July 16, 17, 18, 19

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

The last few days have been "nice and sunny",
meaning intense heat in most parts of Japan.
We have 36 degrees centigrade during the day, but still at night it goes down to a cool 23.
I have started to get up around 5:30 and do my gardening in the early morning hours.

The poor people in Tohoku are suffering immensely now.
So are the workers at the Fukushima plant.

. . . . .

. Typhoon Ma-On Nr. 6 .
It will be most close to my parts of Japan on the 19/20 of July (if all goes like the weather forecast).


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

sources

. . Bulletins from NHK WORLD

. . Japan Times


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

July 16, 2011

Earthquake survivors get debt relief
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/16_02.html

Radioactive cesium detected in Fukushima shiitake
. Radiation Problems - INFO .

. . . . .

Japan Times

Fukushima cattle shipments banned
The government's nuclear disaster task force begins considering suspending shipments of beef cattle from Fukushima Prefecture, amid concern that cows from there may be contaminated with radioactive cesium.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110716a1.html


Reactor stress tests heavy on redundancies
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency submits the outline of a two-stage stress test for the nation's reactors, focusing on four categories, including earthquakes, tsunami, loss of power sources and loss of cooling systems for fuel rods.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110716a2.html

Monju reactor project faces the ax
The government may suspend development of the troubled Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor in consideration of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, science minister Yoshiaki Takaki indicates.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110716a3.html


Fukushima to scrap nuclear plants
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110716a4.html

Buyers warned of 'illegal' Geiger counters
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110716n1.html

Quake insurance sales rise fivefold
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110716n6.html

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

July 17, 2011

Sunday, July 17, 2011 05:5 - NHK
Govt,TEPCO:1st goal attained in stabilization plan
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company are set to announce that they have completed the first step of a plan to cool the nuclear reactors at the utility's Fukushima Daiichi plant.
In a joint assessment to be announced on Tuesday, the government and TEPCO say they have steadily reduced the amount of radiation leaking from the plant, the first target in the plan outlined in mid-April, within the original 3-month deadline.
They will reveal that the reactors and storage pools for spent nuclear fuel have been stably cooled, and radiation levels have been declining in the surrounding air and seawater.
But problems remain with the system to purify contaminated water, which is seen as one of the biggest hurdles. The system is operating at about 70 percent capacity.
In addition, work has yet to begin on covering the damaged reactor buildings.

Lawyers join hands to stop nuclear power plants - NHK
Over 50 lawyers from 20 prefectures that host nuclear plants convened in Tokyo on Saturday.

Sunday, July 17, 2011 12:55 - NHK
Hosono: Reactors to resume after safety secured
Japan's minister in charge of nuclear crisis has indicated that resumption of reactors taken out of service for regular inspections will be approved after their safety is ensured.
On an NHK program on Sunday, Goshi Hosono said it is necessary to reopen the reactors for the sake of the people's standard of living. He added that he wants to win public support for resumption by underscoring safe operation as a primary prerequisite.
Regarding nuclear administration systems, Hosono said he wants to make the nuclear safety agency independent of the economy and industry ministry, and to incorporate some of the monitoring functions of the nuclear watchdog commission and science ministry in the new entity.
Hosono also said he plans to draw up a blueprint early next month so that the new body could start as soon as possible, hopefully next April.
The chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives has expressed concern about the shortfall in electricity supply as a result of the nuclear crisis.
Yasuchika Hasegawa said unclear prospects for a steady supply of power would cause more companies to shift manufacturing abroad.
He added that increases in power rates may erode the international competitiveness of Japanese industry.

Sunday, July 17, 2011 15:00 - NHK
Tohoku summer festivals gather in Sendai
Six summer festivals of northeastern Japan have gathered in an event to encourage reconstruction from the March 11th disaster.
The "Tohoku Rokkon Festival" was held in Sendai over the weekend.
In the Nebuta Festival from Aomori, featuring giant paper floats, participants danced to music on a stage. The delegation leader said its festival gives encouragement to the rebuilding effort.
From Akita, the Kanto, or Lantern, Festival was presented with men holding tall bamboo poles carrying clusters of lanterns on their palms and foreheads. The event climaxed with a parade of the 6 festivals on Sunday.


東北六魂祭 the six souls of Tohoku


Aomori: Nebuta Matsuri (青森ねぶた祭り)
Akita: Kantou Matsuri (秋田竿灯祭り)
Iwate: Morioka Sansa Matsuri (盛岡さんさ祭り)
Yamagata: Hanagasa Matsuri (花笠祭り)
Miyagi: Sendai Tanabata Matsuri (仙台七夕祭り)
Fukushima: Waraji Matsuri (福島わらじ祭り)

. check: inside sendai .

. . . . .

Japan Times

84 more Fukushima cows found shipped
A further 84 cows fed with hay containing high levels of radioactive cesium were shipped from five Fukushima Prefecture beef cattle farms, the prefectural government says.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110717a1.html

Fukui reactor shut down after cooling glitch
A reactor at Kansai Electric Power Co.’s Oi nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture is manually shut down due to a problem with its cooling system.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110717a2.html
福井 / 大飯原発、手動停

Nuke workers toiling under intense heat
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110717a4.html

Priority shifts to removing fuel from reactors 3, 4
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110717a5.html


Hosono vows funds to remove waste
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of dealing with the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, said Saturday the central government will provide full financial support to dispose of radioactive waste at the site.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110717a6.html



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

July 18, 2011

Japan won its first ever FIFA Women's World Cup, beating the United States 3 to 1 on penalty kicks in Germany on Sunday.
Nadeshiko Japan ! FIFA女子ワールドカップ


Monday, July 18, 2011 00:49
38% of disaster-zone firms cannot be contacted
A survey has found that nearly 40 percent of the businesses in the area hit by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami cannot be contacted.
A private research firm, Teikoku Databank, carried out the survey of 4,280 companies in the disaster-hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima. Some of the firms lie inside the evacuation zones around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The research firm says it was unable to contact 1,632 companies, or about 38 percent of the total, and many of them may have been destroyed by the tsunami.
About 10 percent responded to the survey, saying they had suspended their business operations.
Fifty-one percent said they had resumed work, but some of them are using mobile phones to contact their customers from temporary shelters.
Nearly 7 percent said they will either close their businesses or they are not sure if they will be able to continue.
The research firm says it fears that business owners in the disaster zone are losing their motivation to make a fresh start as they cannot see any rebuilding taking place soon.



Monday, July 18, 2011 05:50 - NHK World News
Fukushima Daiichi prepares for typhoon arrival
Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is rushing to put a makeshift roof over a turbine building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as typhoon
Ma-on approaches Japan.
TEPCO released a new photo on Sunday showing its preparation work.
The metal roof will cover the turbine building of reactor Number 3. The hole in its roof was caused by a hydrogen blast in March.
The new roof is 5-meters long and 16-meters wide. It is designed to cover up the hole to prevent an increase of radioactive water in the building.
TEPCO says the roof is scheduled to be installed with a crane on Monday.
Fearing high waves, a hose was temporarily disconnected from the "megafloat" barge, which contains relatively low-level radioactive water.
But no measures have been taken to prevent rainwater from entering reactor buildings 1, 3, and 4. The structures were damaged by hydrogen blasts.
However TEPCO says it does not expect any drastic increase of the water level in those 3 buildings.
At the Fukushima Daini nuclear power plant the doorway of reactor number 1 was also repaired to prevent rainwater leaks.

. 台風6号 Typhoon Nr. 6 Ma-On


Japan Times

No-go zone easing may be moved up
Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of dealing with the nuclear crisis, meet with the leaders of municipalities near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant and say the government may look to ease the 20-km no-entry zone terms when the radiation-spewing reactors are stabilized.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110718a1.html

Beef cattle shipment ban is set to expand
The government may expand the area that beef cattle shipments would be subject to suspension beyond Fukushima Prefecture, where it plans to soon impose the curbs, senior vice health minister Kohei Otsuka says.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110718a2.html

New nuke body by April: Hosono
Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of handling the nuclear crisis, says a new regulatory body for atomic power should be established by April.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110718a3.html

Heatstroke deaths quadruple as nation shuns air conditioners
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110718n1.html

Disaster role for schools
... Specifically, the panel proposes that schools have enough stocks of food and water to enable students and local residents to stay there for several days after disasters strike, be equipped with means of communication to be used when normal means of communication do not function and be installed with toilets that can be used even without water.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110718a2.html



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

July 19, 2011

The typhoon is now in our area, and will hang in there for about 24 hours
(this one is soooo slow to move on ...)
But it seems not to pass to close to Tohoku.
. Typhoon Ma-On Nr. 6 .


at 10:30
Earthquake M 5.3, Off Fukushima

. . . . .

Monday, July 18, 2011 - NHK
TEPCO covers turbine building as storm approaches
The Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has built a makeshift roof over a turbine building at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as typhoon Ma-on approaches.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011 06:53
Radioactive water in Fukushima poses challenge
The Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company will announce on Tuesday a revised plan to bring the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant under control.
They are expected to say that the first stage of the plan has been almost completed on schedule.
But a system to decontaminate radioactive water, which began operating at the end of last month, is working below the target capacity due to leaks and other problems. ...


More beef cattle fed irradiated straw
. Radiation Problems - INFO .


Tuesday, July 19, 2011 09:42
Govt to define "cold shutdown"
The second-stage target to bring the nuclear disaster under control will involve achieving a cold shutdown, under which the disabled reactors are to be cooled down to about 100 degrees Celsius or lower.
The Japanese government is due to make this clear on Tuesday when it releases a revised plan to contain the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The government has so far failed to specify what a cold shutdown entails. It now plans to define the term as bringing reactor-bottom temperatures to about 100 degrees or lower, and substantially reducing the public's radiation exposure by controlling the release of radioactivity.
Achieving a cold shutdown has been cited as one of the conditions for lifting the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
It remains unclear, however, when the lifting would come, as the government still hasn't decided on benchmark levels of radiation that it deems safe enough for people to return to the restricted zone.

. . . . .

Japan Times

More tainted beef shipped from Fukushima farms
Seven more farms in Fukushima Prefecture fed their beef cattle rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium, effectively adding 411 more cows suspected of having been exposed to the isotope into the nation’s meat distribution chain, the Fukushima Prefectural Government admits.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110719a2.html

Powerful typhoon heading for main islands
A large and powerful typhoon moves toward the main archipelago, with the Meteorological Agency warning of downpours, strong winds and high waves in southwestern and western Japan through Tuesday.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110719a3.html

Operation halted for inspection of boiler problem at Shimane thermal plant
Chugoku Electric Power Co - Hiroshima
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110719a5.html

All reactors off by spring -- a once unthinkable scenario
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110719i1.html

Japan's incompatible power grids
ALICE GORDENKER
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ek20110719wh.html

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

Daruma tee shirts to help Japan
大震災募金用Tシャツ


source :　www.excite.co.jp

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

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

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