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日本のために、いま私たちができること

Korean and Chinese Prime Ministers Visit Disaster Affected Area

2011-05-21 | Japan News
On Saturday, May 21, the South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak and the Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao visited areas devastated by the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami. The leaders arrived at Sendai Airport in the city of Natori, Miyagi prefecture before noon and started their visit to cheer up the victims.

The South Korean president, Lee Myung Bak laid flowers on a street of the tsunami-hit area and handed hand-made fans from Korean children over to the victims in this area. “We are hoping that Japan will recover as soon as possible,” said the president.

The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao visited a town called Yuriage on the same day. “I am so sad feeling the pain and agony people are suffering because of the earthquake and tsunami,” he said. Further “the tsunami can destroy houses but can never destroy our will.”


Mainichi News: 11:18am, Saturday May 21

Emperor and Empress 130 hours of self-cut off of electricity

2011-05-16 | Japan News
The Imperial Household Agency reported on May 2, that the total amount of hours the Emperor and Empress cut off the electricity usage at the Imperial Palace where they live had reached over 130 hours. According to the Imperial Household Agency, the Emperor and Empress have restrained themselves from using any electricity for 2 hours every day since March 15 until April 30 continuously, following the group 1 electricity cut-off schedule. There were 18 days when the daily 2 hour-cut off took place twice at the Palace. The self-electricity cut off ended at the end of April, and the Emperor and Empress have got back to their normal routine whilst being careful of their electricity usage.

<Sankei News: Monday 2 May 2011>

Julia Gillard Visits Japan

2011-04-24 | Japan News
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has visited Minami San-Mutsu town, Miyagi in Japan on 20th. She stayed in Japan until 23rd to meet both the emperor and prime minister Kan before heading off to China and Korea on her way to the United Kingdom for the royal wedding. She will be the fist prime minister who will visit Japan after the devastating earthquakes and tsunami. Australia has sent 76 rescues to the town between 15th and 19th last month.

Danger of 1million Employee Dismissal

2011-04-19 | Japan News
The aftermath is affecting employment in non disaster areas too. The ongoing planned blackout and the trend of saving electricity across the country has caused a great decrease in production. There are cases where employers have given employees indefinite stand-down or have not renewed contracts.

A part-time employee in Shizuoka says “I have been told to stand-by at home, but the company won’t pay me during that time. I am not sure what I will be doing after April”

Another part-time employee in Kanagawa says, “I have been standing by since 12 March. My recruitment agent has not guaranteed my wage during this period”

A full time worker in Aichi says, “I was told to take days off because of the earthquake. They won’t pay me while I am away”. A full time salesman in Tokyo says, “I was asked to quit my job by the end of this week because they cannot take on any new business due to the earthquake”

The number of these complaints is increasing at a much faster pace than the Lehman Brothers Shock which occurred in 2008, where approx. 300,000 complaints were received. Indeed, experts estimate that there will be more than 1million potential employees affected by the danger of unemployment.


[Sankei News] retrieved from: http://www.sankeibiz.jp/econome/news/110406/ecd1104062123001-n1.htm

Level 7 Fukushima Nuclear Plant Evaluation

2011-04-17 | Japan News
The level that indicates the damage of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant rose from Level 5 to Level 7 on 12 April. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) examines the level according to the following data.

1. Damage of the nuclear facility
2. Quantity of the radiation emission
3. Number of people who have been exposed to the radiation


Each level indicates a damage or phenomenon
Level 7 Serious Accident *Chernobyl / Fukushima
Level 6 Large Accident
Level 5 Accident that risks objects outside the facilities
*Three Mile Island
Level 4 Accident that does NOT risk anything outside the facilities
Level 3 Significant disorder phenomenon
Level 2 Disorder phenomenon
Level 1 Deviation
Level 0 Some influence on safety


The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announced that the situation of the reactors 1, 2 and 3 was at Level 5. This is the same as that of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in 1979. The fuels were damaged and there were some radiation leaks too. Residents near the plant were also evacuated. However, the cooling system of Three Mile Island was stabilised straight after that and the problem was solved within a week.

On the contrary, the accident at No.1 Fukushima plant is expanding and the fuels at Reactor 1 have been 70% damaged. Also, it is assumed that some used fuels at Reactor 4 have been damaged too. Therefore, the influence of the radiation has become significant and the level 5 has been raised to Level 7.

The No. 1 Fukushima plant accident has been estimated at a lower level than the accident in Chernobyl. It is because the quality of these two accidents is different in many ways. In Chernobyl, the main accident was the explosions of the reactor cores, which are more serious than hydrogen explosions of the house where reactors were placed. The explosion of the reactor cores in Chernobyl emitted a massive dose of radiation, which was 10 times more than that of the Fukushima plant. Also it is less likely that there will be explosions of the reactor cores like Chernobyl in Fukushima as far as the cooling of the reactor cores will remain stable.

At the same time, ongoing after-shocks are making consistent cooling difficult and the disposal of the polluted water is making slow progress. In order not to repeat the Chernobyl accident, it is essential for the government to take urgent measures towards solving the problem.

12 April, 2011
NHK Kabun Blog ‘Science & Culture’
http://www9.nhk.or.jp/kabun-blog/100/78196.html