# Japan



## bondia

I have just seen the news live from Japan about the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
My thoughts are with our Japanese friends.


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## Vanda

I am horrified with the images I have seen.


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## Pedro y La Torre

Luckily the Japanese are prepared as any nation can be for this type of event, terrible as it is.


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## bondia

Pedro y La Torre said:


> Luckily the Japanese are prepared as any nation can be for this type of event, terrible as it is.



Yes, indeed, they are prepared for earthquakes, but from what I saw about the tsunami(s), I don't think any structure or artifact made by mankind can resist such a force of nature.


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## Vanda

For those who haven't seen the apalling images.


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## bondia

Vanda said:


> For those who haven't seen the apalling images.



Novamente obrigada, Vanda


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## Vampiro

*Fuerza, Japón, estamos con ustedes, como siempre.*

Si alguien llega a saber algo de Hiro Sasaki, quien habitualmente visita el foro Sólo Español, que por favor me avise mediante un PM.

Saludos.
_


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## frida-nc

I have seen the videos. They are devastating; it was a massive quake.  I hope that the loss of life is as low as possible, but when the sea poured over the land, you could see it destroying and carrying away almost everything.  The people of Japan are in.our thoughts.


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## kidika

bondia said:


> Yes, indeed, they are prepared for earthquakes, but from what I saw about the tsunami(s), I don't think any structure or artifact made by mankind can resist such a force of nature.


Indeed. I´ve just read that the axis of the Earth has moved 10 cms due to this quake. 

Hope everything goes back to normal asap in that amazing country and my deepest condolencies to those affected.


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## bondia

Vampiro said:


> *Fuerza, Japón, estamos con ustedes, como siempre.*
> 
> Si alguien llega a saber algo de Hiro Sasaki, quien habitualmente visita el foro Sólo Español, que por favor me avise mediante un PM.
> 
> Saludos.
> _



O aquí mismo. Pienso que todos estamos pendientes de la suerte de nuestros compañeros. Cuando abrí este hilo pensé que podría ayudar a mantener el contacto. Ojalá sea así.
Saludos


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## kidika

I´ve found this person finder.


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## Outsider

Vanda said:


> I am horrified with the images I have seen.


Yes, they are shocking.

Let's hope there are only material damages.


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## JamesM

We are thinking about all those in Japan affected by the quake and the subsequent tsunami.  Our prayers and concern are with you.


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## Mephistofeles

Todo mi apoyo en lo poco que valga... ánimo y fe Japón.


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## Aserolf

My thoughts and prayers are with all the people from Japan...

Mi más sincero apoyo para todos ustedes.


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## swift

No puedo imaginar los estragos causados por un evento sísmico de esta magnitud:



> Risultati preliminari di studi effettuati dall'INGV  (Melini-Piersanti) indicano che il terremoto del Giappone di questa  mattina avrebbe spostato l'asse di rotazione terrestre di quasi 10  centimetri. L'impatto di questo evento sull'asse di rotazione e' stato  molto maggiore anche rispetto a quello del grande terremoto di Sumatra  del 2004 e probabilmente secondo solo al terremoto del Cile del 1960.
> 
> Terremoto in Giappone. Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.



Acá la cobertura en tiempo real de la BBC.

Un saludo a todos los foristas japoneses y un abrazo extensivo a todo el pueblo nipón.


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## Vampiro

A todos:
Hiro Sasaki y familia están bien.  Se ha comunicado conmigo.
Está lejos de la zona de catástrofe, pero muy afectado por las noticias.
Un abrazo.

Eduardo.
_


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## bondia

Vampiro said:


> A todos:
> Hiro Sasaki y familia están bien.  Se ha comunicado conmigo.
> Está lejos de la zona de catástrofe, pero muy afectado por las noticias.
> Un abrazo.
> 
> Eduardo.
> _



Un abrazo para Hiro Sasaki y família, con mis mejores deseos.


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## swift

Gracias, Eduardo.

Un gran saludo, Hiro. Qué bueno saber que tú y los tuyos están bien.


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## Antpax

Vampiro said:


> A todos:
> Hiro Sasaki y familia están bien.  Se ha comunicado conmigo.
> Está lejos de la zona de catástrofe, pero muy afectado por las noticias.
> Un abrazo.
> 
> Eduardo.
> _



Gran noticia. Gracias Edu por compartirla. Espero que el resto de foreros esté bien también, y que todo el pueblo de Japón pueda superar esta catástrofe.

Un abrazo para todos.


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## Frank06

And another one, so it seems. 6.6, no aftershock.


> An estimated 6.6-magnitude earthquake has struck Nagano and Niigata prefectures in Japan, Kyodo news service reports.


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## Aserolf

Vampiro said:


> A todos:
> Hiro Sasaki y familia están bien. Se ha comunicado conmigo.
> Está lejos de la zona de catástrofe, pero muy afectado por las noticias.
> Un abrazo.
> 
> Eduardo.
> _


 Mis mejores deseos para *Hiro Sasaki* y su familia. 
Sé que me uno a los buenos pensamientos de muchos compañeros foristas en orar por la recuperación y fortaleza del pueblo japonés.


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## Nanon

bondia said:


> I have just seen the news live from Japan about the devastating earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
> My thoughts are with our Japanese friends.


Ditto.



bondia said:


> Un abrazo para Hiro Sasaki y família, con mis mejores deseos.


Ditto.

Aoyama aussi va bien.


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## Colchonero

Acabo de escuchar en la radio que, según informaciones oficiales del gobierno japonés, se han producido fugas radioactivas en una de las centrales nucleares afectadas y que la temperatura en su interior es mil veces superior a lo normal. 

En fin, crucemos los dedos...


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## catlady60

My heart and prayers go out to all the victims of today's tsunami in Japan. Sadly, at least 200 or 300 people were killed because of the disaster.  


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110311/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_earthquake


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## aldonzalorenzo

Vampiro said:


> A todos:
> Hiro Sasaki y familia están bien.  Se ha comunicado conmigo.
> Está lejos de la zona de catástrofe, pero muy afectado por las noticias.
> Un abrazo.
> Eduardo.
> _


Gracias por las noticias, Eduardo. Un saludo a Hiro Sasaki y familia.


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## Destroyer.629

l feel bad for what Japan is currently living.


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## almostfreebird

Just now electricity and tap water was restored in my area.


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## JamesM

Good to hear!


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## kidika

almostfreebird said:


> Just now electricity and tap water was restored in my area.



Oh, hello! Welcome back!


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## Oldy Nuts

Hello Pat,


I gather that in Tokyo  there seem to have been more inconveniences than damages. Zones affected  by the tsunami seem to have been the most heavily affected. And news  about possible radiactive leaks in some nuclear plants are most  worrying.


Our own earthquake of a year ago was very  damaging, and we are still slowly progressing in the reconstruction,  although we must be thankful for the surprinsingly low number of  casualties, given the magnitude of the zone affected. We are still  experiencing mild to severe aftershocks that are not expected to end  soon. What is worse, we are also expecting a severe new earthquake in  the North, where we have have had some rather strong movements in the  last couple of months, and where there has been no strong quake for more  than 100 years, so the energy accumulated in the moving plates must be  enormous by now. Fortunately, the population density there is low.


Japan and Chile seem to be the two most seismic countries in the world, but this  doesn't make us to get used to earthquakes, or to be fully prepared for  them when they come without warning.


Our country fully understands the feelings of the people in Japan, and I would say that most of those in here who believe in a God are praying for the Japanese people. I am sure that those who don't  are in some way or another offering their moral support to those who  have been so severely and recently affected by such a devastating blow. We are also confident in the moral strength of the Japanese, that will help them to overcome this tragedy as they have done in so many similar cases in the past.


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## Flaminius

Yes, Oldy Nuts, inconvenience was what I experienced.

I had to walk one third of the distance of my commute to Tokyo.  I waited till morning for the train service to be back.  I came back 1 PM this afternoon.  It's nothing compared to the suffering of those who were closer to the epicentre and the tsunami-struck coastline.  I was at a loss how to get through the night last night but I could find a place to stay.  It's nothing when I imagine how scary they feel in Fukushima now that the evacuation zone has expanded to 20km-radius about an hour after the 10km zone was ordered.  There, power plants are leaking radioactive particles when their capability could help alleviate the suffering of those in the damaged areas.

Tokyo Power, the owner of the plants, are planing for 3-hour blackouts for each "district" tomorrow.  Due to the failing nuclear plants, they cannot produce as much energy as the expected consumption in the Tokyo Metropolis.  While I experience some more inconvenience here, I hope it will increase energy allowance in the areas that needs electricity the most.


Thank you very much for your calls of prayer, solidarity, warmth and care.


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## romarsan

almostfreebird said:


> Just now electricity and tap water was restored in my area.



Hope everything turns to normality as soon as possible.
I feel sad for the tragedy although I'm comforting in knowing that you and Hiro and your families are ok. My heart is with you all people in Japan.


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## almostfreebird

Thank you for your kind words、 James romarsan kidika .
But I'm afraid something terrible is going on near the nuclear plant in Fukushima.


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## Roy776

In germany, the news say that the nuclear plant in Fukushima is leaking high amounts of nuclear radiation. They assume that the maximum credible accident has already taken place. We would not or hardly be affected, but other countries in Europe, Russia and many other countries in Asia that are close to Japan would be.

I really hope that the situation in Japan get's better. I could never imagine what horror that has and had to be.


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## bondia

almostfreebird said:


> Thank you for your kind words、 James romarsan kidika .
> But I'm afraid something terrible is going on near the nuclear plant in Fukushima.



I have just seen very disturbing news about this on our 24 hour news channel.
Please keep us informed, if you can.
Best regards


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## Oldy Nuts

almostfreebird said:


> Thank you for your kind words、 James romarsan kidika .
> But I'm afraid something terrible is going on near the nuclear plant in Fukushima.



News received here are also very disturbing, with a gradual worsening of damages that were strongly denied at first. In Chile we can fully understand the consequences of the earthquake + tsunami combination, but can hardly imagine a nuclear disaster that we pray will not come. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing we can do to help the brave Japanese people in this, except for praying, crossing our fingers, making knots in handkerchieves, whatever. You can bet that Japan is in the minds of every one of us.


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> News received here are also very disturbing, with a gradual worsening of damages that were strongly denied at first. In Chile we can fully understand the consequences of the earthquake + tsunami combination, but can hardly imagine a nuclear disaster that we pray will not come. Unfortunately, there is absolutely nothing we can do to help the brave Japanese people in this, except for praying, crossing our fingers, making knots in handkerchieves, whatever. You can bet that Japan is in the minds of every one of us.


 
Here we are again, querido Oldy Nuts, praying, crossing our fingers, and making knots... It worked on other occasions, so let´s keep our hopes high. Oh dear, sometimes I feel that the world will fall apart.
Mejores saludos


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## almostfreebird

Thank you for your praying, bondia, Oldy Nuts. 

This is the latest situation.

http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/03/12/massive-earthquake-strikes-japan/


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## Nanon

Our thoughts are with you all...


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## almostfreebird

Thank you for your kind words, Nanon.

This is the latest news:
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/index.html


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## Dentellière

Estoy viendo en la televisión la CNN 

el programa trata de la _Fusión del Reactor Nuclear_

Dios esté con todos nuestros amigos japoneses y de los países vecinos


.


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## WyomingSue

All our prayers and best wishes in this terrible situation.  In the States we have been glued to the news since yesterday morning.  It is very hard not to cry even thousands of miles away.


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## JamesM

WyomingSue said:


> All our prayers and best wishes in this terrible situation.  In the States we have been glued to the news since yesterday morning.  It is very hard not to cry even thousands of miles away.



This is true.  People are standing, staring at the screen in coffee shops and elsewhere, unable to take the scale of the disaster in.  Everyone's worried about the towns affected by tsunamis.


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## shawnee

The earthquake has now been upgraded to category 9. The third largest in world history. It is reported that 10,000 people are unaccounted for. There is much yet to unfold. My thoughts are with the Japanese people at this time. So far for 2011 the score is, Nature (how many disasters?) and Humanity (nil).


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## kidika

> So far for 2011 the score is, Nature (how many disasters?) and Humanity (nil).


What do you mean, Shawnee, that Humanity has caused no disasters this year? Surely you don´t mean that.


I´m really amazed at how Japanese people seem to endure these terrible moments with such strength and such calm. Admirable people.

Almostfreebird and Flaminius how are you feeling? What crosses your minds right now? (Ignore these questions if you guys don´t feel like answering, please)


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## bondia

kidika said:


> What do you mean, Shawnee, that Humanity has caused no disasters this year? Surely you don´t
> 
> Almostfreebird and Flaminius how are you feeling? What crosses your minds right now? (Ignore these questions if you guys don´t feel like answering, please)



I think that Shawnee meant that Nature is showing her strength over Humanity, and is winning.
I am shocked and horrified by the images I have seen from Japan. Surely no natural disater of this magnitude has been so exhaustively filmed live.
I shake in my shoes regarding the possibility (probablity) of nuclear disaster.
My thoughts, and all good wishes, to our friends in Japan.


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## kidika

bondia said:


> I think that Shawnee meant that Nature is showing her strength over Humanity, and is winning.



Oh, of course.

I can´t help using this Italian expression now: Forza Japan!


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## Oldy Nuts

bondia said:


> ...
> I shake in my shoes regarding the possibility (probablity) of nuclear disaster.
> My thoughts, and all good wishes, to our friends in Japan.



That is my main worry by far. And it makes me uneasy to feel that news about what is happening in the plants seem to be administered with an eyedropper... I pray to be wrong on both counts.


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> That is my main worry by far. And it makes me uneasy to feel that news about what is happening in the plants seem to be administered with an eyedropper... I pray to be wrong on both counts.



Yes, the effects of the quake and tsunamis are dreadful, I can't bear to watch more live videos of these disasters. 
People mourn and survive, countries are rebuilt, but the threat of radioactivity, this is another language altogether.
I, too, pray that you are wrong, querido amigo.


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## almostfreebird

I remember this quote: The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.

Thank you Texan uncle for encouraging us


From  tomorrow morning, Rolling blackouts begin.


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## almostfreebird

One of the disaster areas had a Deepest Breakwater:  http://community.guinnessworldrecords.com/_Deepest-Breakwater/BLOG/2699333/7691.html

That tsunami The 9.0 magnitude earthquake created overwhelmed it.

But if there was not the breakwater, it's beyond my imagination.


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## Flaminius

As one of those who are in a "safer place," the following article by a Japanese professor strikes me as very relevant to this topic.  I found the translated material somewhere on the 'Net.  The translation is wooden here and there but I think the overall message is unambiguously communicated.  It's a copyleft work.

2011.03.13
At the time of unprecedented catastrophe
by Tatsuru Uchida -- Professor at Kobe College
http://blog.tatsuru.com/

Today, the thirteenth of March, is the third day of the East Japan Mega-Quake.
Newspaper headlines speak about "possible meltdowns at Fukushima  reactors" and "ten thousand unaccounted in Minami-Sanriku-Cho Township."
It  has turned out that we are experiencing a national disaster even  greater than the quake [in Kobe] 16 years ago. What are we going to do?   I should like everyone, including myself, be aware what the basic  behaviours of "those in a safer place" should be.


(1) Tolerance
Like Ken'ichiro Mogi wrote on his Twitter blog  this morning, I believe in refraining from making "negative comments" on  this occasion.  We should now be engaging in All-Japan rescue relief  and reconstruction of disaster areas, not in making reproachful comments  to the Government or the authorities, blaming their inabilities.  These  very people are the ones who are leading, and will be leading, efforts  at rescue and reconstruction.  They need material and spiritual support  to continue their tireless hard work.  We should not be lacking in moral  support for them.

For some, telling apart "those in a safer place" and "those in  suffering" provides a good occasion, as if, to speak up for the latter  and criticize the former.  This is a rhetoric to vent out their personal  frustration and aggression.  They are merely taking advantage of the  suffering of the victims to advance their own interests.
Pull yourselves together.


(2) Versatility
Rules for a time of crisis are obviously different from those for a safer time.
Immediately  after the quake, many individuals from different regions used their own  judgment to offer their facilities and services to the victims free of  charge.  Offers are keep flowing.
This is the time when we could use resilience in administering rules.
After  the quake sixteen years ago, I went to a grocery to buy some fuel for  my gasoline stove.  While waiting at the cashier, I met a woman who came  there to buy tarp sheets to cover the top of the house.  Her house lost  the roof and she needed something to take shelter from rain.  The clerk  at the store charged me the full price for the fuel but gave her the  sheets for free, saying, "We should help each other in distress [Komatta  tokiwa otagai sama]."
His behaviour is a good example of versatility.


(3) Entrustment to Experts
An All-Japan support means the support should not be affected by any "political ideologies" or "market principles."
In this blog I have written many times about "social common capitals,"  or fundamental resources necessary for the existence of our community,  or the nation state.  They include natural resources such as forests,  lakes, oceans and soil, social infrastructures such as water supply and  sewerage systems, telecommunications, roads and railways, institutional  capitals such as judicial, medical and educational systems.  I have  argued that we should "entrust" these resources to experts capable of  managing them according to their expertise.  We should not use them as a  means for realising a political ideal or gaining benefit in the market.
Disaster response above all other things is a domain to be entrusted to  the experts; it should have nothing to do with any "political  correctness" or trade benefits.
We should listen to the experts we have entrusted and behave in an orderly manner.

Tolerance, versatility, entrustment are the three things I train myself for, even at a great distance from the disaster areas.
I believe they are useful as well as necessary for delivering sure and immediate relief to the victims.
This is what I felt when I was once a victim of a disaster.
This has been a record of my thoughts back then.


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## JamesM

Thank you for that post, Flaminius.

Do you know of any international relief agencies that have a good track record in Japan of providing effective assistance during such disasters?  I'd like to donate but I want to give it to someone who will use it well.


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## gengo

Lloro por Japón, mi segundo hogar, el amor de mi joventud.  Pero sé que el pueblo japonés sobrevivirá.

Esperemos que no haya un tercer catástrofe (después del terramoto y el tsunami) con los reactores nucleares.

Dado que este es un foro lingüistico, quisiera añadir que aunque los locutores estadounidenses siguen diciendo "tsunami waves," eso es redundante, ya que tsu (津) significa puerto (del mar) y nami (波) significa ola.


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## bondia

Have just  heard on the news that there are still 50 people working at the Fukushima nuclear plant in the hope of preventing the escalation of this nightmare. I would spare a special thought for them.
I hope we hear soon from our friends in Japan with their latest news.


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## Flaminius

JamesM said:


> Thank you for that post, Flaminius.
> 
> Do you know of any international relief agencies that have a good track record in Japan of providing effective assistance during such disasters?  I'd like to donate but I want to give it to someone who will use it well.


Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières.  It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.

I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan.  They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal.  You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.

Peace Winds Japan
http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
Reputed for rapid-response aids.

AMDA International
http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved."  Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.

NGO JEN
http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports.  A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.

ADRA
http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.


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## bondia

Flaminius said:


> Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières. It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.
> 
> I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan. They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal. You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.
> 
> Peace Winds Japan
> http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
> Reputed for rapid-response aids.
> 
> AMDA International
> http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
> Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved." Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.
> 
> NGO JEN
> 
> http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
> Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports. A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.
> 
> ADRA
> http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
> Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.


 
 Thank you for that info. Flaminius.
 I'm a member of Médicins sans Frontières, so I'll do my bit with them, but very interesting for others to hear of alternatives.

 Sincerely hope all well with you and yours.


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## JamesM

Tōhoku is the northeast region of Honshū?


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## Oldy Nuts

Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.


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## gengo

JamesM said:


> Tōhoku is the northeast region of Honshū?



Yes, and that is literally what the name means.

東北 = Tohoku
東 = tō = east
北 = hoku = north

There is a very strong Tohoku dialect, which is rather hard for me to understand at times.


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## almostfreebird

JamesM said:


> Tōhoku is the northeast region of Honshū?



Yes. 東北(tôhoku) means east-north.

Coastal towns in Miyagi prefecture and Iwate prefecture, which are located in north-east, are the devastatingly damaged area.

Just one hour ago, pretty big earthquake again, scary.

Cindy Loaper arrived in Japan the day the 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit. She decided not to cancel her concert, it's going to be a charity concert.


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## Vampiro

Oldy Nuts said:


> Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.


So am I.
A hug.
_


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Recent news about two explosions and a fire today at the Fukushima nuclear plant are very disturbing. Those 50 workers who stay in the plant trying to control the excessive heating of the affected reactors, knowing that it is very likely that they will be exposed to high levels of radiation, deserve our full admiration. I wouldn't doubt in calling them heroes, and pray for their safety and their success.





Vampiro said:


> So am I.
> A hug.
> _



Count on my crossed fingers and knotted handkerchiefs. I am reminded of the "mineros chilenos" thread. Let's hope for such a positive outcome today.
Saludos, amigos


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## Pedro y La Torre

The Japanese are a fantastic people, I really hope the plant issue is resolved without too much human and environmental damage resulting, though of course at this point all we can do is hope.


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## Oldy Nuts

Pedro y La Torre said:


> The Japanese are a fantastic people, I really hope the plant issue is resolved without too much human and environmental damage resulting, though of course at this point all we can do is hope.



No, we can also pray for them if we are believers, or cross our fingers and tie knots in all of our handkerchieves if we are not. And above all, we can remind them as frequently as possible that we are backing them, that the eyes of the world are centered in them and in their country, that we all care.

The experiences of our earthquake of last year, and of the 33 miners that were finally rescued safe and sound after almost 70 days and despite all the initial predictions, have shown me that knowing that so many people cares does indeed help. A lot.


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> No, we can also pray for them if we are believers, or cross our fingers and tie knots in all of our handkerchieves if we are not. And above all, we can remind them as frequently as possible that we are backing them, that the eyes of the world are centered in them and in their country, that we all care.
> 
> The experiences of our earthquake of last year, and of the 33 miners that were finally rescued safe and sound after almost 70 days and despite all the initial predictions, have shown me that knowing that so many people cares does indeed help. A lot.



Yes. 
Muchas gracias, Oldy, por tu post.


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## rusita preciosa

My thoughts are with you, dear Japanese foreros.


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## kidika

Flaminius said:


> Obviously I do not have to mention reputed organisations such as Red Cross and Médecins Sans Frontières.  It's a good idea to enquire their branch offices in your country and check what, if any, they (or the Japanese branch, or the their international headquarters) have presence on this occasion.
> 
> I'd like to mention a few international aide organisations headquartered in Japan.  They have English web pages and accept donations by credit cards and PayPal.  You may, however, need to check if your contribution is going to support relief efforts for Tōhoku 2011, or their overall activities worldwide.
> 
> Peace Winds Japan
> http://www.peace-winds.org/en/
> Reputed for rapid-response aids.
> 
> AMDA International
> http://www.amdainternational.com/english/index.php
> Their motto is "to go wherever there is a life to be saved."  Deals in emergency medial and hygienic aids for disaster and conflict areas.
> 
> NGO JEN
> http://www.jen-npo.org/en/
> Specialise in emergency aids and long-term self-reliance supports.  A lot of credits for their activities for Niigata Quake in 2006.
> 
> ADRA
> http://www.adra.org/site/PageServer
> Emergency relief both inside and outside Japan.



Thanks for this information, Flaminius. It´s very much appreciated over here.
Though I´m not a religious person, I hope with all my might that the nuclear problem gets solved soon.
Loads of hugs and kisses to all Japanese children.


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## Oldy Nuts

The situation at Fukushima seems to be getting much worse all the time. Our Japanese friends need our support more than ever. Let us show it.


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## Vampiro

Tengo una pena que simplemente no puedo describir.
Qué horror…
_


----------



## romarsan

No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.

Un abrazo...


----------



## kidika

romarsan said:


> No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.
> 
> Un abrazo...



Esto va a sonar a chorrada, pero bueno. Lo digo. 
Si la teoría del caos dice que el aleteo de una mariposa en Nueva Zelanda puede producir un vendaval en España, por la misma regla de tres un pensamiento de cariño desde Valencia, que probablemente despliegue más energía que el aleteo de una mariposa, puede producir maravillas en Japón.

No estoy intentando ser graciosa, que conste. Creo mucho en el poder del pensamiento positivo, a pesar de no ser capaz de tenerlo siempre, por desgracia.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

romarsan said:


> No sé qué estará en mis manos hacer, a corto o a largo plazo, para mostrar mi solidaridad con el pueblo japonés, tan sólo quisiera estar a la altura de las circunstancias como ellos han demostrado estar.
> 
> Un abrazo...



It may seem almost nothing to you, but just posting your support here _is_ a valuable help. As I mentioned before, it helps directly participants from a country that is suffering a mayor emergency. These may be very few but, through them, that sense of being supported by people all over the world spreads to their friends and relatives, who in turn make this known to others. From previous and recent experiences, I can assure you that this does help.


----------



## almostfreebird

kidika said:


> Esto va a sonar a chorrada, pero bueno. Lo digo.
> Si la teoría del caos dice que el aleteo de una mariposa en Nueva Zelanda puede producir un vendaval en España, por la misma regla de tres un pensamiento de cariño desde Valencia, que probablemente despliegue más energía que el aleteo de una mariposa, puede producir maravillas en Japón.
> 
> No estoy intentando ser graciosa, que conste. Creo mucho en el poder del pensamiento positivo, a pesar de no ser capaz de tenerlo siempre, por desgracia.



Fortunately most people in Japan remain unperturbed or trying to stay calm in spite of rolling blackouts right now.
Of course there's a kind of people who gets hysterical and go panic buying, that's a nuisance.
The funny thing is that there seems even people outside of Japan gets hysterical about nuclear thing right now.


----------



## Vampiro

Funny?
What is funny in all this matter?
_


----------



## almostfreebird

Vampiro said:


> Funny?
> What is funny in all this matter?
> _



Sorry.
I was talking about media hype and panic-mongers.


----------



## JamesM

"Panic-mongering" is a good general definition of almost all news in the U.S. for the past decade, at least.  Don't take it personally.  They panic over everything. 

Just hang in there, and let us know if there's anything we can do to help.


----------



## bondia

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16workers.html?emc=eta1Jj

Just received this link from friends in New York.
My heart goes out to these brave workers.


----------



## almostfreebird

Let me quote this passage written by Ryū Murakami:

But for all we’ve lost, hope is in fact one thing we Japanese have regained. The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe.

quoted from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/opinion/17Murakami.html?ref=opinion


Now Metro Police is about to begin shooting water into Fukushima reactor cooling pool with water cannon.


----------



## Nanon

almostfreebird said:


> But for all we’ve lost, hope is in fact one thing we Japanese have regained. The great earthquake and tsunami have robbed us of many lives and resources. But we who were so intoxicated with our own prosperity have once again planted the seed of hope. So I choose to believe.


This is beautiful, almostfreebird.
Our hope, our compassion, our solidarity, our love is with you.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

The news about the situation in the plant seem to me to be getting more and more disturbing. I join our Japanese brothers and sisters in hoping for the best. We are with you.


----------



## almostfreebird

Oldy Nuts said:


> The news about the situation in the plant seem to me to be getting more and more disturbing. I join our Japanese brothers and sisters in hoping for the best. We are with you.



It's six in the morning here, those courageous were setting things up during the night, they're ready for the next step now.


----------



## Valeria Mesalina

So it is getting better? That's great news, Almostfreebird. I have always admired the way your people react to tragedies and learn from them, and though what you've lost will never be replaced the way you're dealing with this only makes me admire you more.


----------



## almostfreebird

I just hope it gets better as soon as possible.

When I see Japanese Twitters, I can say they really are happy to get encouragement from all over the world, just like I'm happy to receive your words of encouragement.
Well I think I'm going to get some sleep. I sat up all night reading Culture Café and Twitters.


----------



## almostfreebird

I'm also happy to see the encouraging message from Rolling Stones:
http://www.rollingstones.com/news/message-japan

Things seem to be getting better a bit by bit, they are shooting tons of water
continuously.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

I read that Japan has increased the nuclear risk alarm level from 4 to 5. Let us hope that this doesn't mean that the heroic efforts of those trying to throw as much water as possible on the reactors are not been successful


----------



## Mirlo

Japan is continuing its attempts to cool damaged reactors and exposed fuel rods at the crippled coastal nuclear power plant hit by the tsunami following the magnitude nine earthquake a week ago. 



> "Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you."~ Aldous Huxley



I think of the courage, the love and solidarity of the Japanese people and I praise them for it, my prayers and hopes are with them.


----------



## kidika

Oldy Nuts said:


> I read that Japan has increased the nuclear risk alarm level from 4 to 5. Let us hope that this doesn't mean that the heroic efforts of those trying to throw as much water as possible on the reactors are not been successful



The news I´ve heard today were really encouraging. Apparently the efforts of cooling the reactor are paying off and things seem not to go worse, which in this case is an important step ahead. I´ve also heard that they are much closer to being able to bring electricity to the plant, that would mean that the cooling system would be even more effective.

So kudos to all the workmen in Fukushima!


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Yes, it does seem that for two days now things have not got worse, which in this case means progress. And I have just read that the rise from level 4 to 5 is due to better assesments of previous damages, not to new ones, so it has not been necessary to expand the 20 km evacuation area.

Here goes my humble homage to all those anonymous heroes who are exposing their lives to tame the disaster.


----------



## gengo

Oldy Nuts said:


> Here goes my humble homage to all those anonymous heroes who are exposing their lives to tame the disaster.



Me da la sensación de que no van a conservar el anonimato por mucho más tiempo 		si tienen éxito en bajar la temperatura de los reactores.  Van a convertirse en estrellas mundiales.  Pero lo triste es que es posible que también vayan a morir más temprano a causa de su exposición a la radiación.


----------



## kreiner

Un fuerte abrazo solidario a Japón, pueblo que a lo largo de la historia ha demostrado su fortaleza y su capacidad para renacer de las desgracias.


----------



## frida-nc

I am glad that the small words of "fellow-feeling" we can offer on this thread brings some comfort.  When a natural disaster strikes, people not directly affected may seem very slow to comprehend it.  You can be sure that we are thinking of you, and that if we can find concrete ways to help, a great many of us will step up to do so.


----------



## almostfreebird

In Miyagi prefecture, 80 years old woman and 16 years old boy were rescued, pulled out of rubble after 9 days.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/20...nd-teenager-saved-from-quake-after-nine-days/


----------



## bondia

almostfreebird said:


> In Miyagi prefecture, 80 years old woman and 16 years old boy were rescued, pulled out of rubble after 9 days.
> http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/03/20...nd-teenager-saved-from-quake-after-nine-days/



Yes! Just saw it on the TV news. Grandmother and grandson. Let's hope there is even more good news to come.
Best regards


----------



## Valeria Mesalina

Those news are always moving, Almostfreebird. Let's hope more people are found soon.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

I am worried by the lack of news about what is happening at Fukushima... It could be a good sign, but it could also be just the opposite.


----------



## Flaminius

What's happening at the Fukushima I is alternation between pumping water into the Units 1 - 4 and rewiring and replacement so that they can run emergency cooling systems there.  Workers do their work while nuclear fuels are cold enough but have to leave the units when something explodes, smoulders or the fuels get dangerously hot.  The first estimate was that they could fix measurements indicators in control rooms in one day but they are not there yet.  Obviously the conditions and the environments for the workers are very tough.

While reports about "contaminated" water and vegetables are scary, those "contaminations" do not really pose health hazards for the time being.  There are indications that leak of radioactive particles has drastically decreased (N.B., not that the leaks were very very dangerous in their height).

I'd have a few acrimonious words for the Government and the power company about how they are handling the situation and how they have led the energy policy up to this disaster but I am one of the perpetrators.  For 40 years the Fukushima I reactors were in operation and I have been a beneficiary for my entire life.  I didn't ask them to build reactors but I willy-nilly used, enjoyed and wasted electricity from Fukushima I.  Incidentally, locals in Fukushima do not use power from there.  So, I won't express them.  (Anyway, it's not a suitable theme in this thread.  )


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Hello Flaminius, and thank you very much for your most needed update from the inside. Unfortunately, the effects of the earthquake seem not to be news any longer, and we get at most a couple of lines informing on the revised number of official deaths.

I have been very worried because even the situation at Fukushima has gone almost cmpletely from the news here. And, frankly, I don't know whether to take this silence as good or as bad news. I have taken a look at what the scientists are saying about this, and it is very little indeed, except for speculations. Lack of information seems to be a generalised complain among them.

I have known from the beginning that the working conditions of those trying to cool the reactors are very dangerous, to put it mildly, and have therefore expressed my admiration for them more than once in this thread. I think that the whole world has an enormous debt of gratitude with these anonymous heroes.

It is most comforting to know that the radiation found in water and vegetables has decreased and that, as far as I know, consisted mostly of isotopes with very short mean lives.

We are all with you.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

I hope that the lack of further messages is due to today being a Sunday, because I heartly want to believe that we still _are_ all with the Japanese people. If it's any comfort to Japanese participants, at least all my relatives, friends, and even simple acquaintances are with you.


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> I hope that the lack of further messages is due to today being a Sunday, because I heartly want to believe that we still _are_ all with the Japanese people. If it's any comfort to Japanese participants, at least all my relatives, friends, and even simple acquaintances are with you.



Yes, yesterday was Sunday, and I was away, otherwise I would have posted. Have just returned home and see that there are no new posts today, Monday.
My thoughts remain with you all in Japan, and thanks to you, Oldy, for reminding us.
bondia


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Hello bondia, I hope you didn't overlook messages 98 and 99, now in the previous page. It was really Flaminius, not me, who revived this thread.


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Hello bondia, I hope you didn't overlook messages 98 and 99, now in the previous page. It was really Flaminius, not me, who revived this thread.



Indeed, you are right, Oldy Nuts.
As I said, I just returned home after 4 days away, and read the latest posts too quickly.
Thank you, Flaminius.


----------



## Flaminius

Thank you, everyone for your warmest regards and supports for my country.  Even if I risk ingrate-like exclusion of worthy countries, I would like to ask you to please allow me to thank countries that are offering help to us.


Thank you very much, United States of America, for your 20000-man military rescue Operation Tomodachi.

多謝, thank you, Singapore, for sending airplane-load of aid supply in, with the extra trouble of hiring a civilian plane instead of the originally-planed military one.

Merci beaucoup, France, for information and support vital for containing the Fukushima disaster; we already owe a lot to L'Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire and Areva.

ขอบคุณมากครับ ประเทศไทย!  \\ (ด^__^ด) // 
Thank you, Thailand, for your gracious offer to lend two sets of whole gas power plants (122000 KW for each).  หัวใจสวย!

!טודה רבה מדינת ישראל
Thank you, Israel, for your medial aid.  Doctor Ofir Cohen and his team could start their mission just today!

感恩, Taiwan, for such a huge amount of relief donation (from the government and the public) as well as 105 tons of vegetable.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Flaminius, I think it would have been fair to include those thousands of private individuals who have made their contributions through the many institutions that are gathering it througout the world. I know that there have been (and still are) campaings over here asking people to collaborate to help the people in Japan.

But yes, it is quite right for you to thank publicly those contries that have contributed the most.

Incidentally, it would sadden me very much if bondia and I were the only non Japanese participants still following this thread.


----------



## kidika

Oldy Nuts said:


> Incidentally, it would sadden me very much if bondia and I were the only non Japanese participants still following this thread.



You´re not.
I just don´t know what else to say...The Japanese have all the world´s support and actually I don´t understand why they don´t have more in Fukushima. I read that only yesterday, they asked for French specialists to come on site, or so I read in a Spanish newspaper. I hope I don´t hurt anyone´s sensitivities with this. I just find it odd and unfair.


----------



## romarsan

Kidika, please. Japanese people are suffering and they know everybody  would like to help them in this difficult moments. They are fighting  against the circumstances in a way that make me admire them still more  than before. I know they have asked all the help they needed and they are doing and will continue doing things in the best of the possible way.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Kidika, romarsan. Let's not fight among ourselves; we are all backing the Japanese people, and most especially, the gigantic efforts being made at the nuclear plant. 

And it has been nice, and a great relief, to know that there are more than just two people listening in this thread. Just remember, even the same old "I'm with you", repeated for the hundredth time, _is_ a help after a disaster of the magnitude on the one affecting Japan. I can tell by direct experience; just knowing that there were many people in different parts of the world who worried and cared for us did help after last year's quake here, and during the rescue of the 33 miners. And it also comforted the many other people who also came to know this directly or indirectly through me. So don't be afraid of repeating the same things over and over again.


----------



## Vanda

Oldy Nuts, although I don't post I am always reading it too.  And like all of you, praying for these patient suffering people!


----------



## la_machy

Vanda said:


> Oldy Nuts, although I don't post I am always reading it too.  And like all of you, praying for these patient suffering people!


The same over here.
Pendiente y calladita, solamente orando.

Afectuosos saludos para todos.


----------



## Dama de noche

I would like to show my support too.

I've always found Japanese people really worthy of admiration for several reasons, being one of them their behaviour in difficult situations. I have met some Japaneses and some of my friends have lived or are living in Japan and they have showed me or told me first-hand about it. Nevertheless, how they have reacted to this tragedy have left me speechless.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

My dear Machy, don't you happen to have a spell or an infusion that may help here? (Just a very poor joke , but it would be marvelous if you had).

_For those not in the known: by coincidence, Machi is the name given in the Mapuche language to those persons, mostly women, chosen by the Higher Spirits/Powers, to heal the bodies and souls of "normal" people._


----------



## la_machy

Oldy Nuts said:


> My dear Machy, don't you happen to have a spell or an infusion that may help here? ...


 Tengo algo mejor. Tengo Fe. Tengo fe en que el pueblo japonés logre superar pronto este momento díficil. 
Estoy segura de que nuestros pensamientos positivos pueden ayudar.


----------



## bondia

la_machy said:


> Estoy segura de que nuestros pensamientos positivos pueden ayudar.



Yo también. En otras situaciones ayudaron, estoy segura.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

la_machy said:


> Tengo algo mejor. Tengo Fe. Tengo fe en que el pueblo japonés logre superar pronto este momento díficil.
> Estoy segura de que nuestros pensamientos positivos pueden ayudar.



Of course. Faith can move mountains. Why shouldn't it also be capable of cooling a reactor? My scientific formation does not prevent me from thinking that your thoughts, those of bondia, my own, and those of so many others around the world can help. One way or another....


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Of course. Faith can move mountains. Why shouldn't it also be capable of cooling a reactor? My scientific formation does not prevent me from thinking that your thoughts, those of bondia, my own, and those of so many others around the world can help. One way or another....



Que los dioses te oigan.
 Las últimas notícias de Fukushima no son muy alentadoras..
Abrazos


----------



## Pedro y La Torre

romarsan said:


> Kidika, please. Japanese people are suffering and they know everybody  would like to help them in this difficult moments. They are fighting  against the circumstances in a way that make me admire them still more  than before. I know they have asked all the help they needed and they are doing and will continue doing things in the best of the possible way.



Well she actually raises a good point. It seems that TEPCO bears at least some of the responsibility in this whole catastrophe. When they've said things are getting better, you can take that as an indication that they're actually getting worse.

Of course, everyone hopes and prays for the best, but that shouldn't be to the exclusion of what's going on on the ground.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

bondia said:


> Que los dioses te oigan.
> Las últimas notícias de Fukushima no son muy alentadoras..
> Abrazos



It's the _lack_ of accurate news about what is happening at Fukushima what worries me. My own impresion is that it means that things are not improving, but also not getting any worse. If they were either improving or getting worse, that would be selling news that would make it to all the headlines in all the media all over the world. At least, that's what I think.

Addition: I insist in writing in English because participants visiting this thread do not necessarily understand Spanish...


----------



## romarsan

Pedro y La Torre said:


> Well she actually raises a good point. It seems that TEPCO bears at least some of the responsibility in this whole catastrophe. When they've said things are getting better, you can take that as an indication that they're actually getting worse.
> 
> Of course, everyone hopes and prays for the best, but that shouldn't be to the exclusion of what's going on on the ground.



I think this is not the thread to question anyone or anything, that's all, Pedro.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Pedro y La Torre said:


> Well she actually raises a good point. It seems that TEPCO bears at least some of the responsibility in this whole catastrophe. When they've said things are getting better, you can take that as an indication that they're actually getting worse.
> 
> Of course, everyone hopes and prays for the best, but that shouldn't be to the exclusion of what's going on on the ground.



In my opinion, this is the time to cool down the reactors. Looking for responsibilities should come once this is done.


----------



## kreiner

I agree with Oldy. There will be time to look for responsabilities. Now it's time for solutions.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

kreiner said:


> I agree with Oldy. There will be time to look for responsabilities. Now it's time for solutions.



Look out for _false friends_; it's "respons*i*bilities" .


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> I know that there have been (and still are) Campaings over here asking
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Talking of "false friends", Oldy, it's *campaiGNs*
Click to expand...


----------



## kreiner

Oldy Nuts said:


> Look out for _false friends_; it's "respons*i*bilities" .


 
Oh, thanks . In my defense I must say that I posted it 10 minutes before going to bed.


----------



## Valeria Mesalina

Oldy Nuts said:


> It's the _lack_ of accurate news about what is happening at Fukushima what worries me. My own impresion is that it means that things are not improving, but also not getting any worse. If they were either improving or getting worse, that would be selling news that would make it to all the headlines in all the media all over the world. At least, that's what I think.


 
I don't think so, news last for some days, but no more. I trust rather more whatever information our Japanese members post.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

bondia said:


> Oldy Nuts said:
> 
> 
> 
> I know that there have been (and still are) Campaings over here asking
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Talking of "false friends", Oldy, it's *campaiGNs*
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks for the correction, dear bondia; although there is a difference between false friends and typos...
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> bondia said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oldy Nuts said:
> 
> 
> 
> I know that there have been (and still are) Campaings over here asking Thanks for the correction, dear bondia; although there is a difference between false friends and typos...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Indeed. The strange thing is that just a week or so ago I made the same correction to another member (whose English is on the same superlative level as yours) so I guess it's a typo-cum-frequent lapsus... or maybe it needs a category of its own.
> Whatever, back on topic, I join Valeria Mesalina in placing more trust in the information from our Japanese friends than in the "official" news.
> All the best, fingers still crossed.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


----------



## Vanda

Oh my God! And it is getting worse! God have mercy!


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Vanda said:


> Oh my God! And it is getting worse! God have mercy!


Dear Vanda, I am not sure if the high levels of radioactivity that have just been reported are an indication of things getting worse or not. They could very well be what would be normally expected so near the plant under the circumstances. Unfortunately, there is a lack of serious and acccurate information about what is happening.


----------



## Pedro y La Torre

Vanda said:


> Oh my God! And it is getting worse! God have mercy!



Goodness. I know it's bad but I'm not really sure this is going to calm the spirits of the people concerned.


----------



## Vanda

I am one of the people concerned.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Vanda said:


> I am one of the people concerned.



I am also one of the persons not directly affected by the situation who are worried by what is happening in Japan. And I wish we could have more accurate information than what makes it to the news.

It's difficult to guess if the situation in the plant is improving or not based on what is published in the media. News like the most recent one about very high levels of radiation near the reactors say nothing to me without knowing if it is due to isotopes of short or long half lives, if those levels increased in the last couple of days or are a cummulative effect, if the contamination is likely to spread or will remain where it is, ...


----------



## Vanda

At least we can go praying.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Vanda said:


> At least we can go praying.



By all means. And tying knots, etc. Above all, posting here every now and then that we are. Even if it's only a couple of Japan residents who read our messages, this spreads, and helps much more people over there than just those two.


----------



## cubaMania

The news stories coming from Japan each day are heart-wrenching.  I hope for the best possible outcome for all those mourning their loved ones, working to rebuild homes and businesses and lives, helping their family and friends and neighbors, and those brave souls working and sacrificing at the nuclear facilities.  Though we no longer see dramatic pictures of walls of water, I know it must be terrible to endure the uncertainties of the now slow-moving disaster that continues in Japan.  I hope aid will continue to flow into Japan, and that the courage and fortitude of the people will lead Japan to a bright, prosperous, and safe future.


----------



## almostfreebird

Things that happened caused by earthquake and subsequent tsunami  are so disastrous we , especially those in disaster areas and real workers in front near reactors , are apt to be dismal, but they're hanging on and doing their best.

Baseball  begins soon, Tokio Disneyland will reopen soon. Some people say that kind of thing is not good thing to do now in this situation, but those are the things too that are needed.

You can get voices from people(foreigners,Japanese whoever living in Japan ).
http://wanwan.fm/badcommunication/
http://www.japanprobe.com/


----------



## Oldy Nuts

The media are now reporting the detection of traces of plutonium in soil samples taken around the Fukushima plant, which I found most perturbing at first. However, from what I have gathered visiting some serious sites, the amounts are small, they do not seem to be considered a threat for human health, and there is no evidence that the plutonium comes from the reactors.

Just in case others have been alarmed by this news. Mind you, I am not saying that everything is normal and under control; there is too little information to know the real situation of the reactors. Only that the news about the plutonium is not nearly as bad as I thought on reading it.

So let's continue praying, tying knots in handkerchiefs, ...


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> So let's continue praying, tying knots in handkerchiefs, ...



... crossing fingers, inter alia...

Good night, may we all sleep well.


----------



## Valeria Mesalina

Oldy Nuts said:


> The media are now reporting the detection of traces of plutonium in soil samples taken around the Fukushima plant, which I found most perturbing at first. However, from what I have gathered visiting some serious sites, the amounts are small, they do not seem to be considered a threat for human health, and there is no evidence that the plutonium comes from the reactors.


 
There are always radiactive particles in the soil; granite, for instance, is highly radiactive (I think it's uranium the one that's present in granite). So detecting radiactive elements in soil samples doesn't mean much.

So let's keep our fingers crossed and pray for the suffering ones.


----------



## almostfreebird

Oldy Nuts said:


> The media are now reporting the detection of traces of plutonium in soil samples taken around the Fukushima plant, which I found most perturbing at first.



According to ＩＡＥＡ(International Atomic Energy Agency),  the level of plutonium detected around the facilities is no more than those that's been detected in many parts of the world resulting from nuclear experiments over several decades.

However situations are still unpredictable.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

almostfreebird said:


> According to ＩＡＥＡ(International Atomic Energy Agency),  the level of plutonium detected around the facilities is no more than those that's been detected in many parts of the world resulting from nuclear experiments over several decades.
> 
> However situations are still unpredictable.



Thanks for the information. Both things confirm what I had found.

And we are with you. May the efforts of those who are risking their lives be successful soon...


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Thanks for the information. Both things confirm what I had found.
> 
> And we are with you. May the efforts of those who are risking their lives be successful soon...


Amen to that, my friend.
I have just seen the latest news on TV with new images of Fukushima and a short report on the Prime Minister, Naoto Kan (I hope my spelling is right). Whatever mistakes may have been made in dealing with this catastrophe, this man, whose political ideals I know nothing about, has my sympathy, and, for what it's worth at this great distance, my moral support.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

I have just read excerpts of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's press conference (same spelling of his name in the press here), and he also has my sympathy. My moral support goes not only to him, but also to all the Japanese people and, most specially, for those who are trying to neutralize the crisis in the nuclear plant.


----------



## bondia

No news now from our Japanese friends for 4 days, and news reports just give astronomical figures. Heard on the radio that the level of (was it radio activity, plutionium or what?) in the sea was 5 millon times the acceptable level. At least, that's what I think I heard. Is this possible?
Thoughts still with you all. Please give us an update.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

From what I understand from what is published in what I consider reliable sources, we are talking of the discharge in the ocean of some 12,000 tons of low-radioactivity water from the safe storage in some of the reactors. The reason is to make room for safely storing the high-radioactivity water that is still being produced. Figures published by TEPCO indicate that the radioactivity in the water being discharged is too low to represent any health danger, while the IAIE is asking for further numerical data in order to perform its own evaluation of the risks.

So, my dear bondia, and all the others who care about this, it would seem that the situation is not getting any worse, which in this case would be good news. Let's hope so, and keep on praying, crossing fingers, whatever...


----------



## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> From what I understand from what is published in what I consider reliable sources, we are talking of the discharge in the ocean of some 12,000 tons of low-radioactivity water from the safe storage in some of the reactors. The reason is to make room for safely storing the high-radioactivity water that is still being produced. Figures published by TEPCO indicate that the radioactivity in the water being discharged is too low to represent any health danger, while the IAIE is asking for further numerical data in order to perform its own evaluation of the risks.
> 
> So, my dear bondia, and all the others who care about this, it would seem that the situation is not getting any worse, which in this case would be good news. Let's hope so, and keep on praying, crossing fingers, whatever...


 
Thanks as always, dear Oldy, for sharing your knowledge with us all.


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## bondia

At last, there seems to be some good news from what I've seen today.
Still hoping to hear soon from our Japanese friends.


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## bondia

bondia said:


> At last, there seems to be some good news from what I've seen today.
> Still hoping to hear soon from our Japanese friends.


 
8 days later, and still waiting...


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## Oldy Nuts

bondia said:


> 8 days later, and still waiting...



Yes, and what is worse is that I consider the latest news to be at best confusing. From what I gather from what I consider more or less reliable sources, the increase in the risk rating at Fukushima is just due to the fact that they had been rating the risk of each reactor separately, and now they are assessing the risk of the whole lot. More clearly, I understand that the increased rating is NOT the result of any recent event in the reactors, and it does NOT mean that the situation is any worse than before.

Also, I understand that the aftershocks of the last week have not produced any new damage that has been detected so far.

Yes, it would be good to have some direct news from our Japanese friends. It is however understandable that they may have more pressing things to do than visiting these forums...


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Yes, and what is worse is that I consider the latest news to be at best confusing. From what I gather from what I consider more or less reliable sources, the increase in the risk rating at Fukushima is just due to the fact that they had been rating the risk of each reactor separately, and now they are assessing the risk of the whole lot. More clearly, I understand that the increased rating is NOT the result of any recent event in the reactors, and it does NOT mean that the situation is any worse than before.
> 
> Also, I understand that the aftershocks of the last week have not produced any new damage that has been detected so far.
> 
> Yes, it would be good to have some direct news from our Japanese friends. It is however understandable that they may have more pressing things to do than visiting these forums...


 
Yes, indeed. As always, Oldy, thank you for being here.
Un abrazo, amigo


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## Flaminius

Hi,

Thank you for your continued support and messages of solidarity.  I cannot but regret that I cannot thank all of you in person.

To pick up a few questions mentioned in this thread, it is getting all the more clear for the situation at Fukushima that we are facing something a little more complicated than a trilemma of pumping water, rewiring the reactor and collecting radioactive cooling water.  Radioactive water leaked into the ocean, including a government-induced discharge, works to removed debris from the premises, new pavements for heavy machinery to approach the reactors.  I admire those behinds the efforts but we are yet to cope with fuels that melted down.

Relief efforts for tsunami-hit areas is characterised by singular efforts by individuals.  A local high school student built a Web site using Google Map to show graphically what goods are needed in what places.  A university lecturer I know canvassed evacuation centres near Sendai (which his parents live and where he lost an uncle) to set up a network to request and send goods by-passing local bureaucracy.  [Both of the sites are in Japanese and meant for domestic audience but I just wanted to show their improvisation.]

I'd continue for a few more paragraphs but I stop here.  I need to rest but I will come back soon.

Ciao
Flam


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## bondia

Flaminius said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thank you for your continued support and messages of solidarity.  I cannot but regret that I cannot thank all of you in person.
> 
> To pick up a few questions mentioned in this thread, it is getting all the more clear for the situation at Fukushima that we are facing something a little more complicated than a trilemma of pumping water, rewiring the reactor and collecting radioactive cooling water.  Radioactive water leaked into the ocean, including a government-induced discharge, works to removed debris from the premises, new pavements for heavy machinery to approach the reactors.  I admire those behinds the efforts but we are yet to cope with fuels that melted down.
> 
> Relief efforts for tsunami-hit areas is characterised by singular efforts by
> individuals.  A local high school student built a Web site using Google Map to show graphically what goods are needed in what places.  A university lecturer I know canvassed evacuation centres near Sendai (which his parents live and where he lost an uncle) to set up a network to request and send goods by-passing local bureaucracy.  [Both of the sites are in Japanese and meant for domestic audience but I just wanted to show their improvisation.]
> 
> I'd continue for a few more paragraphs but I stop here.  I need to rest but I
> will come back soon.
> 
> Ciao
> Flam



Very glad to hear from you. Take care, all the best
bondia


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## Oldy Nuts

Hello Flaminius.

It was good to know from you. I live in Chile, and my chances of travelling to Japan are (almost) zero, so it seems highly unlikely that we will ever meet. But don't worry; don't forget that our countries are the two more highly seismic in the world, and last year we had an earthquake that was only a couple of tenths lower in the Richter scale than the one there. So I may be in a better position to understand how you and your people feel than those who only know earthquakes through the news.

Thank you for sharing with us those beautiful two examples that make we feel that mankind is not so hopeless as we tend to think on seeing to many examples of the opposite kind. I think I posted in another thread a similar beautiful story that took place here, less than an hour of our earthquake of last years. This was in the middle of the night, with no electricity, no phones, streets full of debris from the damaged houses, etc. And the scene shows a man riding slowly and carefully a bycicle, with only a hand flashlight to see where he was going, and shouting again and again: "I am a doctor, anyone in need of help around here?".

I know that the Japanese people are strong, and they will recover from this tragedy. There are very many of us around the world who are hoping that those hundreds of anonymous heroes who are risking their lives trying to get the situation at Fukushima under control will succeed very soon. And we do realize that this is by no means easy, but we are all with you.

Do come back whenever you can. It helps knowing that one is not alone.


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Hello Flaminius.
> 
> It was good to know from you. I live in Chile, and my chances of travelling to Japan are (almost) zero, so it seems highly unlikely that we will ever meet. But don't worry; don't forget that our countries are the two more highly seismic in the world, and last year we had an earthquake that was only a couple of tenths lower in the Richter scale than the one there. So I may be in a better position to understand how you and your people feel than those who only know earthquakes through the news.
> 
> Thank you for sharing with us those beautiful two examples that make we feel that mankind is not so hopeless as we tend to think on seeing to many examples of the opposite kind. I think I posted in another thread a similar beautiful story that took place here, less than an hour of our earthquake of last years. This was in the middle of the night, with no electricity, no phones, streets full of debris from the damaged houses, etc. And the scene shows a man riding slowly and carefully a bycicle, with only a hand flashlight to see where he was going, and shouting again and again: "I am a doctor, anyone in need of help around here?".
> 
> I know that the Japanese people are strong, and they will recover from this tragedy. There are very many of us around the world who are hoping that those hundreds of anonymous heroes who are risking their lives trying to get the situation at Fukushima under control will succeed very soon. And we do realize that this is by no means easy, but we are all with you.
> 
> Do come back whenever you can. It helps knowing that one is not alone.


 
I live in a place where there is no seismic activity (to speak of) although we were affected a few years ago by an earthquake in Algeria which caused a mild tsunsami that damaged boats in the harbour, including ours.
However, one doesn't need to experience things first hand to understand, and sympathise, with those who do.
Oldy Nuts, your example of the doctor offering help in the night to the victims of your earthquake is truly moving. One's faith in humanity should never falter, a pesar de todo. And thank you, Flaminius for sharing.
I, too, am with the anonymous heroes. Keep in touch.
bondia


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## Oldy Nuts

Bondia, I know that you didn't, but I see now that there may be people who take my words to mean that I am underestimating the solidarity of those who don't know firsthand what an earthquake is. On the contrary, and fortunately for all of us, there are many good hearted people all over the world who really can feel other people's sorrow as if it was theirs. If I may say this in public, I think you are a good example of this.


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## bondia

Oldy Nuts said:


> Bondia, I know that you didn't, but I see now that there may be people who take my words to mean that I am underestimating the solidarity of those who don't know firsthand what an earthquake is. On the contrary, and fortunately for all of us, there are many good hearted people all over the world who really can feel other people's sorrow as if it was theirs. If I may say this in public, I think you are a good example of this.



I thank you for your words, querido amigo. 
The world would be a better place...


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## Oldy Nuts

Unfortunately, I have found no recent news in my sources... A good sign, I would like to think.


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## Flaminius

IAEA, for example, were on Easter holidays.  During their absence, no significant development was made.


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## Flaminius

I'd like to share news and efforts to recover from tsunamis.

An NPO in Shizuoka is connecting fishermen and marine culturists (growing, eg, oysters and wakame) to used fishing boats from Taiwan. In that country, there is a surplus of boats due to a policy to curb overfishing.

Often, tsunami refugees have been left to stay in shelters doing nothing.  I even hear stories how they offer to help manage shelters and clean the streets of rubble and get turned down by the municipality.   However, now several townships are moving to give them jobs.  Yamada-machi Township are now offering refugees temporary employment lasting from 20 days to 3 years.  The 500 jobs offered include temp staff at the town hall, marine sweeping and workers at evacuation centres.  Rikuzen Takata City plan to hire refugees for debris removal.  A local driving school proposes to train refugees for heavy machinery licence at a reduced rate.  The volunteer from Tokyo who arranged the deal with the school says lesson fees will be even cheaper because he can use  donations collected by his group.

[The last sentence may need a long footnote.  Large famous organisations have amassed a huge amount of donation but victims have yet to get the money.  Donation collected by Red Cross Japan, for example, is first handed to a governmental committee and distributed to prefectures (akin to French _régions_), and then to local municipalities.  Finally, municipalities give out the money by the count of population.  Finding out the population itself was troublesome because they were reluctant to exclude the number of missing persons like death tolls.  Provisional payments are expected to be made this week but in my opinion it took already too long.]

I could go on about bureaucratic thickness in Japan these days but that would probably be of use to no one.


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## Oldy Nuts

Thank you for the news, Flaminius. I am glad to see that, as most of us expected, Japan is finding ways to overcome the consequences of the disaster. The small-scale and unexpected ones are of course the most valuable from my point of view.

And Japan is not alone in having to fight bureaucracy. The Spanish word for this disease is "burocracia", but it is common for us to talk about "bu*rr*ocracia" -an untranslatable play of words, because a "burro" is a donkey...


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## Flaminius

It is not so much a news item than an "olds" item but last week there were two significant progresses.

First, two nuclear generators at Hamaoka have been shut down in compliance with Prime Minister Kan's request (not unlike an order but PM has no right to order a shut down).  Ageing Hamaoka Power Plant is known as the most dangerous nuclear reactors in Japan due to its location along a major fault line.

Second, the Tepco compensation scheme has been approved by the Government.  Yes, it exonerates bondholders, injects a great amount of taxpayers' money, defines the range of relief too narrowly etc., etc.  Still, I hope it is a move forward.

A controversial type of damages is those by "pre-emption for rumours" (translation tentative: original being 風評被害, _fūhyō higai_, or damage by rumours).  By this, I mean something a little different from rumour mongering such as telling tales to manipulate stock prices.  When spinach from Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gumma Prefectures were banned from market in March for exceeding the limit of radioactivity (ban lifted sometime in April), there was an immediate spinal-reflex-like aversion to anything coming from the regions.  Not only that.  Some food industry buyers (restaurant chains, eg.) even went so far as to refusing to buy any spinach no matter what region they come from.  They would tell the poor grocer, "We are aware your spinach is safe, but we are afraid that our customers are not and wouldn't dine at our restaurants if we serve any spinach."  Rice from Fukushima is sold, if at all, at an unbelievably price. Of course they are harvested, packed and stored away last autumn.  Those who are afraid of this type of rumour would argue that they are merely pre-empting rumours, even if a rumour is quite unscientific and even if there is no evidence to its existence.  A sober businessman would say it is too late when a rumour is actually around.  You now see how Tepco, the Government or both are reluctant to cover damages wrecked by this pre-emption.

I mentioned this because similar things are happening on a global scale.  Some countries maintain comprehensive embargo on food from Japan.  Others require radioactivity tests for each industrial product coming from Fukushima.  Oh no.  Products are made indoors at factories outside the evacuation zone.  They are enough conditions for products not to collect radioactive dusts.  [To be fair, things sitting outdoors for a long time are different.  Russian customs refused to accept used cars from Japan last month because they detected radioactivity stronger than their limit.  Still, it is a matter of cleaning the surface of the cars.]

If anyone who reads this is in position to decide to buy or not to buy products from Japan, please consider:No objects or living things are so bombarded with neutron and other radiant rays so far that they themselves have become radioactive.  For industrial products, micro dusts collected on the surface are the most possible source of radioactivity.  With the amount of emission so far, an object should be covered with unreasonable amount of dust to be dangerously radioactive.  It is simple as that.  Reassure your bosses and your customers.​


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## timpeac

Flaminius said:


> If anyone who reads this is in position to decide to buy or not to buy products from Japan, please consider:No objects or living things are so bombarded with neutron and other radiant rays so far that they themselves have become radioactive.  For industrial products, micro dusts collected on the surface are the most possible source of radioactivity.  With the amount of emission so far, an object should be covered with unreasonable amount of dust to be dangerously radioactive.  It is simple as that.  Reassure your bosses and your customers.​


If it's any small comfort - I can say that I've never heard of such worries in Britain. It wouldn't have occurred to me to think of that before this thread either.


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## Flaminius

Let us hope that the UK public consists of rational people like you, Tim.  Any which way, it is worth mentioning that the Japanese MOFA held a briefing last month in London about safety for products from and tourism in Japan.  [Briefings were held also in Paris, Beijing, Shanghai and Seoul last month. By the end of May, they are going around to more cities including New York, Tai Pei, Hong Kong and Brussels.  
Briefings are targeted to private businesses that would impose stricter conditions on Japanese products after the quake.]


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## Oldy Nuts

Hello Flaminius, it was good hearing from you.

Although I have read of some sort of nuclear panic in some places, I don't think I have seen anything like it around here. In fact, people here are more worried by the lack of news about what is really happening at Fukushima than about hypothetical radiation in articles coming from Japan. I very much doubt that any Chilean renewing his/her car/laptop/TV/calculator/... would even think of rejecting Japanese ones based on radiation risks. And if there was one, s/he would be laughed at...


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## Flaminius

Hi Oldy, glad to hear from you too!

Now, here is briefly what is happening.  Unit 1 has found to have suffered from meltdown.  It is likely the case for Units 2 and 3.  By meltdown, the authorities mean that fuel rods melted and heaped at the bottom of pressure vessel.  The heat of destroyed fuels poked holes in the pressure vessel.  What is luckily NOT happening is recriticality or nuclear explosion.  If anyone here believes Arnie Gundersen and the like, rest assured they are wrong.  Neutrons, as they are the sign of fussion, have been hardly detected outside the reactors.

Unit 3 experienced a sudden rise of temperature.  The peak was over 330 °C but has subsided to ca. 200 °C now.  This is still worrisome as the cause has yet to be determined.

What is sadly not happening is clear communication.  Tepco have waited till the first week of May for a few final data items before withdrawing their "damaged fuels" theory and admitting "meltdown" (both are vaguely defined lay terms).  The media was upside down with the buzzword for the last two or three days as the newly found severity of the accident will pose more difficulty for Containment Roadmap.

Professor Haruki Madarame of Tokyo University, Chair of Nuclear Safety Commission, testified in the Parliament yesterday that his commission have been telling about fuel damage all the same.  The Tepco roadmap was based on the assumption that fuel damage to Unit 1 was about 55%.  This time, no concrete figure is given to describe how serious the damage is assessed.  But this is important to see how today's situation is the same or different from what was assessed a month ago.

[To be fair, there are scholars who said the damage was much severer.  As early as April 13th, Michio Ishikawa, ex-president of the Japan Nuclear Technology Institute, suggested a meltdown in which fuels formed a 4 x 2 metre piling at the bottom of the pressure vessel (Emergency Appeal, PDF, Japanese).]

An older experience with Tepco shows strong reluctance at communication.   Tepco  took films on the 17th of April from unmanned helicopters over Fukushima I.  They  were released to the media and Tepco themselves published files in  their Web site.  Strangely, T-Hawk videos were only available in an English PR page.  It took about a week to see an equivalent Japanese page.

These are frustrating.  I understand that things look even murkier from abroad.  I do hope, however, I can exercise patience when delay and inaccuracy are inevitable; sometimes what is reasonably expected is unreasonably low.


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## Vanda

Thank you for updating us, Fla.



> These are frustrating.  I understand  that things look even murkier from abroad.  I do hope, however, I can  exercise patience when delay and inaccuracy are inevitable; sometimes  what is reasonably expected is unreasonably low. __


Ah! The proverbial Japanese exercise of patience! We, westerns would be climbing the walls of anger and impatience!


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## Pedro y La Torre

Flaminius said:


> These are frustrating.  I understand that things look even murkier from abroad.  I do hope, however, I can exercise patience when delay and inaccuracy are inevitable; sometimes what is reasonably expected is unreasonably low.



I admire your forbearance in the face of adversity and do earnestly hope that all works out for the best for your country. I can't resist thinking though that TEPCO might benefit from a good boot up the behind. I have been very far from impressed with their conduct since this crisis broke out.


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## Flaminius

Obviously a lot of us, including yours sincerely, do not look kindly  upon TEPCO and their less-than-commendable conduct.  When in doubt, I  happen to prefer gritting my teeth to panicking.  Here panic does not  take shape of violence so easily, but there are symptoms such as  pre-emptive discrimination and increasingly zany comments by media  figures.   What I want to share with you here are more sober and  reasonable explanations.  Nowadays, I believe few can complain about  abundance thereof, right?  ;-)



> benefit from a good boot up the behind


Alas, if only I know how to make a sharp thrust at the buttocks and  where to find them.  Things are developing faster than a layman can  understand as they happen.  When I have done enough research to form my  opinion, the case is over or put aside for a while.  Or dirty things are  scooped from far out in the past.  Even if I look too pensive, I think  the approach is better than an alternative; throwing tantrum at  suspicious decisions no matter what.  

Here is a case that contains a lot of panic, manufacturing consent,  acquiescence to doubt and despair, from all sides.  I hope you don't  mind a long account as it has been unfolding for the last few weeks.  On April 19,  Ministry of Education, Science and a Few Other Things (they like to be  called MEXT) set forth "the provisional standard for the utilization of  kindergartens,  elementary schools and high schools in Fukushima Prefecture after the  prefecture was struck with the nuclear crisis. The ministry has come up  with a guideline for deciding whether the school grounds and buildings  can be used: in order to stay within the 20 millisievert annual exposure  safety limit, all outdoor activities need to be stopped when the  radiation level at the schoolyard hits above 3.8 microsievert/hr."  The  outdoor activities standard is valid until summer vacation (1).  In a  Q&A session with the press, Yoshiaki Takagi, the MEXT Minister,  failed to answer if measures are to be taken before vacations to improve  the  radiation level.  This is one of the causes of confusion but the  official announcement document does declare the necessity of  improvement.

City of Kōriyama decided to take an independent action.  At an  elementary school with high radioactivity, they scraped the surface of  the school ground and the radiation got below the standard.  The problem  is now how to do away with the pealed soil.  The city first wanted to  use dump fill but met with opposition from residents near the site.   Later the Government intervened to declare that the soil is now  radioactive waste.  This means the disposal will be regulated by a  special law.  No one knows when the soil, which is now heaped in the  corner of the ground, will be removed from the school.  MEXT now suggest  replacing surface soil by soil at a deep level in the same ground.   They are yet to announce whether it is a mandatory measure or not.

The radiation level for the standard, 20 mSv/y (milisievert per year),  is also contested.  Unfortunately, strange comments are uttered by  experts who are otherwise known to be very serious and rational.  Prof. Shuňňichi Yamashita  of Nagasaki University, Fukushima Prefecture's advisor on radiation  exposure, said in a lecture to locals that it is a national duty to obey  the standard as it was defined by the country.  In March, he was  reported to have commented, "Radiation won't influence those who are  smiling.  It gets to those who are worried."

If you think the proponents of lower radiation level are more  reasonable, meet Toshisō Kosako, a professor of Tokyo University.  He  was an advisor to the PM's Cabinet Office but on April 29 resigned his  post as protest to the standard.  In a tearful press conference  announcing his resignation, he commented that admitting the 20 mSv/y  standard would mean the end of his academic career.  "I would not let my  children undergo this condition," he said.

He did not reveal the grounds of his opposition in the conference.   Later, he was going to hold another conference but it was cancelled  after he was "advised" by people around PM on his confidentiality  obligation.  At least the organisers say so.  On May 2, Madarame, the  NSC chair, reportedly said, "Honestly, I do not understand what Mr.  Kosako is indignant with."  It was NSC that at the request of MEXT  sanctioned the 20 mSv/y standard.  The gathering in which the decision  was made being an "informal" one, the minutes was not made.

Emotion, manipulation, power struggle and secrecy; all comments miss the  point. So, let me say at least once in large, friendly letters:

 DON'T PANIC​ 
Whew.....

The figure 20 mSv/y is based on an international proposal called ICRP Publication 111 (Special Free Download of _ICRP Publication 111_ - ICRP).

The proposal is meant to be applied to areas stricken by a nuclear accident.  Here are the gists to the best of my understanding (2):

1. It sets forth measures for locals to continue living in the area.
2. The provisional level should be 1-20mSv/y and it has to be as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA).
3. Local communities and residents should be involved in decision making.  The Government should provide help and information to assist their efforts at self-help.
4. The process of decision making should be recorded.
5. It employs a "thresholdless linear" model for danger of radiation.  There is no threshold, therefore, beyond which radiation suddenly gets dangerous.
6. Efforts should be made to lower the radiation level.  Locals and the Government are both involved.  Same as 3.
7. It follows from 5 and 6 that the provisional standard does not exonerate parties from reducing radiation even the level is below the standard.

Whether or not children are safe with radiation at a certain level (whether it is 20mSv/y or 10mSv/y) is a pointless discussion.  Those media figures running amok do not say this (I hope at least they know).  Until a lot of us realise that ICRP Publication 111 is a guideline for forming a policy where everyone works to achieve a clearly defined goal, I will probably keep on saying "Patience" and "Don't panic."

1. The Japanese "artificial" years (fiscal, school and everything) are between 4-1 and 3-31.
2. Relied a lot on this Japanese Blog:
http://www.cp.cmc.osaka-u.ac.jp/~kikuchi/weblog/index.php?UID=1304907764


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## Flaminius

Wall Street Journal reconstructs the earliest stage of the nuclear accident at Fukushima I:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704322804576302553455643510.html?mod=WSJ_topics_obama

Failing to vent pressure in my opinion is much scarier than the buzzword meltdown.


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## Valeria Mesalina

Thanks for you input, Flaminius.

It's very thoughtful of you to keep us informed.


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## bondia

Valeria Mesalina said:


> Thanks for you input, Flaminius.
> 
> It's very thoughtful of you to keep us informed.



I second that!
All the best


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## Flaminius

International Fact-Finding Mission dispatched by IAEA had the first full day of work.  Their investigation is meant to provide member countries information on TEPCO's preparations and responses to the quake, specially how they addressed the plight of the locals.
IAIE's own PR is done here:
http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/japanmission.html

On 24th, the Japanese Government launched their own Accident Investigation Board headed by Yōtarō Hatanaka, the advocate of "study of failures".  Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Sengoku said he hopes for a thorough, open and neutral investigation from the public's viewpoint, whose results shall be publicised both to the nation and the world.  He also stressed that the investigation will spare no conducts of TEPCO, concerned government agencies, and cabinet members including PM himself.

The last bit is surely due to the allegations that PM was responsible for stopping cooling process at Fukushima I for about one hour on March 12nd.  Records at TEPCO and Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency reveal that Mr. Kan was apprehensive that pumping seawater into the reactors might trigger recriticality of fission fuels.  Possibility of recriticality, according to NSC's Chair, Prof. Madarame, was close to zero, that is, really zero.  There are a lot of speculations going on about TEPCO's motives for publicising records and how Mr. Kan's apprehension deterred the cooling works.  The latter was a hot topic in the Parliament's special commission.  After a regular round of denial, prompt corrections to official papers, scathing comments by the opposition party members, what few established facts are no longer plausible.


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## Flaminius

Latest news reports find that seawater injection was never suspended on Unit 1.  Apparently TEPCO headquarters told men on the ground that injection should be suspended but Masao Yoshida, the head of Fukushima I Power Plant, did not comply.  According to Sakae Mutō, TEPCO vice president for nuclear plants, Yoshida on his sole discretion continued water injection.  He was earlier reported to have been the strongest and the earliest voice in TEPCO in favour of a vent on Unit 1. 

Mutō also reveals TEPCO reached the decision to suspend injection after a TEPCO personnel related from the Office of PM, "the atmosphere here is such that seawater injection cannot be done since PM does not approve of it."  [The English article assigns a more active rôle to the politicians by "[T]he prime minister’s office raised the concern."  My verbatim translation may virtually means the same, but, presumably, that in itself is a big problem.  It would mean either that the PM's office exercises its leadership in a very sinister way to eschew responsibility or, which is no less probably, that TEPCO is a pushover that jumps at the slightest cue from the Government.  I'd also factor in the possibility that the whole issue is buck-passing between TEPCO and the Government.]

Has anyone missed seeing _Rashōmon_ by Kurosawa?  The movie is unfolding right in front of us in modern costume.


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## Oldy Nuts

Hello Flaminius, and thanks for your continued efforts to keep us infomed.

I tend to be somewhat skeptical of what the media have to say about things like what's really happening in Japan. And the more scientific sites I have consulted have been complaining since immediately after the earthquake of the lack of accurate and reliable information about what has really happened and is happening in the affected reactors. Unfortunately, your recent posts only seem to confirm that there are many causes for the lack of such information.

One thing that I have found comforting in all this tangle of announcements and counter-announcements, is that I have not yet seen in the more serious sources any mention to dangerous increases in radiation at or around the reactors. So maybe the situation is not so bad after all. I am sure that most people all over the world would wish that such were the case.

Finally, I would like to express that I would feel much happier if the Japan authorities and TEPCO devoted their strongest effort, not to blame or citicize each other, but to put an end to this threatening situation. Which unfortunately can take many months, even if both pushed in the same direction...

We are with you, and with all your people, Flaminius.


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## Flaminius

Ah, if I can let numerical data speak for themselves, here is a dollop of them:
http://atmc.jp/
Translation is available via embedded Google Translate.  Individuals have compiled official data from national and prefectural agencies.

Google Maps offers this.

Here is visualised data of total dose amount (1704 hours as of now) since 2011-3-15.  The measurements are compared with the world average of natural dose and that in Guarapari, Brazil, with the highest level of background radiation in the same period of time.
http://r.diim.jp/

All data seem to indicate that there has been no major radiation release after initial vents and hydrogen explosions.  Spatial dose measurements are on steady decrease or have dropped to the normal ratio.  The current radiation source on the ground outside the site is Cs-137, the radioactive isotope of caesium.  As a few scientific papers suggested before the accident, Cs-137 is not flying or flowing away after 2-month long weather changes.  Our challenge for the next couple of months is how to effectively and reasonably remove caesium-contaminated soil from our living environment.  Hence my lengthy comments on ICRP Publication 111 and how it is implemented.

Briefing documents for IAEA mission
http://www.nsc.go.jp/info/20110525_IAEA.html

Automatically-Updated TEPCO Data in Graphs:
http://oku.edu.mie-u.ac.jp/rad/


----------



## Flaminius

I just hit a wrong button and all the harangue I prepared has gone to where only the wind knows.

Anyway, KEPCO, utility company providing for Kyōto, Kōbe, Ōsaka etc., was aware of historical records (two most authoritative documents of the time, one being _History of Japan_ by Luís Fróis, a Jesuit missionary) attesting to tsunami damages in Wakasa Bay by Tenshō Earthquake in 1586.  Wakasa Bay, Kyōto, is now home to 14 reactors including Monju, the fast-breeder reactor with device trouble while criticality continues.  It is widely believed in Japan that coastal areas on the Sea of Japan is unlikely to be hit by tsunamis, due to the distance from oceanic plates.  By 1981, KEPCO, while doing the literature survey mandatory for building Monju, came to know _History of Japan_ and _Kanemikyō-ki_ by Yoshida Kanemi.  They did not regard their references to tsunamis as trustworty and so did not pass on the information to the locals in briefings.

KEPCO now say that they will do boring survey to assess the scale of tsunamis by Tenshō Earthquake, but they would not admit that the current safety standards are insufficient.  They did say they would revise standards but only in relation to the accident in Fukushima I.  Similar stubborn refusal to admit overlooking vital piece of information was practised by TEPCO when the media discovered that they knew about Jōgan Earthquake.

Their attitude strongly reminds of a sciopsychological phenomenon called groupthink, first proposed by Irving Janis back in the 1970s.  Cohesive group, illusion of invulnerability, mindguards, failure to contingency plan; you can see almost all symptoms there.


----------



## Flaminius

L'Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire releases a report on expected dose level around Fukushima I; how many people will be affected, comparison with Chernobyl, what evacuation plan is desirable etc.
http://www.irsn.fr/EN/news/Documents/IRSN-Fukushima-Report-DRPH-23052011.pdf


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## Vanda

Thanks for updating us, Flaminius.


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## bondia

Vanda said:


> Thanks for updating us, Flaminius.



Yes, indeed.


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## bondia

On 11th March, I started this thread when I saw, by chance, the live images from Japan. 
I will be absent from the Forum for a while (not by choice), but hope you will all continue to inform one another, Oldy, Flaminius, etc.
All the best
bondia


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## Flaminius

We'll miss you, *bondia*.  May you finish your errands and come back soon!

Politicians have now resumed the normal modus operandi, namely to drag each other down.  [Japane expresses the same by an idiom "pull one's leg."  They not only pull each other's leg (JP) but also pull the collective leg of the public (EN).]
Mr. Kan, the PM, now faces non-confidence vote:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13624199
A lot of politicians do seem to be worried that they will fail in the next election if they do not "do something" now.  Not one of them knows what that something exactly is, something that at least does harm the rest of us.

Similar panic-driven behaviours continue outside the parliament, albeit in a subsided scale.
Opera stars, fearing radiation, cancel:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110601a9.html


I hope, however, that a lot of us are more like them.
Japan pensioners volunteer to tackle nuclear crisis:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13598607


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Hello, Flaminius.

A series of circumstances have preventes me from commenting your last messages, for which I apologize.

Unfortunately, your messages only confirm things I had gathered in the somewhat more serious sources. One of them is the appalling lack of reliable, timely and quantitative data about what has happened and is happening in the damaged reactors. Sadly, everything seems to point to the situation being worse than what we have been made to believe. One wonders if we will ever know.

And now comes your news about the eternal political dogfights from which no country seems to be free. I find it absolutely scandalous to see the outrageous amounts of time, efforts and even money that are wasted in these pointless fights instead of spending them in solving urgent problems such as the ones your country is facing now. Fortunately, the more "normal" people in Japan act quite differently, as your last example shows.

I hope both things are gradually corrected, hopefully sooner than later, and your people receive the treatment they deserve.


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## Flaminius

At last here is a good news so salient that even a pessimist like myself cannot overlook

Sanrio Ltd., Tokyo and Mercis B.V., Amsterdam, made an announcement on June 7th that they will donate €150,000 or ￥17,500,000 in a relief package for those stricken by 3.11.  It is part of a world-wide settlement deal that ends the copyright dispute over Miffy and Cathy.  Sanrio and Mercis say that the very earthquake that they are tackling was the main reason for this settlement (plus they were no doubt tired of all the legal hustle).  All litigations and counter-litigations between them have been dropped  and Sanrio pledges that they will not make or license Cathy products, a  measure that continues from November 2009. Problem solved!


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## almostfreebird

By the way, I got an interesting information from http://dgr4quake.wordpress.com/
radiation around world on 5/30. µSv/h Tokyo 0.066, NY 0.093, London 0.25, Paris 0.07, Rome 0.25, Seoul 0.109. http://goo.gl/KTrV9
http://twitpic.com/4ej8gw

I remember a guy saying "Kids, just remember radiation is like a poltergeist. Since you can't see it, it doesn't exist and cannot hurt you."


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## almostfreebird

I'm not t a big fan of Ann Coulter, but anyway she says "radiation is good for you": http://www.godlessliberals.com/inde...-is-good-for-you&catid=37:politics-&Itemid=57


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## JamesM

You mean the same Ann Coulter who was complaining about the radiation dosage from our airport scanners a few months back?

http://healthfreedoms.org/2011/03/29/coulter-complains-of-tsa-radiological-damage-while-deeming-japans-radiation-good/

I wouldn't take her opinion for anything more than entertainment value.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

almostfreebird said:


> I'm not t a big fan of Ann Coulter, but anyway she says "radiation is good for you": http://www.godlessliberals.com/inde...-is-good-for-you&catid=37:politics-&Itemid=57



If it's good for _her_, why doesn't she volunteer to go and help in controlling the situation in the damaged reactors? Could it be that she _does_ know that the number of people who have suffered terrible and even mortal consequences of nuclear radiation in disasters such as those of Hiroshima, Nagasaky and Chernobyl is far from negligible?

Of course radiotherapy can be a useful help in curing some forms of cancer! But the patient always suffers some secondary effects of radiation, which may not be all that pleasing or welcome.


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## Flaminius

An astounding number of physicists find a growing number of evidence  credible that radiation is bad for your health in any small dosage.   This includes background radiation naturally occurring in the  environment.  Life is dangerous.

A smaller number of physicists believe a scientific hypothesis called  radiological hormesis (something generally dangerous to the body may be  beneficial in a very small quantity).  Their experiments have not yet  found solid enough evidence to establish it has a scientific fact.

A yet smaller number of people, mainly politicians and their minions,  use radiological hormesis to appease the panic of the half-witted mass.   Hey, we are glad to talk to someone who is on the same level as us.

And as of today, I have come to know this Ann Coulter.  I could not  download the interview for more than a minute, but I was intrigued, not  by her idiocy (we heard crazier opinions from saner people at the height  of the crisis), but by the TV station's decision to give her some  publicity.  Was that meant to provide viewers the joy of deriding a  political crank?


----------



## frida-nc

> If it's good for _her_, why doesn't she volunteer to go and help in controlling the situation in the damaged reactors?


Ann Coulter and Altruism are opposing concepts.


> TV station's decision to give her some  publicity.  Was that  meant to provide viewers the joy of deriding a  political crank?


She's a regular on Fox, which would not think of deriding her.  "Provocative as usual" is as far as they will go to appease those few  Fox viewers who thinks that her shock technique is too shocking.


----------



## Flaminius

An interview with Mr. Bruno Pellaud by a Japanese newspaper was in the news today.  Pellaud, however, told a Swiss press almost the same thing as early as Mar 31:
http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/science...rges_global_nuclear_reviews.html?cid=29892346

The delay in time is discouraging.  I am not just speaking about my poor research skills not being able to locate the Bruno Pellaud interview on my own but also about how the media was so slow to report this ex-IAEA official.  The public would have reacted very differently to the government's plan to support TEPCO in the compensation schemes, had they heard an expert's view on how TEPCO neglected voices of caution.


----------



## JamesM

I have the privilege and honor of singing in a Japan Relief Fund concert at Disney Hall in Los Angeles this Sunday.  I hope it raises a significant amount to be sent to Japan.  The concert is the brainchild of one of the members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. 

I know it's only a drop in the bucket compared to the need, but we do what we can.

Meanwhile, how's everything over there?  Our newscasters have very short attention spans here.


----------



## swift

C'est une bonne nouvelle, James. Tu nous enverras le liens vers _YouTube_, après ? 

Break a leg.


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## almostfreebird

I'm sure somebody will upload it on YouTube. Break a leg!

http://jazzghetto.blogspot.com/2011/06/japan-relief-concert-walt-disney.html


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Disturbing commentaries from someone who should be well informed:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/...omb-japan-disaster-michio-kaku-_n_882166.html


----------



## almostfreebird

That is a really disturbing  news but Michio Kaku is an expert on parallel universe.


----------



## Oldy Nuts

I don't know his field, but top scientists rarely give such details about a most worrying situation without being sure about what they say. Let's hope then that he's not such a top scientist. That's why I said "from someone who _should_ be well informed"


----------



## Oldy Nuts

Although not completely up to date, I think the information here can be taken seriously:

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html


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## Flaminius

There does not seem to be a terminological agreement between the physicist and the CNN anchorman (female).  When she asked about "reaction", Prof. Kaku replied that they had not achieved cold shutdown yet.  The former may have meant Uranium and Plutonium fission reaction (which is not happening!) but the latter was saying that there are still a lot of decay heat to deal with.  I don't mean to downplay the danger of steam or hydrogen explosion due to decay heat, to be sure.

Prof. Kaku blames Fukushima I for "spike" of radioactive iodine in New York City milk.  I don't have actual numerical data to ascertain this but can an element with such a short halflife travel a long distance and remain in so considerable an amount that it can be found in milk?

Edit:
Milk generally contains radioactive iodine.  It should be checked whether or not the increase is real and, if so, if it is within the reasonable variation range and if other factors may be playing a rôle.


----------



## Flaminius

I am worried about "heros".
Whereabouts of 30 nuclear power plant subcontractors unknown: Health Ministry
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110621p2a00m0na005000c.html

Let me decipher the Japanese penchant for euphemism.  "Cooperating companies" for TEPCO's nuclear branches are simply subcontracting companies to the eleventh generation at the maximum.  Once in a while the utility brags about high salary that they are paying to their workers but it is skimmed to the minimum before workers actually get the money.

Unless conspiracy theorist are right in assuming that missing workers have been dead due to overdose, we have to admit that nuclear industry at least in Japan is supported by those who are so down and out that they have to hide their true identity or lost ID documents.  [For collateral evidence, TEPCO found last week that a worker was smoking in a mask-on zone in the site.  Before reacting "how foolish!", please consider how TEPCO thought it was okay to leave people like him foolish.]


----------



## almostfreebird

Japan and Team USA in Womens World Cup Final

Great Game!!

Congratulations to Japan!

Edit:

Congratulations to both teams!


----------



## WyomingSue

Augh!!! What a game.  I am exhausted from watching.  
Congrats to Japan.


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## almostfreebird

Miyagi Fishermen Thank U.S. Military For Disaster Relief (Operation Tomodachi)

http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/07/2...tary-for-disaster-relief-operation-tomodachi/


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## bondia

Flaminius said:


> We'll miss you, *bondia*. May you finish your errands and come back soon!



Thank you, Flaminius! I am now back, safe and sound, having put a successful end to my "errands".
I have intermittently followed the thread since then, first from hospital and now from home.
All the best


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## Flaminius

Yes, Mrs. B.  I saw you around here off and on.   I am so glad that you have come out of your errands intact. 

Now, with a nod to you and Tolkien:

_The Thread goes ever on and on__
Down from the door where it began.
. . . . ._
_Where many paths and errands meet.__
And whither then? I cannot say._


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## Oldy Nuts

bondia said:


> Thank you, Flaminius! I am now back, safe and sound, having put a successful end to my "errands".
> I have intermittently followed the thread since then, first from hospital and now from home.
> All the best



Welcome back, dear bondia. You were missed, and we hope to see you frequently around here, as before.


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## Flaminius

An Unsworn Testimony on Health Influences of Radiation, given by witness Tatsuhiko Kodama (professor of Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, head of Radioisotope Center, of Tokyo University)

given at Welfare and Labour Committee of the House of Commons that met on 2011-07-27 Wednesday (starting at 09:00)

[Chairman: Next, Mr. Kodama.  Please begin.]

I am Kodama, the head of Radioisotope Center in Tokyo University.  I was very surprised on March 15th.

Tokyo University has 27 radioisotope centers that are committed to radiation protection and decontamination.  I myself am a doctor of internal medicine.  I have been doing decontamination works at radiation facilities for the last few dacades.

On March 15th, as this panel shows, we first detected a 5 μ Sievert dose around 9 AM in Tokai-mura Village, which we immediately reported to MEXT in compliance with the Article 10 (of Act on Special Measures Concerning Nuclear Emergency Preparedness).  Later, they detected a dosage over 0.5 μSv in Tokyo.  Then there was a transient decrease.  Next, there was a rainfall in Tokyo on March 22rd.  Fallouts scored 0.2 μSv and so on. This was the cause of the high radiation that remains till today.

At that time, Mr. Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, made a public announcement to the effect that it was not an immediate health problem, but I knew this was going to be disastrous.

I'll state the reason.  The current "Laws Concerning the Prevention from Radiation Hazards due to Radioisotopes and Others" pertain to disposing small amounts of radioactive matter with high dosage.  The problem it deals with is not the gross amount but the density of individual doses.  The current Fukushima I accident is very different.  It discharged radioactivity as strong as 5 μSv in the 100-kilometre radius, 0.5 μSv in the 200-kilometre radius.  Further than these areas, it has contaminated tea-leaves grown in Ashigara and Shizuoka.  I expect everyone knows about these today. 

Experts of radiation damage, myself included, are interested in the gross amount.Then if TEPCO and the Government have made a detailed report on the gross amount of radioactive material discharged in this Fukushima I incident?  No.

Our Radioisotope Center have made calculations based on expertise.  In terms of heat quantity, the discharge is as 29.6 times as large as that of Hiroshima Atom Bomb.  In terms of uranium equivalence, the discharge is as large as 20 Hiroshima Bombs.

Even horrifying still is the slowness of decrease. Today we know that radioactive discharge from power plants only gets to one tenth within a year while that from an atom bomb decreases to the one thousandth. 

Everything should be based on the fact that this accident, like Chernobyl, has discharged radiation equalling to tens of bombs and the residual radiation is much worse than contamination by bombs.

From the viewpoint of systematic biology, an application of system theories, in case of small discharges, the density of individual contaminations matters most.  In case of huge discharges, the key is particles.  The proliferation of particles is dealt in a non-linear way, one of the most difficult calculations in fluid dynamics.  Quite simply, nuclear fuels are like sand grains embedded in synthetic resin.  When the reactor melts down and there is a discharge, a lot of fine grains are emitted.

When they are emitted, they cause problems such as the current issue with rice straws. [Caesium-contaminated rice straws from Miyagi was fed to meat cows. Not all beef samples exceeded the legal 500 bq/Kg but some of the meat has been consumed. Contaminated straws were from very far places distant-wise. The contaminant was a rain cloud in March that travelled in the wind as southwards as Kanto and then to the north. This is the same cloud that made Iidate an extra evacuation zone.]                 

Contaminations found in rice straws are for instance, 57000 bq/Kg in Fujisawa-chō Town, Iwate, 17000 bq/Kg in Ōsaki, Miyagi, 106000 bq/Kg in Minami-Sōma, 97000 bq/Kg in Shirakawa-shi, 64000 bq/Kg in Iwate-shi. As theses figures tell, dosage levels cannot be mapped on concentric circles. Strength of dosage depends on the weather as well as if the material has absorbed water.

Every week I travel for 700 kilometres to Minami-Sōma with the Radioisotope Center team from Tokyo University. We have done decontamination works for seven times up to present. When we first got there, there was only one dosimeter available. Ministry of Agriculture say that they have passed on the notice not to feed rice straws to cattle on March 19th. On the same day, the mayor of Minami-Sōma made a well-known announcement on the Web, including a heart-felt request for food, water and petrol.

While a crisis like this was unfolding, no one can be expected to read or know about the notice written on a piece of paper. No farmers knew that their rice straws are so dangerous. They, however, started buying feedstuff for extra few hundreds of thousand yen. On that day on, they have been giving the same groundwater that they themselves drink.


----------



## Flaminius

The first thing we should do is to make a thorough measurement possible in contaminated areas. Like I said, Minami-Sōma had only one dosimeter when we first went there. But in fact they already had got 20 personal meters from the US military. They at the education committee in the city hall, however, couldn't read the English instruction manual. These 20 meters had not been used until we read them the document and showed how to use dosimeters. A glimpse of how things were there.

Food inspection has hitherto been discussed in this committee. Why use germanium counters? Nowadays, a lot of imaging-based measuring devices have been developed on semiconductors.

Why do the Government not make extensive application of them and invest money across the nation?

There has not been no such attempts after three months, which I resent from the bottom of my heart.


My second point is internal exposure.
Prime Minister Obuchi has appointed me as the head of antigen medicine development at Cabinet Office.  This research field now gets 3 billion yen from Funding Program for the World-Leading Innovative R&D on Science and Technology.  Radioactive isotopes are used to mark antigen drugs so we can check how they treat cancer.  Otherwise said, my job is injecting isotope into human body.  This is how internal exposure is the top-most priority in my researches.

So, let me explain how internal exposure happens.
The biggest issue with internal exposure is cancer.  Cancers are born from dissected DNAs.  DNAs are usually put together in double helix, which is very stable.  When a cell divides, the double helix separates into single helices, then doubles into 4 helices.  The danger is in this process.

Radiation damage poses a tremendous danger for the foetus in a expecting mother, small children as well as for cells with active division in growing phase.  Even in adults, actively dividing cells are dangerous; causing loss of hair, anaemia.  Cells in intestinal epithelia are affected too.  These are a few basics about radiation damage.

 I shall cite reported examples of internal exposure.

Mutation on a single gene does not cause cancer.
After the first radiation hit, there is another factor, and then there is a cancerous mutation.  These are called driver mutation or passenger mutation by experts.  For them, please refer to the literature listed in the last pages.  We will now look at examples of Chernobyl and caesium.

The most famous cause is alpha particles.  I was alerted by a Tokyo Univ. professor that he thinks it is okay to drink plutonium solution.

Alpha particles are one of the most dangerous matters.
Liver specialists like myself know this from liver damage by thorotrast.
This committee has been discussing internal exposure in a generic so and so mili Sievert but that's senseless.

 I-131 concentrates in the thyroid gland.  Thorotrast concentrates in the liver.  Caesium concentrates on the urinary tract epithelium and the bladder.  Unless you look at these places of concentration, no whole-body scan is meaningless.

Details of Thorotrast can be found in the reference materials.  Thorotrast is a contrast agent, first used in Germany in 1890 and  in Japan around 1930.  After 20 to 30 years of use, it was found to cause liver cancer by 25 to 30%.

Cancers take 20 years to develop in this way. First, thorotrast, being an alpha radiation nuclide, damages adjacent cells with alpha particles.  The likeliest victim is a gene called P53.  According to genome science today, knowledge of exhaustive patterns of human genes, one human is different from another in about three million genes.

 Nowadays, it is totally meaningless to treat a patient on the assumption that all humans are the same.

Applying the so-called personal life medicine, internal exposure to radiation should be diagnosed basically by looking at which genes have been damaged with what effects.

 Thorotrast, in the first step, destroyed P53 gene.  Second and third mutations take 20 to 30 years.  This is the proven steps for liver cancer and leukaemia.

Next, iodine 131.
As you know, iodine concentrates in the thyroid gland.  Concentration in the thyroid gland is most typical to the thyroid growth period, that is, for small children.

 Despite this, when researchers in Ukraine first reported a frequent occurrence of thyroid cancer in 1991, some researchers in Japan and USA criticised the report on _Nature_.  Their ground for reasoning was that the report was not statistically significant due to the absence of data prior to 1986.

Like Professor Nagataki mentioned just now, statistical significance was proven 20 years later.  After 20 years, disappearance of the peak started in 1986 was taken as the evidence despite the absence of previous data.  Proving something epidemically is very difficult; it usually takes until all cases are over.

Saving children, which is the perspective now incumbent upon us, requires a very different approach.  An example of this approach is by Doctor Shōji Fukushima at the national Japan Bioassay Research Center.  This is a research institute for analysing effects of chemical compounds.  He has been studying samples found in urinary system from Chernobyl.  Fukushima and Ukraininan doctors collected over 500 bladders taken out while operating on enlarged prostates.  They have found that high-level contamination zones, where radiation can be found in urines however small around 6 bq/L, have steep rise of  mutations in P53.  This is accompanied by proliferative precarcinomatous state, inferred from activation of P38, an MAP kinase and a signal called NF-κB.  This necessarily leads of proliferative bladder infection.  High probability of intraepithelial cancer is also reported.

With this, I have been appalled to hear the report of radiation between 2 and 13 Becquerels found in milk from seven Fukushima mothers.

  Please turn to the next page.

  We at Radioisotope Center sends four personnels every week, travelling 700 kilometres to help Minami-Sōma city decontaminate.  For problems in Minami-Sōma as elsewhere, telling 20-kilometre radius from 30-kilometre radius does not make sense at all.  Unless we measure different parts of each kindergarten, everything is meaningless.  Presently, they hire buses to send 1700 Minami-Sōma children from the 20km-zone to the 30km-zone.  In fact, Minami-Sōma's radiation concentrates on the cost line.  Dosage is relatively low at about 70% of schools.

Despite this, they send school buses into the 30km-zone, and this is closer to Iidate.  They spend one million yen per day to forcibly send children there.  This must be stopped as soon as possible.

The single biggest obstacle for children's safety is the policy of not compensating losses for evacuation other than by forced evacuation; such was the statement by TEPCO'S then-president Mr. Shimizu and Mr. Kaieda, the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry at the previous committee in the Upper House.   Still, they must be discussed separately.

Please set problems of compensation, or where to limit compensation, apart from the issue with children.

I beg you to apply all of your strength to protect children.

Another request.
Please devise plans for permanent decontamination, not just impromptu one.

  We do impromptu decontamination on a frequent basis.  This diagram lists "under the slide."  Little children touch the place under the slide.  Despite this, every time rain water flows down on the slide, it gets condensed dosage.  If the two sides of the slide are uneven, one slide gets them all.  In a place where the average dosage is 1 μ, 10 μ or above can be detected under the slide.  Places like this can use immediate, impromptu decontamination a lot.

Children also touch places under the drip moulding, where various moss species grow.  Using pressure washer to blow mosss growths off, the dosage drops from 2 μ to 0.5 μ.

Still, getting radiation below the 0.5 μ level is very difficult.

If the whole building or the whole tree growth or the whole community is contaminated, washing radiation down in one place does not really contribute to lowering the air dose rate of a area.  I draw on the case of itai-itai disease (softening of bones and kidney failure in Toyama Prefecture identified as cadmium poisoning in the 1950s) for tasks and costs of serious decontamination works.  Cadmium-contaminated area is about 3000 hectares, out of which 1500 hectares have been decontaminated so far for 800 billion yen, at government expense.  If the current contamination is spread to 1000 times as large areas, I cannot even begin to contemplate how much the Government should spend.


----------



## Flaminius

Having said all this, I should like to make four urgent proposals.

First, radiological exams needs a fundamental improvement with Japan's  most advanced imaging devices.  Imaging is now very easy with  semiconductor instruments.  With advanced imaging machines, exams will  be a quick automatic process.  Please commit to this as a national  policy.  This is well within the scientific, technological means of  Japan today.

Second, immediately pass a new law to reduce exposure of children.
Everything that I do now is against the law.
The current Prevention from Radiation Hazards Law decrees facilities  need authorisation for dosage levels and types of nuclides.  I am  mobilising all 27 isotope centers at TU to help Minami-Sōma, but many  facilities haven't got authorisation to handle caesium.  It's against  the law to use cars to transport radioactive materials.  Still, I cannot  give high-dose decontamination waste to those mothers and teachers and  let them dispose of it, so we pack it in drums and bring them back to  TU.
Accepting them into our facilities is against the law.
Everything is against the law.

The Parliament is responsible for this negligence.  Many facilities all  over Japan, such as radioisotope centers in national universities, are  equipped with the most advance devices such as germanium detectors.  Why  are they tied hand and foot while we have to mobilize the full  potential of the people to protect children?
The Parliament has been completely negligent in its duties.

Third, please make it a national policy to bring together the expertise  in the private sector for soil decontamination.  They have a lot of  know-how for radiation removal; chemical manufacturers such as TORAY and  Kurita, manufacturers of radiation removal devices such as Chiyoda  Technol and ATOX, as well as Takenaka the construction company.  Please  make use of their power to make a research center for decontamination in  Fukushima.

This is going to cost tens of trillion yen from the national treasure.  I  am worried that, if this goes on, the work is reduced to just another  public work projects, marred with right hunting.

Considering the tough fiscal situation, you cannot afford that even for  one moment.  You should be thinking how to do the real work of decontamination.   What have you been doing in the Parliament while 70 thousand people are  driving out of their homes?

[I haven't gotten around to translate what Prof. Kodama said in the following Q&A session.]

Kodama was invited to speak before the committee by MP Tomoko Abe (Social Democratic Party).


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## Cagey

Thank you, Flaminius, for patiently translating this document for us. 

I feel that it gives me a better understanding of the issues.

It is also distressing and worrying.


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## bondia

Cagey said:


> Thank you, Flaminius, for patiently translating this document for us. INDEED!
> 
> I feel that it gives me a better understanding of the issues.
> 
> It is also distressing and worrying.INDEED, again.


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## Flaminius

I read it myself.  Ugh, what a bad translation; even though I did it half asleep, even though I was more motivated by resentment than reason, even though the witness used an extremely devious language, yudda yudda.....  Of course I am glad that someone out there are reading this.

I'd expect engineers to cope with problems with technological means, but some of them, with high prestige and salary from NISA, i.e., the government, tried to achieve their goal by social manipulation.  
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1256129.html
[The "nuclear power" to be promoted in town meetings was use of MOX fuel (with more plutonium) in thermal reactors.  MOX fuel was used in Unit 3, Fukushima I.]

I'd be happy to see scientists and engineers who do the actual works discuss technologies to make nuclear reactors safer to operate.  In social terms, however, I believe nuclear power plants are getting increasingly untenable in this country given the industry's continued reluctance to publicise vital (literally) information and recalcitrance to democratic control.


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## Oldy Nuts

Hello Flaminius,

I join the others in thanking you for your effort in translating that report. I can understand very well your resentement, as I have been complaining from the beginning for the enormous lack of reliable information as to what was really happening with the reactors.

I also join you in your uneasiness about the future of nuclear reactors in a country such as yours. An unexpected benefit of what happened there is that talks about constructing nucleart plants in Chile were discarded at least for some years. I have always thought that building them in highly seismic countries such as Japan and Chile is a most serious and delicate matter, and personally I am against it unless there is no other solution, which is not the case here.

My personal opinion is that the present method of producing nuclear energy has very little hope of becoming reasonably secure. Measures can and should be taken to diminish the consequences of the unavoidable accidents that are bound to occur, specially where earthquakes are frequent. If I had any power to influence those making the decissions and providing the funds, I would suggest to concentrate most of the efforts on looking for efficiently ways of transforming in electrical energy some of those huge amounts of energy we receive all the time from the sun.


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## Pedro y La Torre

In reality, the only way we can control exploding food and energy needs is to lower the global population. However, with population growth expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, and most of this growth to come from poorer regions, frankly, things are looking grim.


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## Flaminius

Alienated labour to the extreme:
http://www.majiroxnews.com/2011/07/24/kaieda-calls-illegal-radiation-work-practice-‘pride-of-japan’/
Kaieda is allegedly eyeing for the PM's position after Kan.


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## Oldy Nuts

Simply outrageous.


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## almostfreebird

Since this is a celebrations forum, I'm posting comments that are encouraging generally, sometimes to the point of annoyance.


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## almostfreebird

Brazilian football Team into Japan Match.

http://www.japanprobe.com/2011/08/0...s-slanty-eyes-photo-to-advertise-japan-match/


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## Flaminius

While largely under-covered  by major Japanese media companies, the anti-nuclear movement here has finally gathered some momentum after six months:
http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/content/2011/s3321265.htm


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