Powerful quake hits Japan, Fukushima residents urged to flee

TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan on Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, generating a tsunami that hit the nation's northern Pacific coast.

The earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, was centred off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10 km (6 miles) and struck at 5:59 a.m. (2059 GMT) the agency said.

A 60 cm (2 foot) tsunami had been observed at Fukushima's Onahama Port and a 90 cm (3 foot) tsunami at Soma soon after, public broadcaster NHK said. The region is the same that was devastated by a tsunami following a massive earthquake in 2011.

A tsunami warning of up to 3 metres (10 feet) has been issued.

One woman suffered cuts to her head from falling dishes, Kyodo news agency reported, citing fire department officials.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, said on its website that no damage from the quake has been confirmed at any of its power plants, although there have been blackouts in some areas. Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant caused Japan's worst nuclear disaster when it was knocked out by the 2011 tsunami.

Tohoku Electric Power Co said there was no damage to its Onagawa nuclear plant, while the Kyodo news agency reported there was no irregularities at the Tokai Daini nuclear plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from Fukushima harbours as tsunami warning signals wailed.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. Japan accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

The March 11, 2011, quake was magnitude 9, the strongest quake in Japan on record. The massive tsunami it triggered caused world's worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl a quarter of a century earlier.

An Iwaki city fire dept official said there was smoke or fire at Kureha's research centre in a petrochemical complex in Iwaki city at 6:17 a.m., but it was extinguished at 6:40 a.m. Other details were not clear, he said, adding that no other major damage in the city has been reported at the moment.

One hotel in Ofunato, badly hit by the 2011 quake, told guests to stay in the facility, which is on high ground.

The U.S. Geological Survey initially put Tuesday's quake at a magnitude of 7.3 but down graded it to 6.9.

All nuclear plants on the coast threatened by the tsunami are shutdown in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Only two reactors are operating in Japan, both in the southwest of the country. Even when in shutdown nuclear plants need cooling systems operating to keep spent fuel cool.

(Writing by William Mallard; Additional reporting by Yuka Obayashi, Chris Gallagher, Jon Herskovitz and Aaron Sheldrick; Editing Richard Balmforth and Lincoln Feast)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Fukushima victims sue Japan gov't, TEPCO

TOKYO - Hundreds of people affected by the Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan filed a class action lawsuit Monday demanding greater efforts to clean up the contaminated region two years on from the disaster.

Some 800 plaintiffs filed the case with the Fukushima District Court, demanding 50,000 yen ($520) a month each from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) until the area is restored, their lawyers said in a statement.

The plaintiffs are mostly from Fukushima, but also include some residents of neighbouring prefectures, the lawyers said.

"Through this case, we seek restitution of the region to the condition before radioactive materials contaminated the area, and demand compensation for psychological pains until the restitution is finished," the statement said.

The case was filed as Japan marked the second anniversary of a 9.0-magnitude earthquake on March 11, 2011, which unleashed a giant tsunami along the northeastern Pacific coast.

The natural disasters killed nearly 19,000 people, including those whose bodies are yet to be recovered.

The huge waves crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which went through meltdowns and explosions, spewing radioactive materials into surrounding areas.

The Fukushima accident forced tens of thousands of residents near the area to abandon their homes and jobs in heavily contaminated areas. It is not clear when they can return home, if ever.

"Through this case, we will clarify the responsibility of TEPCO, which caused the accident, and the government which neglected to take sufficient safety measures and promoted nuclear power with utilities as a national policy," the statement said.

"This case is not only aimed at saving victims, but also at pushing the government to thoroughly change its pro-nuclear policy and therefore prevent people becoming victims in the future," it said.

The court filing came as people all over Japan bowed their heads in silence to remember those killed by the tsunami two years earlier.

Ceremonies were held in towns and cities throughout the disaster zone, as well as in Tokyo, where Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko led tributes to those who lost their lives in the natural disaster.

No one is officially recorded as having died as a direct result of the disaster at Fukushima.

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Japan switches off final nuclear reactor

TOKYO — Japan switched off its last working nuclear reactor on Saturday, leaving the country without atomic-generated electricity just over a year after the world’s worst nuclear accident in a quarter of a century.

Technicians closed down the No. 3 unit at Tomari in Hokkaido at 11:03 p.m.

Hokkaido Electric Power, which runs the plant, suspended power generation for mandatory maintenance and is scheduled to bring the reactor to cold shutdown some time on Monday, said company spokesman Hisatoshi Kibayashi.

The shuttering marks the first time since the 1970s that resource-poor and energy-hungry Japan has been without nuclear power, a technology that had provided a third of its electricity until meltdowns at Fukushima.

With the four reactors at Fukushima crippled by the natural disaster public suspicion of nuclear power grew, so much so that no reactor shut for routine safety checks has since been allowed to restart.

“A new era in Japan with no nuclear power has begun,” said Gyoshu Otsu, a 56-year-old monk who joined a protest against nuclear power in front of the industry ministry in Tokyo which supervises the nation’s power utilities.

Protest organizer Masao Kimura said: “It’s a symbolic day today. Now we can prove that we will be able to live without nuclear power.”

But Hiroomi Makino, the pro-nuclear mayor of Tomari, which hosts the reactor, said: “I would like the company to resume operation as I believe that they will give the highest priority to safety.”

As the reactor shuts down, Japan’s entire stable of 54 reactors will be offline, despite increasingly urgent calls from the power industry and bodies like the OECD, who fear dire consequences for the world’s third largest economy.

Last month, Kansai Electric Power, which supplies mid-western Japan, including the commercial hubs of Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, said a hot summer could see supply fall nearly 20% short of demand.

Kyushu Electric Power, covering an area further west, as well as Hokkaido Electric Power also said they will struggle as air conditioning gets cranked up in Japan’s sweltering summer.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government has given the green light to restarting reactors at the Oi nuclear plant, run by Kansai Electric, but regulators still have to convince those living near the plant.

In order to be fired up again, reactors must now pass International Atomic Energy Agency-approved stress tests and get the consent of their host communities—it is this last hurdle that is proving hardest to overcome.

Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of nuclear policy, told reporters: “Situations surrounding electric power are severe, but we can’t sacrifice safety. We want to face the reality firmly.”

Critics of nuclear power say Japan has managed thus far with its ever dwindling pool of reactors and need not look back.

Environmental campaign group Greenpeace said the country should concentrate on ramping up renewables and boosting energy efficiency.

source: japantoday.com

Intel reveals Japan gov't warned about nuclear meltdown after 2011 tsunami

TOKYO, Japan- Japan was preparing to mark the first anniversary of its tsunami On Saturday, when government papers revealed ministers were warned of the possibility of meltdowns at Fukushima just after the waves struck.

A summary of a government meeting held about four hours after a giant earthquake sent a wall of water crashing into the atomic power station showed that one unidentified participant had cautioned of the risk of a meltdown.

"If the temperature of the reactor cores rises after eight hours, there is a possibility that a meltdown will occur," the person said, according to the summary released on Friday.

Fukushima Daiichi, 220 kilometres (140 miles) northeast of Tokyo, spewed radiation after its cooling systems were knocked out by the tsunami when it crushed coastal communities and left more than 19,000 people dead or missing.

The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO) maintained for months there had been no meltdown at Fukushima, despite repeated warnings from independent experts.

They finally admitted in May that three of six reactors had suffered meltdowns.
Tens of thousands of people were made homeless by the nuclear crisis and some tracts of land inside a 20-kilometre exclusion zone are expected to be uninhabitable for decades because of radiation levels.

Friday's revelations came as Japan prepared to mark the first anniversary of the tragedy.
Much of public life will pause on Sunday at 2.46 pm (0546 GMT) to mark the exact moment a 9.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the country's east coast on March 11 last year.
Public transport was expected to stop, and Tokyo's busy shopping districts will fall silent for a minute as the country honours the memory of those who died when the towering tsunami smashed ashore.

A formal ceremony in the capital will be the centrepiece of Japan's official remembrance, with speeches from Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Emperor Akihito.

The 78-year-old emperor, who underwent heart surgery three weeks ago, will attend 20 minutes of the hour-long ceremony with Empress Michiko, the royal household said Saturday.
Some trains in and around Tokyo will be stopped to observe the silence on Sunday, Kyodo reported, adding underground rail services in the capital will also be halted briefly in the morning.

Anti-nuclear protests were scheduled in Tokyo and Fukushima, as well as other parts of the country, while candle-lighting ceremonies were expected to commemorate the victims of the natural disaster.

Setsuko Kuroda, who was organising a two-day anti-nuclear protest in Koriyama, near Fukushima, said 20,000 people were expected on Sunday.

"We demand all children are evacuated from Fukushima now," she told AFP.
"Some experts say one-third of children in Fukushima were affected by radiation.

"Leaving the situation like this is like they are committing a murder everyday."
Writing in the Washington Post, Noda said the events of March 11 were etched in the nation's memory.

"We will not forget the loved ones, friends and colleagues lost in the disaster," he said.

"Nor will we forget the outpouring of support and international expressions of solidarity that Japan received. For this, we feel deeply indebted and forever appreciative."

Noda, who is battling sliding approval ratings as he tries to push through an unpopular tax rise aimed at making a dent in Japan's mountain of debt, said the country would recover.

He pledged to press ahead with reconstruction of tsunami-hit areas and with the full decommissioning of Fukushima Daiichi, as well as decontamination of irradiated land and the "revitalisation" of the Japanese economy.

But for some of those who lost loved ones, a more pressing need to lay ghosts to rest was at hand.

In badly-hit Iwate prefecture, home to a third of the more than 3,200 still listed as missing in the disaster, 300 police and 80 coastguard officers on Saturday continued an intensive three-day search for bodies.

It followed the end of a search in Fukushima on Friday, where hundreds of police and volunteers spent two days looking for the bodies of more than 200 people still missing in the prefecture.

Some of the bodies may be inside the no-go zone around the nuclear plant, which has been off-limits for the last year.

In Nihonmatsu, 71-year-old Yoshiko Kanno, who has lived in temporary housing since fleeing her home in nuclear-hit Namie, said on the anniversary she would be praying for the souls of those who died.

"It was a year of fears and anxiety," she said. "I never dreamed of being here a year ago. My wish is that I won't end my life here."

source: interaksyon.com