Japan's PM Noda Declares a Cold Shutdown "State" and the End of Nuke Accident

Declaring a cold shutdown, even with "state", is a joke, but Noda went further and declared the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident to be over.

Why did he do that? Asahi Shinbun (12/16/2011) reports that:

「事故の収束」という、より強い表現に置き換えることで、風評被害など国内外に根強い原発事故への不安を払拭（ふっしょく）したいという狙いがある。政権は今後、放射性物質の除染を進めていく方針。避難区域の縮小も行い、住民の帰還へとつなげたい考えだ。

By using the word "the accident is over", the government wants to dispel fears of the nuclear plant accident that are still strong both inside and outside Japan, resulting in baseless rumors. The administration will proceed with decontamination and shrinking the evacuation zone to have the residents return.

Why does the Japanese government want the residents to return? Why, to save on compensation money of course. Or so the Wall Street Journal's Japanese reporters say, as they can say what Japanese reporters for the Japanese MSMs cannot say:

As many as 140,000 people were asked to either evacuate or remain indoors for an extended period of time during the peak period of the crisis. By cleaning up the contaminated areas, the government hopes to rebuild the local economy and rein in compensation payments.

And remember, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has declared there has been no leak of contaminated water from Fukushima I Nuke Plant, and will never be.

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