**JAPAN UPDATE**

AsahinaKimi

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Tue Sep-20-11 06:43 PM
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**JAPAN UPDATE**

TEPCO to cut corporate pension payouts, slash payroll

The embattled Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to cut corporate pension payouts to its employees and retirees, and ax thousands of jobs, to win public understanding for a government bailout to help it compensate victims of the nuclear disaster.

But TEPCO, operator of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, first needs to clear an array of hurdles, including consent from its labor union and retirees. It could face a string of lawsuits, as has happened to other companies that tried to enforce such drastic steps without smoothing the way beforehand.

more..
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201109190146.html

Atomic Energy Society drafts protocol on tsunami risks

The nongovernmental Atomic Energy Society of Japan has compiled a draft protocol, the first of its kind, to gauge the likelihood of major accidents at nuclear power plants caused by giant tsunami.

While seismic risk assessment is hardly new, the society decided to create a framework for tsunami following the unprecedented crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant caused the by March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake.

more..
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201109190184.html

Noda departs for U.S. Tuesday / Prime minister to hold talks with President Obama, address U.N.

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda will leave for New York on Tuesday to hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama and attend a session of the U.N. General Assembly.

Noda's first trip to the United States as prime minister will mark his diplomatic debut. His itinerary includes a meeting with Obama on Wednesday afternoon (Thursday morning Japan time), and an address before the General Assembly on Friday afternoon (Saturday morning Japan time).

more..
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110919004858.htm

Fukushima Pref. fireworks ditched over radiation fears

NISSHIN, Aichi--An annual fireworks festival in Nisshin, Aichi Prefecture, decided not to use any fireworks produced in Fukushima Prefecture after local residents expressed concern that such products could spread harmful radioactive materials.

The organizing committee of the Nisshin Dream Festival, which was held Sunday night, said it initially planned to use fireworks made in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures during the festival's fireworks display, to reflect the theme of reconstruction from the Great East Japan Earthquake.

more..
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110919004259.htm

No hospital, stores, gas stations or hope

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi--More than six months after the March 11 disaster, Ishinomaki's residential district of Ogatsucho finds itself with no hospital, no supermarket, no gas stations, a declining population and little hope for the future.

The population of the district has gone from about 4,300 before the earthquake and tsunami to only about 1,000 today as residents continue to abandon the area.

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http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110919004511.htm

Hosono vows cold shutdown by year-end

VIENNA--Cabinet member Goshi Hosono has told the International Atomic Energy Agency of a new target--the end of December instead of mid-January--for the complete cold shutdown of reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

In a speech at the annual IAEA meeting in Vienna on Monday, Hosono, the state minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, also said the government would accept an IAEA inspection team on decontamination in October.

"We are steadily bringing the post-accident situation under control. To achieve Step 2 this year, we'll move the schedule forward and do our best," said Hosono.

more..
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110920006018.htm

New N-target a sign of progress

The declaration by Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of the nuclear crisis, of a new, earlier target date for cold shutdown of the crippled Fukushima reactors is seen as an appeal to the international community that efforts to stabilize the reactors are going smoothly.

Hosono mentioned the new target date for the completion of the Step 2 phase of the timetable for ending the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at an annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency held in Vienna on Monday.

Cold shutdown of the reactors is a benchmark for allowing evacuated residents to return home. The two keys to achieving cold shutdown are reducing the temperature at the bottom of the reactors to below 100 C and containing the leakage of radioactive substances.

more..
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110920006105.htm

1 dead, 2 missing, over 1 million urged to evacuate as typhoon nears

TOKYO —

More than a million people in Japan were warned to leave their homes on Tuesday night as an approaching typhoon brought heavy rain and floods which left one person dead and two others missing.

Typhoon Roke, packing winds of up to 144 kilometers an hour near its center, could land in central Japan Wednesday and move northeast, possibly towards the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the Japanese weather agency said.

“While keeping its strength, the typhoon could make a land fall on Wednesday,” an official with the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a televised news conference.

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http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/400000-urged-to-evacuate-as-typhoon-heads-to-japan

Japan asks 1.2 million to evacuate ahead of Typhoon Roke

TOKYO — Japan on Tuesday urged the evacuation of more than 1.2 million people ahead of a typhoon that will bring heavy rain to areas already hit by record rainfall.

Typhoon Roke has prompted concerns of landslides and flash flooding, particularly in the industrial city of Nagoya, where downpours could cause a main river to burst its banks.

more..
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-asks-12-million-to-evacuate-ahead-of-typhoon-roke/2011/09/20/gIQAfzrQhK_story.html

Tokyo rally drew 60,000: organizers Masses turn out to protest nuclear power

Tens of thousands of people including musicians, a Nobel laureate and Fukushima residents converged on Meiji Park in Tokyo Monday to vent their anger about the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis and demand the abolition of atomic power.

Despite the unseasonably hot and humid weather, the turnout for the Goodbye Nuclear Power Plants rally was impressive in scale and one of the largest antinuclear rallies so far.

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http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110920a1.html

Japan trying to repair ties with U.S.

Tokyo now backs base plan, arms and farm trade, other divisive issues
The new government is trying to earn back trust from the United States, its most important ally, by showing support for initiatives that recent prime ministers have let languish.

The ideas include support for a multination free-trade agreement and for allowing easier exports of Japanese weapons technology, ventures that have strong support in Washington. New leaders have also signaled their intention to carry out a long-stalled agreement with Washington that would put the U.S. Marine presence in Okinawa Prefecture on a more solid footing.

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http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110920a4.html

Residents furious over 60-page application, 160-page manual for TEPCO compensation

Residents affected by the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant are furious after learning they will have to wade through a 60-page application form -- accompanied by a 160-page manual -- to seek compensation from the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO).

The company, which on Sept. 12 started sending out documents for individual compensation claims for the period between March and August, says its careful explanation of the process resulted in a large amount of documentation. However, this hasn't appeased residents.

"One can only assume it's to prevent people from billing them," one resident commented.

more..
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110920p2a00m0na011000c.html

Groundwater flowing into Fukushima nuclear plant

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday it suspects that 200 to 500 tons a day of groundwater might be flowing through pits and wall cracks into reactor and turbine buildings at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

The suspicion is based on the fact that a decline in water levels in these buildings has slowed down.

more...
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110920p2g00m0dm103000c.html

Judge, experts in nuclear plant case show changes of attitude after Fukushima disaster

After the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, the presiding judge and nuclear experts who testified in a case involving the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant have shown shifts in their attitudes on nuclear plant safety and how it should be handled by courts.

Court cases surrounding the safety of nuclear plants require referral to high-level expert knowledge to make a ruling, and are sometimes referred to as "science trials." In a still-ongoing case where residents are seeking a shut down of the Hamaoka Nuclear Power Plant, 11 experts have appeared in court and given their opinions.

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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110920p2a00m0na006000c.html

65 percent of Japanese prefer to cut electricity use even if living standards drop

Sixty-five percent of Japanese people think that they should reduce their use of electricity even if their living standards have to be lowered in the wake of the outbreak of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant, according to a recent survey conducted by the Mainichi Shimbun.

A survey of 2,413 people, conducted in an interview format by the Mainichi from Sept. 2 to 4, shows 65 percent of the respondents prefer to cut electricity use even if they have to lower their standards of living. The survey did not cover people in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures hit hard by the March 11 disasters. Thirty-two percent of the people polled said power supply should be increased in order to maintain their standard of living.

more..
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110920p2a00m0na017000c.html