Japanese government backs reintroduction of nuclear power

Just days after the first Fukushima evacuees were permitted to return to their homes in the exclusion zone, Japan‘s cabinet have approved a new energy policy which backs nuclear power. The move comes in an attempt to re-stabilise a “baseload energy source” in the face of the rising cost of importing fossil fuels.

The 78-page Basic Energy Plan states that the government will “promote reactivation of nuclear reactors” if they clear the new safety tests laid out by the Nuclear Regulation Authority: tests based on standards established by the NRA after the Fukushima disaster in 2011. 

The first of the nation’s 48 nuclear reactors to be tested under these regulations are numbers 1 and 2 at the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in Satsuma Sendai in Kagoshima Prefecture and may be the first to be reactivated, possibly as early as August this year.

The move represents a clear departure from the zero-nuclear energy policy imposed by previous ruling party, which aimed to phase out nuclear power by the 2030s. Shinzo Abe has spent months convincing members of his party as well as anti-nuclear coalition partner New Komeitoto to back his stance.

The move is bound to be unpopular with the public. According to Reuters: “recent polls put opposition to nuclear restarts at about two-to-one over support. An Asahi newspaper poll last month found that nearly 80 percent of those surveyed supported a gradual exit from atomic power.”

But despite clear opposition to the reintroduction of nuclear power, The Japan Times reports that “anti-nuclear parties and candidates have performed poorly in recent major elections, including the 2012 Lower House election, the 2013 Upper House poll and the 2014 Tokyo gubernatorial race.”

This has given momentum to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who has made the revival of the Japanese economy his priority. Since the Fukushima disaster, Japan’s reliance on fossil fuels has increased from 60% to 90%, costing the government 3.8 trillion yen per year more than the pre-Fukushima level. The impact of lost nuclear exports has also been felt. 

Nonetheless, many believe the attempt to revive the plants will be futile. With an estimated 1.6 trillion yen needed to be spent on facility upgrades, and costs of up to 90 million dollars incurred by the plant operators in for replacement fossil fuels, the new plan may have come too late. 

“I think it is unavoidable that the Japanese utilities will write off most of their nuclear ‘assets’ and move on,” said Mycle Schneider, a Paris-based independent energy consultant.

Time will soon tell. 

The plan also states that Japan will do as much as possible to increase renewable energy supplies, aiming to surpass past targets. 

Reuters reported that “A footnote in the document said previous plans had set a target for renewable energy sources to contribute 13.5 percent of total power generation in 2020 and around 20 percent in 2030. Renewable energy sources, including hydro power, contributed around 10 percent of the country’s energy by 2012.”

Sources Include: Reuters; The Telegraph; The Japan Times; BBC News 

————————————————————————–

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters and translators working in a wide range of fields. We can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individual interpreting or translation needs. We also specialise in providing Japanese interpreters in London, UK. For translation and interpreting services in other languages, please visit our sister site, TJC Global.

Members of: ATC, ITI, Proz

See our LinkedIn profile or visit us on Twitter

Will it really be “Sayonara Nukes”? The global impact of the Fukushima disaster three years on.

2.46pm (JST) tomorrow, 11th March 2014, will mark the third anniversary of the moment a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook the seabed of Japan 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku, bringing devastation in its wake. It was this moment which would trigger a domino effect of unprecedented proportions, whose ripples are still being felt across the globe. 

The Tōhoku earthquake and subsequent tsunami claimed approximately 19,000 lives. 15,884 of those deaths have now been confirmed, while 2,636 people remain missing. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster was caused by the enormous impact of the earthquake and the tsunami, which set three of its six nuclear reactors into meltdown and caused the plant to begin spewing dangerous radioactive material into the surrounding waters.  It was the largest nuclear incident since Chernobyl, bringing about widespread panic and the evacuation of 300,000 people.

Even now, The Japan Times reports, 267,000 evacuees still remain homeless, living in temporary accommodation which is not built to last longer than a few years, due to delays in housing reconstructions projects.

Other effects of the nuclear incident include increasing concerns over the rates of thyroid cancer in children and young adults in the Fukushima area, reported on by The Guardian, as well as lower quality of life caused by an awareness of the ever-present possibility of exposure to radiation.

Yet, as most earth-shattering disasters do, Fukushima seemed as though it would also bring about some positive change. In this case: the world’s attitude to nuclear power. Although already a controversial subject, the fact that the tragic consequences of the natural disaster were supplemented by one that was entirely man-made, did not escape notice. The world began to understand the potential dangers of generating power which in turn created toxic waste.

Japan switched off all 48 of its commercial reactors and Germany followed suit, terminating the use of all of its old nuclear power stations and drawing up an plan to abandon the use of nuclear power all together. Since this time, Italy and Sweden among others have toned down their reliance upon this form of energy.

Three years on, however, some seem to have forgotten their resolutions. And Japan most shockingly of all.

On Sunday, in advance of the anniversary of 3/11, thousands crowded the streets of Tokyo, banging on drums and waving “Sayonara nukes” signs, to protest against government plans to revive some of the 48 reactors, due to increased imports of fossil fuels and rising energy prices. Despite assurance about increased safety and regulations, it is, as The Economist reports, “a sharp reversal of the previous energy strategy, devised by a former government in 2012, eventually to eliminate nuclear power altogether.” and “according to a recent survey by NHK, nearly 80 percent of the public thinks the country should either reduce its contingent of nuclear reactors or abandon them all.” [The Japan Times]

Strangely, however, 5000 miles away the impact of Fukushima has not been so easily forgotten by the government. Germany plans for all nuclear power plants to be offline by 2022, with Chancellor Angela Merkel having commented on the “helplessness” of Japan when facing the events of 2011. Since then, Germany has scaled back nuclear power from supplying 25% to only 18% of its energy. Yet concerns remain about the cost of switching to renewable energy sources.

Today, the Japanese and German communities came together on the streets of Frankfurt to protest and express their views. Both against nuclear power and against using dwindling reserves of fossil fuels as its replacement.

German and Japanese citizens of Frankfurt am Main gather in the main high street to protest against the use of nuclear power and the use of fossil fuels as a replacement. The Japanese banner reads: “We do not need nuclear power stations!” while the German states “Shut down all nuclear power stations – immediately!”

Yet, China and the UK are examples of countries which, like Japan, are planning on increasing their production of the energy source which was so shunned 3 years ago, primarily for financial reasons.  Forbes reported that “China has 20 nuclear plants today and 28 more under construction — 40 percent of all projected new nuclear units, says the World Nuclear Association. A similar dynamic exists in the UK, which approved the construction of two reactors at Hinkley Point that will provide 7 percent of the UK’s electricity.” 

Three years on, the line drawn by Japan’s tragedy has become even more blurred than ever…

Sources include: The Guardian, The Japan Times, The Economist, Forbes, The Telegraph

—————————————————————————————

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters and translators working in a wide range of fields. We can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individual interpreting or translation needs. We also specialise in providing Japanese interpreters in London, UK. For translation and interpreting services in other languages, please visit our sister site, TJC Global.

Members of: ATC, ITI, Proz

See our LinkedIn profile or visit us on Twitter

Floating wind farms off Fukushima coastline mark a big step in the search for alternative energy sources

In the wake of the March 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that devastated Japan’s Fukushima prefecture, attention has turned increasingly towards alternative sources of energy, as Japan seeks to downscale its dependency on nuclear energy.

Recent explorations into the world of renewable energy have led researchers towards wind power as a potential alternative, and indeed, a floating wind turbine station set up just off the coast of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant marks an important step in the downscaling operation.

The floating turbines, which lie 20 kilometres away from the coast where the damaged nuclear power plant is located, could become the world’s largest offshore wind farm, capitalising fully on the huge potential Japan has for wind power.

Japan’s offshore winds reportedly have the capacity to produce over 1500 gigawatts of power, a remarkable figure representing over five times the amount of power currently produced by Japan’s existing energy companies.

Takeshi Ishihara, who leads the Fukushima wind farm project alongside his role as a civil engineer at the University of Tokyo, says of the project: “I believe that the Fukushima (wind) project will help the Fukushima region and Japan as a whole move toward more use of renewable energy.” In the wake of the March 2011 disaster, nuclear energy is no longer seen as a dependable source of energy, and as such, wind power is a source of renewable energy that is increasingly seen as vital to Japan’s search for alternative energy sources.

The idea of an offshore wind farm is relatively novel in terms of renewable energy, but its development is an important one, bringing with it several advantages which set it apart from traditional wind turbine towers.

The construction of normal wind towers is usually done from the seafloor upwards; a costly process which becomes exponentially more costly in waters upwards of 50 metres in depth. In the waters off Japan’s coastline, sea levels lie at 50 metres at the bare minimum, increasing up to 200 metres in some areas. Floating wind turbine stations present a solution to this financial problem, as they come complete with their own substation, and are firmly rooted to the seabed by huge steel chains, allowing them to operate efficiently even in the deepest waters.

And as they are located further out from the coastline, these floating wind farm stations will benefit from the faster wind speeds found off the coast. Walt Musial, principal engineer at the National Wind Technology Centre in Colorado, USA, said of the wind stations: “Japan has lots of deep water off the coast, which is a good wind resource. In order to develop that resource it needs to be at the forefront for floating turbine technology.”

Whilst the Fukushima wind farm project does still have some way to go before its completion, facing obstacles both technologically and politically, it nevertheless marks a positive step in Japan’s quest for alternative sources of energy. Sources suggest that reputed companies such as Marubeni, Mitsubishi and Hitachi are keen to pay for the installation of 140 floating wind turbines, pending a successful pilot of the scheme.

Sources include: The Japan Daily Press

———————————————————————

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters andtranslators working in a wide range of fields. We can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individualinterpreting or translation needs. For translation and interpreting services in other languages, please visit our sister site, TJC Global

Members of: ATC, ITI, Proz

See our LinkedIn profile or visit us on Twitter

Hydraulic ‘fracking’ to restart in Lancashire

A controversial process of natural gas extraction is to restart in Lancashire, 18 months after work was suspended in the four sites across the county.

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as ‘fracking’, is a process used to extract natural gas from hard shale rock. Using a hydraulic drill, tiny explosions are used to shatter the rock and release the tiny bubbles of gas within, whilst a mixture of sand, chemicals and water is then injected into the fissures to allow the gas to escape out of the cavities.

Work was halted at the four sites in Lancashire after the process caused two small earthquakes in the Blackpool area.

Whilst it is hoped that mass extraction of shale gas will send reduce energy prices drastically, fracking remains controversial in the eyes of many due to the environmental concerns surrounding it. Most of the water used in the extraction of shale gas is collected from the well and processed in the plant, although concerns have been raised that this chemical-filled, potentially carcinogenic water could find its way back into local drinking water sources. Similar concerns have also been raised in the US, however, spokespersons for the fracking industry have defended the process, claiming that any incidents of pollution or related environmental problems are examples of bad practice, rather than an inherent side-effect of the extraction process.

The government has added its voice to the shale gas debate. Chancellor George Osborne heralded a new ‘dash for gas’, putting forward his support for the development of as many as 40 new natural gas-fired power stations over the course of the next decade.

The UK’s Prime Minister, David Cameron, enthused about the potential low-cost energy this gas boom would bring, saying ‘It may be this gas revolution is really quite transformative: it may be there will be quite a lot of gas and the price will not be as high. This might be a revolution we should be involved in and, if we ignored it completely, we could be giving your economy much higher energy policies than are necessary.’

But despite the enthusiasm for a natural gas ‘revolution’, are the government’s dreams of low electricity bills all that sustainable? Not really, say the Committee for Climate Change (CCC), who have examined the potential impact of different energy systems, including renewables, nuclear, and gas-based, on household energy bills. Their findings suggested that too heavy a reliance on non-renewable shale gas for energy supplies would eventually lead to higher bills in the long run, as the international gas market is a volatile one.

The CCC’s report predicted that energy bills for households with gas-based systems could be as much as £600 higher by the end of the decade, whilst households using renewable and nuclear power would see only a £100 increase.

The question of climate change targets has also been raised. An investment in gas power will jeopardise any prospect of meeting government-set climate change targets, unless Carbon Capture and Storage technology can be sufficiently developed to be used in power stations by the end of the decade. A spokesperson for Greenpeace said ‘The chancellor’s gas gamble is risking people’s wallets as well as the planet. Clean energy will not only insulate bill payers from volatile gas prices and ensure the UK meets its climate targets, but it will mean new green jobs and industries.’

Sources include The Guardian, BBC and Lancashire Evening Post

…………………………………………………………….

TJC provides professional translation and interpretation services with specialists working in a range of fields including climate change, government and policy, and the oil & gas industry. Indeed, our level of specialism coupled with excellent customer service accounts for our ever-expanding list of clients from around the world. For further information about what we can offer your organisation, please visit our website or contact us. You can also visit our sister site for professional Japanese translation and interpretation services.

Members of: ATC, ITI, Proz

See our LinkedIn profile or visit us on Twitter

Nuclear plant on fault line causes fears of Fukushima repeat

The last remaining nuclear power plant still in operation in Japan since March 2011 could be situated above an active fault line in the earth’s crust, warns a Japanese geologist, risking a Fukushima-scale disaster.

Mitsuhisa Watanabe is a tectonic geomorphologist and one-fifth of a five man team charged by the Nuclear Regulation Authority with the task of investigating the tectonic landscape beneath the nuclear plant in Oi, Fukui Prefecture, the only plant to have resumed operation since last year’s nuclear disaster in Fukushima.

Watanabe’s research strongly suggests that the plant, including important water pipe equipment for half of the plant’s nuclear reactors, is located above an active seismic fault.

The geologist, along with other experts on the panel, have determined that the underground structure on which the plant stands has showed movement as long ago as 125,000 years. Watanabe suggests that this underground movement is due to faultline activity, and has called for the plant to cease operation immediately until further research has been carried out, concerned that failure to do so could result in a repeat of Fukushima, the tsunami-triggered nuclear meltdown that left hundreds of thousands of people without homes. “We are not seeking to decommission the plant,” Watanabe said. “We should first stop operation and then carry out underground investigation thoroughly before reaching a conclusion.”

Whilst it is against government regulations to run a nuclear plant under an active fault line (where ‘active’ is classed as any seismic fault that has shifted in the past 130,000 years), the plant is still in operation. Watanabe claims that the line has showed activity in the past 130,000 years, though other members of the team are reluctant to close the plant, suggesting instead that the land scarring is due to nothing more than a past landslide, rather than any seismic activity. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology researcher Norio Shigematsu has cautioned jumping to any conclusion until more experts are consulted.

The experts may remain in disagreement, but the several thousand protesters that joined together in Tokyo’s government district this Sunday spoke with a different voice, as shouts of “No need to wait for the panel’s finding! We must stop the Oi plant now!” could be heard outside parliament. After the Japanese government’s declaration in September of their plans to phase out nuclear power in Japan by 2040, the issue of nuclear power and public safety has never been so important.

Watanabe is keen that seismologists do not underestimate the possible effects of future earthquakes. “We have to sound the alarm as soon as we find the possibility of active faults,” he said. “The accident in Fukushima had really never been imagined. Scientists must learn from that.”

Sources include Japan Today

…………………………………………………………………………………………………….

If you need Japanese translation or interpreting services worldwide, the Japanese Connection offers a wide range of services, with specialists in nuclear energy, business, finance and more. For more information, please visit our website or contact us directly by email. Alternatively, visit our sister site for professional translation and intepretation services in multiple languages across the globe.  For more information, please visit our website, or send us an email.

Members of: ATC, ITI, Proz

See our LinkedIn profile or visit us on Twitter

From switch off to switch on?

Over the last few days it has emerged that Japan expects to have a new nuclear regulating body by September this year; news that marks the latest development in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster of March 2011. When Japan’s last nuclear reactor was switched off a month ago, many hoped that it ended a forty year chapter on Japanese nuclear power and that the country would look to finding alternative energy resources. However, news that a law has been partially approved to create a new nuclear regulator shatters these hopes, as Japan now braces itself for the beginning of a new nuclear era.

The law is expected to receive full government approval resulting in the creation of a five- member regulatory council and an independent body of safety inspectors, in an attempt to reform and improve the safety of all future Japanese nuclear reactors. It therefore seems only a matter of time before the reactors themselves are switched back on.

Since Friday protestors have flocked to the streets, many outside the Prime Minister’s office, wielding banners bearing the words “No Nukes”, as the prospect of a rejuvenated nuclear power initiative reawakens the fear experienced in aftermath of Fukushima. In fact, this new law seems to signal a renewed tension within Japan between those who see a necessity for the continued use of nuclear in generating Japan’s energy and those who will strive at any costs to avoid another disaster such as that of last year.

News sources: The Republic online, The Guardian online.

Tags fukushima, japan radiation, japanese earthquake, japanese tsunami, nuclear power,

Categories Japan, Nuclear Power

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters and translators working in a wide range of fields. Whether it is for a conference, a deposition or a trip to Japan with a Japanese business partner, we can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individual interpreting or translation needs.

“No more Nukes!”: Japan’s nuclear dilemma

More than a year on from the nuclear disaster in Fukushima in March 2011, concerns deepen  in Japan as the prospect that the country will once again revert to nuclear power as a principal national energy source looms on the horizon.  Still fresh in the memory of many Japanese citizens, the Fukushima disaster and its consequences form a central point of conflict when it comes to many government policies regarding the proposed switch-on of nuclear plants, as many people fear a repetition of last year’s catastrophic events.

Since the reopening of the Oi nuclear power plant (near Fukushima) at the beginning of this month, thousands have taken to the streets in the capital in protest, bearing banners bearing the words “No Nukes!”.  The protest in Yoyogi Park in central Tokyo on 16^th July this year represented one of largest of these protests and was reported to have continued throughout the day, despite the stifling summer weather in the city. The Japanese police have been present at such protests in Tokyo and on certain occasions have intervened. However, despite the large number of people present there appears to have been few reports of violence by the protesters themselves.

Concerns regarding the Japanese nuclear switch-on could also be fuelled by recent reports of dishonest radiation level recordings in the Fukushima plant after the disaster and the results of a government enquiry into the safety of Japan’s other, currently inactive, nuclear power plants. In particular this report appeared skeptical about the plants’ capacity to withstand a disaster such as that at Fukushima, if history were to repeat itself.

As Japan emerges from the wake of last year’s nuclear catastrophe, it is perhaps difficult to reconcile a need to move beyond what has happened and the need to approach Japan’s energy needs. At the moment it appears, by evidence of the large scale rallies and protests, that many people are keener to err on the side of caution. For example, with the reopening of the beaches near the Fukushima plant early last week, a sobering reminder of the dangers of the radiation emitted by the plant after the tsunami was put in place as radiation readings were set to be shown twice a day, as reassurance but also a means of recollection for those who have now dipped their toes back in the water.

News sources: Labornet Japan, The Guardian online, BBC News website

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters and translators working in a wide range of fields. Whether it is for a conference, a deposition or a trip to Japan with a Japanese business partner, we can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individual interpreting or translation needs. For more information and for a free quick quote, please visit our website or contact us.

Deformities found in butterflies near Fukushima plant

A recent butterfly study in Japan has found significant links between exposure to radiation after the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima last year and the mutation of butterflies in the area, establishing the first recognised link between the radiation emitted as a result of the disaster and physical deformity in living organisms. The scientists involved in the study collected a sample of butterflies, still in the larvae stage of development and analysed instances of deformity that occurred in the insects, which ranged from eye and wing problems to abnormality in their colouring. These findings were then compared with a sample of butterflies collected six months after the disaster, where the percentage of butterflies showing physical abnormality shot up from 28% to 52%, according to coverage by The Guardian. BBC coverage on this study’s findings also included photographs which clearly demonstrated the physical mutations observed by the scientists.

While experts emphasise that this study of the butterfly population in the Fukushima area does not necessarily entail similar consequences for the human population and that the deformities visible in the butterflies are due to both external and internal radiation exposure, as a result of eating plants also affected by radiation, it is difficult to ignore the very tangible and visible effects that radiation exposure can have on living creatures. In fact, it is a chilling reminder that these effects have the potential to escalate at an unpredictable rate and in unpredictable ways. In this sense the study almost acts as the starting pistol to a very long waiting game for those who were exposed to radiation from the Fukushima nuclear plant….

News sources: The Guardian, The Japan Times, BBC online, The Seattle Times

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

At The Japanese Connection, we have over twenty five years’ experience in providing professional, accurate and reliable Japanese interpreters and translators working in a wide range of fields. Whether it is for a conference, a deposition or a trip to Japan with a Japanese business partner, we can offer you a high-quality Japanese language service tailored to meet your individual interpreting or translation needs. For more information and for a free quick quote, please visit our website or contact us.

We also have professional interpreters and translators specialising in the field of nuclear engineering

Report on Radiation Released as Japan Switches Off Last Working Nuclear Reactor

14 Months After Triple Catastrophe in Japan: Earthquake, Tsunami and Fukushima Disaster:

A preliminary report from the World Health Organisation (WHO) published this Wednesday has indicated that radiation levels in most of Japan are low. This news comes a year after the Fukushima accident, which led to pressure on the government to switch off all nuclear reactors in Japan. On 5^th May 2012 Japan switched off its last remaining nuclear reactor, leaving the country without nuclear-derived electricity for the first time in over 40 years.

The WHO report follows the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake which caused a 13-15m tsunami that flooded the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station. After the plant’s cooling systems failed, blasts occurred at four of the reactors, triggering radiation leaks. Thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding area.

Now, one year on from the disasters, the WHO report has found that Namie town and Itate village, near the Fukushima plant, are currently exposed to radiation doses of 10-50 millisieverts (mSv). This is up to 20 times the normal background radiation level, although it remains within the WHO’s recommended emergency limits. However, in some areas of Namie, infants were estimated to have gotten a dose as high as 200mSv in the thyroid, where radiation can build up in the body.

By comparison, the rest of Fukushima is exposed to radiation doses of 1-10 mSv in the and most of Japan as a whole sees radiation levels of 0.1-1mSv. This is within the limits of the International Commission on Radiological Protection.

Not a lot is known about the potential long-term health effects of continued exposure to radiation below 100mSv a year. Cumulative exposure to 100 mSv is said however to raise the risk of death from cancer slightly (by 0.5 percent), according to Japan’s National Institute of Radiological Sciences.

Recently Japan’s trade minister, Yukio Edano, has been trying to win public support to restart two switched-off reactors at the country’s Ohi nuclear plant. This is an attempt to help ease expected power shortages of nearly 20% this summer. It remains to be seen whether this proposal for reactivation will go ahead. It is currently being considered by the Japanese government, although it seems unlikely to gain public approval.

The WHO is currently waiting for a second report on radiation levels this summer.