Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
National Sep 25, 2013
Niigata puts Tepco's reactor inspection request on hold
Niigata Gov. Hirohiko Izumida said Wednesday that his decision on whether to let Tokyo Electric Power Co. request safety tests for two idled reactors in Niigata Prefecture won’t be made for some time. “I will keep this issue on hold,” Izumida told Tepco President ...
National Sep 25, 2013
Rusatom keeps nuclear aid offer to Tepco alive despite rejections
Russia’s state-run nuclear power firm Rusatom is leaving its offer to help Tokyo Electric Power Co. deal with the Fukushima No. 1 reactor meltdowns open despite the rejections it’s been getting so far, the head of a Rusatom unit said. Rusatom could use its ...
Voices | COMMUNITY CHEST Sep 23, 2013
Let the world help at Fukushima No. 1
Readers' mails on the Fukushima fiasco and the late, great Mary Sisk Noguchi, Kanji Clinic columnist and friend to Japanese learners around the world.
National Sep 21, 2013
LDP bigwig pushes Tepco split to speed up Fukushima No. 1 decommissioning
A senior Liberal Democratic Party official wants Tepco to be split up and a new company created to take charge of decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
National Sep 18, 2013
Tepco ditched water-containment solution in '11
Tepco put off a plan to create frozen soil shields around Fukushima No. 1 in 2011 after the exorbitant cost raised fears of a bad stock market reaction.
National Sep 17, 2013
1,130 tons of tainted rainwater dumped at nuke plant
Tepco says it dumped about 1,130 tons of tainted rainwater Monday into the Pacific after it accumulated at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant due to the passing typhoon.
Crime & Legal Sep 17, 2013
More Japanese nuclear refugees sue Tepco, government
A total of 171 people from Fukushima Prefecture who had to flee their homes because of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant sued Tokyo Electric Power Co. and the central government Tuesday for ¥1.62 billion in damages. The plaintiffs, from 60 ...
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Sep 16, 2013
Fukushima and the right to responsible government
by Colin P.A. Jones
A responsibility-shirking government is ultimately the people's problem — and responsibility — just as much as the nuclear disaster and all the nation's other problems are, argues Colin P.A. Jones.
Voices | VIEWS FROM THE STREET Sep 16, 2013
Osaka: What on Earth should be done about the deteriorating situation at Fukushima No. 1?
by Ray Franklin
As Tepco plays "whack-a-mole" with myriad problems at the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, readers offer their advice to the utility and Abe's government.
National Sep 16, 2013
Tepco discharges tainted rainwater from storage tank areas
Tainted rainwater was discharged into the ocean Monday to prevent the damaged Fukushima No. 1 power plant from being flooded by the passage of Typhoon Man-yi, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. The radioactivity of the rainwater, which had accumulated within circular barriers around makeshift ...
National Sep 13, 2013
Toxic drain water may have run into Pacific
Tepco finds a radioactive cocktail of substances in a drainage ditch leading directly to the Pacific Ocean nearby the Fukushima No. 1 plant.
National Sep 13, 2013
Tepco tech chief disputes Abe's 'under control' assertion
by Reiji Yoshida
A Tokyo Electric Power Co. executive created a stir Friday by stating that he doesn’t believe the radioactive water leaks at the Fukushima No. 1 plant are under control — contradicting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s bold assertions in Tokyo’s Olympics presentation in Buenos Aires. ...