8.8 earthquake hits Japan

Yes; it's a lazy habit of mine. If I'm off target, people will remind me. Too many short-cuts usually gets me into hot water. (Not the radiation kind.)

However, HS did say that the Hawaii professor supported my contention.
HS wrote,

OK, lets put this in perspective then. Ontario's landmass is slightly smaller than Texas X2. If only a small percentage of that mess lands on the western shores of N. America, it will still make a hell of a mess. Nobody, not even the models I've shown, says all the debris will land on our shores, in fact, if you'd bothered to read my posts or watch the video simulations, you'd see that a vast majority is expected to go right back out to the mid-pacific and join the rest of the flotsam floating there now. The video also states that Hawaii will also get it's fair share of debris with in the year.
The fact remains, that the ocean and shores in the surrounding countries and ships will be dealing with this mess for quite sometime. But by all means, shrug it off. I'm sure you know more than the experts who have studied water currents and what happens to garbage once it enters the ocean.

By now you should realize it is better to read the link yourself than to trust to someone else's interpretation of it. I find it particularly useful when HS is involved in a matter.

I suspect you still don't know what the studies in Hawaii said.

Whoa, there kimosabe. I never said I knew more than the experts, and I'm sure I've made it clear that my opinions are based on knowledge gleaned from reading different atmospheric and ocean currents over the years (that doesn't make me an expert), and only question how anyone can determine how debris will flow three years hence.

I'm not saying that no debris will hit the west coast, but I'm not sure how anyone can determine the volume (percent) with the science (like weather) that is not perfect in predicting future events.

Also, I'm not sure why some of you are getting so upset with my opinion; they are only personal opinions (not expert in any way shape or form).

"Fair share" sounds awfully subjective to me! (Hey, but that's only my opinion.)

Another aftershock quake in the same area as the big one.

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_05.html

Japan to raise Fukushima crisis level to worst

The Japanese government's nuclear safety agency has decided to raise the crisis level of the Fukushima Daiichi power plant accident from 5 to 7, the worst on the international scale.

The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision on Monday. It says the damaged facilities have been releasing a massive amount of radioactive substances, which are posing a threat to human health and the environment over a wide area.

The agency used the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, or INES, to gauge the level. The scale was designed by an international group of experts to indicate the significance of nuclear events with ratings of 0 to 7.

On March 18th, one week after the massive quake, the agency declared the Fukushima trouble a level 5 incident, the same as the accident at Three Mile Island in the United States in 1979.

Level 7 has formerly only been applied to the Chernobyl accident in the former Soviet Union in 1986 when hundreds of thousands of terabecquerels of radioactive iodine-131 were released into the air. One terabecquerel is one trillion becquerels.

The agency believes the cumulative amount from the Fukushima plant is less than that from Chernobyl.

Officials from the agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission will hold a news conference on Tuesday morning to explain the change of evaluation.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 05:47 +0900 (JST)

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/11_23.html

Tokyo liquefaction survey

A geotechnical expert has determined that the March 11th earthquake caused liquefaction in at least 4,200 hectares of land along Tokyo Bay.

Professor Susumu Yasuda of Tokyo Denki University conducted a survey on the extent of liquefaction in areas around the bay. Tokyo lies at a distance of about 370 kilometers from the quake's epicenter.

He says the liquefaction was concentrated in land that was reclaimed relatively recently, or after 1966.

Liquefaction severely damaged residential areas built on reclaimed land in Urayasu and Narashino cities in Chiba Prefecture.

Work to restore sewage systems is progressing quickly, but little has been done to prevent liquefaction itself.
Professor Yasuda says strong quakes could cause further liquefaction in the future unless the underground water is removed and the ground solidified. He says that without such steps, it will take more than 100 years for the ground to stabilize.

Monday, April 11, 2011 15:51 +0900 (JST)

lot of liquefaction zones around. Is Daly City one? I remember that being problematic..

Sorry, not to take away from that article, scary stuff.

More details:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/12/us-japan-idUSTRE72A0SS20110412

Another update:

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/12_19.html

Nuclear accident level raised to maximum

Japan's nuclear safety agency has raised the crisis level at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to 7, from the current 5.

The agency told reporters on Tuesday that large volumes of radioactive substances that could affect human health and the environment are being released in a wide area.

Level 7 is the highest rank on an international standard and equivalent to the severity recorded after the Chernobyl disaster in 1986.

But the agency said the volume of radiation from Fukushima is one-tenth that at Chernobyl.

The agency said its calculations show that 370-thousand terabecquerels of radioactive iodine 131 and cesium 137 have been released from the plant.

The nuclear safety commission, in a joint press conference with the agency, put the estimated leak at 630-thousand terabecquerels of both substances.

One terabecquerel is equivalent to one trillion becquerels. Both organizations say the leak constitutes a level-7 crisis.

Senior agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama said 29 people died of acute radiation exposure at Chernobyl but there are no fatal radiation casualties at Fukushima.

He added that at Chernobyl the nuclear reactor itself exploded in contrast to the Fukushima plant, which was damaged by hydrogen explosions. He said the reactors themselves retain their shape.

Nishiyama also said the upgrade does not affect the existing evacuation plan, which was made on the basis of the same radiation evaluation.

The agency is required to announce the severity of a crisis at a nuclear facility based on the international standard from zero up to 7 set by the International Nuclear Event Scale.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011 13:09 +0900 (JST)

And now the IAEA is announcing it:

http://www.iaea.org/press/

IAEA Update on Fukushima Nuclear Accident (12 April 2011, 4:45 UTC)

12 April 2011

Announcements, Featured

The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) today issued a new rating for the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on the IAEA International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES).

The nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi is now rated as a level 7 “Major Accident” on INES. Level 7 is the most serious level on INES and is used to describe an event comprised of “A major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.” Japanese authorities notified the IAEA in advance of the public announcement and the formal submission of the new provisional rating.

The new provisional rating considers the accidents that occurred at Units 1, 2 and 3 as a single event on INES. Previously, separate INES Level 5 ratings had been applied for Units 1, 2 and 3. The provisional INES Level 3 rating assigned for Unit 4 still applies.

The decision to rate the Fukushima accident to a level 7 “Major Accident” is a reclassification of an earlier assessment of the accident.

The re-evaluation of the Fukushima INES rating resulted from an estimate of the amount of radioactivity released to the environment from the nuclear plant. NISA estimates that the amount of radioactive material released to the atmosphere is approximately 10 percent of the 1986 Chernobyl accident, which is the only other nuclear accident to have been rated a Level 7 event.

Previous INES ratings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were assessed on a per-case basis at each nuclear power plant unit. Japanese authorities have now classified the nuclear accident as a singular event on INES.

Earlier ratings of the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi were assessed as follows:

On 18 March, Japanese authorities rated the core damage at the Fukushima Daiichi 1, 2 and 3 reactor Units caused by loss of all cooling function to have been at Level 5 on the INES scale. They further assessed that the loss of cooling and water supplying functions in the spent fuel pool of the Unit 4 reactor to have been rated at Level 3.

Japanese authorities may revise the INES rating at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant as further information becomes available.

INES is used to promptly and consistently communicate to the public the safety significance of events associated with sources of radiation. The scale runs from 0 (deviation) to 7 (major accident).

For further information on the INES scale: http://www-ns.iaea.org/tech-areas/emergency/ines.asp

the raising of the official danger level is suspiciously near the day they finally tried to get a camera view inside the reactor buildings with an unmanned mini aircraft. I suspect they dont like what they saw. Reports two days ago have it that they can only keep water about half way up the fuel rods in a couple of reactors, which tells me that they have some serious water leaks to go along with the melted fuel.

Good news, the 2 Putzmeister cement trucks sent from the US should be on the ground by now, so the Japanese finally have the option to better direct water flow or possibly resort to the Chernobyl solution.
http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/topic/juggernaut-2011-4/
No ****, the way this is looking they will end up burying themselves in the tomb.

Latest update from IAEA includes a breakdown of radiation statistics:

http://www.iaea.org/press/?p=2044#more-2044

Latest news briefs from NHK TV:

US lifts voluntary evacuation advisory for Japan

The United States has lifted its voluntary evacuation advisory for families of government employees in Tokyo and other Japanese cities.

The US State Department had issued the advisory due to the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It had also recommended that US citizens should avoid travel within an 80-kilometer radius of the plant.

The department said on Thursday that the situation is dramatically different now than it was on March 16th when there were significant releases of radioactivity and the loss of effective measures to cool the reactor cores and spent fuel.

It said the cooling efforts are ongoing and successful, and that power and water supplies have been partially or fully restored.

The department said the health and safety risks for areas outside the 80-kilometer radius of the plant, including Tokyo and Nagoya, are low and do not pose significant risks to US citizens.

It said it will maintain the recommendation to avoid travel within the 80-kilometer zone, saying the situation there remains serious.

Friday, April 15, 2011 16:02 +0900 (JST)

101 children orphaned by March 11 disaster

Japan's health ministry says 101 children in 3 northeastern prefectures lost their parents in the March 11th quake and tsunami.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry says that as of Thursday, 44 children in Iwate, 43 in Miyagi and 14 in Fukushima had been orphaned by the disaster.

It says most of the orphans are now living with relatives, with the exception of 2 children in Miyagi who will enter an orphanage.

The number of orphans is expected to rise further as there are apparently some children whose parents are still missing. The ministry also suspects there are orphans who are already living with relatives.

The ministry has instructed school officials across the country to provide information on students who were recently transferred from disaster-stricken areas.

It will continue to survey the number of children orphaned by the disaster and gather information on their living conditions to draw up assistance measures.

Friday, April 15, 2011 14:49 +0900 (JST)

No radiation change observed after water release

Japan's nuclear safety agency says no major changes have been observed in the concentration of radioactive substances in the sea around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after the release of low-level contaminated water.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, discharged a total of 10,393 tons of low-level radioactive wastewater from its damaged Fukushima plant between April 4th and 10th.

The government's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says the amount of wastewater disposed of was 1,100 tons less than originally planned, resulting in the reduced release of radioactive substances.

To assess the effect of the contaminated water, the power company collected sea water samples from around the plant as well as from 15 kilometers offshore.

The nuclear safety agency says it has concluded that the data shows no major change in the concentration of radioactive substances.

But the agency also directed TEPCO to carry out long-term monitoring over a wider area and to assess the impact of the discharge by measuring radiation levels in fish and shellfish caught in nearby waters.

When releasing the wastewater, TEPCO had said that even if a person were to eat seafood from nearby waters every day for one year, the radiation exposure would total 0.6 millisieverts, which is below the annual permissible level of one millisievert.

Radiation levels in underground water rise

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says radiation levels in underground water gathered in so-called sub-drain pits rose by up to 38 times during the past week.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is working to remove contaminated water from the basements of the turbine buildings and tunnels. The contaminated water is hindering efforts to restore the reactors' cooling systems.

TEPCO said that in its monitoring on Wednesday, it found 400 becquerels of iodine-131 and 53 becquerels of cesium-134 per cubic centimeter in the No. 1 reactor's sub-drain pit. These levels are 6 times and 38 times higher than a week ago respectively.

In the No.2 reactor's pit, 610 becquerels of iodine-131 and 7.9 becquerels of cesium-134 per cubic centimeter were detected. These levels are 17 times and 8 times higher than a week ago respectively.

TEPCO says the sub-drain pits of the 2 reactors are connected by a pipe and that the highly radioactive water in the No. 2 reactor could be leaking underground.

TEPCO is to increase its radiation readings to 3 times per week from Saturday on the instructions of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Friday, April 15, 2011 10:43 +0900 (JST)

Fukushima Univ. checking high-altitude radiation

Fukushima University is checking radiation levels high in the atmosphere to get a better grasp of the extent of contamination from the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The university says it released a large balloon on Friday carrying a weather observation device called a "radiosonde" as well as radiation measurement equipment into the skies above Fukushima City.

It plans to gauge radiation levels and collect other data up to 30 kilometers above ground. Readings will be taken at intervals of 10 meters over a period of 20 days.

The university has so far been measuring radiation closer to the ground. It has checked more than 300 locations in Fukushima Prefecture.

But it deems the current method insufficient to make a correct assessment of the diffusion of radioactive materials.

The university says the balloon survey will help make predictions about how toxic particles will spread across the globe.

University vice president Akira Watanabe, who is also a member of the research team, says the findings will be disclosed to the world along with projected radiation levels.

Friday, April 15, 2011 09:57 +0900 (JST)

Wastewater level at No.2 reactor again rises

Tokyo Electric Power Company is trying to secure storage facilities for radioactive water that is filling a tunnel at the No.2 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to prevent it from overflowing.

A large amount of contaminated water in basements and tunnels is hampering operations to restore the plant's cooling systems.

On Wednesday, TEPCO finished transferring some of the wastewater -- about 660 tons -- from the No.2 reactor tunnel to a condenser in a turbine building.

The water in the tunnel dropped 8 centimeters after the transfer, but had returned to its previous level by Friday morning.

Earlier this month, TEPCO found highly radioactive water leaking into the sea from a pit near the No.2 reactor.

The utility suspects that plugging that leak resulted in trapping radioactive water from the No.2 reactor in the tunnel.

The condenser at the No.2 reactor is holding more than half of its capacity of about 3,000 tons. The government's nuclear safety agency says it is not desirable to fill the condenser for fear of aftershocks, making it necessary for the company to find alternate storage facilities.

The company is also preparing for a possible interruption of external power, as major aftershocks continue to rock the area. It has already installed makeshift tanks and pumps in case the freshwater supply from a dam that is cooling the reactors is cut off by an aftershock.

Friday, April 15, 2011 18:52 +0900 (JST)

Some good news in today's news briefs from NHK:

TEPCO finalizes plan to cool down reactors

The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has finalized a new plan to cool down the troubled reactors. Tokyo Electric Power Company will install a new cooling system that filters contaminated water and recirculates it back into the reactors.

Following the quake and tsunami, cooling systems broke down in reactors 1, 2 and 3. TEPCO workers have been pumping in cold water in an effort to keep them from overheating.

However, the water inside the reactors quickly becomes contaminated with high levels of radioactive substances. Due to possible structural damage in the quake, contaminated reactor water has been leaking into the basements of neighboring turbine buildings and service tunnels. This has impeded emergency repair work and created a disposal problem.
To best deal with the present circumstances, TEPCO plans to first pump contaminated wastewater outside the turbine buildings where it can be more safely cooled and filtered. Radioactive substances and salt are removed and a continuous supply of treated water is circulated to gradually cool down the reactors.

TEPCO is scheduled to start operating the new cooling system by summer.

Sunday, April 17, 2011 09:20 +0900 (JST)


Foreign firms to build temporary housing

The Japanese government will allow foreign companies to build temporary housing in order to speed up reconstruction efforts in disaster-stricken northeastern Japan.

Local authorities in affected regions have asked for 72,000 temporary houses to be built. However, so far construction is under way on only 10,800 units.

The Land and Infrastructure Ministry decided to allow foreign companies to build temporary housing as long as they meet certain conditions. One is that they must have the capacity to build more than 100 units in 2 months. They are also required to meet Japanese standards for electrical voltage and wall plugs, and must form joint partnerships with Japanese construction companies for maintenance work.

Ministry officials say they have already received inquiries from house construction companies in the United States, Italy, South Korea and China.

Local governments will consider ordering temporary houses after receiving bids from foreign companies.

After the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, 3,000 of 47,000 temporary houses were imported.

Sunday, April 17, 2011 06:49 +0900 (JST)

Dosimeters to be distributed to public schools

As radioactive substances continue to leak from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Japanese government has decided to distribute dosimeters to all public schools in Fukushima prefecture.

Students started their new school year earlier this month, but many parents and teachers are worried whether it is safe to let children attend classes.

The Ministry of Education will deliver 1,700 dosimeters to public schools, in order to measure the amount of accumulated radiation for each location.

The Ministry will also install radiation monitoring systems at schools near the nuclear plant, where high levels have been detected.
The Ministry has proposed an 11 million dollar budget for the purchase and operation of the necessary equipment, and will make the radiation data available to the public.

Sunday, April 17, 2011 06:49 +0900 (JST)

I hope they are successful.
They've had enough problems to deal with from the tsunami.

I was also heartened to see so many from around the world are coming to Japan's aid in money and supplies during these difficult economic times.

Latest news briefs from NHK:

High radioactive levels detected in reactors

Robots have detected high levels of radioactivity inside the reactor buildings of the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The plant operator says the radioactivity must be reduced to allow work inside the buildings to bring the crisis under control.

Tokyo Electric Power Company surveyed the interiors of 3 reactor buildings on Sunday and Monday using robots equipped with dosimeters and cameras.

TEPCO says that over 50 minutes the robots found18.9 millisierverts of radioactivity in reactor Number 1 and 6.46 millisierverts in Number 2. The levels are hazardous to humans even over a short period. Levels of radioactivity were not available in the Number 3 reactor.

Video footage also suggests various difficulties that could hamper operations inside the buildings.

Footage of the Number 3 reactor shows steel plates and other debris scattered on the floor following the hydrogen explosion of March 14th. The doors of the circuit box were open, raising fears that the power system has been damaged.

TEPCO says humidity inside the Number 2 reactor was 94 to 99 percent, fogging up the robot's camera lens.

The company says the humidity indicates that radioactive steam leaked into the building. It says it will need to install air conditioners to ventilate and clean the air of radioactivity before people can work there.

Thursday, April 21, 2011 06:08 +0900 (JST)


Govt to set up no-entry zone near Fukushima plant

The government is to ban local residents from entering within 20-kilometers of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant from midnight Thursday.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan is to inform the governor of Fukushima Prefecture of the new no-entry policy when he visits the prefecture on Thursday.

The government asked residents within 20 kilometers of the plant to evacuate after the March 11th earthquake. But some have been returning home to recover belongings.

The government says the new move is aimed at protecting the health and safety of the residents.

From Thursday midnight, anyone entering the banned area will be eligible for fines.

The government plans to allow one member of each household in the evacuation zone to temporally return home between May and June.

They will visit houses in buses for a maximum of a few hours to recover cash, bank deposit books and other belongings, and later be screened for radiation.

But permission to return will not be given to residents with homes 3 kilometers from the plant, pregnant women and children under 15.

Thursday, April 21, 2011 06:08 +0900 (JST)

Japan's trade surplus plunges 79 percent

With the March 11th earthquake and tsunami hurting production and exports, Japan's trade surplus for the month plunged 79% in yen terms from the same month last year.

The Finance Ministry said in a preliminary report on Wednesday that the trade surplus was about 2.4 billion dollars in March.

Exports totaled 70.7 billion dollars, 2.2 percent lower than in the same month last year, and marked the first decline in 16 months.

Growing exports had been driving the economy before the quake struck. But after March 11, exports such as cars and semiconductors tumbled as supply chains and production lines were affected by the disaster.
Imports grew nearly 12 percent to 68.3 billion dollars, mainly due to rising fuel prices.

Japan's finance ministry says as a result the trade balance will turn negative in April. It says production continues to be stalled, and that demand for resources will be high in the aftermath of the disaster in northern Japan.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011 14:03 +0900 (JST)

Japan makers express concern at NY auto show

Japanese automakers are expressing concern about their US sales in the wake of the March 11th quake, as they are being forced to cut production due to a parts shortage.

Executives of the carmakers voiced these worries at the 2011 New York International Auto Show on Wednesday. Journalists were allowed into the event, where nearly 30 auto firms from around the world are displaying their latest models.

Honda Motor showed its latest Civic, one of its mainstay models. The company is cutting US output in half by May 6th.

Executive Vice President of American Honda, John Mendel, told reporters that if the parts disruption continues, it would affect sales.

Nissan also showcased its latest compact model. Nissan North America head Carlos Tavares said there are many challenges ahead during the recovery.

On Tuesday, Toyota extended its production cuts across North America by about 70 percent.

Thursday, April 21, 2011 10:40 +0900 (JST)

Stories related to March earthquake

A penguin chick has hatched in a zoo from an egg laid one hour before the massive quake hit northeastern Japan on March 11th.

Nasu Animal Kingdom in Tochigi Prefecture says a pair of cape penguins took turns sitting on the egg for more than a month before the chick was born on Tuesday.

The zoo named the baby penguin Akari meaning light, as a symbol of hope for the future. The new-born was moved to an incubator on Wednesday.

Zoo keeper Takuya Horie says the parents kept the egg warm through the quake and many aftershocks. He said he wants the baby to grow up healthy.

The chick is expected to make its debut at the zoo early in May.

In Saitama Prefecture, a group of local hotels and tourist boarding houses have started a new service, hoping to support quake-struck areas.

40 businesses in the prefecture's Chichibu area now provide their guests with Japanese sake brands made in hardest-hit areas such as Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures.

Some guests immediately ordered the sake.

Thursday, April 21, 2011 07:38 +0900 (JST)

NHK News briefs:

Reactor 1 water level concerns

The Japanese government has expressed concern about the structural strength of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant's Number 1 reactor. It says the ongoing water injections may be making the vessel less earthquake resistant.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, is planning to fill part of the containment vessel with water to cool the reactor.

TEPCO wants the water level to reach the top of the fuel rods in reactors one and three by mid July, so it can cool them under more stable conditions.

At the Number 1 reactor, where fuel rods are believed to be the most seriously damaged, six tons of water are being injected every hour.

TEPCO believes the water is vaporizing, then condensing in the containment vessel.

The water level is now estimated to be about half way up the bulb of the dry well.

TEPCO says the water accumulation will not compromise the structure. But the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says large amounts of water can make the building less earthquake-proof.

The agency says it needs to check whether the suppression pool pipes can withstand higher levels of pressure from the extra water.

Saturday, April 23, 2011 07:20 +0900 (JST)


Evacuation area officially expanded

The Japanese government has announced the official expansion of the evacuation zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to selected areas beyond the existing 20-kilometer radius. Residents of the new areas are being asked to evacuate by the end of May.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Friday that the government made the designation since residents there could be exposed to cumulative radiation levels of 20 millisieverts or more per year if they stay.

The 5 new municipalities are located to the northwest of the plant and are more than 20 kilometers from it.

Edano said that due to the possible impact on residents' heath, the government is now urging them to evacuate within about a month.

Friday's announcement followed the establishment at midnight Thursday of a no-entry zone within a 20-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi plant.

Edano also designated parts of areas within 20 to 30 kilometers of the plant as areas in which residents should remain indoors or be prepared to evacuate at any time in case of an emergency.

With this designation, the government lifted an earlier instruction to stay indoors for people in the 20- to 30-kilometer zone.

Friday, April 22, 2011 12:29 +0900 (JST)


Emperor and Empress visit disaster-hit Kitaibaraki

Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko have visited Ibaraki Prefecture to encourage local residents who were affected by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The Imperial couple visited Kitaibaraki City on Friday, where 5 people died in the disaster.

They first headed for Otsu port, which was severely damaged by the tsunami. Sea walls were breached and the fishing port was devastated by the huge wave.

The Emperor and Empress were briefed on the damage by the head of the fisheries cooperative.

After being informed that a man remains missing in the port area, the couple bowed deeply, facing the sea.

They encouraged people in the fishing industry who are affected by restrictions placed on a fish called the sand lance because of radioactivity from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The Emperor and Empress walked through a residential area where houses and buildings were destroyed by the tsunami.

The couple also visited a gymnasium in which nearly 40 people are taking shelter.

The Emperor offered his condolences to a 72-year-old man whose wife died in the shelter, saying he is very sorry for her death.

The Empress spoke to a woman who fears aftershocks, saying the experience must have been frightening and difficult. She expressed sympathy for her plight.

Friday, April 22, 2011 19:45 +0900 (JST)

NHK updates:

3rd massive search for the missing underway

Japan's Self-Defense Force is conducting a third large-scale search for 12,000 people who remain missing since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.

The 2-day operation from Monday has been joined by the US military, Japanese police and other parties. Some 25,000 rescuers, 90 aircraft, and 50 vessels have been mobilized.

The search is covering inland and coastal areas in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, as well as waters offshore.

It includes areas within the 30-kilometer radius of the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant, which were not covered in the previous operations.

At a devastated elementary school in Miyagi prefecture, about 650 SDF troops and firefighters searched for the bodies of 74 of the 108 pupils who went missing in the disaster.

The searchers carefully scooped up debris, hoping to recover the bodies of the missing.

Monday, April 25, 2011 12:22 +0900 (JST)


Monitoring rising temperatures

The operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is carefully monitoring the situation at the Number 4 spent fuel pool, where the water temperature is rising despite increased injections of cooling water.

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, says it will inject 210 tons of water into the pool on Monday, after finding on Sunday evening that the temperature in the pool had risen to 81 degrees Celsius.

The utility firm had earlier limited the amount of water being injected into the pool to 70 tons a day, saying the weight of the water could weaken the reactor building, which was already damaged in last month's hydrogen explosion.

On Friday, TEPCO found that the pool's temperature had reached 91 degrees, so it began injecting 2 to 3 times the amount of water.

TEPCO says the pool's water temperature dropped to 66 degrees on Saturday after water was injected, but started to rise again, to 81 degrees.

The operator says the water level in the pool was 2.5 meters lower than normal after 165 tons of water were injected on Sunday. It is carefully monitoring the water level and temperature to avoid further troubles.

The Number 4 spent fuel pool stores 1,535 fuel rods, the most at the nuclear complex.

Monday, April 25, 2011 12:04 +0900 (JST)


TEPCO to cut manager salaries to secure funds

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant will implement deep salary cuts for management to help fund its compensation payments for the nuclear accident.

Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Monday that it would halve the salaries of all its board members, including the chairman and the president, starting this month. Annual pay for other executive directors will be slashed by 40 percent.

The company will cut the salaries of about 3,000 employees in managerial positions by 25 percent.

TEPCO has already asked its labor union to accept a 20 percent reduction in annual pay for 32,000 rank-and-file employees. Both sides reached an agreement on the matter on Monday.

The utility expects the measures to save some
660 million dollars in salary costs.

TEPCO will also give up its recruitment of about 1,100 new graduates for fiscal 2012 and sell off part of its stock holdings and real estate to raise money.

The company plans to make initial payments worth more than 600 million dollars to 50,000 households that have been forced to leave their towns to avoid high radioactivity caused by the nuclear accident.

But the total compensation amount is expected to balloon, as damage is spreading to the farming, fisheries and manufacturing industries.

Monday, April 25, 2011 21:59 +0900 (JST)


First all-out search near Fukushima plant

Police conducted their first full-scale search for victims of the March 11th disaster in Futaba Town in Fukushima Prefecture, where part of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is located.

The search was of the town's Nakano District, four and a half kilometers north of the plant. Police began searching for missing people in the off-limits area within a 20-kilometer radius of the plant at the beginning of this month. But Futaba Town was left almost untouched.

On Monday morning, about 120 police officers from Fukushima and Tokyo prefectures entered the coastal areas wearing protective gear. An NHK crew was allowed to join them in the afternoon. During the search, the officers used heavy machinery to remove debris from destroyed buildings and checked the roadsides the tsunami reached.

One of the smokestacks of the nuclear plant is visible above a forest, and houses dot the fields. Cars, furniture, and other household articles are strewn around the houses destroyed by the tsunami.

Futaba Town is entirely located within the 20-kilometer no-entry zone. The town hall has been moved to Saitama Prefecture, near Tokyo. All the town's residents appear to have evacuated their homes and are now staying in other parts of Fukushima, Saitama, and other prefectures.

There are no signs of people, but dogs and cats, once pets, can be spotted now and then. Some houses have laundry hanging outside, in testimony to how hastily the residents fled.
Police say many missing people could still be in areas surrounding the Fukushima Daiichi plant and that they will redouble their efforts.

Monday, April 25, 2011 20:57 +0900 (JST)

Abandoned farm animals

Fukushima Prefecture has launched an operation to euthanize some of the animals left in the 20-kilometer no-entry zone around the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Six Fukushima officials, including veterinarians, entered the area on Monday, the first day of the mission.

The no-go zone has more than 370 livestock farms containing 4,000 cattle, 30,000 pigs, 630,000 chickens and 100 horses. But many of these animals have died or are facing starvation since their owners evacuated, and some remain outdoors.

The prefecture plans to euthanize the weakened animals, return those grazing outside to barns, and disinfect the carcasses of the dead ones.

The prefecture says it will not kill any animals unless their owners agree, as there is no current law stipulating what should be done in such a situation.

It will conduct the work through the end of May, while discussing with the central government ways to compensate the animals' owners.

A veterinarian taking part in the mission said the work will begin with medical examinations of the animals in the area.

Monday, April 25, 2011 14:02 +0900 (JST)