Former Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan at a parliamentary commission in Tokyo. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images Fukushima inquiry: I felt helpless, says former PM Naoto Kan urges Japan to abandon nuclear power, as the industry attempts to bring closed reactors back into operation Japan‘s prime minister at the height of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis has admitted [...]
Fukushima reactor facility fires A Meltdown in Communication: Nuclear Disaster and Corporate Accountability by Maria Tomchick A new report released by The Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation questions the safety of nuclear power, especially in the hands of private companies. A team of 30 lawyers, university professors, and journalists interviewed several hundred people involved with [...]
Greenpeace: Fukushima Disaster Caused by Japan‘s Nuclear Authorities, Not Tsunami – Common Dreams staff A new report released today by Greenpeace argues it was neither the 7.1 magnitude earthquake nor the raging tsunami that followed which deserve the real blame for the nuclear disaster at Japan’s Fukushima Diachi power plant last year. Rather, according to ‘The Lessons of Fukushima’, [...]
Japan leaders ‘played down nuclear crisis‘ Investigation reports that government covered-up true scale of Fukushima disaster, and considered Tokyo evacuation. Japanese leaders did not know the extent of the damage in the wake of the nuclear crisis after the massive quake and tsunami hit the Pacific nation even as they tried [...]
Japanese Govt Kept Secret Worst-Case Scenario Post-Fukushima Information “was so shocking,” would frighten the public Kyodo reports: – Common Dreams staff After the Japanese government was presented with a worst-case scenario by Japan Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Shunsuke Kondo in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, they kept the report secret because “it was so [...]
A radioactivity measuring station in Iwaki, Fukushima. Photograph: Wolfgang Kumm/EPA Far more radioactive caesium released into the atmosphere than previously estimated, according to study reddit this Associated Press in New York guardian.co.uk, Friday 28 October 2011 07.40 BST Article history The Fukushima nuclear disaster released twice as much radioactive caesium into the atmosphere as Japanese [...]
Ridding Fukushima of radiation contamination By D. Parvaz in Asia on Mon, 2011-09-12 15:11. Iwamura oversees a simulation experiment for his soil-decontamination system [D.Parvaz/Al Jazeera] FUKUSHIMA PREFECTURE – Nestled among the rice paddies and country roads is a workshop where engineers work with a singular focus on a vital project: A process to decontaminate soil from [...]
Yoshihiko Noda is elected new leader of the Democratic party of Japan in Tokyo, paving the way for him to be the next prime minister. Photograph: Shizuo Kambayashi/AP Yoshihiko Noda, Japan‘s finance minister, is almost certain to become the country’s seventh prime minister in six years on Tuesday after winning the race to succeed Naoto Kan [...]
Japan credit rating downgraded over ballooning deficit Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces a $100bn facility to help ease the impact of the strong yen. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images Japan has the highest debt-to-GDP ratio of any country in the world, with its borrowings estimated to hit 233% of annual economic output in 2011 [...]
Kan’s ratings fell steeply, following the prolonged nuclear crisis, triggered by a tsunami in March [REUTERS] Japan‘s under-fire prime minister is expected to offer to resign later this month amid criticism over this handling of the country’s nuclear crisis and recovery from a devastating earthquake and tsunami that left thousands dead. Naoto Kan, who has [...]
Residents from a village near the Fukushima nuclear plant are checked for radiation exposure after returning briefly to their homes to collect belongings. Photograph: Koichi Kamoshida/EPA Residents who lived close to the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant are to be told their homes may be uninhabitable for decades, according to Japanese media reports. The Japanese prime [...]
Hiroshima Under the Mushroom Cloud A Day That Shook the World: Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima In Pictures: Hiroshima After the Bomb Dropped New A-Bomb Exhibits to Highlight Hiroshima Peace Ceremony Renowned Storyteller Left Last Heartfelt Message Before Passing Away Hiroshima Mayor: Efforts Should Be Made to Share A-Bomb Experiences Hibakusha: A-Bomb Survivor Expresses [...]
The cleanup operation continues four months after an earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear plant [Reuters] Japan‘s prime minister says he wants the country to learn from its ongoing crisis and become less reliant on nuclear energy. Naoto Kan told a news conference on Wednesday the risk of nuclear energy is too high and he wants to [...]
Fukushima nuclear plant may have suffered ‘melt-through’, Japan admits Fuel rods have probably breached containment vessels – a more serious scenario than core meltdown – according to report Share100 Justin McCurry in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 8 June 2011 07.39 BST Article history Japan’s prime minister, Naoto Kan, said transparency about Fukushima was essential to [...]
Japan pledges fresh nuclear safety measures Japan says it was unprepared for nuclear disaster in report due to be submitted to UN’s atomic agency. Last Modified: 07 Jun 2011 16:38 Email Print Share Send Feedback Japan has admitted it was unprepared for a disaster on the scale of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in a report [...]
Fukushima parents dish the dirt in protest over radiation levels Furious Fukushima parents dump school playground earth that may have radiation levels well above the old safety level Share592 Jonathan Watts in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Monday 2 May 2011 16.43 BST Article history Parents in Fukushima are angry over rule changes which mean that school [...]
Japan nuclear firm aims to end crisis within nine months Tepco reveals two-stage process to bring Fukushima plant under control but declines to say when evacuees can return home Share69 Justin McCurry in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 April 2011 12.01 BST Article history Chair of Japan nuclear operator Tepco, Tsunehisa Katsumata, announces the ‘cold shutdown’ [...]
AMY GOODMAN: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan tried Tuesday to calm fears about radiation levels and food safety in the region around the heavily damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant. His comments came after Japan raised the severity rating of its nuclear crisis to the highest possible level, heightening concerns about the magnitude of the disaster. [...]
