TOKYO (majirox news) — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Cabinet is swaying on its nuclear policy The administration is being pulled in two directions as it explores the future of nuclear energy in Japan. Noda asked his ministers on August 28 to examine the effects of a non-nuclear Japan in 2030. On the same day,...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — All of Japan’s nuclear electricity generation capability is now shut down for safety checks, and an immediate restart looks unlikely. Faced with the prospect of continued shutdown and a hot summer, a government panel says that areas served by three utility companies may suffer power shortages. Demand for electricity may...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Japan and Russia’s undeclared peace revolves mainly around energy. Without an energy issue, it’s doubtful that the two countries would be talking at all and their relations would be confined to exporting a few used cars from Japan to Vladivostok. Russia’s Rosatom, the state-run nuclear energy company, wants to change...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — According to A.T. Ariyaratne, unless the leaders and ordinary people of the world learn Buddhist teachings, humanity cannot survive in our highly developed economic and technological world. Ariyaratne is the founder and CEO of Sarvodaya, the largest non-profit organization (NPO) in Asia, which engage in education, medical and rural development....
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Minister for the Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) Yoshio Hachiro is under fire for making a joke about contamination just hours after apologizing Sept. 9 for disparaging an area around the radiation-spewing Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant by calling it “a town of death.” Pressure is mounting on Hachiro from within...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) has asked the government for permission to raise basic electricity charges by at least 10% in the wake of increased costs caused by the shutdown of nuclear power plants, including the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi power plant. TEPCO is seeking the first hike in base rates...
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Chernobyl survivor and popular singer, Nataliya Gudziy, is using her experience to help Japan cope with its nuclear crisis. “We make the same mistakes if we forget history,” she said. Gudziy, 31, a proponent of the Ukrainian folk string instrument called a bandura, gives concerts to tell others about the events in her Ukrainian...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Prime Minister Naoto Kan’s Cabinet decided Aug. 15 on comprehensive political policy overview that included aiming to reduce Japan’s dependence on nuclear power generation. With Kan’s resignation from the premiership expected within the end of this month, the move was somewhat symbolic as new major policy decisions will be left...
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TOKYO (majirox news) – Over 1,000 children plan to transfer from elementary and junior high schools over the summer vacation, many due to fears over the radiation-leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, according to the Fukushima Board of Education on Aug. 9. Board officials said that 1,081 elementary or junior high school pupils have...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Popular actress Anne Suzuki, once the campaign girl from Japan’s nuclear waste management, has raised ripples online by saying these appearances “were the first things I regretted in my life” in an Aug. 5 tweet. Suzuki began a series of tweets early Friday, focusing on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis...
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