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Official MJJC Support Thread - Japanese Tsunami

Hiroshima Peace Declaration


Hiroshima Peace Declaration


Sixty-six years ago, despite the war, the people of Hiroshima were leading fairly normal lives. Until that fateful moment, many families were enjoying life together right here in what is now Peace Memorial Park and was then one of the city's most prosperous districts. A man who was thirteen at the time shares this: "August fifth was a Sunday, and for me, a second-year student in middle school, the first full day off in a very long time. I asked a good friend from school to come with me, and we went on down to the river. Forgetting all about the time, we stayed until twilight, swimming and playing on the sandy riverbed. That hot mid-summer's day was the last time I ever saw him."

The next morning, August sixth at 8:15, a single atomic bomb ripped those normal lives out by the roots. This description is from a woman who was sixteen at the time: "My forty-kilogram body was blown seven meters by the blast, and I was knocked out. When I came to, it was pitch black and utterly silent. In that soundless world, I thought I was the only one left. I was naked except for some rags around my hips. The skin on my left arm had peeled off in five-centimeter strips that were all curled up. My right arm was sort of whitish. Putting my hands to my face, I found my right cheek quite rough while my left cheek was all slimy."

Their community and lives ravaged by an atomic bomb, the survivors were stunned and injured, and yet, they did their best to help each other: "Suddenly, I heard lots of voices crying and screaming, 'Help!' 'Mommy, help!' Turning to a voice nearby I said, 'I'll help you.' I tried to move in that direction but my body was so heavy. I did manage to move enough to save one young child, but with no skin on my hands, I was unable to help any more. ...'I'm really sorry.' ..."

Such scenes were unfolding not just here where this park is but all over Hiroshima. Wanting to help but unable to do so -- many also still live with the guilt of being their family's sole survivor.

Based on their own experiences and carrying in their hearts the voices and feelings of those sacrificed to the bomb, the hibakusha called for a world without nuclear weapons as they struggled day by day to survive. In time, along with other Hiroshima residents, and with generous assistance from Japan and around the world, they managed to bring their city back to life.

Their average age is now over 77. Calling forth what remains of the strength that revived their city, they continue to pursue the lasting peace of a world free from nuclear weapons. Can we let it go at this? Absolutely not. The time has come for the rest of us to learn from all the hibakusha what they experienced and their desire for peace. Then, we must communicate what we learn to future generations and the rest of the world.

Through this Peace Declaration, I would like to communicate the hibakusha experience and desire for peace to each and every person on this planet. Hiroshima will pour everything we have into working, along with Nagasaki, to expand Mayors for Peace such that all cities, those places around the world where people gather, will strive together to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. Moreover, we want all countries, especially the nuclear-armed states, including the United States of America, which continues its subcritical nuclear testing and related experiments, to pursue enthusiastically a process that will abolish nuclear weapons. To that end, we plan to host an international conference that will bring the world's policymakers to Hiroshima to discuss the nuclear non-proliferation regime.

The Great East Japan Earthquake of March eleventh this year was so destructive it revived images of Hiroshima 66 years ago and still pains our hearts. Here in Hiroshima we sincerely pray for the souls of all who perished and strongly support the survivors, wishing them the quickest possible recovery.

The accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station and the ongoing threat of radiation have generated tremendous anxiety among those in the affected areas and many others. The trust the Japanese people once had in nuclear power has been shattered. From the common admonition that "nuclear energy and humankind cannot coexist," some seek to abandon nuclear power altogether. Others advocate extremely strict control of nuclear power and increased utilization of renewable energy.

The Japanese government should humbly accept this reality, quickly review our energy policies, and institute concrete countermeasures to regain the understanding and trust of the people. In addition, with our hibakusha aging, we demand that the Japanese government promptly expand its "black rain areas" and offer more comprehensive and caring assistance measures to all hibakusha regardless of their countries of residence.

Offering our heartfelt condolences to the souls of the A-bomb victims, reaffirming our conviction that "the atomic bombing must never be repeated" and "no one else should ever have to suffer like this," we hereby pledge to do everything in our power to abolish nuclear weapons and build lasting world peace.

Kazumi Matsui

Mayor

The City of Hiroshima


(Mainichi Japan) August 6, 2011
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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110806p2a00m0na006000c.html
 
I was thinking of Hiroshima today.It´s so sad.
 
9th.Aug Memorial Day in Nagasaki,Japan


Nagasaki urges policy shift from nuclear power in ceremony


NAGASAKI (Kyodo) -- Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue urged the Japanese government Tuesday to shift its energy policy away from nuclear power due to "the fear of radiation" on the 66th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.

Taue also asked U.S. President Barack Obama to exert leadership to realize a world without nuclear weapons during the ceremony, which was attended for the first time by a U.S. government envoy. Prime Minister Naoto Kan, meanwhile, pledged to review the country's energy policy from scratch.

Taue's call for an end to nuclear power compares with the stance taken by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, who stopped short of explicitly voicing his opinion on nuclear plants in his peace declaration at the Hiroshima event three days ago.

"We were astounded" by the severity of the unfolding crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant triggered by the March earthquake-tsunami disaster, Taue, 54, said in the peace declaration he read out at Peace Park in front of about 6,000 participants.

"It is necessary to promote the development of renewable energies in place of nuclear power," Taue said.

Representatives of a record-high 44 countries, including James Zumwalt, deputy chief of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, attended the ceremony in the southwestern Japan city, which was live broadcast via the Internet for the first time.

Zumwalt, who became the first U.S. government envoy to take part in the ceremony, told reporters, in Japanese, "I hope that today's attendance of a U.S. government representative will clearly show President Obama's vision" for a world free of nuclear weapons.

U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos attended the atomic-bomb ceremony in Hiroshima last year but was absent from the Nagasaki ceremony, citing scheduling difficulties.

Taue said, "We call for U.S. President Obama to demonstrate his leadership toward realizing 'a world without nuclear weapons,' and to never disappoint the people in the atomic-bombed cities or anywhere throughout the world."

Taue also urged the United States and Russia not to backpedal on their commitment earlier this year to reducing nuclear weapons. "No significant progress has been observed since. In fact, there has even been a regressive trend, such as the implementation of new nuclear simulation tests."

The mayor was referring to the revelations that the United States since last year had conducted subcritical nuclear tests and other experiments to check its nuclear arsenal's functions, which angered many atomic-bomb survivors.

Kan, for his part, repeated in his speech the government's intention to seek "a society that is not dependent on nuclear power" as he did during the Hiroshima ceremony Saturday. He also pledged that Japan will make every effort for the eradication of nuclear weapons.

The premier said Japan will continue to take a leading role in discussions over nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation.

The number of atomic-bomb survivors officially recognized by the city stood at 40,908, with an average age of 76.8, as of the end of March. The plutonium-type nuclear bomb killed 74,000 people and injured 75,000 others by the end of 1945, according to the city office.


(Mainichi Japan) August 9, 2011
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http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110809p2g00m0dm011000c.html
 
On Hiroshima Day – August 6th, 2011
On Nagasaki Day – August 9th, 2011
by YOKO ONO

Trust in the power of human intellect and the super ability sleeping in our subconscious.

The 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were a tragedy of the greatest magnitude.

Even now, sixty six years later, many victims of the violence of atomic weapons are still suffering,
physically, in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

And now the tragedy of the atom has unfolded again,
with the massive earthquake and tsunami of March 11th 2011.

This time, though, the global citizens are wiser.
We are all fully aware that the tragedy is not a local happening of Fukushima and Japan, but of our planet.

With the warning we’ve received from this tragedy,
and the belief and the efforts of all of us on this globe,
We will leave the world full of old and dangerous human habits
and bring the future new world with the speed of lightning.

Well, that’s what we should be doing. And we can.

“All that we are is the result of what we thought.” - Buddha

When things are bad, we know what to do.

It’s time for each of us, every member of the human race,
to draw on the subconscious power sleeping in us,
and move the mountains blocking us from the healthy, peaceful world we will bring for ourselves.

Start with having good thoughts – especially about yourself.
Don’t waste your time being angry at greed-ridden corporate guys and lying-through-the teeth-politicians.
We have to focus on what we can do and do.

Believe in the power of goodness which we all have.
Be an oasis for people who are suffering from spiritual thirst.
Have a vision of the society with no social injustices.

This time, we have been given a rare challenge to go for mass enlightenment, and fast.
It’s not any different from other challenges we had to take care of.
We always did take care of them, and came out smelling like roses.

The Human Race is a miracle race.
We can do anything we want.
Just focus on what to do, and how simple it is.

Look into people’s eyes.
They are your eyes.
They are beautiful.
They are smiling.

Let’s go!

I love you!

yoko

Yoko Ono
Hiroshima Day, 6 August 2011
Nagasaki Day, 9 August 2011


http://imaginepeace.com/archives/15571?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

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http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/194...e-tsunami-iceberg-calving-nasa-antarctica.htm

The tsunami that devastated Japan in March 2011 was so powerful that it tore off a piece of Antarctica -- 8,000 miles away from the earthquake's epicenter.

Roughly 18 hours after the earthquake began, powerful swells of waves reached Antarctica, tearing off several chunks from an ice shelf that in total are double the size of Manhattan.

The iceberg calving was detailed in a paper published in the Journal of Glaciology on Monday. According to a statement issued by NASA, the correlation discovered "marks the first direct observation of such a connection between tsunamis and icebergs."
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More at link.
 
http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/virginia-earthquake-rocks-d-c-area-felt-on-east-coast-1.3116043

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake was half a mile deep and centered near Louisa, Va., about 40 miles northwest of Richmond. Shaking was felt at the White House and all over the East Coast, as far south as Chapel Hill, N.C. Parts of the Pentagon, White House and Capitol were evacuated.

Two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in the same county as the epicenter were automatically taken off line by safety systems around the time of the earthquake, said Roger Hannah, a spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Dominion-operated power plant is being run off of four emergency diesel generators, which are supplying power for critical safety equipment. Hannah said the agency was not immediately aware of any damage at nuclear power plants in the Southeast.
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More at link.
 
It's been 6 months already ...

http://www.wctv.tv/APNews/headlines/Japan_Remembers_Victims_of_Natural_Disasters_12963 9483.html

SOMA, JAPAN -- Six months from Japan's massive earthquake in March and only 24 miles from the radiation leaking Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, hundreds of lanterns were released on Saturday to mark the half-year anniversary.

The city of Soma in Fukushima prefecture was hard hit by the tsunami with 459 people either dead or missing.

Located north of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant, the city has also had to deal with the spectre of radiation.

Hoping to help put a period on one era and start a new, fashion designer and event organizer Yamamoto Kansai helped put together the "Tentou" or "Sky lantern" event.

The event itself saw nearly 200 residents of Soma city and surrounding areas affected by the nuclear crisis, launch nearly 1,000 paper lanterns in remembrance of those lost.

For those participating, the event helped provide hope that things would indeed improve.

"I hope that it can become (a place) where we can feel safe as everyone is very anxious about the future. But I think that this sort of event is a good first step towards recovery and rebuilding," said Soma resident Yasu Araki, who came to the event with his family.

As the lanterns float into the sky before disappearing, some smaller participants thought the lanterns were direct messages to those killed by the tsunami waves.

"I hope that the lanterns went all the way to heaven," said 6-year-old Hana Koseki.

Similar paper lantern events were also held in the Ukraine, home to the world's other major nuclear disaster at Chernobyl, and Indonesia, which suffered its own tsunami in 2004.

A group of Indonesian nurses studying to work in Japan also took part in the event, and gave their voices to those hoping for Japan's recovery.

"I saw Japan's tsunami for the first time when I came here, and it was incredible. There were boats everywhere and debris in the water. It was quite sad to see. But I just want to say all the best to Japan!" said 30-year-old Francisca from Indonesia who said she did not have a last name.

The event also saw riders in traditional Japanese armour involved as Soma city is normally the site of a festival that involves 600 mounted samurai recreating a battle from more than 1,000 years ago.

As the city looks to clean up after the tsunami swept much of its port, the mayor led a final rallying call that, radiation or not, Soma city won't be counted out.
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http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/12/us-japan-disaster-mother-idUSTRE78B08H20110912

After Fukushima, mother fights to get her life back

(Reuters) - Even before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami struck knocking out the Fukushima nuclear plant, Aya's life was a struggle.

She had divorced her abusive husband and was left on her own to care and provide for her two daughters.

Now, six months after she fled her home just 9 km (6 miles) away from the radiation-spewing plant, the 26-year old single mother is barely surviving. She has no job, languishes in hiding from her violent ex-husband in temporary housing and will probably never see her home again.

"It feels like a hole has opened inside me. My home was so important to me and I felt safe there," said Aya who would not give her family name or disclose her exact location out of fear her ex-husband could find her.

"It's like time has just stopped. Ever since March 11, the time has stopped for me."

The tsunami left 20,000 dead or missing, set off the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl a quarter of a century ago and forced 80,000 to evacuate.

It hit particularly hard those who were already down on their luck. There were reports of lone deaths in temporary housing and suicide rates jumped in the quake-battered regions.

After the disaster Aya was evacuated to a nearby gymnasium, but could not stay there as Noa - her younger four-year-old daughter - cannot walk because of a split spine and needs special care. The older, six-year-old Kurea has no disabilities and goes to school.

"Noa's father then called and we went to Saitama (north of Tokyo). He said the hospitals were up and running there, so I decided to do it for Noa's sake," says Aya as she puts braces around her younger daughter's legs as they prepare for a trip to the kindergarten.

"He soon started beating us up. It was so insane, I just had to flee again. Ignoring the risk of radiation I came back up to Fukushima prefecture," says Aya, zipping her daughter's backpack.

She now lives in a modest apartment in one of the prefecture's bigger cities sharing the fate of the tens of thousands that six months after the disaster still do not have a permanent home.

About 10,000 still live in evacuation shelters, 34,000 stay in hotels or with relatives or friends and 40,000 live in temporary housing.

ANXIETY

"I also lost my job as an insurance agent as my company moved to a different town," says Aya. With her daughter in kindergarten, she goes job hunting and says any job that would let her check on Noa from time to time will do.

Landing a job is tough, though, as the influx of evacuees from the tsunami-hit areas doubled the number of job-seekers in the Fukushima prefecture.

Like other evacuees, she blames the government for dragging its feet on mapping out the area's future.

Only last week, Tokyo said it would aim to halve radiation over two years in places contaminated by the nuclear disaster, removing soil, plants and trees in an area spanning thousands of square km. But it is not clear when, if ever, the evacuees will be able to return home.

"I want them to come out into the open and to say it clearly: you will or will not be able to go back to your place. If not, I want them to tell me what am I, and thousands of other people, supposed to do," says Aya in a trembling voice.

"I have to wonder if I'll be able to build my life here. I just can't even begin to think about what to do in the future."
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http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2011/09/12/general-un-nuclear-agency-nuke-concerns_8672206.html

UN nuke agency meets on Iran, Syria, NKorea, Japan

Associated Press, 09.12.11, 03:47 AM EDT

VIENNA -- A high-level meeting of the United Nations nuclear agency is convening to focus on proliferation concerns from Iran, Syria and North Korea and post-Fukushima nuclear safety.

The board of the International Atomic Energy Agency will discuss written or oral reports on Iran, Syria and North Korea that are critical of their defiance of the U.N. Security Council.
Article Controls

The 35-nation meeting, which opens Monday, will also approve an action plan meant to tighten nuclear safety and security in the wake of Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster.
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Announcement by Chris Busby from ECRR.




He gave a lecture at the Waseda University. (Sorry, it's quite long)

 
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Hello dears,

just heard the news, and I'm sure you heard it by now too - a terrible Tsunami hit Japan, and maybe other places will be affected soon. Let us all stand together and support everyone in the area.

Let's pray for our extended MJJC family

Betty
 
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-09-...-nuclear-site-explosion/2882314?section=world

One person has been killed and four injured in an explosion at the southern French nuclear plant of Marcoule.

A security perimeter has been set up around site, but France's Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) says there is no radioactive leak.

The explosion was in a furnace in an area of the plant where nuclear waste is recycled for energy.

A security perimeter has been set up around the installation, firefighters said, without being able to provide further details.

"Initial reports suggest there was an explosion in an oven used to melt metallic low and very low-level radioactive waste," ASN said.

The French government sought to play down fears of a radioactive leak after the explosion, with the interior ministry saying no one was evacuated from near the site nor were any workers confined following the blast.

Those injured "have not been contaminated" and the fatality was caused by the explosion, the ministry said.

France's state nuclear regulator had said earlier that there was a risk of a leak after the blast at Codolet in the Rhone Valley near the southern city of Nimes.

The blast hit the Centraco nuclear waste treatment centre belonging to EDF subsidiary Socodei, said a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Commissariat (CEA).

An EDF spokesman said: "This is an industrial accident, not a nuclear accident."

"In this kind of oven, there are two sorts of waste: metallic waste such as valves, pumps and tools and combustible waste such as technicians' work outfits or gloves," the spokesman said.

"The fire started by the explosion is under control."

Environment minister Nathalie Kosciuscko-Morizet was due to arrive at the site on Monday afternoon (local time), her ministry said, "to help carry out a precise evaluation of the possible radiological impact of this accident".

"For the time being, no exterior impact has been detected," a source at the ministry said.

"There are several detectors on the outside and none of them detected anything, the building is sound," an advisor at the ministry told AFP, adding that "we do not yet know what caused the blast".

Rigorous checks

Built in 1956, Marcoule is one of the oldest plants in France, though the first generation of nuclear reactors had been shutdown and the plant modernised.

Seventy-five per cent of French power comes from nuclear technology.

There are 19 plants and 58 reactors country-wide, which have all been subject to rigorous safety checks in recent months since the disaster in Japan.

Marcoule's reactors are cooled by water from the adjacent Rhone River.

The site is around 20 kilometres north of the historic city of Avignon which is thronged with tourists at this time of the year.

EDF's share price dropped over six per cent on the news of the blast.

France said in June it would invest one billion euros in future nuclear power development while boosting research into security.

France produces most of its energy from nuclear power. Some countries, notably its EU neighbour Germany, have rejected nuclear power after the Fukushima reactor disaster in Japan.
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It´s been almost a year since the Japanese disaster,they have to live with it everyday


Farmers” Feed Cows Condemned To Death After Fukushima
by Kristina Chew

.March 11, 2012, will be the one-year anniversary of the Fukushima disaster. Almost a year ago, nearly 20,000 people in northeastern Japan died in a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami that led to multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. To say that public confidence in the country’s nuclear program has fallen is an understatement. Just on Saturday, the week before the one-year anniversary, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said that the government “shared the blame” for the disaster and that government officials had indeed been “blinded by a false belief in the country’s technological infallibility” and “too steeped in a safety myth.”

The massive accident turned 930 square miles of land into a “no go zone” and displaced 80,000 residents living within 20 kilometers of the Fukushima district from their homes.

“Rebel Farmers” Feed Contaminated Livestock They Were Ordered to Slaughter

69-year-old Yukio Yamamoto is one of ten farmers from Namie, which is within the “no go zone,” who is defying government orders to euthanize his 36 black-haired wagyu cows. The cows — once prized for their high-quality beef; each was once worth $10,000 — ingested radioactive caesium and Yamamoto was supposed to kill them by lethal injection. In an interview with the Guardian, Yamamoto discussed getting a permit to enter the zone to feed his animalion. Says Yamamoto about the six-hour trip he now routinely makes:

“I left like everyone else after 11 March, “I couldn’t stop worrying about my cows, so I started coming back in every other day to feed them.”…

“Straight after the disaster, my cows had nothing to eat or drink … many of them starved to death right where they were tethered.I had to decide whether to leave the ones still alive or keep them healthy, even though we were separated.”

But Yamamoto, who is very likely the last of generations of his family to raise wagyu cows, has not received any feed from the Japanese government. Private donors, including farmers in Australia, have provided him with food for his cows.

“Eventually the feed will run out, and the government has said it will kill every last cow. But that is something I can’t allow to happen. “I could never kill these cows. They are like members of my family.”

Yamamoto is pinning his hopes on studies that can properly measure the level of contamination among his cows. As Ryoichi Harada, another “rebel farmer” helping Yamamoto feed his cows, says “We accept that the meat will never go on sale, but the cows could be put to some other commercial use.”

Independent Report Says Inadequate Planning Hampered Japan’s Response to the Disaster

A report by an independent investigation panel has concluded that poor planning indeed hindered the response to the disaster. The report about how the government, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) and other key players responded was based on interviews with 300 people involved in the accident, including the prime minister at the time of the disasters, Naoto Kan. Science Daily highlights their findings:

According to the investigation, the tsunami could and should have been anticipated. Earlier research on the Jogan tsunami of 869 AD showed that high water levels should not have been considered “unprecedented” along the Japanese coastline where Fukushima is located. Tepco’s own nuclear energy division understood the risk, but the company dismissed these probabilities as “academic.” Regulatory authorities also encouraged the company to incorporate new findings into its safety plans, but did not make these measures mandatory.

Many human errors were made at Fukushima, illustrating the dangers of building multiple nuclear reactor units close together. Masao Yoshida, the director of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station at the time of the accident, had to cope simultaneously with core meltdowns at three reactors and exposed fuel pools at four units. The errors were not the fault of one individual, but were systemic: When on-site workers referred to the severe accident manual, the answers were not there. And those who misjudged the condition of the emergency cooling system had never actually put the system into service; they were thrown into a crisis without the benefit of training.

Despite the report’s findings and despite the understandable hesitation of local communities, the Japanese government is working to restart idled nuclear reactors. Noda has not at all committed to the pledge of then-prime minister Kan to eventually phase out the use of nuclear power in Japan. Nuclear regulators have introduced computer stress tests to evaluate the reactors but critics charge that these are “woefully inadequate” to make sure that the reactors can withstand shocks from devastating natural disasters and wreak the kind of colossal havoc and suffering that many in Japan, including Yamamoto’s cows left on an abandoned farm in Namie, are still living with.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/rebel-f...d-to-death-after-fukushima.html#ixzz1o8MBYDGr
 
One year after that...
One day of a prayer...
We the Japanese appreciate the support out of the world.

We all have to do what we can,
We all have to give and
We all have to help end the needless suffering in the world.
---Michael Jackson---
 
The last nuclear reactor is shut down in Japan

Japan closes its last functioning nuclear reactor on Saturday.
This means that the country remain without power a year after the disaster at the nuclear plant in Fukushima.
The closure means that resource-poor and energy-hungry Japan for the first time since 1970, are without nuclearpower.
The technicians at Hokkaido Electric Power is getting ready to 10 am, Swedish time, start off the chain reaction and on Monday is expected to shut down the reactor completely cooled.

http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/article14781540.ab
 
Japan Shuts Down Last Nuclear Reactor On Children’s Day


Hundreds of people today marched through Tokyo waving fish-shaped banners, a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement, to celebrate what they hope will be the end of nuclear power in Japan, as the country powers down the last of its 50 nuclear reactors.

By a nice coincidence, May 5 is also Children’s Day in Japan, a festival that has been celebrated since ancient times.

Until last year’s earthquake and tsunami triggered radiation leaks at Tokyo Electric Power’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan was the world’s third-biggest user of atomic energy.

All 50 Nuclear Reactors Shut Off

No plant shut off for maintenance since the earthquake and tsunami in March of last year has been turned back on. But many in the government are enthusiastic about restarting them, worried about the country’s increased reliance on oil and gas. Before the crisis last year and new restrictions passed to prevent against future disasters, more than 30 percent of Japan’s electricity was provided by nuclear plants.

Japan will be without electricity from nuclear power for the first time in four decades when the reactor at Tomari nuclear plant on the northern island of Hokkaido goes offline for routine maintenance..

The Associated Press reports:

“Today is a historical day,” Masashi Ishikawa shouted to a crowd gathered at a Tokyo park, some holding traditional “koinobori” carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that have become a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

“There are so many nuclear plants, but not a single one will be up and running today, and that’s because of our efforts,” Ishikawa said.

The activists said it is fitting that the day Japan is stopping nuclear power coincides with Children’s Day because of their concerns about protecting children from radiation, which Fukushima Dai-ichi is still spewing into the air and water.

“Japan Doesn’t Really Need Nuclear Power”

The response from people living near nuclear plants has been mixed, with some wanting them back in operation because of jobs, subsidies and other benefits to the local economy.

However, the crowd at the anti-nuclear rally, estimated at 5,500 by organizers, shrugged off government warnings about a power shortage. If anything, they said, with the reactors going offline one by one, it was clear the nation didn’t really need nuclear power.

Whether Japan will suffer a sharp power crunch is still unclear. Electricity shortages are expected only at peak periods, such as the middle of the day in hot weather, and critics of nuclear power say proponents are exaggerating the consequences to win public approval to restart reactors.

Nuclear Isn’t Safe

This is a good day for Japan. Many of us have known for a long time that nuclear isn’t safe. After last year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the ensuing nuclear meltdown, the world began worrying if such a catastrophe could happen elsewhere. Germany, for instance, shut down eight nuclear plants in the wake of Fukushima and revamped its energy policy. Switzerland and Spain have banned any new plant construction.

Let’s celebrate with the Japanese on Children’s Day, and hope that vigilance around nuclear power plants will continue.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/japan-s...r-reactor-on-childrens-day.html#ixzz1u7TC23uY
 
The companies that built nuclear facilities haven´t paid anything yet.

"General Electric, Hitachi and Toshiba designed, built and maintained the reactors that directly contributed to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Yet companies have not paid a penny of the cost of reactor accidents"

"Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan lost their homes and jobs. None of them have received adequate compensation to rebuild their lives again."

All costs of the meltdown ended up on TePCOs note. TEPCO that ran Fukushima could not afford to pay and were nationalized. Cost of Fukushima paid therefore by the Japanese people, as taxpayers, they account for all costs after the nuclear disaster.

I got this information from Greenpeace Sweden.
There is a petition to make the companies pay for their mistakes.

http://www.greenpeace.org/sweden/se...ima Anniversary New Template (1)&utm_content=
 
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Two years past since then , 2:46pm Japan time, March 11,2011

Still over 2000 peoples are missing and the nuclear plant accident is not fixed yet.
So there are many peoples who are suffering.
I live in Tokyo area..even me...at that time I thought I would die.
Pray for them today..

Big Tsunami Video



prayeru.jpg
 
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Thank you for your support.
A friend of mine made this video..I remember I could not help crying watching this video.


J-FRIENDS People Of The World (Michael Jackson)

 
Its such a beautiful song . Wish we had a true translation
Thank you Reiko, my prayers go out to those still suffering in Japan .. Iv'e been missing you :better:
 
qbee;3789002 said:
Its such a beautiful song . Wish we had a true translation
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Thank you for the person who write this blog
http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/mjmusicfan/diary/201011130000/#comment

People Of The World (Lyrics translation)
Written by Michael Jackson
Arranged by Michael Jackson, Yasushi Akimoto

[1st verse]
You came to me and shown me
That love is the answer
I will save you, protect you from everything
We should live in togetherness with one another

[Chorus1]
People all over the world
When you start to lend a helping hand
You can make it a better place
This song is for you
To bring love and harmony to this world

[2nd verse]
I can hear people crying
My heart weeps when I see your tears
I will give my shoulder whenever you need
So let us sing together

[Chorus2]
People all over the world
Your smile makes me smile
We can make our future brighter
Let the world shine with happy smiles

Repeat chorus1 and 2.

Voice by a child: "Together we sing to make a better world ...."

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Japan: Earthquake Rehabilitation Support Song “Hana wa Saku”

Flowers will Bloom

[video=dailymotion;xt3ab5]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt3ab5_yyyy-nhk-hanawasakunhkproject_shortfilms[/video]


Fukushima Prefecture, Minami-Souma City

'Oh what did I leave in this world'...

flowersouma.jpg
 
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A natural disaster is fearful.
However, the nuclear disaster which human beings made is more fearful！　　　ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ。。。

We　will cure the earth, before becoming too late!

"Heal The World " as Michael said.

Japan is one day of a prayer. 　　✿✿✿
 
About Nuclear disaster...we can select...
We have to select the better place, better future.

I hope this world would be good for everyone.
And we shouldn't forget the Michael's spirit 'Make a Change'
 
I never forget, thinking of Japan and continuing radiation, it's still bad over there. I hope one day all nuclear power plants will be shut down. Praying for you guys :heart:
 
reiko_nishiyama said:
About Nuclear disaster...we can select...
We have to select the better place, better future.

I hope this world would be good for everyone.
And we shouldn't forget the Michael's spirit 'Make a Change'
Click to expand...

I think so really, too. (?v??/?
Make a Change!
Yes We Can !!!
 
I appreciate for your support from the bottom of my heart.

A friend of mine found this..so I attach this video.

Earthquake Rehabilitation Support Song “Hana wa Saku” with English Subtitles
[trans: Flowers will Bloom]

[video=youtube;VuMlBNCTTFA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuMlBNCTTFA[/video]
 
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Radioactive Cows in Fukushima Saved by a Cowboy Who Won’t Leave



Much has been written about the 2011 Japanese tsunami and resultant Fukushima nuclear disaster. Now, a Japanese rancher, Masami Yoshizawa, with a history of protesting the government, has moved back to the ranch he was forced to desert immediately after the meltdown. His reason: to save the radioactive cows from slaughter and mass disposal ordered by the Japanese government.

A Japanese Don Quixote

“The government wants to kill them because it wants to erase what happened here, and lure Japan back to its pre-accident nuclear status quo. I am not going to let them,” said Yoshizawa in the New York Times. He has renamed his property “Ranch of Hope.”

Many cows died from hunger when all the people fled, leaving behind livestock. Some survived by escaping their pens and foraging in towns and on streets. When the government started to transport workers to and from the plant for clean up, the wandering cows became “walking accident debris,” so the Ministry of Agriculture gave orders to gather up, kill and dispose of the cows by burial or burning, with other radioactive waste.

“These cows are living testimony to the human folly here in Fukushima,” said Yoshizawa. “If authorities say kill the cows, then I resolved to do the opposite by saving them.” And so it is that Yoshizawa returned to his property despite the health risks he chances. He has rounded up not only his own surviving cows, but others found in the area, too. Currently there are about 360 cows he is caring for; nearly half are cows from other ranchers.

Prior to the meltdown, having inherited his ranch from his father, Yoshizawa was raising cows for slaughter. The paradox of creating a sanctuary to now save these radioactive cows is not lost on him. When he first returned to feed the remainder of his surviving cattle, he visited other abandoned ranches. What he found inspired him to change course and create a safe haven for the non-human accident victims of the disaster.

He saw dead cows in rows with their heads in empty troughs awaiting food that never arrived. When he found a newborn calf hoarse from crying next to his dead mother, he decided to save not only the calf he named Ichigo, meaning strawberry in English, but all others who survived being deserted.

Even though it is illegal to live inside the evacuation zone, Yoshizawa continues to do so. Each time the police catch him there he is required to sign “prewritten statements of apology” for his presence. A rebel at heart, he signs the papers but not without crossing out the promise never to return. Apparently Japanese authorities have taken a position to ignore Yoshizawa and his efforts. They do not arrest or remove him from the zone, yet electricity and phone service has been restored to his ranch.

Nuclear Dangers

The dangers of living so close to the still damaged nuclear plant are threatening for both Yoshizawa and the animals. He was tested shortly after the meltdown and found with high levels of radioactive cesium in his body. He reports that has decreased in the last two years. Today, a dosage meter near his home rates the area at 1.5 times the government-set level for evacuation.

Health concerns have Yoshizawa ingesting only filtered water and food from outside the contamination zone. The cows, however, do not have that luxury. They continue to be fed with donated food that is radioactive from the zone. Any grazing the cows can do on the land is from contaminated soil. It’s either the food at hand or none, making the decision to feed the cows radioactive food a simple choice.

Yoshizawa has noticed about ten of the cows have small white spots on their bodies which he is attributing to radiation exposure. He was advised by experts that while they have never seen these types of spots before, it is possible they are caused by a fungal infection due to overcrowding.

“I’m a cowboy, and cowboys never leave their cows,” says Yoshizawa in the video below. “Instead of being slaughtered, these cattle should be studied for long term effects of radiation. Killing them is destroying evidence.”

In the meantime, Yoshizawa has become a man on a mission. He has a blog with a live webcam and can still be found in Japanese media. Every so often he holds one-man protests at Tokyo Electric Power Company headquarters, the nuclear plant’s operator. A bachelor with no other family, Yoshizawa seems to have fulfilled his quixotic destiny.



Read more: http://www.care2.com/causes/radioac...by-a-cowboy-who-wont-leave.html#ixzz2roUY8VrY
 
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