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Japan 8.8 earthquake & Tsunami
- Thread starter Cestbon
- Start date
Keijo Nakamura, right, and his wife Haruka react as they stand on the remains of a dead relative's home after the house was washed away by the tsunami in Ofunato, Japan, Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Two search and rescue teams from the U.S. and a team from the U.K. with combined numbers of around 220 personnel, searched damaged areas of the town of Ofunato for trapped survivors Tuesday in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.
Evacuees receive lunch at a makeshift shelter in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, four days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Japan's east coast.
A man feeds his child a lunch at a makeshift shelter at Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, four days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Japan's east coast
Japanese Self Defence Forces officers carry the body of a victim at a village destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in Rikuzentakata in Iwate prefecture, northeast Japan March 15, 2011.
Evacuees are screened for radiation exposure at a testing center Tuesday, March 15, 2011, in Koriyama city, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, after a nuclear power plant on the coast of the prefecture was damaged by Friday's earthquake.
Australian English teacher Alice Katie Byron answers the AP reporter's question at Ofunato city hall in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, northern Japan, Tuesday, March 15, 2011, four days after a powerful earthquake-triggered tsunami hit Japan's east coast.
Evacuees watch Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano appearing in a live TV broadcast at an evacuation center in the city of Koriyama, northeastern Japan, after last week's massive earthquake and resulting tsunami.
Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano speaks at a news conference at Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo Saturday afternoon, March 19, 2011.
Mar 21, 2011
Japan signals Fukushima plant to be scrapped
OSAKA - JAPAN'S top government spokesman on Sunday signalled that the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear power plant at the centre of an ongoing crisis following a series of explosions would be scrapped.
The reactor cooling systems at the Fukushima No. 1 plant, located 250km northeast of Tokyo, were crippled by the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that rocked Japan's northeast coast on March 11.
A series of explosions and fires followed. Crews and emergency personnel have since worked around the clock to try to bring the temperatures down to avert a potentially catastrophic meltdown.
'As the government has (nuclear energy) authorities, it's difficult for me to say anything definite before following the appropriate procedures,' the spokesman, Yukio Edano, told reporters.
'Looking at the plant from an objective point of view, I think it's clear in a way if the Fukushima Daiichi (No. 1) plant is in a state of being able to function or not,' he said.
'I hope you can get it from the way I said it.' -- AFP
A Type 74 main battle tank on a trailer truck leaves for the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex after the truck refueled at Camp Asaka of Japan Ground Self-Defense Force in Tokyo Sunday, March 20, 2011. Two Type 74 tanks are prepared to clear the rubble at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in northern Japan, deteriorated after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks at a press conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo on March 15, 2011. Kan told people living up to 10km outside a 20km exclusion zone around a quake-hit nuclear plant to stay indoors, as a fire sent radiation to dangerous levels.
Mar 21, 2011
Japan PM cancels disaster zone inspection
OSAKA - JAPAN'S Prime Minister Naoto Kan cancelled an inspection tour on Monday of the disaster zone along the country's north-east coast due to bad weather, government officials said.
Mr Kan had been due to visit a football training centre about 20km from the quake-damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant - now a staging area for emergency personnel working to avert a disastrous radiation release there.
Monday's tour by helicopter would have taken him first to the devastated seaside city of Ishinomaki for a meeting with survivors of the 9.0-magnitude quake and ensuing tsunami that smashed into the country's Pacific coast on March 11.
Rain was prevailing over most of the country early on Monday. -- AFP
Where is Japan''s nuclear power CEO?
TOKYO, March 20 (Reuters) - The head of the Japanese power
company at the centre of one of the world''s worst nuclear
disasters has all but vanished from the public eye.
And many Japanese, on a knife edge waiting t see if the
nuclear power plant and radiation leaks can be brought under
control, are beginning to ask where he is and questioning how
much he is in control of the crisis.
Masataka Shimizu, chief executive of Tokyo Electric Power Co
<9501.T>(TEPCO), has not made a public appearance in a week.
Masataka Shimizu, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. , left, and Executive Vice President Takashi Fujimoto, right
And he has yet to visit the crippled nuclear power plant
north of Tokyo that was badly damaged in the massive earthquake
and tsunami that struck on March 11, and where 300 workers are desperately trying to find ways to cool down the reactors.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, he did not even
show up at company headquarters until a day after the disaster
because he was stranded in the west of the country after trains stopped running.
At his last news conference, a week ago, the 66-year-old
apologised for the situation. Since then, he has all but
vanished from public view, issuing one statement on Saturday
expressing regret for "causing such trouble."
Shimizu is a consummate company man, joining the company
where his father worked, at the age of 23. Japanese media have
quoted him as saying he wanted to work at a company "which
serves public interests."
At the country''s biggest power supplier he made a name for
himself as a cost-cutter in the procurement side of the
business, becoming company president in June 2008.
Shimizu lives in a 43-story upscale apartment building in
central Tokyo. Beyond its locked glass door, it resembles a hotel lobby, where a woman receptionist answers phone calls.
It was not clear if Shimizu is staying there these days.
Since the crisis, he has largely left it to TEPCO
spokespeople in Tokyo to be the public face of the company and
answer increasingly aggressive questions, and criticism, from
reporters frustrated at the lack of information.
Mid-level executives often have no answers other than
something along the line of "We are in the process of
confirming".
"He''s makingthe low-ranking people do all the hard work,"
said Satomi Aihara, a 46-year-old Tokyo resident. "I wonder
where he''s hiding -- it makes me mad."
Taro Kono, a prominent member of parliament with the
Liberal Democratic Party and an opponent ofnuclear power, was
more blunt about TEPCO officials: "They don''t tell the truth ...
It''s in their DNA."
Even Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been unable to hide his
frustration. "What the hell is going on?" he was overheard
telling TEPCO executives on Tuesday.
TEPCO officials say their boss is, understandably, busy.
"He''s been leading the troops at headquarters," company
spokesman Kaoru Yoshida said. As for another news conference,
"We''ll create an opportunity at anappropriate time," was all
Yoshida would venture.
Japanese company chiefs may not be as closely associated
with the successes of their companies as they are in the West,
but they are to any failures.
They are expected to take responsibility for shortcomings,
scandals or disasters that happen on their watch, apologising
profusely and often resigning.
Indeed, a former president and chairman of the company both
stepped down in 2002 after it was disclosed the companyhad
deliberately falsified data and safety reports.
TEPCO''s numerous brushes with scandal, including what the
company acknowledged was "nonconformance" in repairs to a
nuclear power plant following an earthquake in 2007, has made
the press an the public suspicious of company statements during
the current catastrophe.
The 2007 quake showed that another nuclear plant''s
infrastructure was insufficient to withstand quakes and, as
Shimizu said last September, "left us with a mountain of challenges".
"We devoted our efforts to overcoming the crisis and
creating a tougher business foundation by taking measures so
that our nuclear power plants can withstand disasters," he said.
Whenever Shimizu does decide to reappear, he is likely to
find he will need more convincing words.
TOKYO, March 20 (Reuters) - The head of the Japanese power
company at the centre of one of the world''s worst nuclear
disasters has all but vanished from the public eye.
And many Japanese, on a knife edge waiting t see if the
nuclear power plant and radiation leaks can be brought under
control, are beginning to ask where he is and questioning how
much he is in control of the crisis.
Masataka Shimizu, chief executive of Tokyo Electric Power Co
<9501.T>(TEPCO), has not made a public appearance in a week.
Masataka Shimizu, president of Tokyo Electric Power Co. , left, and Executive Vice President Takashi Fujimoto, right
And he has yet to visit the crippled nuclear power plant
north of Tokyo that was badly damaged in the massive earthquake
and tsunami that struck on March 11, and where 300 workers are desperately trying to find ways to cool down the reactors.
According to the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper, he did not even
show up at company headquarters until a day after the disaster
because he was stranded in the west of the country after trains stopped running.
At his last news conference, a week ago, the 66-year-old
apologised for the situation. Since then, he has all but
vanished from public view, issuing one statement on Saturday
expressing regret for "causing such trouble."
Shimizu is a consummate company man, joining the company
where his father worked, at the age of 23. Japanese media have
quoted him as saying he wanted to work at a company "which
serves public interests."
At the country''s biggest power supplier he made a name for
himself as a cost-cutter in the procurement side of the
business, becoming company president in June 2008.
Shimizu lives in a 43-story upscale apartment building in
central Tokyo. Beyond its locked glass door, it resembles a hotel lobby, where a woman receptionist answers phone calls.
It was not clear if Shimizu is staying there these days.
Since the crisis, he has largely left it to TEPCO
spokespeople in Tokyo to be the public face of the company and
answer increasingly aggressive questions, and criticism, from
reporters frustrated at the lack of information.
Mid-level executives often have no answers other than
something along the line of "We are in the process of
confirming".
"He''s makingthe low-ranking people do all the hard work,"
said Satomi Aihara, a 46-year-old Tokyo resident. "I wonder
where he''s hiding -- it makes me mad."
Taro Kono, a prominent member of parliament with the
Liberal Democratic Party and an opponent ofnuclear power, was
more blunt about TEPCO officials: "They don''t tell the truth ...
It''s in their DNA."
Even Prime Minister Naoto Kan has been unable to hide his
frustration. "What the hell is going on?" he was overheard
telling TEPCO executives on Tuesday.
TEPCO officials say their boss is, understandably, busy.
"He''s been leading the troops at headquarters," company
spokesman Kaoru Yoshida said. As for another news conference,
"We''ll create an opportunity at anappropriate time," was all
Yoshida would venture.
Japanese company chiefs may not be as closely associated
with the successes of their companies as they are in the West,
but they are to any failures.
They are expected to take responsibility for shortcomings,
scandals or disasters that happen on their watch, apologising
profusely and often resigning.
Indeed, a former president and chairman of the company both
stepped down in 2002 after it was disclosed the companyhad
deliberately falsified data and safety reports.
TEPCO''s numerous brushes with scandal, including what the
company acknowledged was "nonconformance" in repairs to a
nuclear power plant following an earthquake in 2007, has made
the press an the public suspicious of company statements during
the current catastrophe.
The 2007 quake showed that another nuclear plant''s
infrastructure was insufficient to withstand quakes and, as
Shimizu said last September, "left us with a mountain of challenges".
"We devoted our efforts to overcoming the crisis and
creating a tougher business foundation by taking measures so
that our nuclear power plants can withstand disasters," he said.
Whenever Shimizu does decide to reappear, he is likely to
find he will need more convincing words.
A police tape barring cars and people from entering, is placed across an area in Ono, Fukushima prefecture, March 19, 2011
TOKYO, March 21 (Reuters) - Japan's health ministry has
urged some residents near the quake-stricken nuclear power plant
in Fukushima prefecture to refrain from drinking tap water after
high levels of radioative iodine were detected, Kyodo news agency said on Monday.
Teruko Saka, 80-year-old farmer, weeds a spinach field in Moriya, Ibaraki prefecture, north of Tokyo, March 20, 2011, nine days after an earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. The Japanese government will decide by Monday on whether to restrict consumption and shipments of food products from the area in the vicinity of a quake-hit nuclear complex after higher-than-normal levels of radiation were found in milk from a farm about 30 km (18 miles) from the plant and spinach grown in neighbouring Ibaraki prefecture.
A woman passes spinach from Ibaraki Prefecture on sale at a market Sunday, March 20, 2011, in Tokyo
Mar 21, 2011
Radiation discovery fans food fears in Japan
TOKYO - AT A bustling Tokyo supermarket on Sunday, wary shoppers avoided one particular bin of spinach.
The produce came from Ibaraki prefecture in the north-east, where radiation was found in spinach grown up to 120km from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. Another bin of spinach - labelled as being from Chiba prefecture, west of Tokyo - was sold out.
A man looks at a package of spinach from Chiba Prefecture on sale at a market Sunday, March 20, 2011, in Tokyo
'It's a little hard to say this, but I won't buy vegetables from Fukushima and that area,' said shopper Yukihiro Sato, 75.
From corner stores to Tokyo's vast Tsukiji fish market, Japanese shoppers picked groceries with care on Sunday after the discovery of contamination in spinach and milk fanned fears about the safety of this crowded country's food supply. Trace amounts of radioactive iodine also were found in tap water in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan.
The anxiety added to the spreading impact of the unfolding nuclear crisis triggered when the March 11 tsunami battered the Fukushima complex, wrecking its cooling system and leading to the release of radioactive material. On Sunday, the government banned shipments of milk from one area and spinach from another and said it found contamination on two more vegetables - canola and chrysanthemum greens - and in three more prefectures.
The Health Ministry also advised a village in Fukushima prefecture not to drink tap water because of radioactive iodine in its supply. It stressed, however, that the amounts remained minuscule and posed no health threat. There were no signs on Sunday of the panic buying that stripped Tokyo supermarkets of food last week. Instead, shoppers scrutinised the source of items and tried to avoid what they worried might be tainted. -- AP
The rescue workers who saved 80-year-old resident Sumi Abe and her 16-year-old grandson Jin give a press conference on March 21, 2011 in Ishinomaki, Miyagi prefecture. The two survivors were rescued from under rubble in the devastated Japanese city of Ishinomaki on March 19 nine days after a massive earthquake and tsunami.
For the victim support of the East Japan great earthquake disaster, movement of the donation activity from the sportsing world becomes active. Professional baseball, pro golf, soccer, a bicycle race, a motorboat race, horse racing, a ring of the support continue one after another. (Sankei Shimbun)
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