Big electricity users reach reduction goal on 1st day (by Asahi Shimbun)

Employees of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone East Corp. leave work at noon to reduce electricity usage. (Kengo Hiyoshi)


A government order to restrict electricity usage appeared to work on its first day of implementation.

City with greatest number of disaster deaths recruits citizens for door-to-door census (by Mainichi Shimbun)

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- This coastal city, which has the greatest number of confirmed deaths from the March 11 disasters and many still unaccounted for, has borrowed the help of its citizens for a door-to-door population census.


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110702p2a00m0na022000c.html

Gov't eyes lifting evacuation directive for some Fukushima Pref. areas (by Mainichi Shimbun)

FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Goshi Hosono, minister for nuclear accidents, said Saturday that the government will consider lifting a directive for some districts of Fukushima Prefecture that requires residents to be prepared to evacuate or stay indoors in an emergency in connection with the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110703p2g00m0dm021000c.html

Strengthening of nuclear safety more important than TEPCO's 'internal company logic' (by Mainichi Shimbun)

Tokyo Electric Power Co. headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward. (Mainichi)


Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), operator of the disaster-struck Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, held its general shareholders' meeting on June 28, attracting the largest crowd and taking the most time of any shareholders' meeting in company history.


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110629p2a00m0na014000c.html

Panel stresses evacuation from tsunami / Moves focus from physical barriers (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

Prof. Yoshiaki Kawata of Kansai University at a meeting of an expert panel on tsunami countermeasures on Sunday

An expert panel on tsunami countermeasures has called for the establishment of comprehensive evacuation plans in anticipation of massive tsunami, representing a major shift from the past emphasis on dikes and other protective structures.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110627004310.htm

Exclusive use of LED lights would shave 9 percent off Japan's energy consumption: researchers (by Mainichi Shimbun)

The LED light fixtures to be installed on and inside the Tokyo Sky Tree are pictured with the Sky Tree's mascot Sorakara-chan in Tokyo's Koto Ward on June 15. (Mainichi)


If all the fluorescent and incandescent lights used in Japan were replaced by energy-saving light-emitting diode (LED) lights, the annual domestic power consumption would be slashed by 9 percent, the Institute of Energy Economics (IEE) has announced.
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110627p2a00m0na010000c.html

TEPCO failed to report possible hydrogen explosion (by Asahi Shimbun)

Smoke rises from the No. 3 reactor at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant which exploded in March. (Asahi Shimbun)


Tokyo Electric Power Co. knew there could be an explosion at the No. 3 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant the day before it happened, but didn't report the possibility to authorities.




http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106250160.html

Fund to track Fukushima health (by Japan Times)

(Kyodo)
The government plans to establish a ¥103 billion fund to track the health of all Fukushima Prefecture residents for 30 years, because of radiation leaking from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, government sources said Thursday.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110624a3.html

Quake-rebuilding budget delayed to autumn as Diet squabbles (by Asahi Shimbun)

Piles of rubble remain untouched more than three months after the March 11 earthquake in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)


Rebuilding quake-damaged regions in northeastern Japan appears certain to be delayed further as an extra budget for full-fledged post-quake reconstruction is not likely to be submitted to the Diet until September or later.
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106230201.html

The view from the ship has changed completely after the disaster

 (by Mr. Toshio Sato, 62, Captain of Yachiyo Taxi,  Shiogama City, Miyagi Prefecure)

I am running a water taxi business for four years at the port of Shiogama. It is a 13 passenger boat and travels to the Urato Islands and Matsushima Island. The public liner doesn’t run often, so I get quite many customers. I rush to the island 24/7 to transport patients who need treatment at the main land.

I lost one of my ships by the tsunami; it was knocked down side way and totaled. This one that I am running now got big hole on the bottom when it was washed ashore, but I had it repaired somehow and I was able to resume my water taxi business from May 1.

The view from the ship has changed completely after the disaster, and I wish they will restore the previous scenery as soon as possible. (Photo taken by Mr. Yasuo Ishii)

Nikkan Sports,  June 6, 2011

http://photos.nikkansports.com/general/genki/archives/20110606_17055.html

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Some power firm shareholders wary of nuclear energy (by Asahi Shimbun)

Kansai Electric Power Co. shareholders walk past nuclear power protesters as they enter a stockholders meeting in Osaka on June 29, 2010. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)




Electric power companies will face stronger doubts among shareholders about the feasibility of continuing with nuclear energy at annual meetings scheduled for later this month.


http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106180290.html

Japan industry minister seeks restart of nuclear reactors (by Mainichi Shimbun)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Industry minister Banri Kaieda on Saturday called for the restart of nuclear reactors currently suspended, to meet summertime electricity demand, saying immediate countermeasures for severe accidents have been taken "appropriately" at the nation's nuclear power plants.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110619p2g00m0dm023000c.html

Use Result of Research on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Atomic-bomb Disease Researchers’ Concern over Fukushima

Research group for Post Atomic –bomb Syndrome that is investigating the effect of atomic-bomb dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki held the meeting at a hotel in Hiroshima on June 5^th. There were about 200 researchers attended.  They voiced out one after another that they should utilize the result of research accumulated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in reference to the accident at the Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Plant.

Dr. Kenji Kamiya, the head of the medical research institute of atomic-bomb radiation at Hiroshima University worries that the groundless harmful rumor is spread such as the radiation is contagious and insisted that Hiroshima and Nagasaki need to stand up.

Dr. Shunichi Yamashita, a professor of the Graduate School of Nagasaki University, assigned to the advisor for Radiation Health and Risk Control of Fukushima Prefecture, stated “ It is very hard to wipe out the anxiety of the residents through our consultation” and explained the necessity to educate the people with the knowledge of the specialists from all over the country.

Dr. Koichi Tanigawa, a professor of the Graduate School of Hiroshima University who visited the area many times and contributed to the establishment of emergency medical system, pointed out that the inadequacy of the current disaster measure was exposed, and requested that the local government should take the initiative to review the system.

Ms. Tomoko Masunaga, a co-researcher at the Graduate School of Nagasaki University, who studied the mental health condition of residents of Belarus after the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant told, “ It is very important to provide the continuous mental care to the people”, suggesting the crucial psychological influence due to the long term problem over the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Asahi Shimbun, June 5, 2011

http://www.asahi.com/special/10005/OSK201106050045.html

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano 

Gov't calls TEPCO radiation exposure standards 'overly optimistic' (by Mainichi Shimbun)

Workers install a pressure sensor inside the No. 1 reactor building at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on June 3, in this photo provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.

As the number of workers exposed to high levels of radiation at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant increases, the government is accusing plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) of slack radiation dose calculations.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110615p2a00m0na014000c.html

Japan's renewable energy plans: Chasing rabbits using solar power? (by Mainichi Shimbun)

Newscaster Aya Takashima introduces Toshiba's household photovoltaic power system during the unveiling event for the product's new TV advertisement held in Tokyo on June 14. (Mainichi)

Some readers may have heard of the "rabbit limit," a term coined by Swedish environmental researcher Folke Guenther that relates to energy use. We can explain it as follows:


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110615p2a00m0na001000c.html

Poor decisions leave TEPCO workers vulnerable to radiation (by Asahi Shimbun)

Six more employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co. working at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant were exposed to more radiation than allowed even under the relaxed limits put in place to deal with the critical accident.


http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106140177.html

74% of voters back dumping nuclear power (by Asahi Shimbun)

Seventy-four percent of voters support abolishing nuclear power after a phase-out period, compared with 14 percent opposed, an Asahi Shimbun survey found.


http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201106140170.html

Italians' rejection of nuclear power expected to have repercussions in Japan (by Mainichi Shimbun)

People celebrate following partial results of Italian referendums on water and nuclear power in Rome on Monday, June 13, 2011. (AP Photo/Roberto Monaldo, Lapresse)




Italian voters adamantly said "no" to nuclear power generation in a referendum on June 12 and 13, a move likely to have repercussions in Japan, which is the centerpiece of the ongoing nuclear crisis that has added to the anti-nuclear power momentum in Europe.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110614p2a00m0na010000c.html

6 more nuclear plant workers exposed to radiation above limit: TEPCO (by Mainichi Shimbun)

In this May 15, 2011 photo released Friday, June 10, 2011 by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), workers take break in a temporary rest area at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. （AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co.)




TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Six more workers involved in efforts to contain the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant are feared to have been exposed to radiation above the prescribed limit, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday, bringing the total number of such workers to eight.


http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110614p2g00m0dm006000c.html

'Medical vacuum' in disaster areas / Struck by March 11 tsunami, coastal hospitals struggle to resume operations (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

A patient from Shizugawa Public Hospital in Minami-Sanrikucho, Miyagi Prefecture, is now at a hospital of the same name operated inside a medical institution in neighboring Tome.

Three months after the Great East Japan Earthquake, coastal areas in Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures are suffering from a severe "medical vacuum."

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110613004202.htm