- A massive protection platform has been installed above spent fuel pool #4 at Fukushima Daiichi. The platform will keep falling debris out of the pool while the mangled superstructure above the refueling deck is removed. This is important because the superstructure must be gone before the fuel bundles in the pool can be relocated and stored. The removal of the bundles from the pool should end the wild, fantasy-based speculations of an international apocalypse caused by a collapse of the building. For pictures of the installation, go to http://photo.tepco.co.jp/en/date/2012/201206-e/120615_02e.html, and for a diagram of the platform’s purpose, go to http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/nu/fukushima-np/images/handouts_120608_03-e.pdf. (TEPCO press releases)
- In April, 2011, Fukushima Prefecture told a university research team to stop checking citizens for radioactive Iodine ingestion. The Prefecture was afraid the work was “stirring uneasiness” among the people. Very little data on ingestion of radionuclides during the early stages of the accident exists because of the government’s decision. The ramifications have been felt ever since. “If proper tests had been carried out, then we could have accurately evaluated the effects of the nuclear crisis, and residents would have felt more at ease,” a member of the university’s research team commented. Shinji Tokonami, a professor at Hirosaki University’s Institute of Radiation Emergency Medicine, said, “The reason anxiety about radiation has become prolonged is that we have no information from that time (soon after the outbreak of the nuclear disaster).” (Mainichi Shimbun)
- The mayor of Oi has given his assent to the restarts of units 3&4. Mayor Shinobu Tokioka said he approved the plan because he is concerned about possible power shortages and the impact on the local economy if the nukes remain closed. Following the mayor’s lead, the Fukui governor will meet with Prime Minister Noda Saturday to inform him that Oi town and Fukui Prefecture support the resumption of operations. Local consent is not legally required for restarting the reactors, but Tokyo wants their support because of the sensitivity of the issue. (Japan Today)
- The Prime Minister’s final decision on the Oi restarts is scheduled to be given on Saturday. A meeting will be held between Fukui governor Issei Nishikawa and PM Noda before the prime minister’s announcement. It is expected that Nishikawa will formally extend his permission for the restarts now that Oi town officials and the Fukui general assembly have agreed to the resumption of operations. The general assembly’s majority statement says, “Nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture have been contributing to the Kansai region’s development. It’s our responsibility to continue to cooperate with the nation’s nuclear energy policy as [the prefecture] that supplies electricity [to the region]. [The country] should maintain nuclear power sources. We want the governor to make a suitable decision [to support the restart].” On the other hand, the assembly’s minority statement says, “The safety [of the reactors] has yet to be sufficiently confirmed. But the reactors’ suspension has been adversely affecting the local economy and employment. We need support from the central government.” Noda will leave for Mexico on Sunday to attend a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. It is expected he will state his decision before his departure. (Yomiuri Shimbun)
- The Diet’s three major parties have agreed on the creation and operation of a new nuclear regulatory program for Japan. All the details seem to have been worked out, so the only remaining hurdle is getting the authorization bill passed by the Diet itself. It is believed this will happen before the end of next week, prior to the Diet’s recess. The bill features an independent nuclear safety commission of bureaucrats overseeing a regulatory agency of experts who will enforce regulatory changes mandated by the commission itself. Also, a nuclear disaster conference, chaired by the Prime Minister, will be created to clearly define responsibilities within the government during a nuclear power plant crisis. The team in the conference will include the Cabinet Secretary, Environment Minister, and the head of the new Nuclear Regulatory Commission. In a rather surprising revelation, the new bill does not place a 40 year limit on nuke operation. One of the bill’s contributors said, “The bill is expected to become one that seeks the new nuclear regulatory commission, after its launch, to swiftly judge (if the 40-year limit is appropriate).” (Japan Times)
- Kazuko Ozawa, the wife of DPJ leader Ichiro Ozawa, has divorced him because he fears radiation. She states he fled Tokyo with his secretaries on March 16, 2011, abandoning family and friends, because he feared the radioactive isotopes wafting from Fukushima Daiichi. The Skakun Bunshun says they have printed documents of Kazuko’s which state, “Facing unprecedented catastrophe, politicians must be the first to stand up, but in fact Ozawa ran away with his secretaries because of fear of radiation. As I saw him abandon people in Iwate who have supported him a long time, I realized Ozawa is not a person good for Iwate and Japan. Therefore, I divorced him.” Iwate is Ichiro Ozawa’s home district. One of the secretaries was told by Ozawa to let everyone move away because of his “receiving confidential information on radiation.” She passed on the message to other secretaries, but she herself refused to move with them and kept her family in Tokyo. Allegedly, Ozawa locked himself in his room and refused to leave until his staff had evacuated, which was completed March 25. Then, he also moved. This explains why the news media could not find him between March 11 and March 28. (Japan Times)
- Nobel Prize-winning novelist Kenzaburo Oe has submitted a petition to the government asking for an end to a dependence on nuclear power in Japan. The petition is said to contain about 6.5 million signatures. During the formal presentation to Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, Oe said he opposes the restarts of the Oi nukes, wants the country to stop building nuclear plants, and that the Fukushima accident shows that people cannot co-exist with nuclear energy. He believes it is imperative that adults demand the abolition of nuclear power to protect children. Oe and his campaign staff will hold an anti-nuclear rally in Tokyo on July 16, and claim that 100,000 will attend. (NHK World)
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