Daily Japan Headlines: Monday, Sept 12, 2011
Washington Post: Lanterns fly in Japan to honor Tsunami victims
Hundreds of lanterns were released in Japan’s Fukushima Prefecture to mark the half-year anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the country. The ceremony was held only 24 miles from the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
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UPI: Japan atomic leak 3 times first estimate
Radiation leakage from a Japanese nuclear plant after this year’s earthquake and tsunami is three times higher than first thought, officials said Sunday.
A report to be presented Sept. 19 to the Atomic Energy Society of Japan says the amount of radiation in water that leaked from damaged reactors at the Fukushima power plant and airborne radioactive materials that fell into the Pacific Ocean was three times initial estimates, the Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper reported.
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UPI: Quake radiation, politics, worry Japanese
The Yomiuri Shimbun poll said 68 percent of Japanese were concerned they or their families could be harmed by the radioactive material that escaped from the Fukushima No. 1 plant outside Tokyo following the massive quake and tsunami.
The concerns were highest at 76 percent in the Tohoku and Kanto regions around Tokyo and northeaster Honshu. Other regions of Japan averaged 50 percent to 60 percent.
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ABC News: Nissan Develops Cheaper, Smaller Charger for EVs
Nissan has developed a charger for electric vehicles that’s smaller, about half the price, and easier to install.
Nissan Motor Co., Japan’s No. 2 automaker, said Monday the new charger will go on sale in November in Japan and is planned later for the U.S. and Europe, although dates are not set.
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ABC News: Japanese Minister Leaves Over Nuclear Crisis Gaffe
Noda, Hachiro and other government ministers were visiting the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant Thursday when Hachiro made his verbal gaffe. He called the desolate evacuation zone around the plant “a town of death” and later told reporters he just meant to convey the seriousness of the situation and his commitment to decontaminate it so residents can return.
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Time: Gaffes Claim Another Japanese Minister. When Will They Ever Learn?
For a country whose language is shaded in infinite shades of gray, Japanese government ministers sure do make a lot of gaffes. Last Saturday, Japan’s new trade minister Yoshio Hachiro quit after visiting the tsunami-devastated Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant zone and calling it a “town of death without a soul in sight,” while also joking with a journalist near him that “I will give you radiation.” Hachiro had been in the job for just over a week. But it was long enough to show just how disconnected Tokyo’s politicians are with the overwhelmed nation’s populace.
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ABC News: Edano Named Japan’s New Trade Minister
Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano was named Japan’s new trade minister Monday, replacing a politician who resigned over comments considered insensitive to evacuees in the country’s nuclear crisis.
Yoshio Hachiro resigned over the weekend, after just eight days in the post, after he called the area around a crippled nuclear power plant a “town of death.” The resignation was an embarrassment for the government Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as it tries to tackle the massive task of rebuilding the tsunami-battered northeast coast.
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Bloomberg: Noda’s Nuclear Revival Plans Set Back as Minister Forced Out Over Comments
Japan Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s effort to win public support for restarting nuclear reactors faces a setback after his minister in charge of the industry was forced to resign just nine days into the job.
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Washington Post: Nuclear agency’s board adopts post-Fukushima safety plan _ despite gripes by some members
The six-page document outlines steps to be taken by states with civilian nuclear programs to establish weaknesses in their networks and remedy them. But these measures — whether they are peer reviews, IAEA safety checks, or other proposals meant to improve nuclear safety — can only be carried out “upon request” of the nation involved.
Instead of being required to do so, member states are “strongly encouraged to voluntarily” open their facilities to outside checks of potential weak links that could result in a nuclear disaster.
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ABC News: Japan Marks 6 Months Since Earthquake, Tsunami
Up and down Japan’s devastated northeast coast, survivors prayed and communities came together Sunday to mark six months since the massive earthquake and tsunami struck on March 11, a date that changed everything for them and their country.
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BBC: Six months on: Japan tsunami survivor’s story
“It’s true I survived the tsunami. I did experience it but it never crossed my mind that I would not be part of this swimming team. I’m not scared of the water,” says Chihiro.
Chihiro’s team were just starting a practice session at a pool near the seashore in their hometown of Rikuzentakata when the magnitude-9.0 earthquake struck on 11 March.
Following their normal evacuation drill the team headed to the town’s community centre. But the building was swamped by the waves.
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ABC News: Post-Tsunami Japan Sticking With Nuclear Power
Many Japanese have grown uneasy with nuclear power since the March 11 tsunami, which left more than 20,000 dead or missing and sent a plant in Fukushima into meltdown. Anti-nuke protesters took to the streets, and a heated debate ensued over the future of atomic energy. A recent Associated Press-GfK poll found that 55 percent of Japanese want to reduce the number of reactors in the country.
Six months later, though, the nation seems to be sticking with nuclear power, at least for now.
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Washington Post: Japan quake city shows slow signs of recovery
Kesennuma, a small port city in Japan, is showing signs of recovery six months after being devastated by a disastrous tsunami on March 11 this year.
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Sydney Morning Herald: Fukushima’s wave of despair
As Japan prepares to mark six months since the March earthquake, tens of thousands remain in temporary housing, mourning loved ones, fearful of radiation and despairing over a marathon road to recovery.
Much rubble has been cleared, leaving vast, empty mud fields. Makeshift shelters at schools and public halls have closed after temporary housing was hastily constructed. But mental scars will take longer to heal.
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ABC News: Reports: Japan Airport Worker Posts Obama Flight
An air traffic controller at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport faces possible punishment after posting confidential information on his blog, including the flight plan for President Barack Obama’s visit to Japan last year
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Washington Post: Tokyo governor Ishihara to lead 2020 Olympic bid, JOC chief Takeda to handle daily operations
The Japanese Olympic Committee says Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara will be appointed chairman of the city’s 2020 bid committee, while JOC president Tsunekazu Takeda will oversee the day-to-day operations of the bid activities.
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