July 30, 2012

Jul 30, 2012 | Fukushima Accident Updates

  • Tepco has held an emergency drill based on assuming a worst case earthquake near Tokyo Bay. About 300 Tepco employees, including new management, took part in the Monday exercise. The scenario was based on a magnitude 7.3 quake occurring beneath Koto Ward. The drill assumed the quake damaged transmission lines and sub-stations across the world’s largest metropolis. It also presumed potential, albeit minor impact on the two Fukushima power stations 250km north of Tokyo. Tepco says they hope to restore public confidence by staging a number of such drills in the future. (NHK World)
  • Japan is experiencing a “scorching” heat wave reminiscent of record-setting 2010. As of Sunday, the government said there have been more than 52,000 heatstroke cases necessitating hospital care. At the same time, the death toll was reported to be 168. 80% of the reporting locations saw highs of at least 85oF, this weekend. The highest posted temperature was nearly 102oF (38.5oC) in Tajimi City, Gifu Prefecture. Near-100oF readings dotted the landscape in and around Tokyo Bay. Sapporo, on the northern-most major island of Japan, reached a day-time high of 91oF, which is very unusual for the Winter Olympics’ site. The heat wave threatens to stretch Japan’s electrical capacity to its limits, even after the two Oi Nuke restarts. (Accuweather.com)
  • This week’s antinuclear rally in Tokyo was on Sunday, in blistering-hot temperatures of 95oF (35oC). Although protest organizers again exaggerated attendance to be 200,000, this week’s throng was estimated by police at between 14,000 and 17,000. Elderly people, women and children were prominent in the crowd. The demonstrators chanted popular antinuclear themes and once again demanded that the Oi nukes be immediately shut down. The highlight of the event was an encircling of the Diet by candle light. During the evening candle light vigil, a few scuffles broke out between police and a few demonstrators. This was the first instance of physical fracas with the weekly protests. It was also announced that a new political party has been launched. Greens Japan is a political organization planning to field candidates in parliamentary elections with an antinuclear agenda. Deputy Head Akira Miyabe said “A party that pursues environmental policies is needed.” (Japan Today; NHK World)
  • Surprisingly, a few of the Tokyo demonstrators were not opposing nuclear restarts. They were protesting the tsunami of fear, uncertainty and doubt that has harmed the Tohoku region since 3/11/11, caused by scare-mongering rumors. Kotaro Kikuchi of Iwate said, “I guess most of the people who gathered here want to say ‘no’ to the restart of nuclear reactors. But I came here to say ‘no’ to “fuhyo-higai” (the damage caused by groundless rumors) that the Tohoku region has been suffering from [since the triple-meltdown].” Kikuchi added, “I’ve heard that some boards of education decided not to choose Tohoku as a destination for school trips. When I heard that, I really thought we have to raise our voices. Otherwise, Iwate Prefecture won’t be revitalized.” Kikuchi emphasized, however, that a nuclear crisis should never be allowed to happen again. On the other hand, many demonstrators voiced their fears of a nuclear apocalypse. Laurent Mabesoone, 43, a French haiku poet from Nagano Prefecture said, “If the same kind of accident happens at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, it’d all be over. We should not allow the restart of the power plant.” His wife Toyo added, “I believe it’s time to raise our voices. Otherwise, there won’t be a future for us.” (Japan Times)
  • The Diet’s political parties are in a quandary over how to communicate with antinuclear protestors. It seems the size and persistence of the weekly demonstrations in Tokyo has caught lawmakers unawares. LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki said, “(The protests) indicate that there are many people who are searching for ways to express their anxiety. What lies beneath their sense of anxiety? It is an important job for politics to dispel such anxieties.” A member of the majority Democratic Party of Japan observed, “If nuclear plants are suspended, electricity bills will go up. Those who only advocate their likes and dislikes won’t understand our explanations.” Even nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono commented, “It is hard to figure out how to face up to the demonstrations. I don’t have an answer myself.” Beyond their general atmosphere of incredulity, many lawmakers are taking issue with the few prominent politicians taking part in the protests. Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima said, “Now is not a time for parties to organize [antinuclear] demonstrations.” How long will the weekly protests last? It seems protestors only want the Oi plants shut down immediately and keeping all Japanese nukes indefinitely shuttered. Norimichi Hattori, one of the organizers of the protests, asserted, “We will stop the protests once the Oi nuclear plant is suspended.” (Mainichi Shimbun) …no matter how hot it gets or how many people die from heat stroke!
  • An antinuclear meeting contaminated by the Hiroshima Syndrome was held in Fukushima City last week. Because of the meeting’s success, Japan Congress Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs will now hold annual meetings in Fukushima City, in addition to their yearly gatherings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Organizers estimate roughly 1,000 people attended in Fukushima. Group leader Koichi Kawano, a Nagasaki survivor, said that a nuclear accident can happen anywhere and at any time which he feels demands the immediate abolition of nuclear energy. A woman from Nagasaki said she took part in the meeting to support the people of Fukushima, calling for an end to nuclear power and to oppose the restarts of nuclear reactors. (NHK World) Confusing reactors with bombs continues unabated…