Tag Archives: japan

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Radiation decontamination of cities a big fail in Japan!

04 December 2012, more than a year after the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor disaster began, decontamination of residential areas isn’t anywhere near completion.

Japan’s Environment Ministry released the results of their study of the progress of radiation cleanup.  More than 80% of homes have not been decontaminated!

Of nearly 100,000 homes picked for decontamination only 18% have been cleaned up.

69% of educational facilities were cleaned up, as well as 51% of roads.   Only 38% of parks and sports facilities have been decontaminated.

International, U.S.

Government Incompetence & World War 3: U.S. Marines banned from off camp drinking

03 December 2012, after all U.S. military personnel were banned from drinking alcohol off base in Okinawa on Saturday, the USMC has now extended that order to all U.S. Marines throughout Japan.

This comes after months of increased aggressive behavior (including rape and assaults) by U.S. personnel towards Japanese civilians.

 

Fukushima, International

26 years later: Chernobyl expected to remain a threat for the next 100 years, at least! Warning for worse things to come from Fukushima Daiichi!

29 November 2012, two days ago workers in Ukraine raised steel arches over the entombed Chernobyl reactor: “This is a very significant milestone, which is a tribute to the ongoing commitment of the international donor community, and an important step towards overcoming the legacy of the accident.”-Suma Chakrabarti, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Those new steel arches weigh 5000 metric tons (5,511.5 tons), and are 22 meters (72 feet) tall!  The steel container won’t be finished until 2015.  It’ll weigh 20000 metric tons (22,046 tons) and is designed to allow ongoing decontamination work for the next 100 years!

26 years ago the Soviet designed reactor melted down, and it’s still spewing radiation.

The Soviets slammed Chernobyl with tons of concrete, sand and boric acid.  The impromptu concrete tomb was breaking down and a new one was built.  But even that one is breaking down, so a new massive steel tomb is being built, hopefully to contain the radiation for the next century.

Now realize that Chernobyl is only one reactor, with no spent fuel storage, and Japan’s General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi melt down disaster involves at least four damaged reactors with four spent fuel pools that contained hundreds of fuel rods, each.

Initially Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo) said they could have Fukushima Daiichi cleaned up by July 2011!!!  In December 2011 the Japanese government published their own report, saying cleanup will take at least 40 years, TEPCo downplayed the government report.  Then in March 2012, TEPCo admitted that reactors actually melted down.  Now, at the beginning of November 2012, TEPCo is admitting that clean up will take much longer, and they’ve even doubled their estimated cleanup and compensation costs from $62.5 billion USD to $125 billion!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Japanese car production crashing in China! Japanese exports to China crashing!

29 November 2012, anti-Japanese sentiment in China is having a drastic effect on Japanese car production in the (supposedly) communist country.

Overall, the six Japanese car companies operating in China saw a 48.9% drop in production in October (compared to October 2011).  It’s even more drastic when you look at production for each company.

Mazda down 27.6%

Suzuki  down  32.6%

Nissan down 44%

Honda down 54.2%

Toyota down 61.1%

Mitsubishi down 84.6%

Even cars made in Japan for the Chinese market are not going anywhere fast:

Nissan exports to China down 75.9%

Toyota exports to China down 91.3%

Mazda exported zero cars to China in October!

There might be some good news for the United States.  Japanese car company officials say they will now shift focus of production of many vehicles to South East Asian countries, and the U.S.

International, U.S.

Government Incompetence & World War 3: U.S. military in Japan on the defensive against their own personnel! Japanese go on the offensive!

22 November 2012, after decades of atrocities committed by U.S. personnel against the people of Okinawa, U.S. military officials are now going after their own troops.

This comes after a sudden increase in the number of crimes committed by U.S. citizens against Japanese citizens.

In October a curfew was ordered for U.S. personnel after two U.S. citizens raped a woman (and this was part of a string of increased crimes against Japanese).  The curfew hasn’t worked as since then several more U.S. servicemen were caught getting drunk after curfew, vandalizing property and assaulting people.

Now the U.S. military has plainclothes cops patrolling the streets of Okinawa at night, in order to protect the Japanese from the U.S. military!

The people of Okinawa have protested for decades, but the Japanese leaders in Tokyo have always kowtowed to U.S. demands.

One of those complaints is that U.S. military jets intentionally fly low and loud at night over residential areas.  Now Okinawans have brought a $2.7 million USD lawsuit against the U.S. military at Kadena Air Base.  They are able to do this because a 2010 legal decision said that foreign forces in Japan are no longer immune from legal prosecution.

International

Mindless chit chat with friends & loved ones will increase your intelligence, maybe even your life span! Chit chat with strangers has no benefit

21 November 2012, a study in Japan is showing that seemingly mindless (unintelligent) chit chat with friends and loved ones actually increases your mind’s capabilities by increasing blood flow.  It could also explain people who have long lives.

Some very old sisters were studied.  Reporters asked them what their secret to their long lives were, and they admitted it was mindless chit chat, for at least four hours everyday.  Their mother was part of the mindless conversations and she lived until she was 111 years old!

The sisters think their chit chat works because they laugh a lot.  However, the scientists studying them discovered it was simply talking with a loved one that did the trick.

The researchers monitored the flow of blood into their brains as they talked to different people.  They found no change in blood flow when they talked to strangers, but when they talked to loved ones there was an immediate increase in blood flow, even without laughter.

Here’s what the Japanese researchers concluded:  Families that repress interaction are more likely to have problems, and shorter life spans.  Therapeutic chit chat must also be conducted in an informal environment, it doesn’t work if the environment seems formal or serious, even if it’s done with loved ones.  Mindless chit chat with loved ones greatly reduces dementia in older people, because the increased blood flow helps keep the mind fresh and exercised.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: U.S. occupation of Afghanistan; 06 – 08 November 2012. Pakistan restores fuel deliveries to U.S./NATO. Aussie Diggers blown up! Proof the ICG is a government puppet! More U.S. airstrikes! U.S. backed policies encourage corruption. Obama will now focus U.S. attacks on Pakistan!

08 November 2012

Afghan government officials say now that Barack Obama is re-elected, you will see a shift from U.S. combat in Afghanistan to Pakistan: “Our demand from the U.S. President Barack Obama is to pay more attention on militants sanctuaries in Pakistan in a bid to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan and reduce the tension of the international community in Afghanistan.”-Ahmad Zia Seyamak Herawi, spokesman for President Hamid Karzai

Also: “The Democrat Party had four years of experience in Afghanistan and they are aware of the main issues of Afghanistan and specifically Pakistan which has a direct role in the situation of Afghanistan. The election Barack Obama as U.S. president will definitely help for a long term cooperation of Washington with Afghanistan.”-Abdullah Abdullah, National Coalition of Afghanistan

U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, James Cunningham, said: “President Obama remains committed for a long term strategic cooperation with the Afghan people.”

Interestingly, Pakistan announced it has re-started fuel supply for U.S./NATO forces, through the Kyber Pass.

Mujahideen leaders responded to Obama’s re-election: “Obama should use the opportunity provided by the American people in a better way. Washington should prevent from playing an international police role and should rather concentrate on its domestic issues.”-Zabiullah Mujahid

In Uruzgan Province, at least three Australian Diggers were wounded after the Bushmaster armored vehicle they were in ran over a landmine: “They got first aid at the scene before being evacuated by helicopter….Two have been discharged while the third has been transferred to Kandahar Air Field for further treatment.”-Captain Michael Spruce

In Laghman Province, five Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed after the vehicle they were in ran over a landmine.

In Paktia Province, local government officials are reporting that a U.S. airstrike killed 15 people.

In Helmand Province, five men, four women and one child were killed, and seven others wounded, when the bus they were in ran over a landmine.

In Nangarhar Province, just three nights after supposedly handing over night time raid operations to the ANA, U.S. forces conducted another illegal night time home invasion. According to locals a 12 years old boy was killed, and three people kidnapped.

In Kandahar Province, a suicide bomber using a motorcycle bomb, blew himself up at a police checkpoint killing three cops, wounding four.

In Herat Province, Afghan Water and Energy Minister, Mohammad Ismail Khan (who is also head of the new Mujahideen Council), has begun re-distributing confiscated weapons to the people of Herat Province.  This comes six days after Khan announced that the newly formed Mujahideen Council (in Herat) will take over military operations after U.S./NATO leaves in 2014.

07 November 2012

In Ghazni Province, an eight years old boy stabbed a cop to death then stole his assault rifle!  Also, Mujahideen remotely exploded a landmine, in an attempt to assassinate an ANA commander (they’re not sure if they were successful).

According to reports by Afghanistan’s National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and the Ministry of Public Health, and the United Nations, increased vehicle traffic has caused an increase in lead poisoning cases in the city of Kabul.  In one study 80% of blood samples had lead.  Is it that gasoline fuel in Afghanistan must not be unleaded?

President Karzai left for Indonesia: “Five pacts will be signed during president Hamid Karzai’s visit to Indonesia which will include friendship pact, agreement on removal of visa requirements for political and service passports, agreement on mutual consultancy and agreement on cultural views exchange between Afghanistan and Indonesia.”

In Paktia Province, an ANA soldier joined the Mujahideen.

In Kandahar Province, a man talking on a phone was targeted and killed by U.S./NATO helicopters.  Also, two local cops joined the Mujahideen.

In Nuristan Province, local officials say U.S./NATO forces abandoned a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) base.

In Badghis Province, 15 local cops joined the Mujahideen. They also brought government supplied weapons with them, including 13 assault rifles, one machine gun and one Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) launcher.

In Zabul Province, Mujahideen say they ambushed a U.S. infantry patrol.  They admit they had to retreat when helicopters were called in.

06 November 2012

In Uruzgan Province, a U.S./NATO drone crashed near Kash mountain.  Mujahideen have launched a 12 day offensive operation in Chora district.

In Farah Province, one cop surrendered to Mujahideen.

In Herat Province, locals say Mujahideen have issued a warning, that no one should attend the funerals of police or Afghan government soldiers, as they will be targeted for militant attacks.  Another Mujahideen statement, in response to a recent statement by President Karzai, said they consider U.S. puppet Afghan government cops or soldiers to be traitors to Islam and therefore will target them even in a Mosque.

Also in Herat Province, a 25 years old woman was killed by her brother.  The family said they had her killed because the unmarried woman repeatedly left home without permission, apparently to meet with an uncle.  In a twist, local police are connected to the case, because they forcefully returned her to her family’s home the day before her family killed her.

In the United States, military prosecutors are asking for the death penalty against U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales.  Bales, married with two children, is accused of the “methodical” murder of several Afghan families.   Bales wife says he has no memory of the incident.  An Afghan investigation concluded that there was no way Bales could have done the murders by himself, as the locations were spread out over a large area and several bodies had been set on fire using fuel carried in heavy 5 gallon jerry cans.  The time line of the murders does not seem to allow Bales to kill all those people and then return to base to hand carry the fuel to set the bodies on fire.  U.S. Department of Defense, and several Republicans, believe Bales is a rogue soldier who somehow did all on his own.

The murders took place in the Panjwayi district of Kandahar.  The result is extreme hatred of U.S. forces in that area.  On 06 November 2012, Mujahideen reported that they routed a major offensive by U.S. forces.  They say the U.S. used armored and heliborne forces to assault Mujahideen positions in Panjwayi. U.S. forces retreated after two days of heavy fighting.

The Afghan government is threatening to throw out the International Crisis Group (ICG), after it issued a report saying the Afghan government couldn’t handle things after the U.S./NATO pullout in 2014.  Afghan officials also say the ICG report is clearly politically motivated.   ICG is suppossedly “…an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organisation…”, yet, in response to the threats by Afghan officials, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made a counter threat, warning the Afghan government not to interfere with the ICG!   So much for the ICG being “independent”!

On top of that, Rasmussen stated that U.S. led NATO could stay past the 2014 withdrawal date, regardless of what the United Nations says: “We can have activities in Afghanistan after 2014 if it was required by the Afghan government and this is completely in accordance with the international law. Besides, it would be very good if we have a designated mission by United Nation, but still, we can operate in Afghanistan upon the request of the Afghan government.”

In Logar Province, local officials say a U.S. drone strike targeted an apartment building, killing at least four people.

For awhile now, U.S./NATO/ISAF have stated that “Taliban” forces have decreased in number and strength.  Yet it’s obvious that is not true going by the number of attacks by Mujahideen against the occupiers.  Japanese NHK (Nippon Housou Kyoukai/Japan Broadcasting Corporation) recently aired a report which showed that U.S./NATO/ISAF officials are basing their claims on a program that pays Mujahideen, with cash and jobs, to stop fighting. However, NHK interviewed a Afghan religious leader who said: “Many farmers and unemployed people pretend to be Taliban to the government so they can get cash and work. The government is giving the wrong impression by saying the group [Taliban/Mujahideen] is weakening.”-Mullah Maruf, Islamic scholar

International, U.S.

World War 3: Japan cancels meetings with Russia, China, Korea over disputed islands. Seeks to increase military ties with United States!

08 November 2012, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda canceled his trip to Russia.  However, he claims it was due to scheduling problems on the Russian side.  Analysts suspect it’s actually over growing territorial disputes.

To add to that, Japan’s Foreign Minister, Koichiro Gemba, told reporters on 07 November, that the prime minister will avoid talking to Chinese and Korean officials at the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.  The reason was the growing disputes over islands, one of which Japan recently purchased from a independent owner, with plans for militarization of the island (such as early warning stations).

The island isn’t much to look at, it’s a rock sticking out of the ocean.

Gemba also said that now that Barack Obama has been re-elected, Japan will pressure the United States to increase military ties to help bolster Japan as it’s expected the territorial disputes will escalate.

Japan’s Ambassador to the U.S., Ichiro Fujisaki, said as much in a press conference in Washington DC, on 07 November.  He pointed out that the disputed Senkaku Islands are covered under the current U.S.-Japan security treaty.

Business/Economics, International

World War 3 & What Economic Recovery? Nissan revises expected profits downward!

On 06 November 2012, Japan’s Nissan Motors reduced its expected profits for the Japanese fiscal year (ending in March 2013), by 20%!

Nissan, like Mazda, is blaming most of it on crashing sales in China.  Nissan also blames the bad economy in Europe, and the increasing value of the Japanese yen (which makes Japanese cars more expensive).

Nissan reported sales numbers in China similar to what Mazda reported days ago.  Nissan experienced a 35% drop in September, then a 41% drop in October!

Chinese consumers are boycotting Japanese products (even those actually made in China) over Japan’s take over of an island that China says belongs to them.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Government, Corporate & Media Incompetence! Radiation monitoring devices shown to be inaccurate! $1.8 million to fix the problem!

08 November 2012, Japan’s Science Ministry discovered that 675 radiation detectors, placed around Fukushima Daiichi, are reading at least 10% below actual radiation levels!

Since April 2011 the monitors have been uploading radiation readings to the internet, in real time.

The Science Ministry investigated their devices because independent radiation detection by local governments, and individuals, were consistently higher than the national Science Ministry’s data.  Something I’ve pointed out in past postings, but of course the main stream media goes with official national government data.

In March 2012, residents of Fukushima Prefecture reported that the national government data was too low.  They were ignored.  In April 2012, Green Peace reported that radiation levels were much higher than what the national government was reporting.  Green Peace was blown off.   Even independent Japanese reporters risked their lives going into the radiation contamination zone, then posted their video on YouTube, in some cases showing their radiation detectors pegging at higher than officially reported levels.  They were ignored.

The Science Ministry now says the data from individuals and local governments are correct. The 675 defective official radiation monitors were constructed with the battery housing blocking the radiation detectors’ sensors!

It will now cost Japanese taxpayers $1.8 million USD to fix the problem!