Tag - fukushima

 
 

FUKUSHIMA

A combination of images released on April 15 illustrate the end jig passing through the isolation valve during the second fuel debris trial retrieval at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2025
Second debris removal trial at Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is completed
High radiation levels mean removing melted fuel and other debris from the plant is seen as the most daunting challenge in the decommissioning project.
The Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings' headquarters in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward in March. Tepco began a second experimental operation to remove nuclear fuel debris from a damaged reactor at its Fukushima No. 1 power plant on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 2025
Tepco begins second nuclear debris removal operation
Tepco aims to remove 3 grams of debris at maximum from the meltdown-stricken No. 2 reactor within about two weeks.
Ryuji Matsumoto pats one of the sheep at his farm in the town of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Apr 14, 2025
The man behind Fukushima town's 'Strawberry Sheep'
Ryuji Matsumoto, 54, incorporates dried strawberries into the feed for his sheep, which gives their meat a certain sweetness.
This 1-meter "wajima-nuri" lacquerware globe from Ishikawa Prefecture will be one of the specialty products to be displayed by Japan's local governments at the Osaka Expo.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2025
Local governments to showcase products at Osaka Expo
Eye-catching items include a 1-meter lacquerware globe from Ishikawa Prefecture that escaped damage after a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck.
Teruki Hara (left) and Kazuyasu Takahashi in the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Jan. 27
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025
14 years on: Teen from Tokyo begins fishing career in Fukushima
Teruki Hara remains initially discovered his love for fishing in the prefecture as a child.
Storage tanks of contaminated water at Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2025
Tepco completes treated water discharge in Fukushima for fiscal 2024
Tepco started the treated water discharge in August 2023, releasing about 85,800 tons so far.
Yoko Suetsugu at Haco, her gallery in New York
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Fukushima
Mar 17, 2025
Sculptor connects Fukushima to U.S. through New York gallery
Yoko Suetsugu is aiming to launch a program inviting U.S. artists to hot springs in the city of Fukushima for a creative retreat.
Blue pipelines to transport seawater, part of the facility operated by Tepco where treated radioactive water is released from the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant into the sea, are seen during a treated water dilution and discharge facility tour for foreign media in the town of Futaba, Fukushima Prefecture, in August 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2025
Tepco releases treated water from Fukushima plant for last time in fiscal 2024
The operator of the nuclear plant plans to discharge 7,800 tons of treated water containing tritium, a radioactive substance, into the Pacific during the current release.
Protesters demonstrating in front of the Supreme Court in Tokyo on Tuesday against court rulings acquitting two former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings over the 2011 nuclear disaster in Fukushima Prefecture.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 12, 2025
Acquittal of two former Tepco executives finalized
Lawyers acting as prosecutors did not file an appeal against the Supreme Court's decision last week that upheld the not-guilty verdicts against the executives.
Naohisa Hoshikawa, chief executive officer and founder of Ookuma Diamond Device, in Sapporo in February. Hoshikawa says the potential of diamond semiconductors goes beyond decommissioning work, likening them to the U.S. Apollo manned lunar landing program, which gave birth to technological innovations affecting everyday life.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 12, 2025
Diamond chips could be key to decommissioning of Fukushima nuclear plant
Made with artificial diamonds, such chips are regarded as the "ultimate semiconductors" — they can withstand high levels of radiation as well as high voltages and temperatures.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who said he would do everything he could to reduce active nuclear reactors to close to zero, changed his stance once he became prime minister.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 12, 2025
Government does about-face on nuclear policy 14 years after triple meltdown
The government cited the need to ensure stable electricity supplies and secure carbon-free energy sources.
Bookshelves storing disaster-related documents at the Sendai City Archives in Sendai in February
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2025
Local governments struggle to preserve records of March 2011 disaster
Fourteen years later, securing storage space has become a growing obstacle as the volume of records continues to increase.
People observe a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. on Tuesday in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, when the Great East Japan Earthquake hit 14 years ago. Behind them is a pine tree dubbed "the miracle tree" that survived the tsunami.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 11, 2025
Japan marks 14 years since 3/11 earthquake, with over 27,000 still displaced
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said he will pass down the lessons of the disaster to future generations.
A woman visits a grave in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on Tuesday on the 14th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. Populations in the hardest hit prefectures of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima are sharply falling.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Post-disaster Tohoku struggles with population decline
The number of people aged 20 to 39 in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima prefectures fell by about 20% to 30% between 2010 and 2024.
Junko Yagi, a professor at Iwate Medical University, speaks during an interview on Jan. 10 in the town of Yahaba, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Experts urge ongoing mental health care for families in 3/11 disaster areas
"Parents and children alike are carrying heavy emotional burdens," one expert said.
Fukushima Gov. Masao Uchibori says he wants the central government to clarify and accelerate the plan for disposing of soil from radiation decontamination work.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2025
Governor urges contaminated soil be disposed of outside Fukushima by 2045
A law states all contaminated soil must be disposed of outside Fukushima by March 2045.
Aizawa Concrete employees work in the Namie factory in Fukushima Prefecture in January.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Mar 11, 2025
14 years after 3/11 disasters, Fukushima vies to become a startup hub
Part of the goal is to attract a more permanent workforce to Fukushima to support the development of the prefecture as a whole.
Every year, there is heightened interest in commemorating the 3/11 disaster around the time of the anniversary. But memorial facilities and operators are increasingly struggling to keep their activities going all year round and as time passes.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2025
Preserving the memory of 3/11 is becoming more difficult
Despite a peak in interest around the 3/11 anniversary, disaster memorial facilities and operators are facing mounting challenges in keeping their activities going as time passes.
A town hall meeting with residents of Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, one of the municipalities evacuated in the aftermath of the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. More dialogue is needed to foster truly participatory energy democracy in Japan.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 10, 2025
Japan needs collective public support to reach its nuclear goals
Over a decade after 3/11, Japan has the chance to foster truly participatory energy democracy by engaging its civic environmental organizations in nuclear policymaking processes.

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Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.