July 10, a 7.3 quake hit the same area that experienced a 9.0 quake on March 11.
Two meter high (6.4 feet) waves were seen on the coasts of Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures.
Officials with Japan’s Meteorological Agency say this latest aftershock resulted from the Pacific Plate shifting horizontally. They believe more aftershocks in the 7 range could occur, into next year.
Tokyo officials say they found beef, shipped in from Fukushima Prefecture, is contaminated with high levels of cesium.
On 08 July 2011 the beef tested positive for 2,300 becquerels per kilogram of cesium, the national safe limit is 500 becquerels per kilogram.
The beef came from cows raised in Minami Souma, in Fukushima Prefecture.
Japan’s Health Ministry says this is the first time such high levels of radiation showed up in beef. They are now requesting the six prefectures around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, to increase testing their cows for radiation.
In Japan, the restart of the Genkai nuclear power plant has been put on hold, after a whistler blower revealed that the company boss ordered false statements about the plant’s safety.
Operator Kyushu Electric Power Company got the go ahead to restart the nuclear plant, located in Saga prefecture, after a public meeting in which email testimonies were read in favor of restarting the plant. Those emails, supposedly from independent observers, and even affiliates of KEPCo, turned out to be lies.
Saga is located many hundreds of miles from Fukushima, on the southern island of Kyushu.
It’s been revealed that the boss of KEPCo ordered false emails to be sent to the public hearing, in order to win approval for restart.
Now local officials will wait until the central Japanese government completes its new stress tests, before giving the go ahead for restart.
Another tea growing prefecture is now contaminated with dangerous levels of cesium. Tochigi prefectural government says 1,810 becquerels per kilogram of cesium is contaminating the harvest, piked earlier this week.
The levels are three times the safe limits set by the Tochigi government. Tochigi Prefecture is 160 kilometers (99.4 miles) from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.
This latest prefecture is part of a growing list of prefectures that have stopped tea shipments because of cesium. Others include Chiba, Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures. Shizuoka is Japan’s largest tea producer.
The Japanese military has built its own air base in the African country of Djibouti. The official reason is to help fight pirates.
The Japanese had been sharing a base with the United States, but built its own 12 hectare (29.6 acre) airfield for its surveillance aircraft.
The French have long time military ties to the country of Djibouti, but since the surge in piracy, Djibouti is making money off of allowing several countries (including the U.S.) to base military units there.
Tokyo Electric Power Company announced it will increase monitoring of airborne radiation levels around the damaged reactors at its Fukushima Daiichi plant.
TEPCo will especially focus on reactors 1 and 4. High levels of contamination are being found in dust and steam emitted from the reactor buildings.
Looks like it was the right move, for the Prime Minister to order standard safety stress tests of all nuke plant in Japan. The Tokai Daini nuclear plant in Ibaraki Prefecture has failed earthquake safety tests for its electronic equipment.
The amazing thing is that the earthquake safety standards for Tokai Daini were created by the very company that runs the nuclear plant.
The Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says many of the nuclear plants in eastern Japan are failing their own earthquake safety standards for their electrical equipment. In one case it was discovered that the metal frames holding electric motors were made of such inferior metal that they could be easily broken by twisting. The agency also says they still don’t know the true reason why the electrical systems at the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant failed.
Mitsubishi announced their new electric car can keep you from starving after a major disaster.
They claim that in case of major power loss to your home you can use the electric car to power your home appliances. Supposedly the batteries in the car can hold enough power to run your house for one and a half days.
Well, I guess they weren’t thinking of a really big natural disaster, like what happened on 11 March 2011. But getting through the first day after such a disaster is critical.
What we really need is someone to come up with a portable solar panel that’s powerful enough to cook with, and charge up the batteries on your electric car. Then who needs utility companies?
Mitsubishi plans to start selling their electric survival car in 2012.
06 July 2011, Prime Minister Kan Naoto has ordered those in the government, who’re in charge of nuclear reactor safety, to create new rules. Kan says the numerous and growing complaints from the people have made it clear a new system of rules for reactor start ups need to be created. Many prefectures are refusing to allow reactors to be re-started. Gee, I would’ve thought it was the fact that the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is still ongoing.
Under current rules the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, and the Industry Minister, decide when it is safe to start up a reactor.
Prime Minister Kan wants the new rules to include stress tests, and be in compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Kasai Akira, of the opposition Communist Party, pointed out that it is useless to create new rules when local prefectures have the right to override those rules, as they are in not allowing reactors to re-start.
On the night of 05 July 2011, the Japanese Prime Minister issued an order to conduct stress tests on all nuclear reactors in Japan.
The tests are based on European Union standards. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency says Japan’s reactors are safe, but many Japanese citizens think otherwise. Several prefectural governments are refusing to allow reactors to re-start. The new EU based tests are meant to ease any remaining fears among the people.