The volume of news continues to decline. An example of the economic distress going on in Japan, not to mention outright manipulation was a Chicago article claiming that it was now safe for tourists in Japan now that the radiation was gone!  The article was pulled.  Another example of disgusting framing is media stories calling desperate workers willing to work at Fukushima “Nuclear Gypsies”.

Probably the big story on the week is that Prime Minister called for the phase out of nuclear power in Japan! Another huge story is the push to shut down the Monju Breeder Program! Another inportant story was they are now estimating a total of 770,000 terabequerels of radiation was released at Fukushima. This is a bit more than 10% of the estimated 5.2 million terabequerels pronuclear insiders  claim was released at Chernobyl. A larger bunch of contaminated cow meat (84 animals) got into general circulation. The biggest shock was that the straw that had the high levels of cesium that was fed to the animals was from a farmer 75 km from Fukushima, which created another burst of distrust about where hot spots actually are. And as expected, the government is moving to reduce the required evacuation zone from 30 to 20 km by the end of August. A rather rare event for Japan was a story that a growing number thefts in contaminated zones has been happening including attacks ATM machines.

TEPCo announced that it has succeeded in getting pipes into unit three and has begun pumping nitrogen into the reactor core to neutralize the danger of further hydrogen explosions.  The nitrogen injection process when completed will mean the end of phase one of TEPCo’s stabilization plan.

Sunday July 17th, 2011

• Asahi Shimbun – Editorial/ Seeking a society without nuclear power generation: Strong policy support would nurture growth of renewable energy
• Daily Yomiuri – ‘Don’t worry about eating a little bit of tainted beef’ – Tatsuya Kimura
• Daily Yomiuri – Fukushima beef farmers facing uncertain future
• Daily Yomiuri – Tsunami reached record 40.4 meters in Miyako
• Asia-Pacific: Daily Yomiuri – 84 additional cows flagged / Fed rice straw apparently contaminated when left outside
• Daily Yomiuri – Electricity crisis will continue to deteriorate
• Daily Yomiuri – ‘Colossal blunder’ on radioactive cattle feed / Govt officials admit responsibility for foul-up that let tainted beef enter nation’s food supply
• Japan Times – Shipment ban on beef may widen
• Japan Times – No-go zone easing may be moved up
• Japan Times – Films focus on Japan’s nuclear flashpoints – Eriko Arita
• Japan Times – 84 more Fukushima cows found shipped
• Japan Times – Priority shifts to removing fuel from reactors 3, 4
• Japan Times – Nuke workers toiling under intense heat
• Japan Times – Fukui reactor shut down after cooling glitch
• Mainichi Daily News – New nuclear regulatory body should be set up by next April: Hosono
• Mainichi Daily News – Nuclear reactor in Fukui Pref. halted over glitch
• AP Google – Radiation concerns for Japan’s beef supply – Tomoko A. Hosaka
• Bloomberg – Kansai Electric Faces ‘Severe’ Shortage After Reactor Closures – Aki Ito
• Reuters – Japanese nuclear-contaminated beef “sold in and around Tokyo” – Stanley White
• Reuters – Refile-Japanese nuclear-contaminated beef “sold in and around Tokyo” – Stanley White
• UPI – Radioactive Fukushima beef sold in Japan
• UPI – Fukui nuclear reactor shut down

Saturday July 16th, 2011

• Daily Yomiuri – Govt must provide convincing, comprehensive energy policy
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt must provide convincing, comprehensive energy policy
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt must provide convincing, comprehensive energy policy
• Daily Yomiuri – Restart of N-reactors still uncertain / Nuclear agency has not clarified timing, criteria for confirming safety of idled facilities – Koichi Yasuda, Makoto Mitsui, Ryuhei Yoshimura and Kazuo Yamada
• Daily Yomiuri – Halt ordered for Fukui Pref. nuke reactor
• Daily Yomiuri – Oi reactor resumption could be months away
• Daily Yomiuri – Tokyo, 10 prefs start checking beef farms
• Daily Yomiuri – Tainted beef sold in at least 13 prefs
• Japan Times – Key players got nuclear ball rolling–Cash paved the way even amid safety doubts on high, ineptitude – Eric Johnston
• Japan Times – Glitch forces shutdown of nuclear reactor in Fukui
• Japan Times – Hosono vows funds to remove waste
• Japan Today – Removing fuel from Fukushima Nos. 3, 4 reactors to be given priority
• Nikkei – Kan Turns More Attention To Local Concerns Near Stricken Nuclear Plant
• Mainichi Daily News – TEPCO denies nuke crisis compensation to kindergartens, nursing homes and clinics
• Mainichi Daily News – News Navigator: Could radioactive cesium-contaminated beef threaten human health?
• Mainichi Daily News – Livestock farmers dismayed by radioactive beef scandal
• Mainichi Daily News – Restart schedule for idled nuclear reactors still in limbo
• Mainichi Daily News – Matsumoto sees no problem in negotiating nuclear technology exports
• Mainichi Daily News – Japan, China abandon effort to hold high-level economic talks in Aug.
• Mainichi Daily News – Nuclear reactor in Fukui Pref. to be halted manually over glitch
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov. Ishihara says new power plant to be built in Tokyo
• AFP Google – Japan nuclear reactor halted over pressure drop
• BBC News – Japan nuclear reactor shuts down
• New York Times – Japan Operator Shutting Down Nuclear Reactor After Malfunction – Hiroko Tabuchi
• Neutron Economy – An IAEA perspective on Fukushima
• Reuters – Japan eyes $152 bln in 5-year quake reconstruction costs-media – Kiyoshi Takenaka
• Reuters – Glitch shuts Japan reactor, no radiation leak – Kiyoshi Takenaka

Friday July 15th, 2011

• Asahi Shimbun – Editorial/ Seeking a society without nuclear power generation: Japan should stop nuclear fuel cycle policy
• Daily Yomiuri – Ministry caught unprepared / No regulations established for rice straw fed to beef cattle
• Daily Yomiuri – N-phaseout merely Kan’s ‘private view’ / Ministers blast PM for lack of prior notice
• Daily Yomiuri – Radioactive cesium detected in straw fed to beef cattle
• Daily Yomiuri – Thieves raid evacuation areas / Unguarded ATMs robbed of 684 million yen; empty homes violated
• Daily Yomiuri – SDF must utilize lessons learned from disaster mission
• Denki Shimbun – System devised for natural cooling of reactors after disasters
• Denki Shimbun – Prime Minister Kan announced intention to phase out nuclear power
• Japan Times – Monju reactor project faces the ax
• Japan Times – Fukushima cattle shipments banned
• Japan Times – Key players got nuclear ball rolling – Eric Johnston
• Japan Times – ¥2 trillion reconstruction budget submitted; July 22 passage seen – Natsuko Fukue
• Japan Times – Nuke export talks suspended
• Japan Times – BOJ execs rue reactor-halt impact
• Japan Times – Fukushima to scrap nuclear plants
• Japan Times – Buyers warned of ‘illegal’ Geiger counters
• Japan Times – Cutting the nuclear cord
• Japan Times – Reactor stress tests heavy on redundancies – Kazuaki Nagata
• Japan Times – Farm ships 42 cows fed irradiated straw
• Mainichi Daily News – Kan under fire from Cabinet for advocating nuclear-free society
• Mainichi Daily News – Science minister says gov’t will mull halting Monju prototype reactor project
• Mainichi Daily News – Decades-old antinuclear newsletters reprinted
• Mainichi Daily News – BOJ policymakers feared less atomic power would slow economy: minutes
• Mainichi Daily News – Disaster-hit Miyagi town questions dependence on nuclear money
• Mainichi Daily News – Health ministry to review inspection system over radioactive beef scare
• Mainichi Daily News – Finding that radiation-tainted straw was produced far from nuclear plant causes shock
• Mainichi Daily News – Mitsubishi Heavy to set up nuclear safety division
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov’t mulls reducing possible evacuation areas near Fukushima plant
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov’t to suspend nuclear cooperation talks after Kan’s nuclear remarks
• Mainichi Daily News – Toshiba to deliver water treatment system to crippled nuclear plant
• Nikkei – Kan Eyes Making Nuclear Agency Independent Watchdog
• Nikkei – Power Reserves To Drop To 4% Unless Nuke Plants Reopen: Kyushu Elec
• Nikkei – Clarify Utilities’ Compensation Cost: Industry Chief
• Nikkei – Govt To Discuss Options of Abandoning Monju
• AFP Google – Japan to report progress on nuclear crisis – Hiroshi Hiyama
• Ninemsn – Fukushima to be silent killer: SA expert – Tim Dornin
• Bloomberg – Beef Contamination Spreads in Japan After Fukushima Radiation Taints Straw – Aya Takada and Yasumasa Song
• Bloomberg – Japan Has 17,580 Megawatts of Nuclear Capacity Online: Table – Yuji Okada
• Reuters – Japan utility to shut down reactor owing to glitch – Kiyoshi Takenaka
• Reuters – Stress tests to determine reactor life: Hosono – Yoko Kubota and Kevin Krolicki
• Reuters UK – Japan may scrap fast-breeder reactor -Kyodo – Osamu Tsukimori
• Reuters – Analysis: Japan power sector oil demand may triple as nuclear – Manash Goswami and Florence Tan
• RIA Novosti – Fukushima farmers urged to stop meat deliveries over radiation fears
• UPI – Japanese doubt Kan’s nuclear phaseout
• UPI – Water system at Fukushima breaks again

Thursday July 14th, 2011

• Asahi Shimbun – Kan’s nuclear phase-out plan draws anger over lack of details, talks
• Asahi Shimbun – Editorial/ Seeking a society without nuclear power generation: Nuclear-phase out roadmap needed soon
• Daily Yomiuri – 1st phase of defusing nuclear crisis ‘over’
• Daily Yomiuri – Local govts puzzled by Kan
• Daily Yomiuri – FROM SWUARE ONE / Can Japan rely on renewable energy? / Solar, wind power should increase in stages
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt may scrap N-zone at end of Aug.
• Daily Yomiuri – Bad beef worries restaurants, shops
• Daily Yomiuri – FROM SQUARE ONE / Renewable energy to supply 20% of power by ’20
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt’s energy review a blow to N-fuel cycle
• Daily Yomiuri – Kan offers no viable N-power alternatives – Chiaki Toyoda and Tatsuo Nakajima
• Daily Yomiuri – Kan irresponsible to announce empty denuclearization policy
• Japan Times – Rejecting ¥160 million offer from J-Power, Aomori family left with view of nuclear plant – Chisaki Watanabe and Stuart Biggs
• Japan Times – Two antinuclear arms groups divided on nuclear power – Nobuko Nishigori and Kanami Otomitsu
• Japan Times – Phasing out nuke power an aspiration, not policy: Edano
• Japan Times – Tepco injects nitrogen into No. 3 reactor
• Japan Times – Kyushu Electric apologizes for scheme; president staying put
• Japan Times – Nuke panel downplayed power loss risk
• Japan Times – Reactor 3 set for injection of nitrogen
• Japan Times – Tohoku land-use guidelines take two-track approach
• Japan Times – Hamaoka host city at crossroads
• Mainichi Daily News – Kan’s pursuit of nuclear station-free Japan could deal serious blow to business
• Mainichi Daily News – PM’s pursuit of nuclear power-free society should be commended, but details lacking
• Mainichi Daily News – U.S. protests Japan’s handling of radioactive beef
• Mainichi Daily News – Kan says Japan should aim for nuclear-free society
• Mainichi Daily News – Japan mulls checking twin disaster risks in nuclear safety tests
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov’t nuclear panel noted but downplayed risk of power loss at plants
• Mainichi Daily News – A-bomb survivors group to urge withdrawal from nuclear power
• Mainichi Daily News – Utility’s campaign to outvote opposition to atomic plants worked
• Nikkei – Kan Vows To Stay Focused On Weaning Japan Off Nuclear Power
• Nikkei – Kan’s Hasty Anti-Nuclear Push Misguided: Business Chief
• Nikkei – Kan Didn’t Say Japan Will Phase Out Nuclear Energy: Edano
• Bloomberg – ‘Nuclear Village’ Protester Turns Hero as Fukushima Drives Atomic Backlash – Stuart Biggs and Kanoko Matsuyama
• Bloomberg – Japan to Submit Stress Tests Draft to Safety Commission Tomorrow – Yuji Okada and Chisaki Watanabe
• Bloomberg – Japan Should Nationalize Reactors After Disaster, Former Kan Adviser Says – Sachiko Sakamaki and Takashi Hirokawa
• The Economist – A question of trust–Japan’s nuclear crisis is eroding deference to authority
• Reuters – Japan bank lobby: Tepco would face insolvency without bailout scheme – Taiga Uranaka
• Reuters – Q&A-What do Japan’s reactor stress tests mean for nuclear power? – Chikako Mogi
• Reuters – Kyushu Electric says delays restart of Sendai No.1 reactor – Risa Maeda
• Wall Street Journal – Okinawa Beckons to Nuclear Refugees – Mariko Sanchanta
• Washington Post – Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan calls for phase-out of nuclear power – Chico Harlan

Wednesday July 13th, 2011

• Asahi Shimbun – Editorial/ Seeking a society without nuclear power generation: Japan must change course to create a nuclear-free society – Yoshinori Onoki
• Daily Yomiuri – Blanket testing necessary to ensure safe beef
• Daily Yomiuri – Still seeking a final resting place / 4 months after disaster, damaged graves make burials impossible – Takeshi Ishikawa and Sakae Sasaki
• Daily Yomiuri – Governors’ association presents proposals to govt
• Daily Yomiuri – Kyushu Electric e-mail scam skewed meet result
• Daily Yomiuri – Cesium beef scattered across nation / Consumers may have eaten radioactive Fukushima Pref. meat in 8 prefectures
• Daily Yomiuri – Kan wants to phase out N-power / ‘Accidents cannot be prevented’
• Daily Yomiuri – Fukushima to decontaminate entire city
• Daily Yomiuri – SDF to boost N-response capabilities
• Japan Times – Edano: nuke nationalization an option
• Japan Times – Utility comes clean on Kyushu TV scheme
• Japan Times – NISA slaps Tepco over worker overexposures – Kazuaki Nagata
• Japan Times – Japan must ditch nuclear power: Kan – Natsuko Fukue
• Japan Times – GE plan followed with inflexibility – Reiji Yoshida
• Japan Times – Radioactive beef sold off in eight prefectures – Takahiro Fukada
• Japan Today – 373 kg beef from Fukushima farm may have been consumed
• Mainichi Daily News – Testing system urgently needed after discovery of radiation-tainted beef
• Mainichi Daily News – Japan’s nuclear plant capacity utilization rate falls to 36.8% in June
• Mainichi Daily News – Softbank’s Son, governors launch group to push for green energy
• Mainichi Daily News – Hiroshima survivor, famed writer encourages Fukushima children
• Mainichi Daily News – Governors to rap state over nuclear crisis in statement
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov’t to set up body to study reactor decommissioning
• Nikkei – Utilities OK With Sharing Nuke Compensation Burden
• Nikkei – Kan: Aim For Society Not Dependent On Nuclear Energy
• Nikkei – Gov’t Takeover of Nuke Plants Should Await Probe: Edano
• AFP Google – Fears mount in Japan over radioactive beef
• AFP Google – Japan PM urges nuclear-free future – Harumi Ozawa
• Atlantic Wire – Japan’s ‘Nuclear Gypsies’: The Latest Addition to the Fukushima Crew – Adam Clark Estes
• The Guardian – Fukushima cleanup recruits ‘nuclear gypsies’ from across Japan – Justin McCurry
• The Guardian – Fukushima workers brave radiation and heat for £80 a day – Justin McCurry
• Reuters – Update 2-PM Kan wants to wean Japan from nuclear power – Kiyoshi Takenaka and Yoko Kubota
• Reuters – Ditching nuclear energy would pose risks: Japan AEC vice-chair – Linda Sieg and Kei Okamura
• Reuters – Update 1-Japan utilities to seek final approvals for two restarted reactors – Osamu Tsukimori
• Xinhua News – Japan to complete 1st stage of handling nuke crisis next week: Kan

Tuesday July 12th, 2011

• Asahi Shimbun – New nuclear tests the product of political infighting
• Asahi Shimbun – POINT OF VIEW/ Tokihiro Nakamura: Risk-free energy technology currently insufficient to fulfill needs
• Asahi Shimbun – Beef contaminated with cesium sold at market
• Asahi Shimbun – Survey: 70% of voters want Kan out by end of August
• Asahi Shimbun – Situation clearer, but problems remain after 4 months of nuclear crisis
• Asahi Shimbun – FOUR MONTHS AFTER: Radiation scare causes Fukushima Prefecture to shrink
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt to survey cesium absorption / Study will seek to determine how much cesium cows take in through feed
• Daily Yomiuri – NSC boss on stress tests: Govt passing safety buck
• Daily Yomiuri – ‘Consensus view’ on reactor safety unclear – Nobutaka Kuribayashi, Hideyuki Ioka and Masayuki Takata
• Daily Yomiuri – Radioactive cesium beef sold, eaten
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt’s unified nuclear stance fails to reassure
• Denki Shimbun – Lower House begins deliberations on bill for nuclear damage compensation organization
• Denki Shimbun – Treatment of contaminated water gets on track at Fukushima I NPS
• Japan Times – Ash in Chiba is radioactive
• Japan Times – Kan plan set to end nuke goals – Natsuko Fukue
• Japan Times – Rice prices soaring as wholesalers increase inventories
• Japan Times – China raises undersea ante – Michael Richardson
• Japan Times – Prefecture cannot gauge cows’ internal exposure – Minoru Matsutani
• Japan Times – Cattle disaster-stressed; industry left in jeopardy
• Japan Times – Radiation, debris vex Tohoku’s fishermen – Jun Hongo
• Japan Times – Son’s quest for sun, wind has nuclear interests wary – Eric Johnston
• Japan Today – Meat of 6 cows fed radioactive straw reaches 11 prefectures
• Mainichi Daily News – Kan to explore possibility of nationalizing nuclear operations
• Mainichi Daily News – Residents get together to decontaminate city after discovery of radiation hotspots
• Mainichi Daily News – Wife to seek work accident compensation over Fukushima plant worker’s death
• Mainichi Daily News – Yonekura raps gov’t unified view on stress tests as ‘ridiculous’
• Mainichi Daily News – Meat of 6 cows fed radioactive straw reaches 9 prefectures
• Mainichi Daily News – Doubts emerge over gov’t plan to assess safety of nuclear power plants in two stages
• Mainichi Daily News – High-level cesium detected at waste disposal facilities in Chiba
• Mainichi Daily News – Radioactive cesium found in straw fed to cattle in Fukushima
• AFP Google – Radioactive ash found in waste plants near Tokyo
• BBC News – Widening scandal at Japan’s Kyushu nuclear firm
• Bloomberg – Kan Demands Less Nuclear Power for Japan – Sachiko Sakamaki and Takashi Hirokawa
• Bloomberg – Kan Calls for Debate Over Private Nuclear Plants in Japan – Sachiko Sakamaki
• Nature – No fallout legacy for Japan’s farms – David Cyranoski
• Nuclear Engineering – TEPCO prepares alternative cooling installation at unit 4 spent fuel pool
• Reuters – RPT-Kansai, Hokkaido eye resumption of reactor ops-media – Osamu Tsukimori
• Reuters – Update 2-Japan PM says must reduce dependence on nuclear power – Linda Sieg
• Wall Street Journal – Fateful Move Exposed Japan Plant – Chester Dawson and Yuka Hayashi
• Asia: Xinhua News – Refinery blaze ‘never threatened nuke plant’

Monday July 11th, 2011

• Daily Yomiuri – Mass exodus by manufacturers feared – Etsuo Kono and Takashi Asako
• Daily Yomiuri – Removal of reactor fuel won’t start until 2021
• Daily Yomiuri – 20% ‘pro-restart’ mails fake / Probe shows utility encouraged employees to send comments
• Daily Yomiuri – Govt plans safety checks in 2 stages / Idle reactors, then active to be tested
• Daily Yomiuri – Difficult choices for evacuation call
• Daily Yomiuri – New revelations from Kyushu Electric
• Daily Yomiuri – Onahama Port in crisis as no bonito landed – Ryoji Fukazawa
• Daily Yomiuri – Shutdown of cattle shipments? / Drastic measure mulled by Fukushima govt after cesium scare
• Daily Yomiuri – Excessive cesium found in 11 cows
• Daily Yomiuri – E-mail scandal could amplify distrust of N-power
• Japan Times – Utility planted ‘citizens’ to support restart of reactors
• Japan Times – ‘Stress tests’ to be done in two stages – Masami Ito
• Japan Times – Cesium found in Fukushima cattle feed
• Mainichi Daily News – High radiation found in straw given to cows whose meat was contaminated
• Mainichi Daily News – ‘World Peace 7’ calls for nuclear-free Japan
• Mainichi Daily News – News Navigator: What is the renewable energy bill that Kan wants to pass so much?
• Mainichi Daily News – Kyushu Electric Power execs made questionable donations to governor
• Mainichi Daily News – Longtime anti-nuclear engineer prepared to fight from within field to right wrongs
• Mainichi Daily News – Gov’t considers removing nuclear fuel from Fukushima plant in 10 years’ time
• Mainichi Daily News – Time to focus on nuclear power plant issue, not political battles
• Mainichi Daily News – Japan’s reactor ‘stress tests’ should be shorter than EU’s: Okada
• Mainichi Daily News – Dismantling Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant to take several decades
• Nikkei – Japan Rolls Out Stress Test Program For Nuclear Plants
• YokosoNews – 311 Disaster Update #44
• AP Google – Japan can’t say when nuclear reactors will restart
• AFP Google – Japan says reactor ‘stress tests’ in two phases
• BBC News – Fukushima: Nuclear power’s VHS relic? – Richard Black
• BBC News – Japan clarifies nuclear ‘stress testing’
• Bloomberg – Japan to Hold Reactor Tests Before Restart – Takashi Hirokawa and Pavel Alpeyev
• The Guardian – Japan nuclear reactors must pass tsunami test before reopening – Justin McCurry
• UPI – More tests ordered for Japan’s reactors
• UPI – Radioactive beef found in Japan
• Reuters – Q&A: What do Japan reactor stress tests mean for nuclear power? – Chikako Mogi
• Reuters – Japan utilities rush for bank loans amid nuclear crisis – Taiga Uranaka
• Straits Times – Japan still needs nuclear power: Tokyo governor
• Reuters – Japan idled reactors could restart after stress test – Kiyoshi Takenaka
• Reuters – Analysis: After Fukushima, glacial change seen for U.S. nuclear – Roberta Rampton and Eileen O’Grady
• Xinhua News – Japanese gov’t to launch two-stage nuke reactor safety checks
• Xinhua News – Japan mourns victims, still battling quake-triggered nuke crisis