March 11, 2011 Tsunami Picture Taken in Iwate

A sublime piece of art, unintended though it may be.

Photograph from a book titled "Nihon Rekishi Saigai Jiten (encyclopedia of historical disasters in Japan)" compiled by Itoko Kitahara, Ritsuko Matsuura, Reo Kitamura, published by Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2012. The location is Maehama, Noda-mura, Iwate Prefecture.

北原糸子・松浦律子・木村玲欧編『日本歴史災害事典』（吉川弘文館、2012年）岩手県野田村前浜付近

(Click to enlarge)

The person who tweeted this photo says he can tell the book is the fruit of the long labor by the authors.

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(Humor) Jellyfish Protesting Against Ooi Nuclear Power Plant Restart

This is so cute it warrants a own post.

Jellyfish protesting against Ooi Nuclear Power Plant restart. "Saikado Hantai, Saikado Hantai..." Notice the nice fade effect on the words.

For a slightly more serious (not by much) response to the protesting jellyfish from the senior vice minister on site, see my previous post.

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Ooi Nuke Plant Restart: Senior Vice Minister Tells KEPCO "Lowly Jellyfish Should Never Stop a Modern Nuclear Power Plant!"

Little does he know about nuclear power plants.

As the readers of this blog have tirelessly pointed out, jellyfish and nuclear power plants go together very well. (For more info, here, and here, for a start.)

But never mind that. To Seishu Makino, Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, it's all about your fighting spirit. Against jellyfish.

From Jiji Tsushin (7/9/2012):

関西電力大飯原発３号機（福井県おおい町）がフル稼働に達したのを受け、安全監視の現地責任者の牧野聖修経済産業副大臣は９日未明、同町で記者団に「行き詰まっていたエネルギー政策が一歩前進した喜びはあるが、４号機の再稼働までミッション（任務）は続く。今まで以上に気を引き締め、安全のための職務を遂行したい」と語った。大飯４号機は１８日に原子炉を起動し、２１日にも発電と送電を再開する予定。

On the resumption of full operation of Reactor 3 at KEPCO Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (Ooi-cho, Fukui Prefecture), Senior Vice Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Seishu Makino, who is in charge of special surveillance on site to secure safety, spoke to the press in Ooi-cho in the early hours on July 9. "I am happy that it is a one step forward for the energy policy that has been deadlocked. But the mission [he actually said this word in English, instead of using the perfectly good Japanese word for it] continues until Reactor 4 restarts. We will gird ourselves more, and perform our duty to insure safety", he said. Reactor 4 at Ooi is scheduled to restart on July 18, with power generation and transmission to restart on July 21.

また、３号機の海水取水口周辺でクラゲが大量発生し、出力低下が懸念されたことには、「科学技術の粋を集めた原発で、クラゲごときに惑わされてはいけない」と関電に対策を指示したと述べた。

Commenting on the concern for the power decline because of jellyfish swarmed near the water intake for Reactor 3, he said he instructed KEPCO to come up with countermeasure, because "We must not be disturbed by [lowly creasures like] jellyfish, at a nuclear power plant built with the best of science and technology."

That this person can only talk in cliches is amazing, and in this case extremely funny (for Japanese speakers).

One of my Japanese Twitter followers just tweeted me that the jellyfish at Ooi Nuke Plant are recognized as "enemy" of some sorts by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Science. Enemy, like a alien monster in a Godzilla movie.

NISA's email to journalists on the Ooi jellyfish that swarmed the water intake apparently describes the incident as "jellyfish attack/invasion" (クラゲ来襲）. Any Japanese who sees this word 来襲 would associate it with those alien monsters from outer space to be repelled by Godzilla or Ultraman.

The follower who tweeted the NISA's characterization of the incident astutely observes that this senior vice minister sounds (and looks, too) like the fictional minister in charge of science and technology who appears in those Godzilla/Ultraman movies and makes a futile attempt after futile attempt to direct the Self Defense Force to repel the alien monster invasion, telling them "We can't be defeated by such a creature! We will commandeer the best of the best of our science and technology to repel and destroy it!"

Someone already created an image of jellyfish swarming and protesting "再稼動反対　Saikado Hantai" (against restart).

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The US and Allies to Give Away $16 Billion to the New "Major Ally" Afghanistan, Pledge Made in Conference in Tokyo

Following the declaration by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Afghanistan is now a "major, non-NATO ally" of the United States, an 80-nation conference to cough up money for the newly minted US ally was held in Tokyo, in which international donors including the ever-obliging Japanese government pledged the total of $16 billion through 2015.

And what will the donors get from the Afghanistan's government in exchange?

Get this: "commitments to crack down on corruption".

From The Hill (7/8/2012):

Clinton hails international pledges to donate $16B for Afghan development
By Meghashyam Mali - 07/08/12 08:06 AM ET

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton hailed international donors on Sunday for pledging to provide Afghanistan with $16 billion in aid thorough 2015 in exchange for commitments to crack down on corruption in that country.

Clinton announced the agreement after a conference on Afghan development hosted in Japan.

Clinton said the sum was “more than enough to meet the World Bank’s estimated requirements.” The bank had estimated that Afghanistan faced a $3.9 billion shortfall between previous pledges and the amount the country would need to sustain their economic development.

Clinton stressed that the pledges were tied to promises to begin tackling widespread corruption in the country, which had made international donors hesitant to contribute.

“We need a different kind of long-term economic partnership, one built on Afghan progress in meeting its goals, in fighting corruption, in carrying out reform, and providing good governance,” she said in a press conference.

Reports said Japan had initially sought $18 billion in commitments, but settled for a lower figure after continued doubts about Hamid Karzai’s ability to institute reforms.

... ...

The development aid pledged Sunday would be spent on healthcare and education and would be in addition to $4.1 billion in military aid pledged to Afghanistan.

On Saturday, Clinton also arrived in Kabul on an unannounced visit to announce the administration’s designation of Afghanistan as a “major non-NATO ally.” That announcement is part of a broader strategic partnership between Washington and Kabul.

In Tokyo, Clinton said the U.S. was committed to ensure that the transition to a democratic Afghanistan was “irreversible and that Afghanistan can never again be a safe haven for international terrorism.”

“Just as we met in Chicago three months ago to safeguard Afghanistan’s security future, today we have charted a way forward on Afghanistan’s economic requirements,” she said.

But Clinton cautioned that Afghanistan would eventually need to pull itself off dependence on international aid. “I believe that we have really made a good commitment to putting Afghanistan on a path to economic self-sufficiency,” she said. “As Afghan capacity and revenues increase, our contributions can decline.”

(Full article at the link)

They can, but they may not. I doubt that Afghan self-sufficiency is ever a goal for the US.

Becoming a "major non-NATO US ally" means more military and economic assistance from the US. Snippets from CNN News (7/7/2012):

... it makes Afghanistan eligible to receive military training and assistance, including expediting the sales and leasing of military equipment long after NATO troops leave.

"There are a number of benefits that accrue to countries that have this designation," she said. "They are able to have access to excess defense supplies, for example, and they can be part of certain kinds of training and capacity building."

(I'd be more than happy to crack down on corruption in my household. Can I get a million dollar or two?)

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Jellyfish Clog Up Water Intake for Reactor 3 at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant

(UPDATE: Somehow jellyfish was repelled, and the full operation started. To read about the response the senior vice minister in charge of securing safety of the plant to the jellyfish attack, go to my latest post.)

========================================

Even the jellyfish is anti-nuclear these days in Japan. A large number of jellyfish clogged up the water intake at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant, and KEPCO may be forced to delay the full operation of Reactor 3.

From Fukui Shinbun (7/8/2012):

大飯３号機クラゲ発生で出力低下 フル稼働ずれ込む可能性も

Reactor 3 at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant power decline due to jellyfish, full operation may get delayed

経済産業省原子力安全・保安院と関西電力は８日、大飯原発３号機（福井県おおい町、加圧水型軽水炉、１１８万キロワット）の取水口付近にクラゲが大量発生し、電気出力が若干低下したと発表した。９日午前１時ごろを予定していた定格熱出力一定運転によるフル稼働がずれ込む可能性がある。

Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and KEPCO announced on July 8 that due to a large outbreak of jellyfish at the water intake for Reactor 3 at Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (in Ooi-cho, Fukui Prefecture, 1.18 million kilowatt pressurized water reactor) the electrical output decreased slightly. The full operation is scheduled at about 1AM on July 9, but that may be delayed.

関電によると、取水口にクラゲが押し寄せたため、タービンを回した後の蒸気を冷やす海水の取水量を８日午後２時５５分から絞り込み、発電の効率が下がった。７日午後１１時２０分には電気出力が１００％の１１８万キロワットに到達していたが、現在は約２％低い１１６万キロワットで運転している。

According to KEPCO, jellyfish swarmed the water intake, and the company reduced the amount of seawater intake for the heat exchanger for the steam that turns the turbine at 2:55PM on July 8, which lowered the power generation efficiency. The electrical output had reached 100% at 11:20PM on July 7, but it is currently about 2% lower.

関電は８日午後９時ごろまでにクラゲが引かなければフル稼働を遅らせる考えで、９日午前７時ごろになる可能性もあるという。

KEPCO will delay the full operation if jellyfish don't go away by 9PM on July 8. The full operation may not start until 7AM on July 9.

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July 8 EdaNO! Protest Against Nuke Plant Restart & Yukio Edano in Omiya City, Saitama (Mr. Edano's Constituency)

I just missed the USTREAM live netcast, but there were several hundred people gathered in Omiya City in Saitama Prefecture to protest against the Ooi Nuclear Power Plant restart and against Mr. Yukio Edano, whose constituency is Omiya City.

Mr. Edano was Chief Cabinet Secretary in March last year under Prime Minister Kan, and he was the voice and the face of the government and administration dealing with the nuclear accident and radiation contamination (of which he was instrumental in de-emphasizing and diminishing the severity). His refrain of "There is no immediate effect" at his press conferences in those days will be forever remembered by the Japanese people. He is the current Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry.

According to the tweets of people who were watching the USTREAM (IWJ's channel), they even stopped in front of the huge mansion of Edano and protested. Residents of Omiya City were seen receiving the anti-nuke and anti-Edano flyers from the protesters. Way to go, people.

I'm watching the video recorded live. Ordinary people, quietly walking the main street of Omiya City. As they walk and are warmed up, they start to shout very funny slogans. They also have an excellent collection of hand-made signs and banners.

Screenshot of the USTREAM video (recorded live, still available for a little while), organizers of the event and their handmade sign featuring Mr. EdaNO:

Look at the caricature of Mr. Edano in the screenshot below. The words say "Let's immediately un-elect EdaNO! Goodbye Nuclear [Goodbye] EdaNO! Protest Executive Committee". Take a close look at a yellow balloon that's coming out of Mr. EdaNO's behind. It is a "vent":

People are yelling "Usotsuki EdaNO!" (Liar Edano, with emphasis on NO), "Sayonara EdaNO!", "Don't take us for fools!" "Don't lie to us!", "NO, NO, Eh-Dah-NO!, NO, NO, Eh-Dah-NO!" Then, "Edano wa Jiko Bengoshi." "Jiko bengo" is to defend oneself, make excuse for oneself. "Bengoshi" is an attorney. Edano is an attorney.

This man's sign on his back says "He that will lie will become EdaNO!":

Ah...this is fun.

I think this is Mr. Edano's house. It looks like a fortress (just like TEPCO's former chairman Katsumata's house in central Tokyo):

People are shouting, "EdaNO, Yamero! (Resign!), EdaNO, Yamero!" It rhymes. Sort of. They shouted "Resign!" in front of Mr. Edano's district office in the city center.

Well, Mr. EdaNO is extremely unlikely to resign, so he has to be un-elected, come the Lower House election.

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PM Noda Will "Nationalize" Senkaku Island, No Matter What China or Taiwan Says

After planning to lower the retirement age for the Japanese to 40 to compete with developing countries on wages, now he says he will nationalize the islands disputed by Japan, China, and Taiwan.

Why? He thinks that will win him the next election. Absolutely tone-deaf, harebrained move by the prime minister who seems to be rather popular in the US and UK (particularly among the financial media) for his resolute moves to combat fiscal deficit by raising taxes and cutting social welfare for the hapless citizens.

The move may give more headaches for the Chinese Communist Party who has been battling the unrest cropping up in the country, and cause the Chinese government to appease the angry public by instituting some anti-Japanese measures.

As the Nikkei article below indicates, Noda's move is to prop up support for him and his party in the next Lower House election. By appearing tough, he thinks he can get the right-wing votes, I suppose.

From Nikkei Shinbun (7/8/2012; part):

尖閣国有化、慎重論押し切った首相　弱腰批判を回避

In nationalization of Senkaku Islands, Prime Minister overcame the faction that preached prudence, to avoid criticism of being weak

政府が尖閣諸島の国有化に向けて動き始めた。尖閣購入に先に乗り出した東京都の石原慎太郎知事に触発され、野田佳彦首相が政府内の慎重論を押し切った。次期衆院選に向けて「弱腰」批判をかわし、領土保全で毅然とした姿勢を印象付ける狙いがある。中国の反発は覚悟のうえで、日中関係悪化という火種を抱える決断となった。

The national government is moving toward nationalizing Senkaku Islands. Inspired by Governor of Tokyo Shintaro Ishihara, who has already to purchase the islands, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda overcame the faction inside his government who are more cautious. The purpose is to deflect the criticism of "being weak-kneed" and to create an image of a resolute leader protecting the national border, in preparation for the next Lower House election. The prime minister [and his supporters, if any?] is prepared for the opposition from China. This decision may worsen the relationship between Japan and China.

...

　玄葉光一郎外相は７日、外務省内で記者団に、中国と台湾が事実関係の説明を求めてきたことを明らかにした。７日は日中戦争の発端となった盧溝橋事件から75周年にあたり、中国外交筋は「最悪のタイミングだ」と語る。

Minister of Foreign Affairs Koichiro Genba told the press corp at the Ministry on July 7 that China and Taiwan had contacted his ministry to explain the situation. July 7 marked the 75th anniversary of Marco Polo Bridge Incident [in 1937) that triggered the [Second] Sino-Japanese War. Chinese diplomatic sources say "It's the worst possible timing."

Shintaro Ishihara says his purchase plan with donation money is still in place. As of July 5, 2012, he has collected 1.325 billion yen (US$16.6 million) from nearly 90,000 entities.

Japan claimed these uninhabited islands as its own in 1885, having determined by several surveys that the islands did not belong to any country. During the occupation period after the World War II, the islands were administered by the United States as part of Okinawa. China and Taiwan started to claim Senkaku Islands as their territories after a survey done by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in 1969 indicated a potential of huge oil and natural gas reserves under the sea. (From Japanese Wikipedia)

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#Radioactive, Idiosyncratic Japan: Fukushima People Protest Against Nuke Plant, Miyagi Fish with 3,300 Bq/kg Cesium, PM Noda Wants To Lower Retirement Age to 40

Last post of the day (or night, whatever), a collection of small news pieces that I saw in the past hour or so:

Independent journalist Ryusaku Tanaka tweets he's at Fukushima Prefectural Government Building in Fukushima City. People gathered there are shouting "We don't need nuke plants!" Prime Minister Noda is visiting the governor of Fukushima at his office there today.

Meanwhile, the general manager of the antenna shop in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo that sells agricultural produce from Fukushima says he will drive the sales as hard as he can, paying close attention to quality, according to Jiji Tsushin. Uh huh. The Jiji article did say he asked the wholesalers to conduct the test for radioactive materials last year. No word about this year. And we know how the wholesalers' testing goes.

Miyagi prefectural government announced on July 6, 2012 that 3,300 becquerels/kg of radioactive cesium was detected from black seabream caught off the coast of Higashi Matsushima City in Miyagi. That is extremely high, even compared to last year. Miyagi's governor continues to ship disaster debris outside the prefecture even when his own Assembly says the debris should stay inside Miyagi, and he continues to support fishermen without spending much or doing much on testing the catch for radiation.

Nikkei Shinbun says the government committee on national strategy (chaired by Prime Minister Noda) has compiled the report on the government's long-term strategy called "Frontier Plan". What's in the "Frontier"? Japan is indeed going where no one has gone before. Noda and his people want to make the retirement age at 40, with the retirement money of 1 to 2 years worth of salary. Why? To make employment more mobile, to compete with developing nations. They want to eliminate the distinction between contract workers and full-time employees - i.e. cutting the benefits for full-time employees. In their mind, this somehow will translate into (hold your breath).... birthrate increase.

How will an extremely insecure employment with the developing country-level wage lead to the increased birthrate? It won't, except in Noda and his experts' minds it will.

Oh, and the baby Panda is male, says NHK.

I can't take it any more for the day. Signing off...

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Independent Journalist Ryuichi Kino Banned from TEPCO Press Conference, Kino Accuses TEPCO of Censorship

after he transmitted TEPCO's shareholders meeting via audio using his smartphone on June 27, 2012. At that meeting, the company officially became the ward of the state (well, "effectively"), and the state that "effectively" took over is in turn barely sustained by the taxpayers in Japan, now and the future.

Ryuichi Kino has been attending the TEPCO press conferences since March 17, 2011, asking questions which often didn't even occur to the reporters at established media outlets and TEPCO managers alike. He wrote a book with Kazuo Hizumi, who also attended the TEPCO press conferences from the beginning despite his terminal gallbladder cancer which finally took him in June this year, detailing their efforts to wrestle information out of TEPCO on the Fukushima accident.

To summarize Kino's blog entry on July 4, 2012:

• Kino has been barred from attending TEPCO's press conferences since June 27, 2012. The emergency emails to Kino from TEPCO for the journalists who cover the Fukushima accident have also stopped.

• The reason is that Kino was transmitting the audio of the shareholders' meeting on June 27. TEPCO had explained that the recording of audio and video at the shareholders' meeting would be prohibited, and that anyone who violated that rule would not be allowed to attend the press conference any more. So accordingly TEPCO banned Kino after finding out about his transmitting the audio of the shareholders' meeting.

• Kino had asked TEPCO before about netcasting the shareholders' meeting. On June 26, TEPCO's Matsumoto said in the regular press conference that the company had no intention of making the shareholders' meeting public because it was the place to discuss [issues] with TEPCO's shareholders. Chairman Katsumata declined to vote on the motion [last year?] to allow NHK and Nico Nico to do a live broadcast/netcast, saying he didn't think it was necessary. Kino takes these to mean that this so-called "rule" is not a legally-binding prohibition, but it simply says TEPCO doesn't think it's necessary to make the shareholders' meeting public.

• Kino thinks TEPCO is exercising media censorship.

It seems Kino was fully aware of this TEPCO's private rule and deliberately disobeyed the rule. Why?

Kino asks, "Does it make sense?"

Kino continues in his blog (I am paraphrasing to take his meaning):

Does it make sense for TEPCO to have the shareholders' meeting closed to the public, when close to 1 trillion yen worth of taxpayers' money, aka public fund, has already been given to the company, and in July another 1 trillion yen will be poured by the government to effectively take over the company by controlling the majority?

Any information related to TEPCO now affects the entire nation. Shouldn't such information be made readily available to the public? As part of that information, I believe the shareholders' meeting, which will significantly affect the operation of the company, should be broadcast live, just like the regular press conferences.

I cannot agree more. Besides, many ordinary people may be indirect owner (=shareholders) of TEPCO through mutual funds, through the holdings by the municipal governments (like Tokyo Metropolitan government who is one of the largest shareholders of TEPCO). Yet many more may be stakeholders through the bonds and bond funds that they own, as TEPCO's corporate bonds had been considered one of the best, safest investments until March 11, 2011.

Kino sounds a bit crest-fallen. To add insult to injury, it has turned out:

• Reporters from the mainstream media either secretly video-recorded the meeting proceedings or obtained the secretly recorded footage and broadcasted on the TV news, but TEPCO says the company either doesn't know about it or cannot identify the individuals, and therefore no action will be taken. (OurPlanetTV report)

• TEPCO's PR manager under Matsumoto had the temerity to thank Kino for having attended the press conferences for such a long time, after TEPCO told Kino that he wasn't allowed at the press conference any more.

I have been following Kino's reporting via Twitter, IWJ live feed, and personal communication. I have written on this blog what he reports from TEPCO's press conferences. Without people like Kino, we would have probably been still in the dark regarding the Fukushima accident. Please, if you will, support Kino by:

• Tweeting your support to @kinoryuichi;

• Visiting his blog (Japanese) at http://kinoryu.cocolog-nifty.com/ and write a comment of support; and most importantly

• Calling/emailing TEPCO to tell the company it must allow Kino back at the press conference: http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/other/contact/contop-e.html

• Spreading this post.

Perhaps a sign of the slowly changing times, Asahi Shinbun has an article about this incident. Tokyo Shinbun's article says it is unconscionable what TEPCO has done to Kino, and even if Kino broke TEPCO's rule, the shareholders' meeting of a company that is being effectively nationalized should be made public, as well as any information concerning the company.

Some comments at Kino's blog post are nastier than the mainstream media reports. Agents hard at work, some say in the same comment section.

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#Fukushima I Nuke Plant Reactor 1: Collaborating Robots Found 5 Sieverts/Hr Spot on 1st Floor

On the 4th of July, in a US-Japan joint operation at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, Packbot 1 opened the door to the TIP room for Quince 2 using the key (how sophisticated, instead of simply knocking down the door like a SWAT team), and Packbot 2 measured radiation levels in the Reactor 1 building first floor, in the high-radiation south side in preparation for the future endoscopic probe into the Containment Vessel. (Who needs Gundam?)

The spot that measured 4.7 sieverts/hour last year measured even higher this time (No.21 in the table below): 5,150 millisieverts/hour, or 5.15 sieverts/hour. There are several other locations with radiation levels easily exceeding 1 sievert/hour at 150 centimeters off the floor.

In general, the radiation levels at 150 centimeters off the floor were SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER than those at 15 centimeters. No place for carbon-based workers.

From TEPCO's Photos and Video Library, 7/5/2012 (click to enlarge):

There's also a video, clearly edited, and very bad. I'm downloading it just for the record, and will post it here later.

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IAEA, NRC Document Dump by "Anonymous"?

(From http://par-anoia.net/innodata/)

Innodata Isogen Databreach
Fukushima Daiichi
Vietnam Nuclear Power Development

Information is free. Expect it. ~ Anonymous

Background 

On July 5th 2012, Anonymous published 1.2 Gigabyte of internal data from IT-service company Innodata Isogen. In total there is 40 Gigabyte to be released, including communication between top management of business data provider Thomson-Reuters which has yet to be disclosed.

The initial batch of leaked material mostly contains documents from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in particular regarding the development of a nuclear infrastructure in Vietnam. These files include English and Vietnamese documents, scans of diplomatic passports and complete information about key personell like the Vietnamese Vice Minister of Science and Technology and Director General of the Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety.

At this moment we decided against mirroring the entire dump to avoid overwhelming information. Instead we start by presenting selected material that we consider interesting, most notably documents from IAEA and The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commision (NRC) about the 2011 nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. This material is not necessarily classified but nonetheless interesting. We plan to publish all relevant material from the Innodata dump related to Fukushima Daiichi as collected information since it is unknown whether all of this information has already been disclosed to the public or will remain publically accessible. Check back on this site for new documents, the latest entry will be on top.

Fukushima Daiichi

• Chairman Takashi Imai, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc.: As March 11 Nears
• IAEA Draft: Environmental Issues in New Nuclear Power Programmes.
• IEAA Draft: Ministerial Conference on Nuclear Safety
• NSC: Organization of Nuclear Safety Commission
• NRC: Lessons Learned from Japan's March 11 2011 Earthquake and Tsunami (SECY-11-0137)
• NRC: Staff Assessment and Prioritization in SECY-11-0137
• NRC: ACRS Recommendations
• NRC: Order modifying Licenses for external vents
• NRC: Order modifying Licenses for hardened containment vents
• RC: Order modifying Licenses for Fuel Pool Instrumentation
• NRC: Six-Month Status Update on other charter activities
• NRC: Request for Information about Fukushima Daiichi incident
• IAEA: Handbook on Nuclear war law: Implementing Legislation

Vietnam

• IAEA: Developing Nuclear Power Structure in Vietnam (Project VIE4015)
• IAEA: National Training Workshop (Project VIE4015)
• Scan of a Vietnamese Diplomatic Passport (for the Lulz)
• Hello, Deputy Director of the Vietnamese Nuclear Power Department
• Hello, Vice Minister of the Vietnamese Ministry for Science and Technology

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July 6 Protest in Tokyo: Organizers Say 150,000 Despite the Rain, 21,000 Says Police, Even Yomiuri Reports

The police this time says 21,000 people, up 4,000 from their last week's estimate of 17,000. Organizers say 150,000, about the same level as last week. Participants (or would-have-been participants) say many more were stopped at the subway station (Kokkaigijidomae) exit and couldn't get out.

(It looks like it was one particular exit, and others were open. They could have also ridden one more station and exit from there instead.)

And even more surprising, Yomiuri Online did cover the event (I think it is the first, online), and even quoted the police number. It even has a photograph! Tide is turning! This historical coverage must be preserved... (OK, sarcasm off.)

From Yomiuri Shinbun (7/7/2012):

首相官邸前で反原発デモ、大飯再稼働に抗議

Anti-nuke plant protest in front of PM Official Residence, protesting against the restart of Ooi

５日に発電を再開した関西電力大飯原子力発電所（福井県）の運転停止を求める市民グループらが６日、東京都千代田区永田町の首相官邸前で抗議活動を行った。

Citizens' groups demanding the halt of operation at KEPCO Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (in Fukui Prefecture) which restarted power generation on July 5 conducted the protest action in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Nagata-cho, Chiyodaku in Tokyo.

警視庁によると、参加者は約２万１０００人にのぼり、官邸前には約８００メートルの列ができた。ツイッターやフェイスブックなどを通じた呼びかけで集まった若者らが「国民の声を聞け」などと書かれたプラカードを掲げ、「再稼働反対」と連呼した。

According to the Metropolitan Police, the number of participants rose to about 21,000, and there was a 800 meter-long line in front of the Official Residence. People including young people who gathered there via Twitter and Facebook messages shouted "Saikado Hantai (we're against the restart)", waving signs like "Listen to us citizens".

一部の参加者が抗議活動が終了する予定だった午後８時を過ぎて官邸に向かって行進を始めたため、制止しようとする主催者側や警察官と向かい合って一時騒然となる場面もあった。

A small group of participants started to march toward the PM Official Residence after 8PM, the time that the protest action was scheduled to end, and there was a minor scuffle between the group and the organizers and the police, who together tried to restrain the group.

小学２年生の長男（８）と次男（３）を連れてきた東京都大田区の主婦（３５）は「子どもたちの安全を守るために、きちんと原発反対の意思表示をしなければならないと思った」と話していた。

A housewife (aged 35) from Ota-ku, Tokyo who came with her two sons (aged 8 and 3) said, "[I came because] I thought I had to clearly express my view against nuclear power plants, in order to protect children."

That small group who pushed to the front after the protest hours was one of the long-time established left groups, according to the participants who witnessed the scuffle. The group, who tried to make a scene, according to the witness account, was restrained by both the organizers and the police.

If you recall, this is the newspaper who allegedly said they wouldn't cover the protest because it was against the paper's policy and stance.

So now what?

What's interesting is that more and more senior politicians are showing up at the protest. Shizuka Kamei was one example. He is the ousted former head of the ruling coalition party People's New Party, or Kokumin Shinto. Though he was ousted in the party "coup" in March this year, he seems to carry weight as an "insider". Many people know him as a former police and security official with ties to nuclear industry, making his appearance puzzling or troubling for some.

It turns out that Kamei's elder sister died of leukemia, after suffering from the radiation exposure she received in Hiroshima City when the atomic bomb detonated. Kamei said in this interview that his sister, who was in high school at that time, repeatedly went back to the city center with her classmates to help people suffering the effect of the bomb.

To be anti-nuclear or anti-restart of nuke plants may be getting to be perceived by some politicians as a vote getter. Good sign, I think.

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July 6 Protest at KEPCO HQ in Osaka City: 2,700 People Despite the Rain

Protests against the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant have been happening outside Tokyo, too.

The largest outside Tokyo is the protest in front of Kansai Electric (KEPCO) Headquarters in Osaka City. The number of people participating in the protest is steadily growing there. This week's 2,700 is up 500 from last week's 2,200, which was up 700 from the previous week.

Here are some photos on the scene from people who were there:

From Soul Flower Union:

From the blog/twitter reader Rick Streeby who participated in the protest (more photos at the link):

(KEPCO employees accepting leaflets as they leave work)

In Tokyo, the number of people who came to protest despite the rain was 150,000 according to the organizers (not bad at all), and 21,000 according to the police (they upped the number from last week's 17,000). Apparently many more were barred by the police from going out from the Kokkaigijidomae subway station exit.

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July 6 Protest at PM Official Residence in Tokyo

It's cloudy, may be raining a little. I have no idea how many people are showing up, but the police and the mainstream media seem more ready than last week.

Some photographs being tweeted by the participants. The protest has just started officially. People are shouting "saikado hantai!".

Yasuo Tanaka, head of the New Party Nippon (or Shinto Nippon), giving out white balloons (from @singo_mpc). I didn't even know he became a politician until last year after the Fukushima accident. All I knew of him was that he was a successful and popular novelist.

Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party of Japan, is also at the protest. Kazuo Shii, head of the Japanese Communist Party, is at her side. No sign of any politicians from DPJ, LDP, or Komei Party.

Cameramen on top of the nearby building (from @noiehoie):

Here's the site that shows 4 IWJ USTREAM channels that cover the protest.

Here's a camera from the top of the Ministry of Finance building:

Live streaming by Ustream

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Friday Protest at PM Official Residence in Tokyo Is On Again This Week at 6PM, Amid Fear of Provocation from Authorities and Other Interest Groups

(UPDATE 2) Some photos and more video links in my latest post.

(UPDATE) Shizuka Kamei, former head of the party (People's New Party, or Kokumin Shinto) that forms the ruling coalition with the DPJ, is going to join today's protest action in Tokyo at 6PM.

Kamei is a former senior police officer.

Last week, there were several heads of the small parties joining the citizens.

Yasuo Tanaka, head of the New Party Nippon (or Shinto Nippon), is also coming today. (He was there last week also.)

People are already gathering, and the police seems more ready than last week.

IWJ Channel 5: http://ustre.am/usAQ

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Following the last week's huge crowd (17,000 said the Police, 150,000 said the organizers, 200,000 said some newspapers), I'm not sure about the turnout, as there are clearly some disagreements now among major "people of influence" - organizers, anti-nuclear activists, journalists - as I mentioned in my previous post.

Mr. Kouta Kinoshita, for one, is advising his followers not to go, after one of the key members of the organizers tweeted he would want the "Kinoshita-esque" element (and "Hayakawa-esque" element) removed from the protest. I don't know what this person meant, but he continues to call to people whose ideas are different from his to support the protest nonetheless. Kinoshita may have understandably over-reacted. (It is not pleasant to be singled out to be "excluded" when you have been tirelessly persuading people on the danger of radiation exposure since the nuclear accident, as Kinoshita has been.)

I see more tweets this week worrying about some type of "agent provocateur" incident happening this time.

But the protest is on, both in Tokyo and Osaka (in front of KEPCO headquarters), just like every Friday evening since March this year. Yasumi Iwakami's IWJ will be hiring a helicopter again, and dedicating all of their USTREAM channels to report on the protest.

From people at ".@TwitNoNukes":

Date: Friday, July 6, 2012
Time: from 6PM
Places:

Prime Minister's Official Residence [東京都千代田区永田町２丁目３−１　2-3-1 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, google map]

Kansai Electric Power Company headquarters [大阪市北区中之島3丁目6番16号　3-6-16 Nakanoshima, Kita-ku, Osaka City, google map]

Please refrain from carrying political signs not related to "anti-nuclear".
Please follow the general guidance from the organizers.

The organizers warn that the nearest subway station, "Kokkai Gijido Mae" on Marunouchi Line and Chiyoda Line may be extremely crowded.

People who show up at KEPCO's headquarters in Osaka City have been steadily increasing in number. Last week, the organizers there said 2,200 people showed up, up 700 from the week before.

One of the people I follow on Twitter is a nuclear researcher in Shikoku, Japan. He made an interesting observation regarding the number of people at the protests, particularly in Tokyo in front of the PM Official Residence.

He said (I'm paraphrasing him), "It doesn't really matter exactly how many showed up. If they managed to convince the media that it was 45,000, or 150,000, or 200,000, that all it matters. These numbers will be reported, and these numbers will stay in people's memory. That's the whole point of "demonstration" - to pressure the authority into believing the opposition is much bigger than actually is, and people have succeeded."

If you're going, be careful, and please report in the comment section.

Independent journalist Ryusaku Takana does warn that the "tired old left" dreaming of riding the storm again like in 1960s are trying hard to usurp the movement and claim as their own, and he tells the protest participants not to be easily persuaded by their tactics.

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#Radioactive Japan: Canada-Japan Women's Soccer Friendly Match to be Held in Fukushima City

Now, young women from Canada under the age of 20 are joining the US high school students and college students doing the cleanup volunteer work in Tohoku including Fukushima and the US decontamination businesses in dispelling the "baseless rumors" and making an appeal to the world that "Fukushima is safe" (as US Ambassador to Japan John Roos said).

NHK Kabun (culture and science division of NHK) tweets:

サッカー女子の２０歳以下のワールドカップが、来月、日本で開催されるのを前に、復興を支援しようと日本とカナダとの親善試合が福島市で開かれることになりました。

Women's World Cup Soccer [or football for European readers] under the age of 20 will be held in Japan next month. To support the recovery, a friendly match is planned between the Japanese team and the Canadian team in Fukushima City.

For reference, here's the radiation levels at parks in Fukushima City as of 7:40AM on July 5, 2012 (from this tweet) "New normal" for Fukushima City's parks nearly 16 months after the nuclear accident seems 1 microsievert/hour air radiation or higher:

The venue for the match must be the Shinobugaoka Athletic Field in central Fukushima City. The radiation level at Shinobuyama Park, about 500 meters west of the athletic field, is shown in the photo above as "1.517 microsievert/hour". The radiation level at the athletic field should be lower, because there are no trees shedding leaves on the athletic field and the city must have done some "decontamination" in November last year (I hope) when the women's Ekiden road race, also under the age of 20 event, was held in the city.

(Hmmm. As of November last year, the entrance to the athletic field was measured at 1.23 microsievert/hour... See my post here.)

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National Diet Independent Investigation Commission's Report on Fukushima Accident Is Out

The English version has the summary and appendices, with the main report to be coming soon. It is available at this page: http://naiic.go.jp/en/report/

(The Japanese version with the main report is here: http://naiic.go.jp/report/)

I haven't been able to view any of the files since yesterday. Every time I try to download the PDF files from the site, my PC freezes up and Adobe Flash crashes.

Main points (from various media reports):

• The Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant accident was a "man-made disaster".

• TEPCO and the government was continuously kicking the can down the road, delaying the implementation of costly countermeasures against earthquake and tsunami.

• It cannot be denied that the earthquake may have caused the damage to the plant.

• The Prime Minister's Office's interference in the early days of the accident exacerbated the confusion.

• There was little basis for the no-entry zone that the government set.

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Anti-Nuclear Movement Radicalizing? A Man Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Stab Self in Protest in Tokyo

There were rumors of agitators at the June 29 protest at the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Tokyo where a great number of people (between 17,000 and 200,000, depending on who you ask) gathered to protest the restart of Ooi Nuclear Power Plant. There were also rumors of certain people behind the protest (certain large PR agency in Japan, for example).

Recently, there have been people who strongly advocate violence as a way to attract more attention to their anti-nuclear (or anti-Noda administration) causes. There are also people on Twitter who seek to remove certain "elements" from the protest (one of their target seems to be Mr. Kouta Kinoshita and his followers, for some reason). There are rumors that some of the organizers of the Tokyo protest are in favor of accepting and burning the disaster debris that are contaminated with radioactive materials.

Now, what may be a sign of radicalization is happening. Yomiuri Shinbun reports that a man was arrested on July 1 for trying to stab himself in protest against the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant.

From Yomiuri Shinbun (7/5/2012):

抗議のため自分刺そうと…反原発デモ中にナイフ

Knife-wielding man during the ant-nuclear protest, to stab himself in protest

東京都千代田区の官邸前で行われた関西電力大飯原子力発電所（福井県）の再稼働に反対する抗議活動中に、ナイフを不法所持したとして、警視庁が今月１日、デモに参加した男を銃刀法違反（所持）容疑で現行犯逮捕していたことが、捜査関係者への取材でわかった。男は黙秘している。

It has been revealed by talking to persons whose duties involve investigation that the Metropolitan Police arrested a man on July 1 on suspicion of violation of the Swords and Firearms Control Law (illegal possession of a knife) on the scene of the protest against the restart of KEPCO Ooi Nuclear Power Plant in front of the Prime Minister's Official Residence in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. The man is exercising the right to remain silent.

捜査関係者によると、男は今月１日夕、官邸前でバッグから果物ナイフを取り出したところを機動隊員に取り押さえられた。男はこの時、「抗議のために自分を刺そうと思った」と説明していたという。

According to our source, the man took out a fruit knife from the bag in front of the PM Official Residence in the evening of July 1. The riot police subdued him. The man allegedly said at that time, "I was going to stab myself in protest."

If such a thing actually happens, I think it will instantly turn off the majority of people protesting. This man could be a plant to split up the opposition to the restart of Ooi Nuke Plant, to nuclear power in general and to the Noda administration. He could well be genuinely frustrated enough to do what he said he wanted to do.

Protests being split up is not necessarily a bad thing, tweets this seasoned veteran on protests:

やがて一部の元気すぎる若者たちが先鋭化し、直接的な行動に出ることは避けられません。東電や民主党の幹部が襲われる事態が必ず来るでしょう。彼らを過激派として排除する人も出て運動は四分五裂するのです。しかし、それでよい。運動は分裂して、たくさんの意思と多くの様式で進むべきなのです

It is inevitable that some young people with too much energy get radicalized soon and resort to direct action. There will be cases where the senior members of TEPCO and Democratic Party of Japan are attacked. There will be people who will call these young people radicals and exclude them from the movement, which will then split into pieces. But that is OK. The movement should split up, and proceed with many, different intentions [or purposes] and in various formats.

We'll see. I am still hoping that Japan, having always been very good at adopting foreign ideas and products and improving on them, can somehow improve the way the "revolution" progresses, if it is a revolution they want.

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Monju Fast Breeder Ready to Restart in Fukui Prefecture in Mid July

(The horror, the horror...)

The troubled fast breeder that has cost a fortune just to maintain (sort of) over the past 30 years is now ready to restart, after the IVTM (In-Vessel Transfer Machine) that had fallen into the reactor in August of 2010 was finally removed in June last year after two failed attempts.

Just like Ooi Nuclear Power Plant (and couple of other plants in the same area), Monju is accessible by land by only one road, which ends at Monju. There are faults running under the plant, as the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency says it will review the faults in and around all the nuclear power plants in Japan.

NISA is on the way out, as the regulation of the nuclear industry will fall on the yet-to-be-created regulatory agency and adjunct commissions of experts and politicians.

Remember also that this reactor uses liquid sodium as coolant, which ignites on contact with air.

From Asahi Shinbun Fukui local version on June 22, 2012:

もんじゅ、来月復旧へ

Monju to be restored next month [July]

相次ぐトラブルで運転停止中の高速増殖原型炉「もんじゅ」（敦賀市）が、７月中旬にも完全復旧する見通しになった。日本原子力研究開発機構は２１日、復旧作業を報道陣に公開。原子炉内への落下事故を起こして新品に交換した装置が正常に動くことを示した。

Fast breeder "Monju" (in Tsuruga City, Fukui Prefecture), whose operation has been suspended due to numerous problems, is expected to be fully restored in mid July. Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) showed the restoration work to the press on June 21, demonstrating the equipment, newly installed after the accident [of the IVTM dropped inside the reactor], operated normally.

　もんじゅでは２０１０年８月、核燃料の交換に使う「炉内中継装置（ＩＶＴＭ）」が原子炉内に落ち、試験運転を中止。今年３月末までに運転再開予定だったが、復旧が遅れていた。

At Monju, the In-Vessel Transfer Machine that is used to replace nuclear fuel fell inside the reactor in August 2010, and the test operation was halted. The plan was to restart the operation by the end of March this year, but the restoration work has taken longer.

　この日は、同機構とプラントメーカーの作業員らが見守る中、原子力安全基盤機構の職員２人が、５月２８日からの作業で新品に換えたＩＶＴＭの動作確認をした。ほかに、制御棒に取り付けた電磁ブレーキの動作確認作業も進めており、７月中旬にも試験運転を再開できる状態になるという。

On June 21, as the workers at JAEA and the plant manufacturers looked on, two personnel from the Japan Nuclear Energy Safety Organization (JNES) confirmed the newly replaced IVTM worked. They will confirm the operation of the electro-magnetic brakes attached to the control rods, and the test operation is set to resume in mid July.

Monju's operation has been nothing but "test operation" for nearly 20 years (the reactor achieved criticality in April of 1994), and for the most part it has been idle because of seemingly endless problems. The biggest of all was the leak of liquid sodium coolant that resulted in fire at the plant in December of 1995, but what was at issue was not so much of the fire incident itself. The Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation, who was running the plant at that time, downplayed the accident and hid the information of the accident.

More than anything else, the loss of credibility was what stopped Monju operation until March 2010, when the NISA deemed the reactor was "appropriately safe". The governor of Fukui set about restarting the plant. It reached the criticality in May 2010, only to have the IVTM dropped into the reactor 3 months later.

Here's the Google map of Monju location. Scroll to the northeast direction, you see Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant which has Japan's oldest boiling water reactor and pressurized water reactor. A known active fault runs through the middle of that plant, and Reactor 2 may be sitting right on top of yet another potentially active fault. You also see a landfill over the mountain from Tsuruga Nuke Plant. That's where they are building Reactor 3 and 4. (You have to admire the dare.)

View Larger Map

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#Fukushima II (Daini) Nuke Plant Media Tour on July 4, 2012

From IWJ, delayed live netcast is about to start (3PM July 4, 2012 Japan Standard Time):

Live Video app for Facebook by Ustream

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