All About Japanese

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source :　cawayukimono kyowakok
だるま　手のりたま


I love Ihatobu . Fight East Japan !

イーハトーブ　－ Miyazawa Kenji used this name for IWATE.


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Gabi reports:


Golden Week, a holiday in Japan, still going on.

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Bulletins from NHK Online

source : www3.nhk.or.jp


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 02:13
Nuclear safety agency head apologizes in Fukushima
The head of Japan's nuclear safety watchdog has apologized to Fukushima Prefecture for the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency Director General Nobuaki Terasaka visited the prefecture on Tuesday for the first time since the March 11th accident.
After meeting Governor Yuhei Sato, Terasaka told reporters he apologized to Sato and the people of Fukushima. He said he also apologized for not having the crisis under control, 50 days after it started, and for not visiting Fukushima sooner. Terasaka said his work to deal with the damaged nuclear plant prevented him from going.
He quoted Governor Sato as saying the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has not been fully able to tackle the problems that arise every day.
Terasaka also spoke about the long period of time the external power was lost at Fukushima Daiichi. He said the agency should figure out why it struggled with that problem and use what it has learned in the future.
原子力安全・保安院の寺坂信昭院長


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 02:13
TEPCO checks radiation levels in seabed near plant
Radiation levels 100 to 1,000 times above normal have been detected in the seabed near the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, conducted its first contamination analysis of the seabed near the plant using samples from 2 points 20 to 30 meters deep on Friday.
Samples collected about 15 kilometers north of the plant contained 1,400 becquerels of cesium-137 per kilogram and 1,300 becquerels of cesium-134.
Samples taken around 20 kilometers south of the plant contained 1,200 becquerels each of cesium-137 and cesium-134 per kilogram.
The samples from the 2 points were also found to be contaminated with iodine-131.
TEPCO says it's difficult to evaluate the readings as there are no official limits for these substances, but it will continue monitoring the radiation levels and their impact on seafood.
Another survey carried out by the science ministry on the same day detected no radioactive substances in samples from the seabed roughly 50 kilometers south of the plant.


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 02:13
TEPCO developing device to decontaminate seawater
Tokyo Electric Power Company is developing a device to remove radioactive substances from seawater. It hopes to install it in the Pacific Ocean near the troubled Fukushima nuclear plant at the end of May.
TEPCO says it will fill a metal container with zeolite, a mineral that absorbs radioactive materials. The company will use a pump to continuously inject seawater into the container.
Radiation levels have remained high in the waters around the Fukushima plant even after TEPCO managed to plug a leak of contaminated water 4 weeks ago. On Saturday, 5,800 times the national limit of radioactive iodine was detected in samples collected near a water intake for the Number 2 reactor.
TEPCO says it can't deny the possibility that contaminated water is still leaking and it will continue to closely monitor the situation.
The utility has already set up silt fence barriers and thrown sandbags containing zeolite into the sea.
It hopes to set up the new device inside a silt fence to decontaminate the seawater.


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 02:12
Tent to stop radioactive leakage
Preparations are under way to stop radiation from leaking from one of the reactor buildings at Fukushima Daiichi so restoration work can begin at the damaged nuclear plant.
Tokyo Electric Power Company employees prepared on Tuesday to install a tent at the entrance of the No.1 reactor building. It's supposed to prevent radioactive material from leaking into the environment when workers go in and out of the building.
The tent is 1.5 by 1.3 meters wide, and 2.2 meters high. It looks like a cabin made of flame-resistant sheets and boards. The pressure inside it will be higher than in the reactor building, so air won't leak outside.
TEPCO workers will start installing the tent on Wednesday. When it's in place, they will enter the Number 1 reactor building as early as Thursday for the first time since a hydrogen explosion occurred there in March.
The first job for workers will be to install polyester tubes in the building to purify the radioactive-tainted air. Then they will fill reactor one's containment vessel with water to steadily cool it down.


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 13:37
TEPCO president visits radiation-hit towns

The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company is apologizing to communities affected by the emergency at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Masataka Shimizu started Wednesday by visiting officials of the town of Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture.
The town has set up a disaster relief headquarters in neighboring Iwaki city. Shimizu apologized to Hirono Mayor Motohoshi Yamada.
Shimuzu promised to bring the situation under control as soon as possible so people can go home.
The mayor later told reporters he asked the president of the utility to compensate people affected by the nuclear accident.
The government has asked Hirono residents to evacuate voluntarily to avoid being exposed to radioactive substances.
The town says more than 95 percent of about 5,400 residents have left.
TEPCO's president will spend the rest of the day visiting another town and a village, also under evacuation advisories.


Wednesday, May 04, 2011 13:35
Japan, US to boost disaster co-operation
The US government says the United States and Japan should work more closely together to deal with natural disasters that could trigger instability in the Asia-Pacific region.
A senior US Defense Department official said on Tuesday that the US military and Japan's Self-Defense Forces had worked together closely in responding to the March 11th earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan.


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Voices from around


. Daily Radiation Levels . 　

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Japan Times :

China press prejudices dashed
EIICHI SHIOZAWA
BEIJING — A number of Chinese journalists saw their long-held negative views about Japan and its people change completely after traveling to the Tohoku region to cover the aftermath of the March 11 disaster, according to their reports to a recent symposium with university students in Beijing.

Impressed by the orderly and patient behavior of disaster survivors and the relatively high transparency of information released, they said they developed a feeling of respect toward the Japanese.

Their reports were so full of positive aspects that some of the roughly 200 students in the audience questioned whether the journalists had come across anything negative while in Japan.

"The ability of the government to handle relief operations was not as high as that of the Chinese government," said Zhang Hongwei, 44, a reporter from the Chinese Business View newspaper based in Shaanxi Province.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110504f3.html


Utilities got 68 ex-bureaucrats via 'amakudari'
The past 50 years have seen 68 former elite bureaucrats parachuting into top positions at the nation's 12 electricity suppliers after retiring from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, including five at Tokyo Electric Power Co.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110504a1.html

DNA database planned to help identify bodies
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110504a4.html

Triple disaster and the Constitution
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110504a1.html


Screenwriter launches homestays for child evacuees
Screenwriter So Kuramoto, 76, known for his work on the television drama "Kitanokunikara" ("From the North Land"), has launched a homestay project in the Hokkaido city of Furano for elementary and junior high school students affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110504f2.html

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tenoritama Daruma 手のりたま
This is a rice flavoring that comes in bottles which look like Daruma san.
The main character is a little bird though.

source : Noritama Furikake


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