Global News Post: Japan

India-US-Japan Trilateral Meet on Monday

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<st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (NNN-Bernama) -- The US' 'pivot-to-Asia'
policy, <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Iran</st1:country>, China-Japan
maritime dispute and <st1:place w:st="on">South China Sea</st1:place> are among
issues to be discussed during the 3rd round of India-US-Japan Trilateral
dialogue here on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">According
to official sources, the <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">US</st1:country>
is expected to brief its much-talked about policy of 'pivot to Asia', an
American move driven by the allure of emerging Asian economies particularly <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">China</st1:country> and <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Another
reason for the move includes the draw-down of US forces in <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Iraq</st1:country> and <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">Afghanistan</st1:country>,
which enables the <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">US</st1:place></st1:country>
military to concentrate more resources on the Asia-Pacific, Press Trust of
India (PTI) reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
<st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">US</st1:country> is also expected to talk
about <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Iran</st1:place></st1:country>'s
nuclear programme. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Japan</span></st1:country><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> will talk about its maritime dispute with <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">China</st1:country> and increasing Chinese influence in the <st1:place w:st="on">South China Sea</st1:place>, sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
three countries will explore the possibilities of cooperation in various areas,
including piracy and safety of sea lanes in Asia Pacific. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
Japanese delegation will be led by Deputy Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs
Kenji Hiramatsu, the <st1:country -region="-region" w:st="on">US</st1:country>
delegation by Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert
Blake and the Indian delegation by Joint Secretary (<st1:place w:st="on">East
 Asia</st1:place>) Gautam Bambawale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The
trilateral meeting comes ahead of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit
to <st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city> for the bilateral <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Summit</st1:place></st1:city> on Nov 15. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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India-US-Japan Trilateral Meet on Monday

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- The US' 'pivot-to-Asia' policy, Iran , China-Japan maritime dispute and South China Sea are ...

Chinese Protest at Japanese Embassy

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">BEIJING (VOA News)--- Thousands of Chinese protesters staged a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Saturday, angry over Japan's actions to claim complete control of a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Protesters threw rocks and burned Japanese flags at the embassy, but were held back by riot police from breaking through a barricade.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There are also reports of protests in other Chinese cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations since Tuesday when Japan said it had bought the islands from a private owner. China says such a purchase is not legal, and claims the territory as its own.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The dispute escalated Friday when China sent six surveillance ships to the waters around the uninhabited islands, known as Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Chinese Protest at Japanese Embassy

BEIJING (VOA News)--- Thousands of Chinese protesters staged a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing Saturday, angry over J...

Japan Marks 67th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By VOA News<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">NNN---Doves fly over Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan during a service on 6 August 2012 to remember the victims of the world's first atomic bombing in 1945 in Hiroshima, western Japan. People gathered at the memorial cenotaph to pray for victims of the 1945 bombing at the park. Thousands of people attend services on August 6 every year to remember the more than 200,000 people estimated to have died. Photo courtesy agencies---NNN<o:p></o:p></span></div></td></tr>
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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hiroshima marked the 67th anniversary of the world's first atomic bomb attack Monday, amid a rising tide of anti-nuclear sentiments in Japan following the nuclear accident at a power plant in Fukushima last year.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">About 50,000 people, including Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and a number of foreign representatives, attended the annual ceremony in Hiroshima's peace park.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The remembrance began with the ringing of a bell and a moment of silence.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui urged the Japanese government to establish an energy policy that is safe and secure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The bomb that the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima killed around 140,000 people, either instantly or from radiation burns days later.  Another bomb dropped on the port city of Nagasaki three days later, killing an estimated 70,000 residents.  Japan surrendered six days later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="direction: ltr; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b>Watch related video</b><o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><b><br />
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Japan Marks 67th Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

By VOA News NNN---Doves fly over Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan during a service on 6 August 2012 to remember the victims of...

Report: Sony to cut 10,000 Jobs Worldwide

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</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">A leading Japanese newspaper says Sony is preparing to slash 10,000 jobs worldwide, as the consumer electronics giant attempts to carry out structural reforms aimed at restoring the company to profit. That figure represents 6-percent of Sony's workforce.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Nikkei business daily, quoting unnamed sources, said Monday that as many as 5,000 job cuts will come from reorganizing subsidiaries making chemicals and small and mid-sized display panels. It was not clear how many of the reported cuts will take place in Japan or overseas.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The report also said Sony may call on its seven executive directors to return their cash bonuses.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">The Sony cuts are the latest downsizing in Japan's manufacturing sector, where a host of high-tech companies, including Panasonic and Sharp, are trimming costs to remain competitive. Experts have attributed much of the Sony loss to a downturn in consumer television buying.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Sony reported a $2.1 billion loss for the final quarter of last year. ---VOA News</span></div>

Report: Sony to cut 10,000 Jobs Worldwide

A leading Japanese newspaper says Sony is preparing to slash 10,000 jobs worldwide, as the consumer electronics giant attempts to carry ou...

Tokyo Prepares As Scientists Predict Big Quake

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</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">By Henry Ridgwell from <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Experts say there is a high likelihood of a big earthquake hitting the huge metropolis of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city></st1:place> in the next few years. Authorities are trying to ensure the city is as prepared as possible for another large quake.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Earthquake alarms ring at <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city>'s Metropolitan Government headquarters, sending workers running for cover. Across the city, workers in another tower block react to a fire alert. It is part of a city-wide drill organized by the government last month.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Japanese scientists are warning the likelihood of a big quake striking <st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city> has increased since the huge temblor and tsunami last March in northern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Shinichi Sakai is from the Earthquake Research Institute at <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place>. He said, "When we did the calculations, tectonic activity was up by about six or seven times. At that point in time we established there was a 98 percent chance of a quake within 30 years,or for the next four years, it would likely be 70 percent."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Realistic animated models are being used to predict the potential fallout of a large quake on the city, the locations of weaker buildings, fire hazards, and evacuation bottlenecks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Official estimates say a 7.3 magnitude quake in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> could cause 11,000 casualties and destroy 850,000 buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">At Shimizu Corporation in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city>, scientists are working on cutting-edge construction technologies to protect against earthquakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">One building is supported on hardened rubber dampeners.  Other technologies include suspending buildings from a central pillar, which helps to absorb seismic shocks; and partially floating buildings on water which has been shown to reduce movement significantly.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">A chief engineer at <st1:city w:st="on">Shimizu</st1:city>, Masaaki Saruta, says <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> is better prepared than most cities.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"Recently-constructed buildings are strong enough to withstand a big earthquake.  Even older buildings in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> have been strengthened," said Saruta. "I won't say there will be no destruction at all, but we are prepared for this.  It is still a work in progress. We need more buildings to include seismic isolation technology and older ones to be additionally strengthened.  But <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> will not be annihilated."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Amateur footage posted online shows skyscrapers in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city> swaying alarmingly when the Tohoku earthquake struck last March. Saruta says it is part of the design.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">"To be honest, I have never seen anything like that so I was really surprised as well," Saruta. "But basically you do not need to worry about a building even if it's swaying.  What I mean is, you would expect a tall building to sway like that because of the design."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">Last year’s quake, 300 kilometers to the north, shut down much of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city></st1:place>, alerting authorities to prepare for a big earthquake even closer to this huge metropolis. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Tokyo Prepares As Scientists Predict Big Quake

By Henry Ridgwell from Tokyo Experts say there is a high likelihood of a big earthquake hitting the huge metropolis of Tokyo in the nex...

Powerful Earthquake Rocks Japan

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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Seismologists say a powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 rocked southern <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region></st1:place> Sunday, but there were no reports of damage or casualties, and no tsunami warning was issued.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
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The U.S. Geological Survey put the epicenter of the quake in the Izu islands, 486 kilometers south of <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:place></st1:city>.  The quake struck at a depth of 371 kilometers.<br />
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<st1:country-region w:st="on">Japan</st1:country-region>'s Meteorological Agency said quake struck at 2:28 in the afternoon (0528 UTC) and caused buildings to sway in <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on">Tokyo</st1:city></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><br />
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<st1:place w:st="on">Northeastern Japan</st1:place> was devastated on March 11 by a massive earthquake and tsunami that left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing. ---VOA News<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Powerful Earthquake Rocks Japan

Photo: USGS Seismologists say a powerful earthquake measuring 7.0 rocked southern Japan Sunday, but there were no reports of damage o...

India Likely To Seek Japan's Help to Introduce High Speed Train

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4mhfYyBifM0yn5qO9AqakvgBPLvCnveZgZyuQIngurVv7hiOCdrsSgjWx9xsrTnS9sVyfkMnPYNazcvrYcj_FvXu19X1o6yTa3ci1hvpahrtFhcJeu5-fwgogKkr3DN9BbiBaXWR9SU/s1600/pmwithjapnesecounterpart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx4mhfYyBifM0yn5qO9AqakvgBPLvCnveZgZyuQIngurVv7hiOCdrsSgjWx9xsrTnS9sVyfkMnPYNazcvrYcj_FvXu19X1o6yTa3ci1hvpahrtFhcJeu5-fwgogKkr3DN9BbiBaXWR9SU/s400/pmwithjapnesecounterpart.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">Prime Minister of <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Japan</st1:place></st1:country-region>, Mr. Yoshihiko Noda,<o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">at the joint press conference, in New <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Delhi</st1:place></st1:city><o:p></o:p></span></i></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS"; font-size: 8.0pt;">on December 28, 2011. Photo © PIB<o:p></o:p></span></i></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">NEW DELHI</span></st1:city><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"> (NNN-Bernama): <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> is likely to seek Japanese cooperation for introduction of a high speed trains capable of travelling at 300 km per hour when leaders of the two countries meet here on Wednesday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Indian Railways have shortlisted six corridors for conducting feasibility study for running high speed trains in the country and selected a Japanese consortium to explore the possibility of running a bullet train on the proposed Hyderabad-Vijayawada-Chennai high speed rail corridor in the southern part of the country, reports Press Trust of India (PTI).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda are likely to discuss a range of issues including civil nuclear cooperation, high speed trains and the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor when they meet here on Wednesday, official sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Besides showing interest in India's high speed train, Japan is funding 80 per cent of the cost of construction of the 1499 km-long Western Dedicated Freight Corridor across Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra states in the north and the west.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Japan</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">'s high speed trains Shinkansen operate at a speed of up to 300 km per hour and are known for their punctuality, comfort, safety and efficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi will also be meeting the Japanese PM to explore ways to enhance cooperation between the two nations in the rail sector, the sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Railways have selected a Japanese consortium - Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro) and Oriental Consultancy along with Parsons Brinkhoff <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region> - to conduct the pre-feasibility study on the proposed 664 km long route for running the high speed train.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">Railways plan to make the high speed rail corridor a catalyst for <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">India</st1:place></st1:country-region>'s economic growth and a stimulus for the development of satellite towns, they said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS';">According to an estimate, it will cost about Rupees 1.0 billion (about US$20 million) to construct a one km dedicated high speed corridor. As per the preliminary report, rider ship revenues would be able to cover the operating cost of the project. -NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India Likely To Seek Japan's Help to Introduce High Speed Train

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh and the Prime Minister of Japan , Mr. Yoshihiko Noda, at the joint press conference, in New Delhi...

Financial loss after Fukushima disaster estimated at $74 billion

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:city w:st="on"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">TOKYO</span></st1:city></st1:place><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";"> (RIA Novosti) - Financial loss from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster has been estimated at $74 billion, the Japanese Nuclear Safety Commission said on Thursday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The dismantlement of four reactor tanks will cost $14.9 billion and $52 billion will be spent on compensation, clean-up of radioactive soil and other measures.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The special government-backed fund set up after the disaster will finance the project. The fund is financed with money from the state budget and contributions from financial organizations and other utilities. TEPCO, the operator of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, will compensate the expenses over the next several years.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The expenses of clean-up were not included in the net costs of nuclear energy does not include those possible costs for disasters at nuclear power plants. This is one reason why nuclear energy is still considered to be the cheapest (less than $1 per kilowatt hour) which is twice as cheap as energy produced by major hydroelectric projects.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This oversight in budgeting will now be corrected and nuclear energy may lose its supporters and status of being one of the cheapest energy sources.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Financial loss after Fukushima disaster estimated at $74 billion

TOKYO (RIA Novosti) - Financial loss from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster has been estimated at $74 billion, the Japane...

Japan to increase emergency oil reserves

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- The Japanese government plans to expand stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products as part of preparations for possible disasters, the Kyodo news agency reported on Saturday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The country is to be divided into six or seven regions with several dozen commercial facilities set up nationwide as the state's oil stockpiling points.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">This should enable each region to have around three to five days of supplies in case of emergency, government sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS";">The move comes in response to shortages of gasoline and heating oil experienced in areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Japan to increase emergency oil reserves

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti)- The Japanese government plans to expand stockpiles of crude oil and petroleum products as part of preparations for po...

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">By Steve Herman from Seoul</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Japan-WikiFocus-Book-ebook/dp/B004NBZL6U?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Japan: A WikiFocus Book (WikiFocus Book Series)" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004NBZL6U&tag=glob036-20" width="246" /></a><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004NBZL6U" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />Japan will soon see its seventh prime minister in a span of five years. In a widely anticipated move, Prime Minister Naoto Kan has announced he will be resigning as soon as his party selects a new leader on Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Japan faces serious social and economic challenges as it recovers from this year’s unprecedented natural and nuclear disasters. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The unpopular Japanese prime minister has bowed to the inevitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan on Friday made good on his promise to resign after less than 15 months in power.<span>  </span>He announced his exit expressing hope his successor will be able to stay in officer longer than he could.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In remarks at the start of a news conference broadcast live, Kan told the nation<span>  </span>that he believes during his one year and three months in office his Cabinet made progress on tax reform, other social policies and helped Japan revive from the devastating March 11 natural disaster and subsequent nuclear accident.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan faced rising criticism following the March 11 disaster because of his government’s perceived insufficient response to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The magnitude 9.0 earthquake triggered a historic tsunami. The natural disaster left 20,000 dead or missing. It also was the catalyst for the meltdown of reactors at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The tragedies put Japanese politics on hold and postponed a resignation seen as inevitable even prior to March 11.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan, in what is likely his final news conference as prime minister, acknowledged what he called his inabilities to sufficiently respond in the wake of the reactor meltdowns. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan created further debate about his leadership by pushing, as a weakened head of government, a plan to phase out nuclear power in wake of the Fukushima radiation leaks.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Japan has few natural resources and relies on imports of fossil fuels and nuclear plants to power the world’s third largest economy.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan was nearly forced out of office in June but survived a parliamentary no confidence motion supported by many in his own party.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">As part of a deal to stave off his immediate removal from office, Kan agreed to resign later. But critics accused him of stubbornly clinging to power, as he insisted first that several pieces of legislation be approved before his departure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The final two pieces of legislation - bills dealing with issuance of bonds and renewable energy - were approved Friday. That removed the last barriers Kan had put in place blocking his immediate resignation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He quickly then arranged to appear before his fellow Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers to announce he was stepping down as their leader.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The DPJ is to choose his successor Monday with voting limited to its nearly 400 lawmakers. The following day the Parliament will select a prime minister with the Democrats’ candidate ensured victory because of their control of the Lower House.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The brief internal party campaign among those jockeying to succeed Kan begins Saturday. At least four lawmakers will be contesting the post, including former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara - considered the public favorite - and the current Finance Minister, Yoshihiko Noda. A key party powerbroker, however, is reported to be backing Trade Minister Banri Kaieda.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The party, which was formed in 1998 and took power less than two years ago, faces internal turmoil and the next leader may experience only a short tenure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Many analysts predict a national election will be called next year and could allow the opposition conservatives, the Liberal Democratic Party, to return to power. The LDP has governed Japan for most of the post-World War II era.(VOA News)</span><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Japanese Prime Minister Resigns

By Steve Herman from Seoul Japan will soon see its seventh prime minister in a span of five years. In a widely anticipated move, Prime Mi...

Japanese Nuclear Crisis Leaves Fukushima Town Broken

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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;"><b><i>Henry Ridwell | Minamisoma, Japan</i></b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Fukushima-Daiichi-TEPCO-Nuclear-Accident/dp/1422054527?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;" target="_blank"><img alt="Fukushima Daiichi TEPCO Nuclear Power Plant Accident: Comprehensive Coverage of Every Aspect of the Worst Nuclear Crisis Since Chernobyl (DVD-ROM)" height="320" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=1422054527&tag=glob036-20" width="252" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=1422054527" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />The Japanese town of Minamisoma was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami in March. The disaster killed several hundred residents. Tens of thousands were then forced to evacuate as reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which lies just 30 kilometers away, went into meltdown.</div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">And many of the residents who remain feel they have been abandoned by the Japanese government.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Grass and wild rice are encroaching on the road leading into the Fukushima evacuation zone.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is deserted apart from a single bus; on board are a few of the former residents of this area, now dressed in protective suits.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">For three precious hours, they were allowed back to their homes.  After collecting valuables, documents, even abandoned pets, they are once more escorted out.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Everyone living within 20 km of the Daiichi plant was forced to evacuate. For the next 10 kilometers, the government has simply recommended that people move away. The town of Minamisoma lies on the edge of that zone. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Determined to stay</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Overgrown gardens and abandoned homes are testament to the exodus that followed the first explosion at the Fukushima plant. Almost overnight the population plummeted from 71,000 to just 10,000. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Nunokawa Yoshiuki is one of those who decided to stay. He’s still running his family’s fruit store, just 25 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Good-Fortune-Island-Chronicle-ebook/dp/B004XR4IIG?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Good Fortune Island: A Chronicle of the Disaster at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Station - plus The Essential Guide to Nuclear Power Plants and Nuclear Safety Issues" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004XR4IIG&tag=glob036-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004XR4IIG" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />“There are six people in my family. If I run away, there would be no job for me," he explains. “I was born here, I grew up here; I work hard to treat my customers well. My roots are here and that’s connected to all my customers," adds Nunokawa. “I don’t want the Fukushima nuclear problem to beat us, I want to get over this, I talked to my family about it and I decided to stay here.” </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even though he’s decided to stay, Nunokawa fears for his business.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“The number of customers has really fallen,” he says. “I used to deliver to wholesale customers, but they are within the 20 kilometer evacuation zone, and have all closed down. So I’ve lost a lot of profit.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Aftermath </b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nuclear-Crisis-2011-Fukushima-ebook/dp/B004XQVKOW?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Nuclear Crisis 2011: The Major Accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant - Reactor Training Manual, Complete Chronicle of Events and Radiation Releases from the TEPCO Japanese Power Station" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004XQVKOW&tag=glob036-20" /></a>A kilometer down the road. VOA found an abandoned farm.  Behind the padlocked gates, rows of<img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004XQVKOW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" /> greenhouses full of dead plants.  The cattle sheds overgrown and empty.  The last entry on the delivery board at the farm entrance shows the date as March 13, two days after the tsunami hit.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">At the town hall, officials are dealing with a stream of people asking for help and advice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The mayor of Minamisoma, Sakurai Katsunobu, gained worldwide fame in March when he posted a video on the website YouTube, appealing for help.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a78lgT6qavY" width="560"></iframe></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">He was scathing of the Japanese government’s response, saying his town was left "isolated."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Lingering fear</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Five months on, authorities are struggling to bring the Fukushima nuclear plant under control. There is still much fear among the people of Minamisoma.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Takano Shinji is among the staff at the Tsunami Response Center.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Nuclear-Accidents-ebook/dp/B004XQVVIC?ie=UTF8&tag=glob036-20&link_code=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Complete Guide to the Three Worst Nuclear Power Plant Accidents: Fukushima 2011, Three Mile Island 1979, and Chernobyl 1986 - Authoritative Coverage of Radiation Releases and Effects" src="http://ws.amazon.com/widgets/q?MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&ID=AsinImage&WS=1&Format=_SL160_&ASIN=B004XQVVIC&tag=glob036-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=glob036-20&l=bil&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004XQVVIC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important;" width="1" />“We get many phone calls from citizens looking for information," Takano says. "I can’t give them the answer, I have to ask the government, but always they say they haven’t made a decision yet. Always, the Japanese government’s answer is ‘No we can’t’.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hour by hour, town hall officials plot the latest radiation readings on maps and mark the progress made on the clean-up operation. Takano says for many years they lived in relative ignorance of the power plant.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Before, we never thought about the nuclear plant just up the road,” he says. “The Japanese government always insisted that the plants were safe. But now with this situation that has befallen our town, we realize how dangerous nuclear plants really are.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Latest readings suggest the current radiation level in Minamisoma does not pose a long-term health risk.  But tens of thousands residents have abandoned this town. Many are unlikely to return.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Minamisoma has been changed forever thanks to its nuclear neighbor. (VOA News)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div></div>

Japanese Nuclear Crisis Leaves Fukushima Town Broken

Henry Ridwell | Minamisoma, Japan The Japanese town of Minamisoma was hit hard by the earthquake and tsunami in March. The disaster kill...

Strong Earthquake Rocks NE Japan

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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfigIcrd0yM8uz6bmPpL5wdTK3AfRA83tukTC6ajszdTqIjlPvbQSWuEUlcyb1lANG90pJr9GdhZhSM6Y1FUF9QXMIOHMKJI8GSehbE01vFPsUBLM8IqARrEb11AeXFsWc2msU0k6W5k/s1600/worldnews..png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="33" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbfigIcrd0yM8uz6bmPpL5wdTK3AfRA83tukTC6ajszdTqIjlPvbQSWuEUlcyb1lANG90pJr9GdhZhSM6Y1FUF9QXMIOHMKJI8GSehbE01vFPsUBLM8IqARrEb11AeXFsWc2msU0k6W5k/s200/worldnews..png" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-outline-level: 2; text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;">A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted northeastern Japan early <iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=glob036-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=1428070532&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe>Sunday in the same region that was devastated by a massive 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami earlier this year.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"> <br />
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake was centered in the Pacific Ocean near the east coast of Japan's Honshu island, 185 kilometers northeast of Tokyo, at a depth of 43 kilometers.<br />
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Seven people in nearby cities were slightly injured.  No tsunami warning was issued.<br />
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Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant crippled by the March 11 quake and tsunami, said the latest earthquake did not cause any new damage to the plant.<br />
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More than 20,000 people were killed or left missing after the March twin disaster.  Another 80,000 have been forced to evacuate their homes because of the radiation threat from the nuclear plant.</span> <span style="color: black; font-size: 10pt;">(VOA News)</span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Strong Earthquake Rocks NE Japan

A strong 6.4-magnitude earthquake jolted northeastern Japan early Sunday in the same region that was devastated by a massive 9.0 earthquake...

Japan Wins Women's World Cup

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</b></span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo4XohRLjUEFoVqeaol9CtWucKfd7JbGkJ5CgZUKJqf_qp3NtANfgbAgDoeKAoRHorg-Emb_P3kdfFqHUv9JjZy5rd3M0-Mk2mS7qV0299oT5Po9b9wWcUUWMJ8O5xXlapyKmqhOEfZs/s1600/worldcupwomen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLo4XohRLjUEFoVqeaol9CtWucKfd7JbGkJ5CgZUKJqf_qp3NtANfgbAgDoeKAoRHorg-Emb_P3kdfFqHUv9JjZy5rd3M0-Mk2mS7qV0299oT5Po9b9wWcUUWMJ8O5xXlapyKmqhOEfZs/s320/worldcupwomen.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #5f5f5f; font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 115%;">Copyright © <span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/" title="Attribution-ShareAlike License"><span style="color: #5f5f5f; text-decoration: none;">Rights reserved</span></a></span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span">by</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="apple-style-span"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/afeistenauer/"><span style="color: #5f5f5f; text-decoration: none;">afeistenauer</span></a></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">VOA Sports- Japan's women's football team has won the 2011 World Cup championship, beating the United States in a penalty shootout following a 2-2 draw after extra time.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The win Sunday made Japan the first Asian nation to win the World Cup title, and it denied the United States a chance to become the first team to win the championship three times. The Americans won the World Cup in 1991 and 1999.<br />
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The U.S. team was top-ranked in this year's (FIFA) tournament. As such, it was the strong favorite to win the finals match played in Frankfurt, Germany.<br />
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On Sunday of last week, the United States scored a come-from-behind victory over Brazil to get into the semifinals, and then beat France on Wednesday to reach the finals.<br />
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Japan qualified for the finals by defeating Sweden on Wednesday. It earlier scored a quarterfinal victory over host team Germany.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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Japan Wins Women's World Cup

Magnitude-6.7 earthquake rocks Japan

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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck northeastern Japan early on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The quake hit around 7 a.m. (03:00 GMT) off the northern Iwate Prefecture on the Honshu Island, some 530 kilometers (330 miles) to the northeast of Tokyo, in the same area of the Pacific where a powerful magnitude 9 quake struck in March, triggering a deadly tsunami.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for the Iwate Prefecture, stating, however, that there was a small possibility of a destructive local tsunami, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries caused by the tremor.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>There is no tsunami threat to Russia's Far East following the quake, a spokeswoman for the Sakhalin Tsunami Center said.</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The March 11 earthquake and tsunami killed more than 15,400 people in Japan and left hundreds of thousands of others homeless, with over 8,000 listed as missing as of June 11. The disaster seriously damaged the Fukushima Daiich Nuclear Power Plant in the Fukushima Prefecture, causing a major nuclear crisis in the region.</i></span><br />
</div>

Magnitude-6.7 earthquake rocks Japan

MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.7 struck northeastern Japan early on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported...

Radiation spike halts Fukushima clean-up

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="331" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4lLgzUxz-xM?rel=0" width="530"></iframe></div><br />
<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span> </b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has suspended a process to decontaminate more than 110,000 tons of radioactive water.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Tokyo Electric Power Company officials said Saturday that the operation had to be halted just five hours after the water scrubbing system came online.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">TEPCO officials said the part of the system that absorbs radioactive cesium had reached its processing capacity and needs to be replaced far earlier than expected.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A TEPCO spokesman told a news conference Saturday that the cause of the problem is being studied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>He had no estimate on when the project could resume.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The water was used to cool the plant's reactors after a nuclear meltdown caused by a massive earthquake and tsunami in March. It has been held in reservoirs at the plant, but TEPCO says those tanks are nearly full.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Company officials said Friday they planned to remove radioactive elements, oil and salt from the water and then reuse it in the effort to fully shutdown the reactors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>But cleaning the water will create radioactive sludge, which the company will have to store. </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 5.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">VOA News</span></i></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Radiation spike halts Fukushima clean-up

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has suspended a process to decontaminate more than 110,000 tons of ra...

Japanese PM Orders Shutdown of Nuclear Plant

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has ordered a nuclear plant to cease operations because of its location near a major seismic fault line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Friday's announcement comes nearly two months after an earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant northeast of Tokyo, causing a major nuclear crisis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan says he ordered the reactors at the Hamaoka plant shutdown "out of concerns for public safety."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>The Hamaoka plant, operated by Chubu Electric Power Company, is located about 200 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Government scientists say there is an 87 percent chance of an 8.0 magnitude earthquake striking the region within the next 30 years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Kan ordered the plant's operators to craft mid- and long-term quake safety measures for Hamaoka.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He says the government will take steps to ensure the shutdown of the Hamaoka plant does not cause a major shortage of electricity in the region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Workers entered the number one reactor building at the crippled Fukushima plant on Thursday for the first time since an explosion that tore the roof off the building after the earthquake and tsunami.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Radiation has been leaking from the plant since the March 11 twin disasters damaged cooling systems at all six of the plant's reactors. Elevated radiation levels have been detected in the soil, sea water, fish and agricultural products for kilometers around the plant. Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated.<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Japanese PM Orders Shutdown of Nuclear Plant

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has ordered a nuclear plant to cease operations because of its location near a major seismic fault line. ...

Japan: UN stepping up assistance in wake of quake and tsunami

Japan: UN stepping up assistance in wake of quake and tsunami

A United Nations disaster team has arrived in Japan and local officials have asked the world body to dispatch a team of nuclear safety...

Japan's Nuclear Crisis Deepens With Fire, Radiation Leaks

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;">  <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The crisis at Japan's earthquake-stricken nuclear plant is deepening, with radiation emissions rising Wednesday to levels that forced authorities to temporarily evacuate the last technicians from the facility.<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">National television showed pictures of helicopters being prepared to drop water onto the Fukushima power plant's damaged number 3 reactors, in a desperate attempt to lower temperatures and prevent the nuclear fuel rods inside from melting down.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">But NHK Television said the military aborted the plan after another helicopter flew over the plant to monitor radiation readings. Chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said new preparations were under way late Wednesday to begin injecting water into the crippled reactor from the ground.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">New fire erupts<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Japanese awoke Wednesday to televised photos of a new fire at Fukushima's number 4 reactors, where a two-hour blaze on Tuesday released a plume of radiation that was detected as far away as Tokyo, 240 kilometers to the south. The new fire died down after a half-hour, and was soon replaced by clouds of white smoke pouring out of the number 3 unit.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At a press conference in Tokyo, Edano said the smoke was probably steam escaping from a rupture in the containment chamber housing the unit's nuclear core. Officials announced a similar rupture in the chamber of the number 2 unit a day earlier.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Danger forces evacuation<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Edano said the skeleton crew of about 50 workers still struggling to pump seawater onto the fuel rods at all six of the plant's reactors had been removed from the plant for their safety, but that radiation levels appeared to be dropping by midday. He said later that monitoring showed radiation levels within 30 kilometers of the plant were not so high as to pose a threat to human health.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Even when they are not in use, the nuclear fuel rods remain very hot for weeks or months. Unless they are kept cool with a steady supply of water, their outer casings can melt away releasing radiation into the air.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At units 1, 2 and 3, the rods are inside thick concrete containment chambers designed to hold in any radiation, even if the rods melt down. But officials say the chambers surrounding units 2 and 3 have now been cracked, allowing radiation to escape. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Explosions have destroyed the outer buildings at all three of the units, caused when technicians vented steam from the containment chambers to ease a dangerous buildup of pressure. Seventy percent of the fuel rods at the number 1 reactor and 33 percent at the number 2 reactor are believed to have already been damaged or melted.  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At units 4, 5 and 6, the rods were removed for maintenance before last week's earthquake and placed in cooling ponds outside the containment chambers. With the plant's pumping systems damaged by the earthquake and tsunami, those rods are also in danger of becoming exposed.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><b><i><u><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Worry spreads across Japan<o:p></o:p></span></u></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The drama has caused alarm across a country already traumatized by the largest earthquake ever recorded in Japan.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The governor of Fukushima prefecture, Yuhei Sato, said at a news conference that panic caused by inaccurate reporting of the nuclear crisis is preventing relief supplies from reaching the evacuees and victims of the earthquake. He urged nuclear power company officials to give out more accurate information and appealed to all Japanese to extend help to those who have been evacuated.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Tokyo, residents have been buying up facemasks and protective gear while some foreign governments have warned their nationals to leave the capital.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; tab-stops: 105.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Edano said Japan is preparing to ask the United States for technical assistance and may reach out to other countries. The International Atomic Energy Agency is also preparing to dispatch a team of experts. (VOA)<o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>

Japan's Nuclear Crisis Deepens With Fire, Radiation Leaks

The crisis at Japan's earthquake-stricken nuclear plant is deepening, with radiation emissions rising Wednesday to levels that forced ...

Japan: UN stepping up assistance in wake of quake and tsunami

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt;">  <div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Tehran– A United Nations disaster team has arrived in Japan and local officials have asked the world body to dispatch a team of nuclear safety experts as emergency operations continue in the wake of Friday’s catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The seven-member UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team will set up an onsite operations centre to help Japanese authorities disseminate accurate and timely information on the disaster and the emergency efforts. The team of specialists will travel to affected areas in the days ahead to assess the humanitarian needs, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). They will also assist the Japanese Government in providing advice on incoming international relief goods and services. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Numerous countries have sent specialized international search and rescue teams to help authorities mount emergency efforts in the wake of the quake and tsunami, which have killed thousands of people and left many more missing or unaccounted for. Authorities remain concerned about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, northeast of Tokyo, which was damaged in the disaster. Local officials pumped sea water into the reactors at the plant to prevent a meltdown, and several explosions have occurred at the site. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a briefing Monday that while “the nuclear plants have been shaken… the reactor vessels have held and radioactive release is limited.” Staff at IAEA’s incident and emergency centre is in close contact with their Japanese counterparts to monitor the situation, and Amano said the agency can also offer technical support in such areas as radiation surveys, environmental sampling and medical support. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“In situations such as this, it is extremely important that the general public, both in Japan and internationally, is kept fully and accurately informed about the situation,” he added. Japan formally requested that the IAEA provide expert missions and the agency is in discussions with authorities about the details, he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amano spoke with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan on Monday to discuss the latest developments. The IAEA chief told Ban there should be minimal health consequences as a result of the release of radioactivity from the reactors so far, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Tuesday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 4.0pt 1.0pt 4.0pt; padding: 0in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ban and Amano have also stressed the importance of next month’s international summit on nuclear safety that will take place in Kiev, Ukraine. For its part, WHO has stated that the Japanese Government was taking necessary precautions by distributing potassium iodine to those at risk and evacuating residents of areas close to Fukushima Daiichi. (<b>IRNA)</b><o:p></o:p></span></div></div></div>

Japan: UN stepping up assistance in wake of quake and tsunami

Tehran– A United Nations disaster team has arrived in Japan and local officials have asked the world body to dispatch a team of nuclear sa...

World Markets Plunge as Japan Disaster Widens

World Markets Plunge as Japan Disaster Widens

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