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sources

. . Bulletins from NHK WORLD . .

. . Japan Times Online . .

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July 25, 2011

. . . . . at 3.51
Earthquake M 6.2 off Fukushima coast

. . . . . at 20:04
Earthquake M 5.1 Off Miyagi coast


M.6.2 Quake hits Miyagi and Fukushima - NHK
An aftershock from the March 11th earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 6.2 hit Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures in northeastern Japan at 3:51 AM local time on Monday.
The depth of focus of the earthquake, which occurred off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, was 40 kilometers.
The Meteorological Agency says there is no danger of a tsunami.
In Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, Soma City and Nara Town, both in Fukushima Prefecture, an intensity of 5 minus was registered on the Japanese scale of 0 to 7.
Shocks registering lower intensities were recorded throughout wide areas of Japan from Hokkaido to the Tokai region.

. . . . .

Decontamination experiment starts in Fukushima - NHK
More than 3,500 city employees and citizens took part in an experiment to remove radioactive materials from roads in a highly contaminated area of Fukushima City on Sunday.
The experiment follows the city's decision to clean up all the roads used by elementary and junior high school students.
Participants dug up weeds and removed sludge from roadside ditches, where radioactive materials tend to accumulate.
They used high-pressure washing equipment and scrubbing brushes to clean roads near schools.
A father of 2 elementary school children said he took part to bring down radiation levels for the many children who are still living in the community.
A house in the area was also cleaned for experimental purposes. The roof and plants were washed with high-pressure equipment after city employees measured radiation levels.
A similar experiment will be conducted in another area in the city, where relatively high radiation levels have been measured.
The city plans to review the methods and their effectiveness, and release a decontamination plan and a manual for residents next month.

Monday, July 25, 2011 14:12 - NHK
Contaminated water on increase at Fukushima plant
Tokyo Electric Power Company is injecting fresh water from a nearby dam to make up for the shortage of water in its system for cooling the reactors at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
The system decontaminates radioactive water that has accumulated in the plant and circulates it.
TEPCO halted the process of removing salt from contaminated water after an alarm went off around noon on Sunday due to a problem with the installation of the desalination equipment. It resumed the operation in the evening after installing another device.
The new device is only able to treat half the amount of water. The amount of contaminated water has been increasing since the problem occurred.
TEPCO began using the new circulatory water injection system late last month. Last week, the government and the utility announced the completion of the first stage of the plan to stabilize the cooling of the reactors.
NHK's reporter points out that as a result of Sunday's trouble, the amount of contaminated water is increasing. He adds that the recycling of cooling water, a key element of bringing the accident under control, cannot be maintained.
TEPCO is investigating the cause of the problem. The utility says the decontamination system as a whole is not operating stably and it needs to improve its reliability.

Monday, July 25, 2011 17:07 - NHK
Domestic flights & ferry back to normal in Miyagi
Domestic flights fully resumed on Monday at an airport in northeastern Japan that was devastated by the March 11th earthquake and tsunami.
Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture is now offering its regular 41 daily flights to 8 Japanese cities, including Osaka, Sapporo and Nagoya. Only limited services had been available since April 13th.
One minute of silence was observed in a ceremony to mark the occasion. Miyagi Governor Yoshihiro Murai said connecting Sendai with cities in Japan and overseas will give momentum to post-disaster recovery in the entire disaster zone.
Tourism industry officials greeted passengers arriving on the first flight on Monday with commemorative gifts. Sendai Airport's restored operations will boost the region's transport capacity for people and goods needed for reconstruction.
Challenges remain, however. Ground surfaces at the airport sank 15 centimeters on average after the magnitude-9.0 earthquake. Taxiways damaged by the jolt have yet to be repaired. The airport needs to raise ground levels somehow and make its drainage system more disaster-resistant.
Meanwhile, ferry service has also resumed in disaster-stricken Miyagi Prefecture, enabling some island residents to return home for the first time in 4 months.
A ferry headed for Enoshima and Izushima-two remote islands--left Onagawa Port of Miyagi on Monday. The ship carried 45 passengers who had evacuated from the islands after the March 11th disaster.
In Enoshima, there is still no running water or electricity so passengers have to return on the same day.
But an 85 year old woman said she is happy to be able to return to the island. She said she wants to clean up her house. About 600 residents lived on the island at the time of the disaster, but most of them have fled.
The ferry service operator will run the ship free of charge for the time being to help the islands recover from the disaster.
Four employees of ferry provider were victims of the March earthquake and tsunami. Damages to the port have hampered resumption of normal service but now the ferry runs 4 round trips a week.
In Miyagi Prefecture all ferry routes linking remote islands have now been resumed.

Monday, July 25, 2011 17:07 - NHK
Second supplementary budget enacted
Japan's Diet has approved and enacted the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 to fund recovery efforts from the March 11th quake and tsunami.
The Upper House approved the budget bill with a majority on Monday afternoon. The extra budget is worth nearly 2 trillion yen, or about 25 billion dollars.
The budget allocates nearly 3.5 billion dollars to help Fukushima Prefecture conduct health checks on all its residents in the wake of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
About 990 million dollars will be used to cover some of the interest payments of disaster victims who have had to borrow money in addition to their existing loans.
Over 3.8 billion dollars will go toward helping survivors rebuild their homes.
The budget also earmarks nearly 7 billion dollars in grants to local governments affected by the disaster and 10 billion dollars in reserves to allow the government to allocate funds necessary to rebuild the regions.
It also allows the government to issue up to over 25 billion dollars in special bonds to finance a state-backed body that will loan money to Tokyo Electric Power Company to help the troubled utility to pay compensation.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan earlier pledged to step down following the passage of 3 key bills. Attention will now turn to the fate of the 2 other bills, one to authorize deficit covering bonds and another to promote renewable energy.
.
June auto production down 15.2% from a year ago
Japan's domestic automobile production in June fell 15.2 percent from a year earlier. But the rate of decline slowed significantly compared to the months after the March earthquake and tsunami.
8 major automakers reported on Monday that they produced a total of over 699,000 vehicles last month.


. . . . . Japan Times

70% back Kan's nuclear tack, ditto seek his exit
A weekend telephone poll conducted by Kyodo News finds 70.3 percent of respondents support Prime Minister Naoto Kan's call for a society that does not rely on nuclear power, but public support for his Cabinet sank to 17.1 percent, the lowest level since it was inaugurated just over a year ago, from 23.2 percent in the previous poll.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110725a2.html

Declassified papers show U.S. promoted atomic power in Japan
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110725a4.html

City tries to lessen 'hot spot'
The city of Fukushima tried Sunday to remove radioactive materials from school routes and other locations in a district believed to be a "hot spot" by mobilizing about 3,800 employees, construction workers and residents. ...
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110725a6.html


Town holds belated memorial in nuke plant shadow
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110725a7.html


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July 26, 2011

Govt to buy back cesium-contaminated beef - NHK
. Radiation Problems - INFO .

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 07:16 - NHK
New decontamination unit to arrive at Fukushima
A new system to decontaminate radioactive water will arrive at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on Tuesday. The current system, the key to cooling the reactors, has been plagued with problems.
The new equipment, SARRY, consists of 14 cylindrical tanks containing minerals. It is designed to reduce radioactive substances in water, such as cesium, to less than one millionth.
The first shipment of tanks and parts left a port in Iwaki, Fukushima on Monday.
The existing device at the plant was hit with problems from Sunday to Monday. Its operating rate has been reduced to 53 percent, far below the goal of 90 percent.
The plant's operator Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to use the new system, along with the existing one.
The utility will bring the remaining components to the Fukushima plant in 2 more shipments. It then aims to begin operating the new system around early August.


Tuesday, July 26, 2011 16:08 - NHK
Kan: Japan needs national nuclear energy debate
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has told the visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Japan needs to have a broad national debate about reducing its reliance on nuclear power.
Kan met IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in Tokyo on Tuesday, one day after Amano visited the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
Amano said the IAEA can help Japan with its expertise and experience in radiation decontamination, handling of melted reactor cores and extraction of spent nuclear fuel rods.
Kan said Japan has completed the first stage of bringing the Fukushima nuclear disaster under control, and is moving on to the second phase. He said that Japan wants to cooperate fully with the IAEA.
Referring to his recent call for Japan to reduce its reliance on nuclear energy, Kan said the country needs to hold a wide public debate on the issue.
On July 13th, the prime minister told a news conference that Japan should cut its dependence on nuclear power. Following a tide of criticism, he said that this was his own view and not government policy.
After his meeting with Kan, Amano told reporters there is no doubt more nuclear plants would be built around the world in the future, as many countries think they need nuclear energy to deal with global warming. He said building safe nuclear plants will contribute to safe use of atomic energy.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011 19:15
FSC shows intake benchmark of 100 millisieverts
A government food safety panel has recommended that safeguard measures be implemented to limit cumulative radiation exposure during a person's lifetime to no more than 100 millisieverts.
The working group at the Food Safety Commission, which was set up at the request of the health ministry, released its report on Tuesday.
The report says more than 100 millisieverts of exposure and radioactive intake during a lifetime could increase the risk of developing cancer and other conditions.
The amount does not include radiation a person receives naturally.
The report also pointed out the vulnerability of children, who have greater risks of developing thyroid cancer, leukemia and other illnesses than adults do. But it did not give clear guidelines on setting standards for children, citing a lack of research.
In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis, the government set its provisional radioactivity safety limits on foodstuff such as meat, and vegetable.
The health ministry and other agencies are expected to review the provisional limits based on Tuesday's report.


Tuesday, July 26, 2011 17:03 - NHK
Nuclear plants urged to brace for biggest tsunami
A senior member of a Japanese government council on disaster preparedness says nuclear plants must prepare for the biggest possible tsunami, no matter how small the likelihood of such an event.
Kansai University Professor Yoshiaki Kawata, who heads the council's survey team, briefed the Nuclear Safety Commission on the council's new tsunami measures on Tuesday.
Kawata said a nuclear plant that Chugoku Electric Power Company plans to build by the Seto Inland Sea could be at risk. He cited new findings that a past massive earthquake in the Pacific off central to southwestern Japan sent tsunami waves into the sea.
Kawata also cited old documents that say a tsunami hit Wakasa Bay in Fukui Prefecture after an earthquake about 400 years ago. Thirteen nuclear reactors are located by the bay in the Sea of Japan.
Kawata said even an inland quake could send earth and sand crashing into the sea, triggering a tsunami.
He said the impact of an accident caused by failure to prepare for the biggest possible tsunami would be enormous.

. . . . . Japan Times . . . . .

Yen 2 trillion reconstruction bill clears Diet
The Diet enacts a \2 trillion second extra budget for fiscal 2011 to finance disaster relief and reconstruction since March 11, one of the three conditions laid down by Prime Minister Naoto Kan for his exit.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110726a1.html

IAEA chief's tour of stricken plant sobering; help offered
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110726a4.html

Kan hopes to apologize to Saga, Genkai leaders
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110726a5.html

More Aussie beef in pipeline amid cesium fears
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110726n2.html

Ensure food safety
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/ed20110726a1.html


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July 27, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 08:27 - NHK
TEPCO seeks new ways to reduce contaminated water
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has begun looking for new ways to reduce the amount of contaminated water that is hampering efforts to stabilize the damaged reactors.
Tokyo Electric Power Company sent a remote-controlled robot into the No.3 reactor building on Tuesday to take photos of the piping and measure radiation levels.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 19:17 - NHK
Meteorological agency to revise tsunami alerts
Japan's Meteorological Agency says it will develop a new plan for issuing tsunami alerts in the aftermath of major earthquakes. The maximum possible alerts will be given, and then downscaled accordingly after the actual magnitude of the earthquake has been determined.
On March 11th, the agency initially estimated the magnitude of the massive earthquake as 7.9. It used this information to issue warnings for tsunami of 6 meters in Miyagi Prefecture and 3 meters in Iwate and Fukushima prefectures. The predictions were then gradually raised to more than 10 meters after the agency confirmed the actual height of tsunami waves offshore.
But due to power outages, the revised figures were not thoroughly conveyed. Many people never knew that the expected height of the tsunami had been raised.
On Wednesday, the agency announced that it will seek to avoid such misinformation by changing the way it issues tsunami alerts. It said it will seek to ensure that the new alerts are issued just as quickly as in the current system.
The agency said that when an earthquake with a magnitude of 8 or higher strikes, it will first issue the maximum possible alerts. This is due to the possibility of underestimating the size of earthquakes and tsunami in the aftermath of such powerful quakes.
After the initial alerts are issued, the agency will downscale them as the magnitude of the quake is more accurately determined.
Agency officials did not say whether they would also provide the expected height of tsunami in the initial alert.
The meteorological agency plans to finalize a report on the new alert by the end of the year.


. . . . . Japan Times . . . . .

Meat sector to buy tainted beef, burn it
Meat industry bodies will buy up all radioactive domestic beef that has been shipped to the market in a bid to dispel mounting consumer fears as well as provide financial relief to farmers.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110727a1.html

Kesennuma
Shark fin processors still unable to regroup
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110727a4.html


Radiation exposure over lifetime studied
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110727a6.html


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July 28, 2011

Thursday, July 28, 2011 09:55 - NHK
Govt to ban shipment of Miyagi beef cattle
Japan's government has decided to suspend all shipments of beef cattle from Miyagi Prefecture, due to fears of radioactive contamination. It plans to give the order as early as Thursday.
Miyagi Prefecture has shipped 1,031 head of beef cattle believed to have been fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium.
Amounts exceeding the government-set permissible level have been detected in beef from 6 of the cattle, in quantities as high as 1,150 becquerels per kilogram. This is more than twice the safety level.
The government's task force on the nuclear disaster says the contaminated beef came from cattle from various parts of the prefecture, rather than from a limited area.
Miyagi will become the second prefecture to have all beef cattle shipments banned, following Fukushima, which was given the order last week.
Miyagi shipped about 33,000 head of beef cattle per year before the March 11th disaster.


Thursday, July 28, 2011 11:48
Water treatment system running below capacity
A water decontamination system at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant has been operating below its target capacity, resulting in delays to the firm's timetable of about 2 months.
Tokyo Electric Power Company started running the decontamination system in late June to remove radioactive substances from water pooled in reactor buildings' basements. Treated water is sent back into the reactors as coolant.
TEPCO says the system operated at 63 percent capacity from June 17th until Tuesday, though it aimed to run it at 70 percent capacity.
The company was planning to decrease the amount of contaminated water to a safe level by early August. But, it now says the timetable is likely to be pushed back until late September.
The failure to reach the target is mainly attributed to the fact the system's working capacity is at about 30 percent below designed levels. The system has also stopped repeatedly due to various operational problems.
TEPCO says problems seen in the early stages of the operation have been solved, and that it will try to increase the system's treatment rate from now.



Thursday, July 28, 2011 13:28 - NHK
Govt may extend cattle ban
Japan's government is considering extending a ban on all shipments of beef cattle from Miyagi to Iwate Prefecture. This comes amid growing public concern over radioactive beef across the country.
Radioactive cesium exceeding government standards was detected in beef from 6 head of cattle feared to have eaten contaminated rice straw in Miyagi, which neighbors Fukushima Prefecture.
The government's nuclear disaster task force says the contaminated beef came from cattle from various parts of the prefecture, rather than from a limited area. It is ordering a blanket suspension of shipments from Miyagi on Thursday.
The prefecture is the second to have all cattle shipments banned, following Fukushima which was given the order last week.
Radioactive cesium exceeding the safety level has also now been detected in beef from 5 cattle shipped from across Iwate Prefecture, to the north of Miyagi.
The government may extend its shipment ban to Iwate next week.

Thursday, July 28, 2011 18:58 - NHK
Nagasaki mayor: shift from nuclear power needed
The mayor of Nagasaki City will for the first time call for a shift away from nuclear energy in his annual peace declaration on August 9th, amid the ongoing nuclear crisis in Fukushima.
Mayor Tomihisa Taue told reporters on Thursday that the people of his city do not want to see more "Hibakusha," as the victims of the 1945 atomic bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima are known.
He said he will call for a move toward safer, renewable energy sources in this year's declaration, no matter how long it might take to achieve that shift.
The mayor's appeal on nuclear power generation will be the first of its kind at a Nagasaki peace ceremony. The annual declaration has always focused on the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The Nagasaki mayor will read out the declaration at the ceremony, which marks the 66th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of the city on August 9th in 1945.


. . . . . Japan Times . . . . .

Niigata reactors to stay offline, governor says
Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida says he can't allow the restart of three nuclear reactors in his prefecture even if they pass the central government's stress tests to check their survivability in extreme disasters.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728a2.html

1,600 workers projected over radiation limit
Tokyo Electric Power Co. estimated in spring that about 1,600 workers at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant would be exposed to radiation exceeding 50 millisieverts during the course of the crisis, an industrial accident prevention body reveals.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728a3.html

DPJ panel seeks early restart of suspended reactors
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728a4.html

Turmoil over beef spreads to luxury brands
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728f1.html

Ocean radiation tests may ignore threat to seafood
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728n1.html

Threat to food chain grows as contamination spreads
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110728n2.html

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July 29, 2011

Typhoon Nr. 9 Muifa（ムイファー） is heading for Japan.

Friday, July 29, 2011 04:35 - NHK
1,500 tons of radioactive sludge cannot be buried
Nearly 50,000 tons of sludge at water treatment facilities has been found to contain radioactive cesium as the result of the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Over 1,500 tons is so contaminated that it cannot be buried for disposal.
Water treatment facilities in eastern and northeastern Japan have been discovering sludge containing cesium.
The health ministry says there is 49,250 tons of such sludge in 14 prefectures in eastern and northeastern Japan.
A total of 1,557 tons in 5 prefectures, including Fukushima and Miyagi, was found to contain 8,000 or more becquerels per kilogram. This sludge is too radioactive to be buried for disposal.
The most contaminated sludge, with 89,697 becquerels per kilogram, was discovered at a water treatment facility in Koriyama City, Fukushima.
The ministry says 76 percent of the roughly 50,000 tons of radioactive sludge is being stored at water treatment plants and they have no ways to dispose of most of it. It says more than 54,000 tons of additional sludge has not been checked for radioactive materials.
The ministry plans to study how to dispose of the radioactive sludge.

Friday, July 29, 2011 09:43 - NHK
TEPCO to extract air from troubled reactors
The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant says it will extract air from troubled reactors at the plant to measure the amount of radioactive substances. The work is part of efforts to curb the amount of radioactivity released into the atmosphere.
Up to around one billion becquerels of radioactive substances are believed to be released every hour from reactors No.1, 2 and 3. It is not known how accurate this figure is because it was worked out by taking readings of the air on the plant's premises.
Tokyo Electric Power Company plans to extract air inside the containment vessels of the reactors through pipes. The extracted air will be analyzed by a device set up on the first floor of the reactor buildings.
The operation is intended to obtain accurate data on what kind of radioactive substances are being released and in what quantity.
The air extraction is expected to begin later on Friday for the No.1 reactor and in early August for the No.2 unit. No plans have been decided for the No.3 reactor due to high radiation levels in part of its building.
TEPCO hopes the findings may also help the company grasp the extent of leakage of nuclear fuels into the containment vessels.
Under the second phase of its plan to stabilize the plant, TEPCO aims to minimize the release of nuclear materials and bring the reactors to a stable state called a cold shutdown over the next 6 months.

IAEA to help Japan assess nuclear plant safety - NHK
The International Atomic Energy Agency has offered to help Japan assess the results of additional safety tests planned by the government for the country's nuclear power plants.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano made the offer in a meeting with Japan's industry minister Banri Kaieda on Thursday.
Amano said the international nuclear watchdog is ready to work with Japan to find ways to carry out radiation decontamination and handling of spent nuclear fuel rods at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Kaieda said Japan wants to join hands with the IAEA to bring the nuclear crisis under control.
On whether the safety tests should be a requirement for restarting suspended plants, Amano told reporters that each country should decide on its own, and that the agency is not in a position to tell Japan what to do.


Friday, July 29, 2011 14:15
Chubu Electric: NISA tried to deceive public forum
Chubu Electric Power Company says the government's nuclear agency asked it to make sure that questions in favor of nuclear power be asked at a government-sponsored symposium in 2007.
In a report submitted to the government on Friday, the utility said the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency requested that it gather participants and have local residents pose prearranged questions at the forum held in Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.
The utility said it refused NISA's request to arrange the questions, citing difficulties with ensuring compliance. But senior officials of the Hamaoka nuclear power plant sent e-mails to employees and visited affiliate companies in an effort to comply with the request.
An official of Chubu Electric Power Company said on Friday that his firm issued calls to the public to participate in the forum.
He said he doesn't think the act was an outright breach of the law. But he added that it could have led to the misunderstanding that his firm was trying to manipulate public opinion, and he offered apologies.
The revelation comes after Kyushu Electric Power Company came under fire for submitting fake e-mails in support of a restart of idled nuclear reactors in a government-sponsored meeting for local residents in June.
Following the scandal, the industry ministry ordered the 6 Electric Power Companies to conduct an internal investigation of its activities aimed at winning local support for nuclear power.

Friday, July 29, 2011 20:00 - NHK
Govt: Japan may face power shortage next summer
Japan's government estimates that the country will face a power supply shortage of around 10 percent next summer if all of its nuclear reactors go offline.
A government panel drew up the estimate on Friday at a meeting attended by Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Cabinet members.
The panel said that if all of the country's reactors operations are suspended, the power supply will be about 10 percent short of peak demand in eastern Japan, and 8 percent in western Japan.
The panel also said additional fuel costs of around 38 billion dollars will be incurred if utilities make up for the shortage through thermal generation.
All of the reactors could be offline by next spring for safety inspections. Resuming operations is expected to take a long time because the government recently introduced additional safety checks called stress tests.
The panel called for introducing power-saving home appliances and industrial equipment to avoid rolling blackouts or mandatory power cuts.
It also stressed the need to promote renewable energy and the use of batteries and smart meters, which help households use power more efficiently.
The government is soon to draft a 3-year plan with measures to cope with expected power shortages.
It plans to include costs for the measures in a third extra budget for the current fiscal year and a draft budget for next fiscal year.

Friday, July 29, 2011 22:39
Kan proposes 3rd extra budget for rebuilding plan
Prime Minister Naoto Kan has pledged the government's continued effort to rebuild northeastern areas devastated by the March disaster.
Kan held a news conference on Friday after the government adopted a basic reconstruction plan. He said the plan provides a blueprint for the government's full-fledged reconstruction measures.
Kan said the government promises to spend at least 19 trillion yen, or the equivalent of about 243 billion dollars, on intensive reconstruction over the initial 5 years.
The plan calls for issuing reconstruction bonds, which, under the basic plan, would be repaid through spending cuts and temporary tax measures.
The prime minister said, based on the basic plan, the government will draw up a 3rd supplementary budget for this fiscal year.
Kan called for a long-term effort to reduce reliance on nuclear power and to thoroughly verify the country's nuclear energy policy.
He said the government will gradually and systematically reduce dependence on nuclear energy and move toward a society that does not rely on it.
On the timing of his likely resignation, he said he talked about his future course of action on June 2nd at a meeting of governing Democratic Party lawmakers and also at a previous news conference. He said he will take responsibility for his words, indicating he will do his best to enact the 2 other bills he has already cited as preconditions for his resignation.


Torrential rain hits Niigata & Fukushima - NHK
Torrential rain in Niigata and Fukushima prefectures in northern Japan has caused rivers to overflow, raising the danger of landslides.
Six people are missing in the region. One man in Fukushima was caught in a mudslide as he was constructing a sandbag barrier to hold off the floods.
Since Wednesday, rainfall in Fukushima has exceeded 600 millimeters, while Niigata has gotten more than 450 millimeters.
Authorities have issued an evacuation advisory to 193,000 residents.
The Meteorological Agency is calling on people to be on the alert for floods, landslides, lightning and strong winds.


. . . . . Japan Times . . . . .

Miyagi beef cattle shipments barred
The government orders a complete ban on all shipments of beef cattle from Miyagi Prefecture after detecting radioactive cesium above the government limit in some local cattle.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110729a1.html

Aeon to test beef for cesium traces
Concern that radiation fallout is contaminating meat prompts Aeon Co. to start testing beef for cancer-causing substances.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110729a2.html

Utility unable to unload damaged Hamaoka fuel rod for 17 years
Chubu Electric Power Co. reveals it has been unable to remove a spent fuel rod that was damaged in an accident 17 years ago from its Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka Prefecture.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110729a3.html

Mabuchi seeks DPJ helm after Kan exits
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110729a4.html

Kyushu Electric board mulling head's offer to go
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110729a7.html

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