Jump to content

Meltdown Likely Under Way At Japan Nuclear Reactor


ozpharlap

Recommended Posts

Link

 

Farmers among the evacuees also are concerned about the estimated 3,000 cows, 130,000 pigs and 680,000 chickens they had to leave behind to fend for themselves. Some have died already, and many are weak and dying.

 

"I'm here in protest, and to get an apology," said Masaki Yoshizawa, who had 300 head of high-grade "wagyu" cattle on a ranch about 9 miles (14 kilometers) from the plant.

 

TEPCO will start depositing initial compensation payments of 1 million yen ($12,000) per household on Tuesday into bank accounts of people forced to evacuate due to leaking radiation, Trade Minister Banri Kaieda said.

 

Okazaki, the fruit farmer, isn't eligible because his farm is 37 miles (60 kilometers) from the plant, but he still wants compensation, fearing a lengthy slump in demand for farm products from his region. He says vegetable growers already have lost a great deal of money.

 

"I am constantly worried about this, and feel like my strength is being sapped away," he said.

 

Farmers, who brought the cows to highlight the milk ban and plight of animals left behind in the evacuation zone, took turns shouting their frustrations into a microphone, their words carried over a loudspeaker mounted atop a van, as lunch-hour passers-by in the busy office district stopped and gawked at the animals in the back of two trucks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 285
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Link

 

A senior nuclear adviser to Naoto Kan, the Japanese prime minister, has submitted his resignation, alleging the government had ignored his advice on radiation limits and failed to follow the law.

 

Toshiso Kosako, a Tokyo University professor, who was named last month as an aide to Kan, said the government had only taken ad-hoc measures to contain the crisis at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.

 

In a tearful press conference, he said the government and its commissions had taken "flexible approaches" to existing laws and regulations, and ignored his advice after he was named an adviser on March 16.

 

"I cannot help but to think (the prime minister's office and other agencies) are only taking stopgap measures... and delaying the end" of the nuclear crisis, he told reporters.

 

Al Jazeera's correspondent, Divya Gopalan, reporting from Tokyo, said the expert criticised the government’s handling of the crisis and said their action was knee-jerk.

 

Kosako said he could not stay on and allow the government to set what he said were improper radiation limits for elementary schools near the crippled plant.

 

Our correspondent said: "The expert was particularly critical of the government’s nuclear radiation exposure limit. His biggest attack was the government limit for children, which he said was 20 times too high in Fukushima Prefecture."

 

"He said the radiation limit for children should have been much lower as they are being exposed to radiation, and that his recommendations were ignored."

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Japanese Tourists Allowed to Stay Longer in Thailand

 

Japanese visitors will be granted a visa on arrival for 90 days, instead of 30 days, for a period of six months, starting from 1 May to 31 October 2011.

 

The decision was made by the Cabinet, during its meeting on April 26, when the Ministry of Tourism and Sports submitted the proposal for approval.

 

The proposal was prepared after a meeting of relevant agencies on April 12, in response to the Government’s intention to help Japan mitigate the effects of the recent massive earthquake and tsunami and the nuclear incident. Apart from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the agencies included the Royal Thai Police, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Immigration Office, the Office of the National Security Council, the National Intelligence Agency, the Office of the Council of State, and the Office of the National Economic and Social Development Board.

 

According to the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Japan needs both time and money to reconstruct the country, while psychological rehabilitation is also required to bring the situation to normality. As a result of the disasters, Japanese arrivals in Thailand in 2011 are likely to drop, and Thailand may lose about 15-20 billion baht in tourism income from the Japanese market this year.

 

More than one million Japanese travelers visit Thailand each year. After Malaysia and China, Japan accounts for the third largest group of international tourists in Thailand. It was projected earlier that about 1.2 million Japanese tourists would visit Thailand in 2011. Following the Japanese crisis in March, Japanese arrivals are likely to drop to 850,000, down by 12 per cent from last year.

 

Since Japan is one of Thailand’s largest tourism markets, the Ministry believes that the extension of the permitted length of stay for Japanese visitors without visa fees will help strengthen relations between the two countries. It will also encourage Japanese tourists to come back after Japan recovers from its current crisis.

 

Meanwhile, Mr. Takeaki Matsumoto, Foreign Minister of Japan, expressed his appreciation to the Thai government for dispatching medical teams consisting of one pediatrician and one nurse to assist Japan’s own medical teams upon the request of the Japanese government. A report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand said that the Thai-Japanese medical team would be assigned to provide medical check-ups and advice to evacuees, especially young children currently living in evacuation shelters around Fukushima province and nearby areas.

 

Each team is scheduled to work with Japanese medical teams for two weeks, with the first team starting its mission on 9 May 2011. Subsequently, the second team will replace the first team and remain in Japan for another two weeks. Soon after the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami, Thailand informed the Japanese side of Thailand’s estimated 500 Japanese-speaking Thai doctors and nurses who stood ready to provide medical assistance to the victims in Japan upon request.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


×
×
  • Create New...