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Japan (News/Activism)

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Japan: TEPCO blames high reactor temperature reading on broken thermometer(spiked to 285 C)

    02/13/2012 5:52:46 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 13 replies
    Japan Today ^ | 02/14/12
    TEPCO blames high reactor temperature reading on broken thermometer National Feb. 14, 2012 - 06:40AM JST ( 10 ) TOKYO — A rapidly rising temperature reading at one of the reactors in Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant that sparked fears of another meltdown is probably caused by a broken thermometer, TEPCO said Monday. Scientists have been watching the equipment for around a week as it slowly rose above 35 degrees Celsius that the two other temperature gauges on the No. 2 reactor showed. There were concerns when it exceeded 80 degrees that a spontaneous nuclear reaction had started in the...
  • Japan: Fukushima No. 2 reactor temperature up to 82C, but not critical: TEPCO

    02/12/2012 5:46:42 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 19 replies
    Fukushima No. 2 reactor temperature up to 82C, but not critical: TEPCO TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday the temperature at the bottom of the No. 2 reactor at its crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant rose further to 82 C, but the reactor has not gone critical. While the thermometer reading at shortly after 2 p.m. marked a new high since the reactor attained a cold shutdown in December, the utility known as TEPCO said it has confirmed that sustained nuclear reactions are not taking place in the reactor as no radioactive xenon has been detected...
  • What a comeback! Eleven months after the tsunami ravaged Japan, a series of pictures reveals the

    02/11/2012 7:31:02 PM PST · by ColdOne · 51 replies
    dailymail.co.uk ^ | 2/1/12 | David Baker
    Full title..What a comeback! Eleven months after the tsunami ravaged Japan, a series of pictures reveals the incredible progress being made to clear up the devastationWhen Japan was hit by both an earthquake and tsunami in quick succession in March last year, the images of devastation gripped the world. And now after 11 months of tireless rebuilding, these pictures reveal the amazing progress made since those tragic events. Photographers returned to the scenes of desolation to take these stunning shots that capture the way in which the areas most severely affected have changed.
  • Japanese Commentator Chalks Up Rick's 3 Wins In Part to Obama/HHS Declaration of War on Christians

    02/09/2012 6:24:40 PM PST · by AmericanInTokyo · 22 replies
    Newsweek Japan (in Japanese) My Translation ^ | 10 February 2012 | Akihiko Reizei, Japanese journalist/writer
    "Reizei's [Princeton U.] Blog from America"(My Translation/Summary): "There were three reasons for the stunning Rick Santorum three-state victory which shook the GOP establishment and dented the crown of the presumed frontrunner Mr. Mitt Romney....(snip)........(The) Third explanation is bound up in a very interesting religious development as we speak. At the end of January, the Obama Administration made the following mandate: "Catholic related schools, institutions, and hospitals must be forced to provide birth control (pill), etc. under the health plan of the United States, even to those who are not Catholic believers, otherwise they are in violation."The Obama Administration was...
  • Caterpillar won't build North American plant in Illinois

    02/09/2012 6:52:11 AM PST · by 1rudeboy · 33 replies
    PEORIA -- Caterpillar Inc. will not be building its new North American plant anywhere in the state of Illinois, officials with the company told local leaders Tuesday, with part of the reason being continued concerns about the business climate in the state. The company will instead focus on a location closer to its division headquarters in Cary, N.C., Peoria County officials were told in an email sent to them shortly after the close of business and later obtained by the Journal Star. The plant stood to bring with it from Japan roughly 1,000 jobs manufacturing track-type tractors and mini hydraulic...
  • Japan: Temperature remains high at damaged reactor(despite injection of more water)

    02/07/2012 5:36:50 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 58 replies
    NHK ^ | 02/07/12
    Temperature remains high at damaged reactor An unknown rise in temperature at one of the reactors at the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant is troubling its operator. Tokyo Electric says the temperature hasn't gone down even after it increased the volume of cooling water on Tuesday. One of the thermometers at the bottom of reactor No. 2 at the Fukushima Daiichi plant gradually rose to about 70 degrees Celsius since January 27th. It had stayed around 45 degrees before. In an effort to lower the temperature, the operator increased the amount of water sprayed on the nuclear fuel by 3 tons...
  • Arigato from Japan Earthquake Victims

    02/06/2012 6:36:25 PM PST · by hiho hiho · 14 replies
    http://youtu.be/SS-sWdAQsYg
  • Japan: The Prometheus Trap / Order to Suspend Radiation Monitoring

    02/06/2012 6:28:02 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 3 replies
    Asahi Japan Watch ^ | 02/06/12 | YUMI NAKAYAMA
    The Prometheus Trap / Order to Suspend Radiation Monitoring February 06, 2012 By YUMI NAKAYAMA / Staff Writer According to Greek mythology, it was Prometheus who gave fire to humans. The acquisition of fire allowed humankind to develop civilization. Fire derived from fossil fuels further spurred production capacity. In time, humans attained atomic fire, a feat that was also described as "superior energy." Playing with fire, however, has presented humans with a dilemma. Humans, who achieved a civilized world through Prometheus, are now troubled by atomic fire. The series of articles contemplate the country, its citizens and electric power in...
  • Japan: Temperature Soars Mysteriously Inside Fukushima Nuclear Reactor

    02/06/2012 6:21:48 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 23 replies
    Fox ^ | 02/06/12
    Temperature Soars Mysteriously Inside Fukushima Nuclear Reactor Updated: Monday, 06 Feb 2012, 9:22 AM EST Published : Monday, 06 Feb 2012, 9:22 AM EST By NewsCore TOKYO - The temperature of a reactor at Japan's stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has soared and remained mysteriously high Monday, despite more water being pumped through it. The facility's No.2 reactor had reached 164 degrees Fahrenheit (73.3 degrees Celsius) by Monday morning, after sitting at 113 degrees Fahrenheit (45 degrees Celsius) on Jan. 27, broadcaster NHK reported. That was despite Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) officials pumping 9.6 tonnes (10.6 tons) of water...
  • Japan: Temperature rises at Fukushima No.2 reactor

    02/06/2012 1:06:59 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 36 replies
    NHK ^ | 02/06/12
    Temperature rises at Fukushima No.2 reactor The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the temperature in the No.2 reactor remains high despite the injection of additional water. A thermometer at the bottom of the reactor showed 73.3 degrees Celsius on Monday morning. It was around 45 degrees on January 27th and 71.7 degrees at 4 PM on Sunday. Tokyo Electric Power Company began injecting 10.6 tons of water per hour from around 1:30 AM on Monday. That's one ton more per hour than before. The utility says 2 other thermometers placed at the bottom of the reactor have...
  • Checkmate For Japanese Sovereign Debt

    02/05/2012 2:09:14 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 21 replies
    Seeking Alpha ^ | 02/02/12 | Asa Harrington
    Checkmate For Japanese Sovereign Debt 4 comments | February 2, 2012 Global Debt Crisis: Greece -> Europe -> Japan? From my previous article: Greece and Portugal are stuck in a very vicious cycle. Greek and Portuguese sovereign bond yields have risen substantially making it nearly impossible for these nations to roll over the debt with yields they can pay. For Greece, rising yields have brought it to the edge of default several times. To prevent a Greek default, the Troika (European Commission, International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank) has been sending large tranches of money to Greece to keep Greek...
  • Fukushima: More leaks found at crippled Japan nuclear plant

    02/04/2012 5:47:02 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 6 replies
    Ktar ^ | 02/03/12 | MARI YAMAGUCHI
    More leaks found at crippled Japan nuclear plant By MARI YAMAGUCHI (February 3rd, 2012 @ 8:20am) Associated Press TOKYO (AP) - Leaks of radioactive water have become more frequent at Japan's crippled nuclear power plant less than two months after it was declared basically stable. /snip Workers spotted a leak Friday at a water reprocessing unit which released enough beta rays to cause radiation sickness, TEPCO spokesman Junichi Matsumoto said. He said no one was injured and the leak stopped after bolts were tightened on a tank. /snip The structural integrity of the damaged Unit 4 reactor building has long...
  • Major new leak at Japan's nuclear plant - Kyodo(pipe broke open at reactor #4)

    02/03/2012 7:05:59 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 9 replies
    Reuters ^ | 02/02/12
    Major new leak at Japan's nuclear plant - Kyodo 01 Feb 2012 22:38 Source: reuters // Reuters Feb 2 (Reuters) - More than 8 tonnes of water have leaked from Japan's stricken nuclear power plant after a frozen pipe burst inside a reactor buiding, but none of the water is thought to have escaped the complex, Kyodo news agency said on Thursday. Kyodo, quoting the Fukushima plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco), said the water had leaked from the No.4 reactor when a pipe "dropped off" but that the liquid had all been contained inside the reactor building. The...
  • [Exclusive] Boeing may give up offering stealthy jet

    01/25/2012 5:03:35 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 1 replies
    The Korea Times ^ | 01-25-2012 | Lee Tae-hoon
    [Exclusive] Boeing may give up offering stealthy jet Little progress made in weapons bay development By Lee Tae-hoon Industry insiders raised questions Wednesday about whether U.S. aerospace giant Boeing will fulfill its pledge to offer F-15 Silent Eagles (F-15 SEs) with an internal weapons bay and twin canted tails, two of the core technologies for stealth jets, to Seoul. A source familiar with Boeing’s plan to modify its F-15s said little progress has been made in the making of the F-15SE, especially in the development of its conformal weapons bay (CWB), which allows the aircraft to carry weapons internally. “Only...
  • New 'Big One' forecast: four years (Tokyo Earthquake)

    01/23/2012 9:06:35 PM PST · by Ronin · 7 replies
    The Japan Times ^ | Jan. 24, 2012 | via Kyodo
    The risk of the southern Kanto region including Tokyo being hit by a major temblor within the next four years could be as high as about 70 percent, according to a study compiled by Monday by a team of researchers at the University of Tokyo's Earthquake Research Institute. The figure is the same as the 70 percent forecast given for a magnitude 7.0 temblor hitting the region in the ambiguous "next 30 years" that has been repeatedly issued by the government's Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion on the basis of intervals between large quakes in the past. Naoshi Hirata, a...
  • Battle for control of Asia's seas goes underwater

    01/19/2012 3:09:49 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 8 replies
    Associated Press ^ | 01/19/2012 | ERIC TALMADGE
    Battle for control of Asia's seas goes underwater YOKOSUKA, Japan (AP) — It's getting a bit more crowded under the sea in Asia, where Andrew Peterson commands one of the world's mightiest weapons: a $2 billion nuclear submarine with unrivaled stealth and missiles that can devastate targets hundreds of miles (kilometers) away. Super high-tech submarines like Cmdr. Peterson's USS Oklahoma City have long been the envy of navies all over the globe — and a key component of U.S. military strategy. "We really have no peer," Peterson told The Associated Press during a recent port call in Japan. But America's...
  • How China is advancing its military reach

    01/18/2012 5:58:33 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 14 replies
    BBC News Asia ^ | 18 January 2012 | Alexander Neill
    How China is advancing its military reach As the US shifts its focus to Asia, Alexander Neill, head of the Asia Security Programme at the Royal United Services Institute, sets out the Chinese military advances challenging the regional balance. At the Pentagon recently, US President Barack Obama announced deep cuts to the US military and set out a shift in attention towards the Asia-Pacific region, in a thinly-veiled message to China. Despite a narrative of peaceful intent, China's leaders have struggled to reassure the US over the direction of the People's Liberation Army (PLA). Both countries admit that their military...
  • Rare World War II photographs show American soldiers' fight for survival in brutal Battle of Saipan

    01/16/2012 12:29:48 PM PST · by rawhide · 52 replies
    dailymail.co.uk ^ | 1-15-12 | Lydia Warren
    It is the little-known battle that claimed the lives of thousands of Americans during World War II. But now black-and-white photographs, captured by Life magazine photographer W. Eugene Smith, show the everyday horrors for the U.S. soldiers fighting against Japanese forces on the Mariana Island of Saipan between June 15 and July 9, 1944. Faces etched with the pain of their experiences, war-weary men are captured transporting their wounded comrades or forcing Japanese civilians from their hiding places. The photographs were taken during a battle that claimed the lives of 22,000 Japanese civilians - many by suicide - and nearly...
  • Quake hits eastern Japan, nuclear plant stable

    01/11/2012 10:08:53 PM PST · by justa-hairyape · 66 replies
    TOKYO: A 5.7-magnitude earthquake struck eastern Japan on Thursday near the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, but did not cause any further problems at the power station, officials said. The quake hit in the Pacific, 22 kilometres (14 miles) east of Iwaki in southern Fukushima, at 12:20 pm (0320 GMT) at a depth of nine kilometres, the US Geological Survey said. A tsunami was not expected, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, and there were no immediate reports of damage. Nuclear plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) said the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant remained stable.
  • Russia-Japan LNG deal imminent

    01/07/2012 8:34:36 AM PST · by Perdogg · 4 replies
    Japan and Russia likely will reach a broad agreement as early as this month on business plans for a liquefied natural gas plant project in Vladivostok, sources have said. Both sides reached a basic agreement in 2011 on the joint construction of the LNG plant in the Russian Far East. The plant is expected to produce 10 million tons of LNG a year, the equivalent of about 14 percent of Japan's annual total LNG imports. About 1 trillion yen is expected to be invested in the project, and the plant is likely to start operations around 2020. The Japanese side...
  • China Takes Aim at U.S. Naval Might

    01/05/2012 4:53:26 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 32 replies
    The Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 4, 2012 | JULIAN E. BARNES, NATHAN HODGE, JEREMY PAGE
    China Takes Aim at U.S. Naval Might . The USS Gerald R. Ford was supposed to help secure another half century of American naval supremacy. The hulking aircraft carrier taking shape in a dry dock in Newport News, Va., is designed to carry a crew of 4,660 and a formidable arsenal of aircraft and weapons. But an unforeseen problem cropped up between blueprint and expected delivery in 2015: China is building a new class of ballistic missiles designed to arc through the stratosphere and explode onto the deck of a U.S. carrier, killing sailors and crippling its flight deck. Since...
  • N. Korea: North-Japan Set for “Strained” 2012

    01/04/2012 5:03:45 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 3 replies
    Daily NK ^ | 01/04/12 | Mok Yong Jae
    North-Japan Set for “Strained” 2012 By Mok Yong Jae [2012-01-04 17:41 ] The Joint New Year’s Editorial released on the 1st did not mention Japan at all, raising the assessment that Japan will be kept far off in North Korea’s future. According to a professor with Kansai University and a North Korea expert in Japan, Lee Young Hwa, future North Korea-Japan relations will be strained. Professor Lee, speaking with Daily NK today, explained, “The main issue in North Korea-Japan relations is the ‘abductees’ problem, but for a while there will be no dialogue regarding this. North Korea will likely keep...
  • Japan: Man 'visited N. Korea to buy bogus U.S. bills'

    01/03/2012 2:45:33 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 2 replies
    Man 'visited N. Korea to buy bogus U.S. bills' The Yomiuri Shimbun An 80-year-old Sapporo man released by North Korea after his arrest last year said he went there with two other Japanese men to obtain counterfeit U.S. currency, according to Hokkaido police. The two other men remain in custody in north Korea. The three were arrested last March for allegedly dealing in drugs. According to the man, the three received extremely realistic-looking counterfeit U.S. bills in North korea. Police believe the bills were "supernotes" in 100 dollars denominations. The police are trying to corroborate the man's story. The man...
  • Must Read: report about China fighter development strategies

    01/03/2012 4:57:58 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 4 replies
    Flight Global ^ | January 3, 2012 | Greg Waldron
    Must Read: report about China fighter development strategies China's fighter upgrading tends to draw either the scorn of overseas commentators ('they still can't build engines') or fear ('by 2020 the J-20 will dominate the skies over the Himalayas'). A recent report by the Institute for National Strategic Studies - 'Buy, Build, or Steal: China's Quest for Advanced Military Aviation Technologies' - outlines the rise of China's defence aerospace sector from its obscure beginnings in the fifties to the appearance of the Chengdu J-20 in early 2011. The report asserts that while China's fighter capability is still roughly 15-20 years behind...
  • Japan:One-Ounce Gold Coins Popular among Women amid Uncertainty

    01/02/2012 2:37:12 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 23 replies
    Jiji Press ^ | 01/02/11
    One-Ounce Gold Coins Popular among Women amid Uncertainty Tokyo, Jan. 2 (Jiji Press)--Economic uncertainty is increasing the popularity of one-ounce gold coins, available for less than 200,000 yen a unit, in Japan especially among women. At major gold retailer Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo, sales of gold coins in January-November totaled some 220,000 units, already nearly double the annual sales in 2010. Of the total, about 70 pct were one-ounce coins, and many of their buyers were women, according to Tanaka Kikinzoku. Gold prices soared toward autumn last year on the back of such economic concerns as the European debt crisis. Rising...
  • EARTHQUAKE IN EASTERN JAPAN 7.0 just breaking....

    12/31/2011 10:12:14 PM PST · by Doogle · 62 replies
    FOX ^ | 01/01/12 | Doogle
    ...no Tsunami expected, very early
  • The Yakuza and the Nuclear Mafia: Nationalization Looms for TEPCO(to kick out mobs?)

    12/31/2011 2:10:43 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 8 replies
    The Atlantic ^ | 12/30/11 | Jake Adelstein
    The Yakuza and the Nuclear Mafia: Nationalization Looms for TEPCO Jake Adelstein 2,500 Views Dec 30, 2011 Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the monolithic corporation that controls all electric power in Greater Tokyo, and runs the Fukushima Daichii nuclear plant that experienced a triple meltdown following the March 11 earthquake, is on the brink of nationalization according to Japanese government sources. The official reason is that the firm may not be able to handle the massive compensation payments it owes to victims of the meltdown without going bankrupt. Unofficially, the firm has such long-standing ties to anti-social forces, including the...
  • Nuclear Watch: Next Steps [Fukushima video update]

    12/30/2011 9:44:50 AM PST · by Razzz42 · 11 replies
    Enenews Admin ^ | On Air Dec. 22, 2011 | NHK WORLD (TV)
    NHK: Radiation so high at Reactor No. 3 that still no gas detector in place — “Building must be decontaminated” just to install device (VIDEO)
  • Look Out - Japan is a Powder Keg

    12/29/2011 6:25:43 AM PST · by Kaslin · 44 replies
    Townhall.com ^ | December 29, 2011 | Mike Shedlock
    A torrent of bad news hit Japan in November. Please consider some details from the Bloomberg article Japan Factory Output Falls on Global Slump Factory output fell 2.6 percent from OctoberExports fell for the second straight month Capital spending in the third quarter dropped 9.8 percentThe Bank of Japan Tankan quarterly index of corporate sentiment fell to minus 4 this month. A negative figure indicates that pessimists outnumber optimists Japan blames this mess on a strong Yen and Thailand’s worst flooding in almost 70 years. The flooding crippled the output in Southeast Asia of Japanese companies such as Sony Corp....
  • Sony to Cease Its Flat-Screen Partnership With Samsung

    12/27/2011 11:01:16 PM PST · by Cronos · 12 replies
    The New York Times ^ | 26 Dec 2011 | HIROKO TABUCHI
    In a bid to streamline its unprofitable television business, Sony said Monday that it would sell its stake in its flat-panel screen venture with Samsung Electronics, cutting its production capacity at a time when outsourcing has become the norm for manufacturers. Sony, which makes the Bravia liquid-crystal-display televisions, said in a statement that it would sell its stake of nearly 50 percent in the jointly owned manufacturer, S-LCD, to Samsung, of South Korea, for 1.08 trillion won, or $935 million. Sony’s exit from the joint venture, which was set up in Tangjeong, South Korea, in April 2004, will let it...
  • Anti-whaling activists use drone to track Japan fleet

    12/24/2011 6:19:00 PM PST · by ColdOne · 30 replies
    Yahoonews.com ^ | 12/24/11 | AFP/yahoonews
    Anti-whaling activists said they had intercepted the Japanese harpoon fleet far north of Antarctic waters Sunday with the help of a military-style drone. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society spokesman Paul Watson said the unmanned long-range drone, launched from the anti-whaling ship the Steve Irwin, had located the Japanese fleet and relayed the coordinates back to the activists. Watson said Sea Shepherd, a militant activist group which annually shadows and harasses the Japanese whalers, had caught up with the fleet at 37 degrees south, 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) above Antarctic waters. No whales had been killed so far, he added. "This is...
  • Your Move, Beijing: Big Year Ahead for Chinese Navy

    12/23/2011 8:03:46 PM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 60 replies
    AOL Defense ^ | December 23, 2011 | David Axe
    Your Move, Beijing: Big Year Ahead for Chinese Navy At a meeting in Beijing in December, Chinese president Hu Jintao had a powerful message for officials from the People's Liberation Army Navy. "Prepare for war," Hu said, using a Mandarin term -- junshi douzheng -- that means "conflict in general." Amplified and misrepresented by the foreign media, Hu's words echoed across Asia and the Pacific Ocean, alarming observers in Japan, India and other nations and eliciting a cool response from the U.S. Navy. "Nobody's looking for a scrap here," Adm. John Kirby, a Pentagon spokesman, told AFP. "Certainly we wouldn't...
  • History Made; Media Blind

    12/22/2011 10:37:36 PM PST · by neverdem · 13 replies
    The American Iinterest ^ | December 20, 2011 | Walter Russell Mead
    Amid the scramble in newsrooms and government offices around the world that followed Kim Jong-Il’s death, one important piece of news from Asia missed all the headlines. The real news in Asian politics yesterday, the kind of thing that will likely show up in the history books, was a quiet meeting announced by the State Department. If you missed it, it’s because people didn’t cover it much, but for the first time ever, India, Japan, and the US held a round of trilateral talks on the future of Asia and the strategic picture. The session, reads a State Department media...
  • Indian Missile Launch and US Meeting Elicits Chinese Rebuke

    12/19/2011 8:56:18 PM PST · by James C. Bennett · 9 replies
    Israel National News / Arutz Sheva ^ | 19 December, 2011 | Arutz Sheva
    The forthcoming launch of an advanced Indian missile has elicited a rebuke of India by the Chinese Communist Party daily. The Indian press fussed about an editorial in the Chinese Communist Party organ, the People's Daily, that expressed concern over the forthcoming February launch of India's new Agni-V missile. This missile with a 6000 km range has MIRV capability, meaning that it can carry multiple warheads. According to the Chinese daily, the launch reflected India's engagement in balance of power politics as well as Indian aspiration to strengthen its military and acquire a military clout commensurate with its status as...
  • Japan Chooses F-35 For Next Generation Fighter Jet

    12/19/2011 7:12:46 PM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 15 replies
    The Wall Street Journal ^ | DECEMBER 19, 2011 | CHESTER DAWSON
    Japan Chooses F-35 For Next Generation Fighter Jet . TOKYO—Japan's Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said Tuesday that Tokyo has selected Lockheed Martin Corp.'s F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter as its next-generation jet, capping a multiyear vetting process to upgrade its aging fleet. The contract for the new fighter, dubbed the FX, totals 40 to 50 planes, according to Lockheed Martin, valued at an estimated $4 billion. It is Japan's most expensive fighter procurement ever and one of the world's largest military contracts this year. The Lockheed Martin jet won the contract over two lower-cost, combat-tested aircraft—Boeing Co.'s F-18 Super...
  • Japan: 52 Workers at TEPCO Nuclear Plant Infected with Norovirus(really?)

    12/18/2011 6:24:52 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 17 replies
    Jiji Press ^ | 12/17/11
    52 Workers at TEPCO Nuclear Plant Infected with Norovirus Tokyo, Dec. 17 (Jiji Press)--A total of 52 workers at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant have been infected with norovirus, the utility said Saturday. The workers, who are employees of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. <7011> and affiliated companies, were installing storage tanks for sludge accumulated after radioactive water decontamination. Some of them was hospitalized but most are getting better after receiving treatment. The number of patients may increase further, according to the plant operator, known as TEPCO. According to TEPCO, the workers reported symptoms...
  • Japan: Fukushima tofu makers not deterred by food concerns

    12/18/2011 6:18:56 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 11 replies
    December 17, 2011 Fukushima tofu makers not deterred by food concerns FUKUSHIMA--As paranoia over contaminated food has the nation on edge, workers in the Tatsugoyama district of Fukushima city are busy producing the local specialty, freeze-dried tofu. "While we worried about the effects from the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, we are relieved because radiation tests by the prefectural government before we shipped out the products found no problems," said Yukio Kurosawa, 75, who has been making dried tofu for 50 years.
  • Russia slams Kyoto Protocol

    12/16/2011 4:20:42 PM PST · by george76 · 16 replies
    ap ^ | December 16, 2011
    Russia supports Canada's decision to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol, says its foreign ministry, reaffirming Friday that Moscow will not take on new commitments. ... Canada, Japan and Russia said last year they will not accept new Kyoto commitments
  • Boeing: F-35 hasn’t yet won in Japan

    12/16/2011 8:47:41 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 8 replies
    DoD Buzz ^ | December 16th, 2011 | John Reed
    Boeing: F-35 hasn’t yet won in Japan Despite news reports claiming that Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will win Japan’s F-X fighter contest, Boeing officials say Tokyo delayed the contract award until next week because it is still heavily weighing all three contestants, including Boeing’s Super Hornet. “We think what they’ve done is taken another hard look at the full situation and have decided that if they do pick F-35 there are some things that they are not sure of right now, some risk in terms of cost and schedule,” saidPhil Mills, Boeing’s lead salesman for the F-X contest...
  • Fukushima is in cold shutdown, says Japanese prime minister

    12/16/2011 8:25:05 AM PST · by J Aguilar · 7 replies
    The Guardian ^ | 16 December 2011 | Justin McCurry
    Japan's prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has declared an end to the most critical phase of the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, but conceded that the crisis is far from over. In a nationally televised address on Friday, Noda said the plant had been brought to a state of "cold shutdown", a significant step towards resolving the crisis, nine months after it was struck by a powerful earthquake and tsunami that left almost 20,000 people dead and missing along the country's north-east coast.
  • Japan: 'Absolutely no progress being made' at Fukushima nuke plant, undercover reporter says

    12/16/2011 1:45:43 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 25 replies
    'Absolutely no progress being made' at Fukushima nuke plant, undercover reporter says Conditions at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant are far worse than its operator or the government has admitted, according to freelance journalist Tomohiko Suzuki, who spent more than a month working undercover at the power station. "Absolutely no progress is being made" towards the final resolution of the crisis, Suzuki told reporters at a Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan news conference on Dec. 15. Suzuki, 55, worked for a Toshiba Corp. subsidiary as a general laborer there from July 13 to Aug. 22, documenting sloppy repair work,...
  • Japan: Yakuza involved in Fukushima clean-up: reporter

    12/16/2011 1:26:18 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 12 replies
    Japan Today ^ | 12/16/11
    Yakuza involved in Fukushima clean-up: reporter Crime Dec. 16, 2011 - 10:45AM JST TOKYO — A Japanese journalist who worked at the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant this summer claimed Thursday that Japan’s yakuza crime syndicates were involved in supplying clean-up crews. “Roughly 10% of plant workers there were brought in through the mediation of the yakuza,” said Tomohiko Suzuki, 45, who has written a book based on his experience at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. “The yakuza are very much involved in this industry but they are not involved as people working on site,” Suzuki told reporters. “They are in charge...
  • Japan: High radioactive cesium levels found at Tokyo school

    12/15/2011 4:33:23 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 6 replies
    Asahi Japan Watch ^ | 12/14/11 | TOMOKO SAITO
    High radioactive cesium levels found at Tokyo school December 14, 2011 By TOMOKO SAITO / Staff Writer Radioactive cesium more than 10 times the standard for waste disposal has been detected on lawn covers that had been placed in a schoolyard from mid-March until early April at Horinouchi Elementary School in Tokyo's Suginami Ward. The measured value, 90,600 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, was more than triple the 26,400 becquerels contained in sludge at a sewage treatment facility in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, about 60 kilometers from the disabled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. "The cover, with its wide...
  • Gov't admits nuclear substances found in waste, unreported to IAEA(enriched uranium and plutonium?)

    12/15/2011 4:29:01 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 1 replies
    Gov't admits nuclear substances found in waste, unreported to IAEA TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The Japanese government admitted Thursday that nuclear substances have been found in the waste of domestic facilities subject to International Atomic Energy Agency inspection, but left unreported to the U.N. nuclear watchdog. Top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said in a news conference that the matter will be reported to the IAEA soon, but did not say how much nuclear material was involved. The chief Cabinet secretary said an investigation last year of records led to the discovery of nuclear substances that were unaccounted for in waste at...
  • John Roco:Nobutero Ishihara(Liberal Democratic Party,Tokyo Governor Shintaro son),Military,Senkaku

    12/14/2011 9:41:54 AM PST · by John Roco · 5 replies
    Youtube ^ | December 14th, 2011 | John Roco
    General Secretary Nobutero Ishihara of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, 2nd highest ranking official and possibly a future Prime Minister of Japan, asserted in Washington that Japan should position military forces, an armed forces bases for troops on the Senkaku's or Diaoyu's or Diaoyutai Islands. He is son to Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara one who denies Japanese responsibility in the Nanjing Massacre of 1937 a particularly heart wrenching part of history etched in many a Chinese psyche- whether ROC (Taiwan), PROC (China), or Chinese worldwide (indicative in the recent wide distribution reading and interest in Iris Chang's 'Rape of Nanjing')....
  • Japan: Real cause of nuclear crisis(not tsunami but quake)

    12/12/2011 8:51:54 PM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 24 replies
    Japan Times ^ | 12/13/11
    SENTAKU MAGAZINE Real cause of nuclear crisis Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), the operator of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Station, has been insisting that the culprit that caused the nuclear crisis was the huge tsunami that hit the plant after the March 11 earthquake. But evidence is mounting that the meltdown at the nuclear power plant was actually caused by the earthquake itself. According to a science journalist well versed in the matter, Tepco is afraid that if the earthquake were to be determined as the direct cause of the accident, the government would have to review...
  • Japan likely to pick F-35 fighter - Nikkei

    12/12/2011 7:16:26 PM PST · by sukhoi-30mki · 7 replies
    Reuters ^ | Dec 13, 2011 | Balaji Sridharan
    Japan likely to pick F-35 fighter - Nikkei (Reuters) - Japan is likely to pick Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35 fighter jets to replace its ageing fleet of F-4 Phantom fighters, Japanese media reported on Tuesday, reaffirming strong security ties with the United States. The government will choose between two U.S. models -- the F-35 and the Boeing (BA.N) F/A-18 Super Hornet -- and a European third contender, the four-nation Eurofighter Typhoon, at a meeting of the national security council on Friday, the Nikkei business daily said. Analysts say the purchase is potentially worth $8 billion. The F-35 or Joint Strike...
  • Obama Daughters' School Features Japanese-Inspired Lunch Menu on Pearl Harbor Day

    12/07/2011 10:02:54 AM PST · by Sopater · 111 replies
    Fox News ^ | December 06, 2011
    The elite Washington, D.C., school where President Barack Obama's daughters are students is offering a surprising lunch menu on Pearl Harbor Day. The Washington Post revealed the lunch menu at the Sidwell Friends private school for Dec. 7 -- the date Japan attacked US forces at Pearl Harbor in 1941 -- includes teriyaki chicken and edamame alongside tofu and "oriental noodle salad." The menu is printed on a school calendar, which notes that Wednesday is Pearl Harbor Day.
  • Japan: Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula

    12/06/2011 1:07:15 AM PST · by TigerLikesRooster · 20 replies
    Radioactive cesium found in Meiji baby formula TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Radioactive cesium of up to 30.8 becquerels per kilogram has been found in baby formula manufactured and sold by Meiji Co., sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday, citing a sampling by the major food company. While it is unclear how the isotope got into the powdered milk, retailed as "Meiji Step," the company suspects a link with the radioactive leaks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant damaged by the March earthquake and tsunami, they said. Radioactive cesium has been found in baby formula for the first time since...
  • Japan Weighs Options for Pricey Fighter Jets

    12/05/2011 3:35:34 AM PST · by sukhoi-30mki
    The Wall Street Journal ^ | DECEMBER 5, 2011 | CHESTER DAWSON
    Japan Weighs Options for Pricey Fighter Jets By CHESTER DAWSON TOKYO—Japan is upgrading air defenses increasingly tested by China and Russia, and officials are wrestling with a fundamental question: Can the country still afford to pay for the most advanced technology and nurture its domestic industry? In a move expected as soon as this month, Japan's Defense Ministry will pick a replacement for its aging squadrons of Vietnam-era F-4 fighters from among three finalists, two American and one European. The order for a new fighter is expected to total 40 to 60 planes valued at an estimated $4 billion. It...