Saturday, May 28, 2011

Regulators never questioned one-page document: Memo emblematic of disaster plan flaws (by Japan Times)

Nuclear regulators trusted that the reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 complex were safe from the worst waves an earthquake could muster based on a single-page memo from Tokyo Electric Power Co. nearly a decade ago.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110528x1.html

Kan unveils N-safety proposal (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

DEAUVILLE, France--Prime Minister Naoto Kan made a five-point proposal to ensure the safety of nuclear power plants at the two-day summit meeting of the Group of Eight nations that opened Thursday.



http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110527005777.htm

Japan Tries to Ease Fury of Parents Near Plant (by NYT)

TOKYO — Responding to fury among parents in Fukushima, Japan’s education minister said Friday that the country would set a lower radiation exposure limit for schoolchildren in areas around a stricken nuclear plant and pay for schools to remove contaminated topsoil from fields and playgrounds.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/28/world/asia/28japan.html?_r=1&ref=world

Softbank CEO Son morphs into advocate of nuclear phaseout (by Asahi Shimbun)


Masayoshi Son visits a gymnasium in Tamura, 11 days after the Great East Japan Earthquake, that served as an evacuation shelter for inhabitants of neighboring municipalities, including Okuma, partial host to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. This visit is said to have changed the Softbank CEO's views on nuclear power. (Provided by Softbank)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105270192.html

Nuke plant manager ignores bosses, pumps in seawater after order to halt (by Asahi Shimbun)


TEPCO Executive Vice President Sakae Muto fields questions at a news conference in Tokyo on May 26 on the continued pumping of seawater into a reactor. (The Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201105270183.html