National
NRA makes new reactor safety regimen official
The Nuclear Regulation Authority officially approves new safety requirements for reactors aimed at preventing disasters like the catastrophe at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
National Jun 19, 2013
Meltdowns haven't killed anyone: LDP bigwig
by Reiji Yoshida
Liberal Democratic Party policy chief Sanae Takaichi has created a stir by saying the 2011 Fukushima meltdowns didn’t kill anyone and arguing the government should restart reactors nationwide given Japan’s scarce energy resources. Delivering a speech in Kobe on Monday, Takaichi said the crisis ...
National Jun 12, 2013
Suit over patient deaths
A damages suit has been filed against Tokyo Electric Power Co. by 15 relatives of four patients who died in 2011 in the early days of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant meltdown catastrophe due to alleged improper medical care blamed on chaotic evacuations ...
National Jun 10, 2013
Removal of melted fuel from stricken Fukushima reactors may be advanced a bit
The government and Tepco say they may be able to start removing the melted fuel inside the crippled reactors at Fukushima No. 1 around 18 months earlier than initially planned, although this action would still be years away.
National Jun 8, 2013
Fishermen to Tepco: Scrap plan to release No. 1 plant water into Pacific
Fishermen in Fukushima Prefecture have voiced opposition to Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s plan to release groundwater from its crippled nuclear power plant into the Pacific. Some expressed concern Friday about the harmful rumors that might be triggered by such a discharge of water from ...
Crime & Legal Jun 7, 2013
Tepco admits culpability in Fukushima farmer's suicide
Tokyo Electric Power has conceded the Fukushima nuclear meltdown disaster played a part in a farmer’s 2011 suicide, lawyers said Thursday, its first admission of culpability in such a case. The utility has reached an out-of-court settlement with the family of Hisashi Tarukawa, a ...
National Jun 6, 2013
New tainted water storage tank at Fukushima No. 1 plant leaking
Tepco says it found radioactive water dripping out one of the newly installed steel above-ground tanks it was using at the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in place of the leaky covered storage reservoirs.
National Jun 6, 2013
NRA updates nuclear crisis responses, iodine provision
New rules on the distribution of stable iodine tablets in areas near troubled nuclear plants were among the revised guidelines on crises responses adopted Wednesday by the Nuclear Regulation Authority. The guidelines also include better planning for radiation monitoring in emergencies. “There has been ...
National Jun 5, 2013
Kan shares lessons of Fukushima in U.S.
Former Prime Minister Naoto Kan tells residents and activists near an ailing nuclear plant in California how the Fukushima crisis altered his views on atomic power.
National Jun 4, 2013
Tepco finds groundwater contaminated with radioactive cesium
Tokyo Electric Power Co. has detected radioactive cesium in groundwater samples taken from the premises of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear complex, reversing an earlier announcement that any contamination was negligible. The announcement came Monday as Tepco was trying to secure the consent ...
National Jun 4, 2013
Nuclear foes stage march on Diet
An anti-nuclear power rally Sunday near the Diet building drew 60,000 people, according to the three groups that organized the event, including one led by Nobel literature laureate Kenzaburo Oe. The Metropolitan Police Department, which provided security for the event, estimated the number of ...
National Jun 2, 2013
U.N. experts see no increased risk of cancer for residents near No. 1 plant
Vienna KYODO U.N. scientists assessing the health impact of the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on local residents said their estimates show the radiation doses are so low they do not expect to see any increase in cancer rates, based on data obtained ...
National May 31, 2013
Ground freeze urged to curb seepage into Fukushima No. 1 radioactive basements
by Kazuaki Nagata
To reduce the flow of groundwater into the crippled reactor buildings at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant, the government told Tepco on Thursday to freeze the soil around them. Walls of frozen soil can be created by inserting pipes into ...