Tag Archives: japan

Fukushima

One Year Later: Government literally ignoring calls for help from tsunami & radiation refugees!

23 May 2012.  Back in March local level governments in Japan set up a help hotline for refugees from Iwate, Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures.  Supposedly this was to insure that refugees were able to be heard by local government officials.

So far only about 10% of those who call are getting through. Out of the 370,000 calls made to the hotline, only 40,000 were answered!

The hotline is called Yorisoi, which operate 38 call centers in Japan.  Their northeastern boss blames the lack of answered calls on lack of reconstruction in the disaster hit areas, and on refugees making calls at night (even thought it is a 24 hour call center).

Yorisoi officials claim they can not find enough employees to take calls at night!

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Government & Media Hypocrisy: Japan launches South Korean satellite

April 13, 2012, North Korea launched a satellite (not a ballistic missile as western media continued to report!), which ended in failure, yet didn’t fail to bring world wide condemnation, which included Japan’s mobilization of Patriot missile forces.

May 17, 2012, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) announced they will be launching an H-2A rocket, carrying South Korean and Japanese satellites. The launch is scheduled for May 18.

The hypocrisy comes from Japan’s threats to shoot down the North Korean satellite launch back in April!  All western news media reported the North Korean satellite launch as a “missile launch”.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? It’s official, Toshiba & Hitachi end TV production in Japan. Blame Korea, U.S. & digital broadcasting!

May 17, 2012, Toshiba announced no more TV set production in Japan, no thanks to competition from South Korea, and crashing sales in the United States!

Toshiba reported a $620 million USD loss for the past Japanese fiscal year!

The company also revealed that TV sales in Japan have crashed ever since television broadcasters switched to digital broadcasting last year.

Toshiba will continue TV production in factories outside of Japan.  Hitachi also announced they will end TV production in Japan, in September.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: Japan sues U.S. over Iran sanctions! U.S./U.K. media lie about Japanese bank freezing Iranian accounts!

May 17,2012, according to Japan’s NHK the Japanese bank, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, is suing the United States over a court order to freeze Iranian accounts.

Western media has been reporting that the Japanese bank has frozen the accounts, but that’s not what Japanese media says.  Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ filled the suit on May 16, but refuses to make any public comments.

The U.S. court order is not about current sanctions against Iran, but is an old civil suit claiming that Iran was responsible for the 1983 bombing of the USMC barracks in Beirut, after the U.S. invaded Lebanon.

The families of the killed Marines have been led to believe Iran should pay, yet there is no concrete evidence that Iran was behind it.  Lebanese who claim to be connected to the bombing say they were simply defending their country against the U.S. invaders.

Yasuhiro Sato, chairman of the Japanese Bankers Association, says any sanctions imposed on Japanese banks doing business with Iran, will cripple Japan’s struggling economy. So who are the sanctions really against?

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? European economies crashing and burning! Greece -6.2% GDP! IMF wants Mo Money! China in trouble!

May 15, 2012, the Group of 20 industrialized countries (not for long maybe?) will be meeting in Mexico, in June.  Already Mexico and Japan are calling for G-20 members (mainly those of the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) to give the U.S. based International Monetary Fund another $430 billion USD!!!

This is because the European economies are crashing and burning. Italy reported a minus 0.8% GDP for the January to March quarter. That’s three quarters in a row of declines! Spain reported a minus 0.3% GDP, for the second quarter in a row. But Greece reported a huge minus 6.2% GDP!!!

The only “good” news came out of Germany, which reported a stagnant 0.5% GDP. And Germany is supposed to be the economic powerhouse of Europe!  Of course main stream western media reporting it as a “bounce back” in the economy, idiots!

Overall, the entire 17 member European Union reported a stagnant 0% GDP for January to March 2012!

To make matters worse, China is reporting that European investment into China has declined for six months in a row!  Chinese officials admitted that their country’s explosive economic growth can only be driven by foreign investment (like unAmerican Corporate America shipping U.S. jobs to China).

From January to April 2012, European investment into China dropped 28%.

 

 

Fukushima

One Year Later: Radioactive Rats in Japan, contaminated air!

14 May 2012, Japan’s Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute analyzed rat samples.  Their conclusion is that the rats are contaminated with cesium.

3,100 becquerels of cesium per kilogram was detected in rats near Kawauchi village, 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) from the GE designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. About 790 becquerels per kilo was found in rats from Kita-Ibaraki city, 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) away.

The Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute also discovered that the air is contaminated.

Airborne radiation levels were 3.11 microsieverts per hour in Kawauchi and 0.2 microsieverts in Kita-Ibaraki.

Officials say the contamination in the rats is proportional to the contamination in the air!

ONE YEAR LATER: RADIATION CONTAMINATED FISH FOUND IN JAPANESE RIVERS!

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices: U.S. media flat lies about Iran’s oil sales!

The Washington Post reporting that Iran can not find buyers for its oil, and is storing oil on tanker ships as a result.

This is a blatant lie because Iran’s oil sales have only increased since the U.S. led sanctions were imposed!

The latest example is of Zimbabwe, which has asked for an increase in Iranian oil and refined diesel fuel.

Also, three ship bookers, including Galbraith’s Ltd in London, confirmed that India is buying more Iranian oil. A Liberian (former U.S. African colony) tanker has been chartered to ship 130,000 metric tons of Iranian crude (per shipment?) to India!

If Iran is storing oil on tankers, why did India have to charter a tanker?

In fact, on May 11, 2012, one Indian official told the U.S. to ‘F’ themselves over the Iran oil sanctions:  “Government of India is perfectly free to take a decision (on this issue). We do not take note of sanctions by other countries….So far as our sovereignty is concerned, we can assure that we will never allow any pressure…There will be less oil or more oil imported from Iran depending on demand. The oil [Indian] companies will decide that.”-Jaipal S. Reddy, India’s Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas

Japanese media has just reported that Japanese oil companies are increasing the number of oil tanker ships.  JX Nippon Oil & Energy has just bought three 5,000 ton class tankers, and is planning on buying a fourth.  Cosmo Oil is buying an additional tanker.

Japan won an exemption from the U.S. oil sanctions against Iran, so guess where those new tankers are probably going to go for their crude cargo?

Another claim in the Washington Post article is that ships carrying Iranian oil can’t get insurance, because most maritime insurance companies are based in Europe.  However, China and Japan are in the process of buying insurance from Iranian companies!  The Iranian government is conducting a review to allow Iranian insurance companies to cover foreign ships.

Pakistan and Iran are in the process of creating a banking system that will allow Pakistan to buy Iranian oil and gas without going through the usual U.S./U.K. dominated international banking system.

The Iranian government is on the verge of privatizing 15 government controlled petroleum businesses. As part of the privatization process, the Iranian government has already sold 555 million shares of stocks in the companies, and more stocks will be issued!

On May 12, 2012, the Iranian Oil Ministry revealed they had “ratified” 16 new oil projects last year.  That was out of 28 projects submitted.

If Iranian oil is just sitting at the docks, why is the Iranian government approving so many new petroleum projects?

International

Weird Weather: Last week’s tornado strike on Japan was bigger than first thought, Super Cells spawn multiple tornadoes at the same time!

On May 6, 2012, Japan’s Kanto region was hit by tornadoes.  Now May 12, the Japan Meteorological Agency says the events were bigger than first thought.

One tornado hit Ibaraki and Tochigi prefectures, leaving damage zone 31 kilometers (19 miles) long and 650 meters (403.8 miles) wide!  It is the second largest recorded path of destruction in Japan in the past 50 years!

Three other tornadoes hit on the same day, in Fukushima and Ibaraki prefectures. The three tornadoes formed at the same time!

Japanese weather experts say a sudden and strong upward movement of air was generated by fast building clouds.  The Super Cells measured up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) wide!

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Econimic Recovery? Business profits down, tax collections down, government debt at historic high!

May 11, 2012, the Japanese government reporting that pre-tax profits of Japanese businesses dropped for the first time in the past three years.

For the Japanese fiscal year (which ends in March) 2011 there was a drop of in overall business profits by 13.3%.  This only concerns the 701 companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The Japanese Finance Ministry also reports that the debt of the Japanese government is at a record high.  It is now at $12 trillion USD!

That’s an increase of $437 billion USD since last year.  It works out to about $90,000 USD for every Japanese citizen!

Officials blame everything on the rising value of the yen, which is being caused by the ongoing nuclear disaster at Fukushima Daiichi, and the lack of economic recovery in the United States.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Panasonic reports record loses!

May 11, 2012, Panasonic reporting a record loss for the year ending in March.

Panasonic ended the Japanese year with a net balance of minus $9.8 billion USD, it’s the fourth straight year of loses for the electronics company!

Panasonic officials blame it on a huge drop in TV set sales.  In April, Sony and Sharp gave the same reason for their losses as well, and blamed it on the lack of recovery in the United States.