 2 at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, but images show a lower level of coolant water than expected.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120120a1.html

Oi plant gets initial NISA restart nod
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120120a6.html

Scientists say they can find melted reactor fuel
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120120f1.html

Dairy firms to do own fallout checks
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120120f2.html

Highly radioactive water found near No.2 reactor
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has found 500 tons of highly radioactive water near the crippled No.2 reactor.
On December 18th, Tokyo Electric Power Company workers found radioactive water in an underground tunnel at a facility to store highly contaminated water.
Under the government's direction, this month TEPCO started checking whether radioactive water is collecting in the plant's other underground facilities.
On Thursday, the utility found around 500 tons of contaminated water in a pit near the No.2 reactor. The pit has a valve which is used for pumping in seawater.
The analysis of the contaminated water shows it has 16,200 becquerels of radioactive cesium per cubic centimeter. That represents the highest level of radioactive substances found in this month's survey.
TEPCO also detected 600 tons of water containing 860 becquerels of radioactive elements per cubic centimeter in a pit near the No.3 reactor.
The utility says the radioactive water is unlikely to have leaked into the ocean as the density of radioactive materials in seawater near the No.2 and No.3 reactors has remained unchanged.
The company plans to determine how the contaminated water collected in the tunnels.

High levels of radiation detected in ash
The Environment Ministry says high levels of radioactive cesium have been found in ash from firewood kept near the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
The ministry informed Fukushima and 7 other prefectures that their municipalities should collect and dispose of contaminated ash.
The ministry burned samples of wood kept in gardens of 2 houses in Nihonmatsu City after being asked by the city last November if using the wood in stoves would pose any problems. The ministry found that the maximum radioactive cesium level of the ash exceeded 40,000 becquerels per kilogram.
The forestry agency last November notified prefectural authorities nationwide that firewood contaminated with over 40 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram should not be distributed.
The wood in question is said to have been taken from nearby forests by residents before the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant last March.

Possibly contaminated stone used at work sites
Fukushima Prefecture says crushed stone possibly contaminated with radioactive substances due to the nuclear accident was used at 10 public works construction sites. Relatively high levels of radioactivity have been detected at one of the sites.
Japan's government announced this month that high levels of radioactive substances were detected at a new apartment building constructed in the prefecture using concrete made from the stone. The stone was from a quarry in Namie Town, which was designated as an evacuation zone following the accident.
Authorities have been investigating stone distribution routes.
Fukushima officials said on Thursday that stone from the quarry was also used in 10 public works projects in the prefecture, including riverbank reinforcement and road repair.
The officials say radioactivity levels up to 1.3 microsieverts per hour were detected at a city riverbank.

TEPCO fails to clearly see inside damaged reactor
The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has failed in an attempt to get clear images from inside damaged reactors using fiber-optic lines.
Tokyo Electric Power Company is trying to determine the state of nuclear fuel inside the plant's Number 1, 2 and 3 reactors. The fuel melted through the wall of each reactor's core units and fell to the bottom of their containment vessels after the March 11th 2011 earthquake and tsunami. .....

First video clip of reactor interior released
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has released a video clip taken inside the damaged No.2 reactor for the first time since the accident last year.
Tokyo Electric Power Company recorded 30 minutes of video by running an optical fiber scope, known as an endoscope, through a hole into the reactor's containment vessel Thursday.
... TEPCO says the water is less than 4 meters deep.

Govt panel studies use of ships in disaster relief
The Cabinet Office has set up a study panel to look into the possibility of using ships as hospitals and government offices in the event of a major disaster.
The panel held its first meeting on Friday. It has 10 members, including disaster-prevention specialists, medical experts and local government officials.
The panel members discussed such issues as how the ships would be used, how to secure necessary personnel, and what equipment would be needed.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

NEXT
. January 21 to 31 .

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

Daruma from Takasaki 高崎　復興祈願だるま

Print one out and hang it in your prayer corner!

ganbaro !! Nihon
ガンバロー　日本

がんばろう　日本　Ganbaro Nippon !

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

. Toys and Talismans from Japan .　

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
[ . BACK to DARUMA　MUSEUM　TOP . ]

[ . BACK to TOP of this BLOG. ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::