information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
30 Décembre 2012
December 29, 2012
FUKUSHIMA DAI-ICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT--Newly installed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the tsunami-devastated Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant on Dec. 29 as his government reconsiders plans to eventually phase out the use of atomic energy.
Donning protective gear, Abe took a bus tour of the plant--site of the worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster--and greeted workers at its emergency operations center, in Okuma town on Japan's northeastern coast.
A massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, swamped parts of the Fukushima plant, disabling backup systems and triggering radiation-spewing meltdowns that forced tens of thousands of people to flee. The disaster triggered massive protests against atomic energy and widespread public distrust in nuclear plant operators and regulators.
Japan's nuclear reactors were suspended for checks after the Fukushima meltdowns, and only two of the country's 50 reactors are currently online.
During his visit to the Fukushima plant's operations center, Abe urged employees of the plant's embattled owner, Tokyo Electric Power Co., to persevere as the company works to clean up radiation released by the accident and safely close the plant permanently.
The previous government, led by the rival Democratic Party of Japan, had pledged to phase out nuclear power by 2040 by retiring aging reactors and not replacing them.
But Abe's Liberal Democratic Party, which regained power in elections this month, says it plans to spend 10 years studying the best energy mix for the country. Abe also has said he may reconsider the previous government's decision to stop building reactors.
The relatively favorable stance toward resuming operations of more nuclear plants has won favor among business leaders worried about power shortages and rising costs; since the Fukushima disaster, Japanese imports of costly liquefied natural gas have soared.
It's unclear, however, if that would win the approval of the government's Nuclear Regulation Authority, which is drawing up new, compulsory safety standards and checking some plants for potential trouble from geologic faults that could compromise safety in case of earthquakes, which are common in this seismically active country.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121229x1.html
Kyodo
FUKUSHIMA — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe inspected the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant Saturday to show the public that his administration is serious about speeding up decontamination and reconstruction work while it tackles a host of other pressing issues, his aides said.
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Donning a hazmat suit at J Village, a soccer center converted into a base for those involved in stabilizing the plant's crippled reactors, Abe met with workers to thank them for their service to the nation.
It was his first visit to the Fukushima No. 1 power station as prime minister. The complex suffered three catastrophic core meltdown in March 2011 after the Great East Japan Earthquake and ensuing 15-meter tsunami knocked out the power suply.
"I know the decommissioning process is hard work. But it is progressing well and we owe it all to you," Abe told the workers.
The prime minister then visited the No. 1 plant and spoke with employees of Tokyo Electric Power Co. who are engaged in preparatory work for the removal of spent nuclear fuel from the wrecked reactors' storage pools.
Abe was slated to visit temporary accommodations in the prefecture later in the day and meet with residents who were evacuated due to the nuclear crisis last year. He was expected to return to Tokyo on Saturday evening.
Accompanying Abe on the trip was Takumi Nemoto, a Diet member representing a constituency in Fukushima who was appointed reconstruction minister in the new Cabinet inaugurated Wednesday.
Abe also inspected the power plant in October as leader of the Liberal Democratic Party.
Kyodo
FUKUSHIMA — The mayor of a town rendered off-limits by the Fukushima disaster told environment officials Friday that he is opposed to restarting more of the nation's idled nuclear reactors.
"The government's apparent stance of giving priority to restarts hurts the feelings of the people in Fukushima Prefecture," Tomioka Mayor Katsuya Endo told two senior vice environment ministers from the new government led by the Liberal Democratic Party. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe launched his Cabinet on Wednesday.
"Fukushima is absolutely opposed to the government's plan to restart nuclear plants without consensus based on people's discussions," Endo told Shinji Inoue and Kazunori Tanaka.
He also criticized past LDP administrations for the slack safety standards they imposed on nuclear power plants in the first place. Unless Abe's new government reflects on the past, it will not be able to win the public's trust, Endo said.
The LDP returned to power earlier this month after three years in the opposition camp. Trade minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Abe's team will review the national strategy set out by the Democratic Party of Japan-led administration to aim for a reactor phaseout by 2040.
The meeting took place in Koriyama, where the administrative functions of Endo's town were transferred to escape the fallout from the core meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 complex.
Tomioka and adjacent Naraha host the Fukushima No. 2 plant, another nuclear complex that was taken offline along with most of the nation's other reactors after the meltdowns. Fukushima No. 2 is 12 km south of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 facility.
Kyodo
FUKUSHIMA — Some of the people who fled the radioactive fallout in Fukushima Prefecture will get to spend their first New Year holidays at home since the nuclear catastrophe, the government said Friday.
Starting Saturday, four municipalities with radiation restrictions will allow residents to stay in their homes up to five nights.
A total of 525 residents — 221 from Minamisoma, 236 from Iitate, 16 from Kawauchi and 52 from Tamura — have preregistered for the stays, the government said.
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20121229p2g00m0fp029000c.html
FUKUSHIMA (Kyodo) -- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday inspected the Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan, where the country's worst nuclear crisis has unfolded.
His trip to the plant in Fukushima Prefecture immediately after he launched his Cabinet Wednesday is aimed at demonstrating his government is serious about speeding up postdisaster reconstruction efforts while tackling other key issues such as reviving the country's stagnant economy, his aides said earlier.
Changing into a radiation protection suit at "J Village," a former soccer training center now used by people responsible for containing the crisis at the plant, Abe met with plant workers there to thank them for their service.
"I know decommissioning work (for reactors at the plant) is hard work. But it is progressing well and we owe it all to you," Abe told the workers.
Abe will go into one of the reactor buildings at the plant and meet with employees of plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co., also known as TEPCO, who are doing preparatory work for the removal of spent nuclear fuel from a pool at the reactor.
Abe will also visit temporary shelters in the prefecture accommodating people who were evacuated after the nuclear accident at the plant, which was crippled by the massive March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the northeast.
Accompanying Abe is Takumi Nemoto, who represents a constituency in the prefecture and was appointed reconstruction minister by Abe on Wednesday.
Abe has also inspected the plant in October, as head of the Liberal Democratic Party.
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