NHK journalists who were investigating the radiation data from the Fukushima nuclear disaster found abnormalities in the radiation data from Fukushima Daini. After asking TEPCO for clarification, the utility revealed the existence of data related to a period between March 15th and April 3rd, 2011, which until this point had been undisclosed. On March 16th, […]
NISA plans to ok operations at nuclear power plants built above faults Despite its conflict of interest, lack of public trust, and pending abolishment, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has released plans to accept new nuclear safety rules that OK operations even at nuclear power plants even if active earthquake faults are discovered beneath […]
NISA orders re-examination of Monju and Mihama nuclear plants in Fukui Prefecture NISA and METI have acknowledged the possibility of active fault zones directly underneath the reactor buildings of multiple nuclear power plants after the March 11th earthquake. Two more nuclear sites, Monju and Mihama both in Fukui Prefecture, have been ordered to carry out […]
Hibakusha: Nuke safety biggest lie “I think we can share the same sadness with people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” said Sachiko Sato, a Fukushima evacuee who attended the annual Hiroshima A-bombing commemoration ceremony Monday along with tens of thousands of others. “In my mind, Fukushima is like a third nuclear victim, following Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” […]
Japan rests on some of the most unstable ground in the world, which has triggered earthquakes for centuries, and subsequently the nation’s nuclear industry is under severe scrutiny following last year’s nuclear disaster. Recent criticism escalated after a government panel investigating the Fukushima disaster, claimed that the island nation is prone to natural accidents, and […]
In the last week, a major scandal has developed at Fukushima, as media reports have confirmed that subcontractors were told to cover their dosimeters with lead shields in order to manipulate or underreport their radiation exposures. The Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry has announced that it has launched an official investigation into the matter, and […]
In its fourth and final report, a 12 member government panel investigating the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster raised even more doubts about the preparedness of Japan’s nuclear reactors for severe accidents despite the recent restart of the Ohi reactors. “TEPCO and the government had been bound by the myth that severe accidents would never occur […]
The first alarm sounded around 6:20 p.m. Sunday evening, and indicated a rise in pressure in the pressurizer relief tank for the primary coolant system. The primary coolant system (also called the Reactor Coolant System) consists of the reactor vessel, the steam generators, the reactor coolant pumps, a pressurizer, and the connecting piping. The primary […]
Recently there has been some suspicion in Japan that the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) submitted the names of public citizens who signed up to attend nuclear safety meetings to the police. The problem was pointed out earlier this month during the three-day hearing on the ability of the Ohi nuclear power plant to […]
After months of investigating what happened before, during, and after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami, members of an expert panel appointed by the Diet last December, submitted a 641-page report to both chambers of the Diet on Thursday. The 10-member panel, appointed by parliament in December, interviewed 1,167 people in hearings exceeding 900 hours. […]
Discussions related to nuclear power have been on the lips of nearly every attendee of Japanese utilities’ shareholders meetings this week. At every meeting, the utilities faced numerous questions from their shareholders about their stance on withdrawing from nuclear power entirely, concerns over the resumption of nuclear plants were coupled with opinions urging them to […]
Only days after deciding to restart the Ohi reactors, Kansai Electric the operator and the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency have already started out on the wrong foot with a “lapse in judgment” which delayed disclosure from the public. Kansai Electric officials announced on Wednesday that an alarm had gone off at the plant 13 […]
A Japanese Diet-appointed panel is investigating the details surrounding the Fukushima nuclear disaster to try to determine who is telling the truth about a key phase in the Fukushima nuclear disaster: politicians or TEPCO. Multiple officials have accused TEPCO of trying to make the crisis appear “less serious” than it actually was, yet no one offers […]
NISA press release from April 2, mentioned that water with dose rate of more than 1000 mSv/hr (100 rem/hr) was confirmed by TEPCO at around 3:20 UTC on April 2 inside the cable storage pit located next to Unit 2 discharge point. There exists a crack of approximately 20 cm on the sidewall of the pit closest to […]
On Monday, a report by three Japanese utilities said that the Tomari nuclear plant in Hokkaido and the Tsuruga plant in Fukui Prefecture are at risk of earthquakes that exceed their designed quake-resistance parameters. A day later on Tuesday, Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) suggested the possibility of an old fault “fracture zone” […]
Japan had admitted it was unprepared for a disaster on the scale of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in a June 2011 report to the UN’s atomic agency, and vowed to implement new safety measures. This is not the first time that Japan has been forced to form new agencies to re-establish public trust and confidence, […]
Chubu Electric had been building an 18 ft seawall at it’s Hamaoka plant in response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Japan’s nuclear safety agency has instructed Chubu Electric Power Company to implement comprehensive measures to protect its Hamaoka nuclear power plant from tsunami as tall as 21 meters, after a government panel last Friday revised upward […]
The Fukushima disaster has brought about no major shifts in Japan’s energy policy, or the absolute safety of its nuclear program. In fact the Japanese government has repeatedly weakened its stance on nuclear safety. Recently the Japanese government has abandoned the April 1st schedule for setting up a new nuclear regulatory agency, after failing to […]
“I cannot believe this is how the restart of the Oi reactors is going to happen.” All of Japan’s nuclear power plants have been required to undergo two-phase stress tests following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster. The initial phase of the stress tests to examine the safety margin of important pieces of equipment were […]
In Japan, Shiga Prefecture has extended its preparedness zone around nuclear power plants beyond the 30-kilometer radius set by the central government. The national laws were never meant to be the final rule, but more of a guideline for regulators, utilities, and local governments to follow. Governor Yukiko Kada said the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident […]