Update The Genkai reactor No. 4 was restarted at 11 a.m. Nov. 1. The restart of the reactor was seen as a key to determining the fate of dozens of halted reactors across Japan. Japan had 54 working nuclear reactors while about 40 remain halted, mostly for regular inspections but some because of damage...
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OTSU (majirox news) — Minister of State for the Nuclear Disaster Goshi Hosono said Oct. 1 that Japan will establish precautionary action zones (PAZ) around nuclear plants in accordance with standards established by the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA). PAZ are to be included among new nuclear safety guidelines the government is drawing up in...
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FUKUSHIMA (majirox news) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda apologized Sept. 8 for the national government’s inadequate response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis. Noda bowed deeply in apology before a meeting with Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato, telling him that a visit to the radiation-spewing plant earlier in the day had showed him the enormity...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Japan should reduce its nuclear power over time according to almost three-quarters of respondents to a Mainichi newspaper poll released Aug. 22, significantly exceeding the 11% who want to immediately do away with it. In contrast to the 74% seeking gradual reduction of nuclear power, only 13% see no need...
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()TOKYO (majirox news) — Parts of the 20-kilometer (12.42 mile) Evacuation Zone around the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are close to being declared uninhabitable and the ban on entering the area maintained, possibly for decades, according to the Yomiuri newspaper on Aug. 21. Prime Minister Naoto Kan is poised to explain the situation...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Radiation is at its highest point in the 20-kilometer Evacuation Zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. It is equivalent to 500 years’ worth of the normal annual limit of artificial radiation absorption, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) said Aug. 19. Annual radiation absorption...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — The United States government planned to evacuate 90,000 U.S. citizens from Tokyo immediately following the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in March, it has been alleged. The claim was made by Kevin Maher, controversial former Director of the Office of Japan Affairs in his Japanese-language book The...
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FUKUSHIMA (majirox news) — Devastated Fukushima has drawn up a reconstruction plan shifting residential areas from its east to west where radiation is lower, but now needs help cutting through red tape to be able to do it, according to the city. Fukushima has asked the national government for relief from urban planning laws...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Prime Minister Naoto Kan reaffirmed his desire for Japan to stop using nuclear power generation on July 14, but senior Democratic Party of Japan figures and business leaders offered little support. “We faced the threat of having to evacuate 30 million people from Tokyo, Yokohama, the capital area, because of...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – The Japanese government has sought the dismissal of a Tokyo man’s case seeking to have construction of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant declared illegal, saying, “the capital is too far away to pose a health risk.” Government lawyers told the Tokyo District Court to throw out the lawsuit filed...
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