information about Fukushima published in English in Japanese media info publiée en anglais dans la presse japonaise
15 Mai 2014
May 15, 2014
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20140515p2g00m0dm044000c.html
FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Kyodo) -- U.S. Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy visited Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday for the first time since she assumed her post last November and toured the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
"We are committed to providing support as long as it is necessary," Kennedy said in a statement released after her visit to the Tokyo Electric Power Co. plant, which suffered a severe nuclear meltdown after the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Clad in protective gear and mask, Kennedy toured the plant to see the situation firsthand at a time when Japan and the United States are cooperating in decommissioning and cleaning up the troubled power plant.
"I was struck that more than three years after the tragic events of March 11, 2011, the destructive force of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting tsunami are still visible," she said.
Before coming to Fukushima, Kennedy visited neighboring Miyagi Prefecture, another northeastern area hit hard by the quake and tsunami, accompanied by her 21-year-old son, John Schlossberg. During her stay in Miyagi from Tuesday, she interacted with local senior high school students and saw how locals are rebuilding their lives.
At a forum in Tokyo in February, the ambassador stressed the importance of Japanese and U.S. firms sharing lessons of the nuclear disaster and the significance of U.S. firms contributing to efforts to rebuild Fukushima Prefecture.
May 15, 2014(Mainichi Japan)
May 14, 2014
AP
Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, got a firsthand look Wednesday inside the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant devastated by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Kennedy, wearing a yellow helmet and a white protective suit with her last name emblazoned on it, toured the Fukushima plant for about three hours with her son, Jack Schlossberg.
The plant was damaged beyond repair by the disaster, and continues to be plagued by radioactive water leaks. Decommissioning the reactors is expected to take decades.
“It’s very hard to visualize and understand the complexity of the challenge when you just read about it, so this was a very informative visit,” Kennedy told reporters after the tour. She expressed her gratitude to “those who are working here every day and to those who showed us around.”
Kennedy visited the Unit 4 reactor building, and the control room for reactors 1 and 2. A guide explained how events unfolded in the control room on March 11, 2011. The reactors shut down, cutting off power after the earthquake, and the operators initially felt the situation was safe. Then the tsunami came, knocking out power to the backup cooling systems. Eventually, three of the reactor cores would melt down.
Schlossberg, who is 21, said, “I hope my peers, my generation in the United States will keep Fukushima in mind and understand that there is still work to be done and we can all do something to help.
Kennedy visits Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/english/news/20140514_34.html
US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy has visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was heavily damaged by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
Kennedy is visiting Fukushima Prefecture for the first time as ambassador.
On Wednesday she toured the plant's compound and watched nuclear fuel being removed from a pool at the facility's No. 4 reactor building.
She also inspected the control room for the No.1 and 2 reactors, and was briefed by officials of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, on how they dealt with a loss of power after the tsunami.
Kennedy later issued a statement saying the United States will help Japan's government and Tokyo Electric decommission the plant, particularly to resolve the issue of radioactive wastewater.
The ambassador is scheduled to inspect an offshore floating wind power generator on Thursday, as well as a facility to support children who survived the disaster.
May 14, 2014 - Updated 09:53 UTC
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