Japan's Nuclear Power Plants Count Down to ZERO

Starting tomorrow, April 26, 2012, Japan's last remaining nuclear power plant will have only 10 days left before it is shut down. Some people are happily counting down from ten to zero from tomorrow. The last plant  is the Tomari #3 nuclear reactor owned by Hokkaido Electric Company and it is going to be shut down on May 5, 2012 for its regular check up.


The Japanese government is trying to reopen Oi #3 and #4 nuclear reactors in Fukui before the total shut down of all 54 nuclear reactors, but citizens together with some 50 politicians are against the reopening of Oi, which could mean the total shut down of all the 54 nuclear reactors for the first time since nuclear power plants started operating in Japan in 1966.


Here is  a list of all the nuclear power plants in Japan and their shut-down dates:
http://www.jca.apc.org/mihama/fukushima/genpatsu_jyoukyou_20120326.pdf


There are ten electric companies in Japan and each company is a regional monopolistic enterprise and consumers have no choice but to buy electricity from one company.


As of today, only onw nuclear reactor (Tomari #3) is in operation. The other 53 reactors are shut down due to check ups or trouble. This fact (only one reactor in operation) seem surprising to many nationally and internationally as we were told that  30% of Japan's energy comes from nuclear power.


In reality, no nuclear power plants have been in operation in Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu for some time, yet there has been no energy shortage.


The Japanese government is working hard to reopen the Oi nuclear power plant as they are afraid of a total shut down of nuclear power in Japan. The fact Japan can do without nuclear power plants is frightening to them as they had kept on telling the Japanese people that  Japan could not live without nuclear power.


They do not want Japanese people to know Japan has enough power without nuclear power plants.


There have been many people in Japan who have said that Japan's energy needs could be met without nuclear power.  Scholars and journalists including Yuko Fujita, Takashi Hirose, Yu Tanaka, Atsushi Tsuchida, Hiroaki Koide are some... 


So, May 5, 2012, the Japanese people will finally realize the fact that they CAN do without nuclear power.


If what the government and electric companies have been saying had been true, we would have experienced power shortages and black outs by now. But so far, none!! This fact that we can do without nuclear power is surprising to many. People have tended to believe the government story that Japan can not live without nuclear power. 


We were deceived. They were lying.  


Because of the March 11the tsunami, earthquake and resulting radiation release, the Japanese people are finally demanding the total shut down of nuclear power to the government and electric companies.


Below is the list of shut down dates of nuclear power plants of the nine electric corporations:


Tohoku Electric Co.: No nuclear power since March 11, 2011.
Tokyo Electric Co.: No nuclear power since March 26, 2012
Chubu Electric Co.: No nuclear power since May 14, 2011
Hokuriku Electric Co.: No nuclear power since March 11, 2011
Kansai Electric Co.: No nuclear power since Feb 20, 2012
Chugoku Electric Co.: No nuclear power since Jan 27, 2012
Shikoku Electric Co.: No nuclear power since Jan 13, 2012
Kyusyu Electric Co.: No nuclear power since Dec 1, 2011
Hokkaido Electric Co.: Last one to be shut on May 5, 2012
Okinawa Electric Co.: has no nuclear power at all.
(There may be depleted uranium munitions and even nuclear bombs stored in US bases in Okinawa.)


Japan may become the first country to have a post-nuclear power society in spite of all the effort its government and electric companies are making to reopening the nuclear power plants.


10 days count down to "ZERO nuclear power" in Japan! This is the best news since March 11, 2011.


Japan should be the leader of renewable and sustainable energy society so that other countries can follow.


The operation of nuclear power plants on earthquake faults is a threat to the health of young people in the world and to environment as if there is a release of radiation after an accident it will spread and go around the world just like radiation from Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is now spreading through the air and water. The Japanese people are finally demanding from their government that there be a total shut down of nuclear power plants and a shift to renewable energy.

Worsening Health Condition of a Fukushima Resident: The Case of Ms. Emiko Numauchi

Aljazeera has reported on a women, Emiko Numauchi, a former high school teacher, living 25 km from Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Reactor, whose health has been worsening after the 311 nuclear disaster: She is losing her hair, many teeth are gone, and she has purple marks on the skin...

http://www.youtube.com/embed/lpWOeKk1GUo

Here is an English article about her:
http://www.aljazeera.com/video/asia-pacific/2012/03/20123914421232874.html

Below is a report written by Sanae who volunteered to spread the information about Ms. Emiko Numauchi, who is in the Aljazeera report.
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How safe is it for Fukushima people to stay in Fukushima, Japan?

People all over the world may think that Fukushima issue is already over. The Tsunami is over and international support has been delivered, therefore it is over.

However, there actually are the people who have been suffered from some incomprehensible symptoms around the nuclear power plants in Fukushima since the disaster. A Hiroshima Survivor told that Hiroshima people have been the same symptoms just like Fukushima.

1. The symptoms Fukushima people have and the ones Hiroshima people have.
A lady, Emiko Numauchi, 42 years old, who has lived in Minamisoma city in Fukushima prefecture in Japan, has been suffered from bunch of incomprehensible symptoms such as diarrhea (from May in 2011), feeling horror (from June), loss of appetite (from June), numbness in her hands (from August), higher blood pressure (from August), higher body temperature (from August), loosing her teeth (from September), (water) blisters (from October), loosing her hair (from October), bleeding (from December), and so on since the Fukushima nuclear power plantsa exploded after the earthquakes and Tsunami on March 11th. According to her, she had no problem with her health before that. Her husband was just a few km far away from the plants and one of her friends was in Minamisoma city as well. He has been suffering from feeling horror, numbness in his left feet, and nose bleeding and her friend has been loosing her hair.

Another lady, Koko Tanimoto Kondo, a Hiroshima Survivor I met last month told that a lot of the people who were in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was detonated over the city have been suffered from the incomprehensible symptoms same as the above.

2. The distances they are staying from the Fukushima nuclear power plants.
Minamisoma city where Emiko has been living is within 25 km from the Fukushima nuclear power plants. Her hasband moved to Kooriyama city where is within 60 km and comes back to Minamisoma city on weekends and her frends moved to the border place of Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures, within 75 km, after the disaster.

3. What are their conditions now?
They do not have the all symptoms all of the time, (some of those such as headaches, blisters, or numbness keep appearing and disappearing) , but Emiko actually has been loosing her hair and teeth since the last autumn and have difficulty in working (teaching high school students) because of feeling restless. Her hasband feels horror and have difficulty in working as well and her friend is also loosing her hair. Both Emiko and her friend got wigs in this winter.
Through a lot of Japanese websites, we can see not only Fukushima people but also the people outskirts of Fukushima have the similar health problems. Now we wonder how safe it is for Fukushima people to live there.

Click here to see a larger version of the above picture.

Now the debris from the tsunami is coming close to Hawaii and we do not know how radioactive it might be. I will keep measuring the radiation and report it here if I find anything strange.

10 Years from 911

I pray for those who lost their lives on that day and beyond as a result of 911 and the two wars following 911 (Afghanistan and Iraq). I pray those who are left behind who are surviving and living their life overcoming the hardships.

I am sorry
Please forgive me
Thank you
I love you

The following video is something I would like to share with you today, especially with Americans who believe their government and corporate media, on the 10th anniversary of 911. Because I have so many dear friends in the USA:

http://youtu.be/jLzPMww4tdA

I agree with the words of the producer of this video: "This is the biggest crime against humanity" and the truth needs to be revealed. I do not know when it will be and what the truth is, but I know it takes every one of us to make it happen.

You can see some of the people who are trying to reveal the truth. In fact, some of them have risked their lives to expose the discrepancies in the official story. They need more of our attention:
http://torontohearings.org/author/torontohearings/
Here is USTREAM:
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/thetorontohearings

I would like to tell you that something similar is happening in Japan.

Right now, the facts about Fukushima nuclear power plants' disaster are being hidden from the public so that the government and companies can reduce the amount of money they need to pay out to compensate the victims. They knew that the meltdown occurred right after the 311 earthquake, but they hid it from from us and the world for two months. During those two months the Japanese people in and around Fukushima (in my case I lived 150 miles from it) were exposed to excess radiation. Our government and TEPCO continue to try to make the effect of the damage look smaller and more trivial than what actually is. Our media is the same as in the rest of the world. The truth is distorted to the advantage of the government and corporations.

Today the International Conference on Radiation and Health Risk in Fukushima is being held. Many citizens and citizens groups are challenging the reliability of the conference as they believe it is actually a propaganda event that is being used to support nuclear industry and medical establishment who underestimate the risk of low level radiation, especially internal exposure.

Please read the citizen's point of view here.

May Love, Life and Truth thrive!
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Open Letter of Inquiry to the Organizing Committee for the International Expert Symposium in Fukushima — Radiation and Health Risks

September 10, 2011

Concerning the International Expert Symposium that the Organizing Committee is planning at Fukushima Medical University on September 11 and 12, we have several questions and concerns. Some of them arise from the explanation repeatedly given to the residents of Fukushima Prefecture since the mid-March that exposure to ionizing radiation up to 100 mSv per year represents no harm to the health. The others are related to the evaluation of the Health Examination for Citizens in Fukushima Prefecture, which is to be the main theme of the planned International Expert Symposium.

We consider that the mission of the experts in radiological protection consists in preventing health hazard by minimizing exposure to radiation. However, the document, “An Initiative for the Health Examination for Citizens in Fukushima Prefecture,” says that the purposes of the Examination are “to remove fears among residents of Fukushima Prefecture raised in the wake of the nuclear plant accidents and to secure safety and relief through long-term health management of the residents.” For us, citizens of Fukushima, “safety and relief” can only be achieved when these radioprotection experts fulfil their responsibilities. On the contrary, however, these experts have done nothing but repeat the argument that exposure to radiation up to 100 mSv per year represents no harm to the health.

Also when we find a passage in the briefing document on the said Health Examination that says, “The impact on public health of the accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant can be assumed to be very minor,” we cannot but have an impression that the Examination is conducted under a presumed conclusion, refusing any on-going discussions with specialists with different views. We can only interpret such a scheme as an attempt to evade their own responsibilities. Distrust and discontent are rising among residents of the prefecture and the Japanese public at large. Exposure to radiation is continuing in diverse forms at various locations. Much of the responsibilities for this situation should be assumed by the Japanese experts who are the members of the Committee as well as by the selected foreign participants of the Symposium. It is very unlikely that any views helpful in changing the current situation and promoting proper radioprotection can be obtained from experts from overseas who are designated by the very parties responsible for the current situation. Given such development, we cannot help but concluding that what you are delivering is a make-believe external evaluation, which would only aggravate doubts and fears among residents.

For the reasons given above, we consider that the planned International Expert Symposium is inadequate to scientifically examine the impact on public health of radiation exposure resulted from the disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, or to correctly evaluate the health risks involved and protect the public from radiation exposure.

We hereby convey our view, followed by our inquiry below concerning the Symposium organized by the Committee. Your sincere response to our inquiry will be much appreciated. Please note that this Letter of Inquiry will not only be delivered to the Committee but also be open to the public.

Inquiry

Question #1
Among the participants of the Symposium, there are no researchers reporting that the impact of low-dose exposure on health is greater than the assessment by the International Commission on Radiological Protection. If the International Expert Symposium is committed to studies on the impact of radiation exposure on health, it is essential to raise discussions among experts and researchers with different views. For what reasons are such researchers excluded from the Symposium?

Question #2
Fukushima Medical University Vice President Shunichi YAMASHITA, one of the Committee members, has been giving explanation to Fukushima residents that it is safe to be exposed to radiation up to 100 mSv per year. On the other hand, the Food Safety Commission, Cabinet Office, gives quite a different view that adverse impact is observed when one is exposed to a total dose of 100 mSv over a lifetime. What is your opinion on the huge gap between these two observations?

Question #3
Concerning the number of persons that died of cancer caused under the impact of radiation due to the Chernobyl disaster and the number of cancer patients, there is a significant discrepancy between the IAEA/WHO report (4,000 cancer deaths estimated by the Chernobyl Forum in 2005) and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,” (published in 2009; a total of one million deaths caused by various cancerous and non-cancerous diseases, stillbirths, etc.) or many other reports from ECRR, German Radiological Protection Association, etc. How will you explain the gap? We would like to have the view of the Committee good enough to be accepted by residents with fears.

Question #4
There is a passage, “The only illness pinned down related to the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is thyroid cancer among children caused by internal exposure to radioactive iodine. No increases of other illnesses have been recognized” (“Purpose and Outline” in the Health Examination document). Are you planning examination of massive studies and reports (e.g., Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, “Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment” and German Affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Health Effects of Chernobyl, 2010) indicating observations different from the view above? If not, please explain the reasons.

Question #5
Despite the fact that experts and researchers have different opinions, they are not having any debate on the differences. This will lead to increasing concerns among local residents, which is against the purposes of the Symposium. What are the purposes and intent of the Organizing Committee? What are the reasons behind them?

Question #6
In the August 16 press conference, the Organizing Committee announced that you would compile suggestions for removing concerns over radiation among Fukushima residents in general and mothers with children in particular. You say you will make suggestions for eliminating concerns. Why won’t you make suggestions for radiological protection, instead?

Question #7
While being aimed at eliminating concerns among the public, why is the Symposium being held by excluding citizens in general, not allowing their voices to reach?

Sincerely,

Organizations and Researchers submitting this Letter of Inquiry
(in random order)
市民放射能測定所 Citizens' Radioactivity Measuring Station 47 プロジェクト Project47
低線量被ばくから子どもの未来を守るプロジェクトProject to protect the future of children from low dose exposure
高木学校 Takagi school
NPO 法人セイピースプロジェクト Say Peace Project
市民科学研究室・低線量被曝研究会 Exposure to Low-Dose Radiation Research Group, Citizen Science Initiative Japan
ドイツ放射線防護協会 German Society for Radiation Protection
たんぽぽ舎 no nukes plaza tanpoposya
未来の福島こども基金 Fukushima Children's Fund
and many others...

Adding Insult to Injury!

Why are they sending us high level waste now when we are already being irradiated with radiation from Fukushima?

******

Sellafield High Level Waste (HLW) shipment sails for earthquake region of Japan

3 August 2011

Sellafield High Level Waste (HLW) shipment sails for earthquake region of Japan – a direct threat not only to the people and environment of Japan, but also to en-route communities in the Caribbean and Pacific and their marine environment.

The shipment, which comes less than five months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the Pacific coast of northern Japan, and while the Fukushima-daiichi nuclear meltdown and accident is on-going, left the port of Barrow-in-Furness at approximately 0200 hrs this morning. The cargo of nuclear waste is bound for Aomori, north-eastern Japan via the Carribbean and the Panama Canal.

The vitrified HLW, delivered by rail from Sellafield in three TN28VT transport flasks yesterday, was loaded onto the Pacific Grebe, a British-flagged ship operated by Pacific Nuclear Transport Limited (PNTL). Within the transport flasks were 76 cannisters of vitrified HLW, totalling over 40 tonnes of highly radioactive waste which has been assigned to the Kansai, Shikoku and Kyushu Electric Power Companies in Japan respectively.

Last month CARICOM, which represents the nations of the Caribbean, had demanded a halt to all shipments in a statement condemning ‘as unacceptable and injurious, the practice by the United Kingdom, France and Japan of transporting hazardous waste through the Caribbean Sea, thus risking the very existence of the people of the Caribbean’. The Pacific Grebe, making her maiden voyage to Japan, is expected to arrive in the Caribbean in mid-August, the Panama Canal on 18th August, and its HLW cargo scheduled to arrive in the port of Mutsu-Ogawara around 25th September.

CORE’s spokesman Martin Forwood said today: “It is incomprehensible that whilst Japan, its people and environment continue to suffer daily from the still unfolding Fukushima catastrophe, Sellafield should see fit to add to the country’s woes by sending nuclear waste. This unwanted shipment of the most radioactive material on the planet is also being made in flagrant disregard of the long-standing opposition to such shipments by the Caribbean nations and others en-route. These dangerous transports are wholly unnecessary and must be stopped”.

The high level waste results from the reprocessing of Japanese spent reactor fuel at the Sellafield site in NW England – the process which also recovers plutonium. Under contracts signed in the 1970's and 1980's, Japanese nuclear power companies shipped the waste to the UK and France for reprocessing with some of the waste and all of the plutonium to be returned. The HLW, in glass block form, is sufficiently radioactive to deliver a lethal radiation dose to a person standing within one metre of an unshielded block in less than one minute.

Today’s shipment is the second return of HLW to Japan, the first undertaken early last year when 14 tonnes in one transport flask were returned on the Pacific Sandpiper. Some 15 years late, these waste returns to overseas reprocessing customers were originally scheduled to be made in the mid-1990’s.

A shipment of plutonium MOX fuel was scheduled to leave France the first week of April 2011 for Japan, including Fukushima. Due to the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear accident it was cancelled after it was revealed by Greenpeace France.

******

Original article: http://goo.gl/C35Y5
English/Japanese: http://goo.gl/KikL6

Prof. Chris Busby to make an emergency visit to Japan

To the Press

July 14, 2011

Dr. Chris Busby - European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR)
Emergency Visit to Japan Press Conference & Lecture Schedule

From July 17 to 21, Dr. Christopher Busby, Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) and well known for his research on internal radiation exposure will make an emergency visit to Japan. As you may know, Dr. Busby’s position differs significantly from that of the International Committee on Radiation Protection (ICRP), which he believes has greatly underestimated the dangers of internal exposure. Dr. Busby continues to research into both the dangers of internal exposure as well as the negative health consequences of low-dose radiation exposure.

During his visit to Japan, Dr. Busby will present for the first time his analytical results for the various radionuclides that have been dispersed in Fukushima Prefecture and Tokyo, based on his original dust collection method, which was carried out in advance of his visit. His findings indicate that the official methods used to evaluate radiation exposure to the population are grossly inadequate. He is deeply concerned for the people of Japan as he feels they have not been given accurate data on the levels and types of radionuclides that they are being exposed to.

Dr. Busby will give talks in Aizu Wakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture; Matsudo City, Chiba Prefecture; and in Tokyo, and will meet with local citizens. Visiting Japan for the first time since the nuclear accident, Dr. Busby will hold lectures and press conferences as outlined below. We sincerely look forward to your attendance at any or all of the events.

Dr. Busby’s Lecture Schedule in Japan

July 17 (Sun) 16:00 to 20:00 pm (Venue opens 15:50)
Location: Waseda Hoshien Scott Hall (2-3-1 Nishi Waseda, Shinjuku Ward)
http://www.hoshien.or.jp/english/index.html
Attendance limit: 200 persons Participation fee: 1000 yen
Enquiries: [email protected]

July 18 (Mon) 13:30 to 16:30 p.m
Location: Matsudo City Chamber of Commerce, 5th Floor Conference Room
http://www.matsudo-cci.or.jp/english/index.html
Attendance limit: 200 persons Participation fee: 500 yen
Enquiries: [email protected]

July 19 (Tue) 18:30 to 21:00 pm (Venue opens at 18:00 pm)
Location: Apio Space Exhibition Hall (90 Inter-nishi, Aizu Wakamatsu City)
http://www.apio.or.jp/apiospes.html

Attendance limit: 250 persons Participation fee: 500 yen
Enquiries: Ms. Sakai: 080 5557 5407
Interlocutor: Professor Emeritus Shoji Sawada of Nagoya University

***July 20 (Wed) 11:00 a.m. (Venue opens at 10:00 a.m.)***
Location: Kojimachi Press Conference Room
2F, YT Bldg. Kohjimachi 2-2-4 Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo
Sponsor: Free Press Association of Japan
Application: Free Press Association application web page: http://fpaj.jp/?page_id=1406
Please enter “Application for 20 July Dr. Chris Busby Press Conference participation” in the subject line and then fill out the required details. *Please ensure that each individual wishing to participate sends in their own separate application.
Deadline: By 18:00, 19 July
Enquiries: Free Press Association (FPAJ), PR Manager: Mr. Hatakeyama
Tel. 03-5213-4888 Fax. 03-5213-4989　[email protected] http://fpaj.jp

For more information regarding this press interview and all other events: Ms. Hajime Shiraishi: 03-3296-2720 (Our Planet TV) 090-9824-5731 [email protected]

July 20 (Wed) 2011 13:30 to 16:00
Location Chiyoda Ward, Uchisaiwai Hall (1-5-1 Uchisaiwai Cho, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo)
http://www.uchisaiwai-hall.jp
Attendance limit: 183 persons Participation fee: 1000 yen
Ms. Hajime Shiraishi: 03-3296-2720 (Our Planet TV)

***July 20 (Wed) 16:30 to 18:30 pm***
Meeting with House of Representatives Members and Press Conference
Location: Diet Members' No. 1 Office Building of the Lower House, Conference Room No. 2
Attendance limit: Diet members and press only.(not open to public)
Enquiries: [email protected] (Ms. Irisawa)
Sponsor: “Evacuate Children From Fukushima Lawsuit”, Representative Mr. Toshio Inoue, Chair of Legal Team, Mr. Toshio Yanagihara Prior application is not required. Participation is on a first come, first served basis.

If there are English language problems when booking any of the events listed, contact Gen Morita: moritagen...at...gmail.com

For more background on the "Evacuate Children from Fukushima Lawsuit" check out this news story:
http://www.majiroxnews.com/?p=10335
or
http://www.majiroxnews.com/2011/06/26/radiation-scare-prompts-lawsuit-to-move-fukushima-schools/

The Nuclear Disaster That Could Destroy Japan ... and the World

Counterpunch published an excellent article by Mr. Takashi Hirose's on April 25, 2011:
http://www.counterpunch.org/takashi04252011.html

It is definitely worth reading and so I am posting it here and on my Japanese blog so it can be seen by a wider audience.

Thank you Mr. Hirose and Mr. Lummis, the translator, for your excellent work!

I pray that no more big earthquakes will hit Japan but nature is often more powerful than our individual and even combined human hopes and wishes...

It is becoming more and more obvious that the only way we can completely eliminate the future risk of nuclear power plant disasters in earthquake prone Japan is for all the nuclear power plants here to be decommissioned!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Nuclear Disaster That Could Destroy Japan ... and the World

By HIROSE TAKASHI

Translated by Doug Lummis

The nuclear power plants in Japan are ageing rapidly; like cyborgs, they are barely kept in operation by a continuous replacement of parts. And now that Japan has entered a period of earthquake activity and a major accident could happen at any time, the people live in constant state of anxiety.

Seismologists and geologists agree that, after some fifty years of seismic inactivity, with the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake), the country has entered a period of seismic activity. In 2004, the Chuetsu Earthquake hit Niigata Prefecture, doing damage to the village of Yamakoshi. Three years later, in 2007, the Chuetsu Offshore Earthquake severely damaged the nuclear reactors at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa. In 2008, there was an earthquake in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures, causing a whole mountain to disappear completely. Then in 2009 the Hamaoka nuclear plant was put in a state of emergency by the Suruga Bay Earthquake. And now, in 2011, we have the 3/11 earthquake offshore from the northeast coast. But the period of seismic activity is expected to continue for decades. From the perspective of seismology, a space of 10 or 15 years is but a moment in time.

Because the Pacific Plate, the largest of the plates that envelop the earth, is in motion, I had predicted that there would be major earthquakes all over the world.

And as I had feared, after the Suruga Bay Earthquake of August 2009 came as a triple shock, it was followed in September and October by earthquakes off Samoa, Sumatra, and Vanuatu, of magnitudes between 7.6 and 8.2. That means three to eleven times the force of the Southern Hyogo Prefecture Earthquake.

All of these quakes occurred around the Pacific Plate as the center, and each was located at the boundary of either that plate or a plate under its influence. Then in the following year, 2010, in January there came the Haiti Earthquake, at the boundary of the Caribbean Plate, pushed by the Pacific and Coco Plates, then in February the huge 8.8 magnitude earthquake offshore from Chile. I was praying that this world scale series of earthquakes would come to an end, but the movement of the Pacific Plate shows no sign of stopping, and led in 2011 to the 3/11 Earthquake in northeastern Japan and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima

There are large seismic faults, capable of producing earthquakes at the 7 or 8 magnitude level, near each of Japan’s nuclear plants, including the reprocessing plant at Rokkasho. It is hard to believe that there is any nuclear plant that would not be damaged by a magnitude 8 earthquake.

A representative case is the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant itself, where it has become clear that the fault under the sea nearby also extends inland. The Rokkasho plant, where the nuclear waste (death ash) from all the nuclear plants in Japan is collected, is located on land under which the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate meet. That is, the plate that is the greatest danger to the Rokkasho plant, is now in motion deep beneath Japan.

The Rokkasho plant was originally built with the very low earthquake resistance factor of 375 gals. (Translator’s note: The gal, or galileo, is a unit used to measure peak ground acceleration during earthquakes. Unlike the scales measuring an earthquake’s general intensity, it measures actual ground motion in particular locations.) Today its resistance factor has been raised to only 450 gals, despite the fact that recently in Japan earthquakes registering over 2000 gals have been occurring one after another. Worse, the Shimokita Peninsula is an extremely fragile geologic formation that was at the bottom of the sea as recently as the sea rise of the Jomon period (the Flandrian Transgression) 5000 years ago; if an earthquake occurred there it could be completely destroyed.

The Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant is where expended nuclear fuel from all of Japan’s nuclear power plants is collected, and then reprocessed so as to separate out the plutonium, the uranium, and the remaining highly radioactive liquid waste. In short, it is the most dangerous factory in the world.

At the Rokkasho plant, 240 cubic meters of radioactive liquid waste are now stored. A failure to take care of this properly could lead to a nuclear catastrophe surpassing the meltdown of a reactor. This liquid waste continuously generates heat, and must be constantly cooled. But if an earthquake were to damage the cooling pipes or cut off the electricity, the liquid would begin to boil. According to an analysis prepared by the German nuclear industry, an explosion of this facility could expose persons within a 100 kilometer radius from the plant to radiation 10 to 100 times the lethal level, which presumably means instant death.

On April 7, just one month after the 3/11 earthquake in northeastern Japan, there was a large aftershock. At the Rokkasho Reprocessing Plant the electricity was shut off. The pool containing nuclear fuel and the radioactive liquid waste were (barely) cooled down by the emergency generators, meaning that Japan was brought to the brink of destruction. But the Japanese media, as usual, paid this almost no notice.

The Hamaoka Nuclear Plant is located at Shizuoka City, on Suruga Bay. Despite predictions of a magnitude 8 earthquake on Suruga Bay, it has continued in operation. If you look at the illustration showing the configuration of the plates beneath the Pacific Ocean, you will see that there is a point at which the Philippine Sea Plate, the huge Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, and the Eurasian Plate all meet; directly over that point is the Japanese Archipelago. And the very center of the area where these four plates press together is Shizuoka.

Large scale earthquakes in the eastern and southern seas have occurred regularly at intervals of between 100 and 250 years. Today in 2011, 157 years have passed since the Great Ansei Earthquake of 1854, so we are in a period when the next big one could come at any time. And the predicted center of this expected major earthquake is – though this is hard to believe – exactly under the location of the Hamaoka Nuclear Plant. And sonar readings at the site indicate that from thirty years back the Eurasian plate has been bending, which means that it is in a condition where it can be expected eventually to spring back.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hirose Takashi has written a whole shelf full of books, mostly on the nuclear power industry and the military-industrial complex. Probably his best known book is Nuclear Power Plants for Tokyo in which he took the logic of the nuke promoters to its logical conclusion: if you are so sure that they're safe, why not build them in the center of the city, instead of hundreds of miles away where you lose half the electricity in the wires?

Douglas Lummis is a political scientist living in Okinawa and the author of Radical Democracy. Lummis can be reached at [email protected]m

Distance between Big Cities in Japan and Nuclear Power Plants

Japan is a small islands country as you all know. We have constant earthquakes.

Here is what I wrote in my twitter today: The distance between major cities in Japan and the nearest nuclear power plants:

東京110、横浜130、大阪85、名古屋100、京都50、札幌65、神戸90、福岡50、北九州100、川崎120 日本10大都市と最寄原発からの距離(キロメートル)。あなたの家からは何キロか調べておきましょう。

Tokyo 110km
Yokohama 130km
Osaka 85km
Nagoya 100km
Kyoto 50km
Sapporo 65km
Kobe 90km
Fukuoka 50km
Kitakyushu 100km
Kawasaki 120km

1mile=1.6km so you can calculate your safety (or danger) level.

Earthquakes can happen at any time anywhere. We do have them every day now in Japan.

Tetsuo Jimbo's Inside Report From The Fukushima Evacuation Zone

Tetsuo Jimbo is an old friend of mine. He and the VideoNews.com crew went to Fukushima Daiichi Neclear Power Plant and took the footage you can see below. It is so sad to see the dogs and cows walking around trying to survive...

With the geiger counter exceeding 100 mSv/hr I can only say Tetsuo and his crew have guts!! Of course, we should be thankful to them for showing the world what is happening there!

This is a must see:

http://youtu.be/yp9iJ3pPuL8

No More Fukushimas!

No more nuclear power plants! They all must be closed down! All of them.

There is no safe place for them in Japan, or the world, for that matter!

April 10th 'Stop Nuclear Power Plants! Global Action Day'! Click here to learn about this event.