The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said Friday it is using an underwater robot in a renewed attempt to inspect damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown. A massive undersea earthquake on March 11, 2011 sent a huge wave barrelling into Japan’s northeast coast, killing more than 18,500 people, and sending three reactors into … Read more
A Japanese court Tuesday gave the green light to switch on two more nuclear reactors despite heavy public opposition, in the latest victory for the government’s pro-atomic push. Local residents lost their bid for an injunction to block the refiring of the No.3 and No.4 reactors at the Genkai nuclear plant in southwestern Japan on … Read more
A Japanese utility switched on another nuclear reactor Tuesday in a small victory for the government’s pro-atomic push, despite strong public opposition after the 2011 Fukushima meltdown. The restart of the No. 3 reactor at the Takahama nuclear plant brings the number of running reactors in Japan to five, while dozens more remain offline. The … Read more
A strong earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday, though there was no tsunami warning nor immediate reports of damage or injuries. The magnitude 6.0 quake hit at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) in waters off the island of Miyako in the southern Okinawan chain, according to the US Geological Survey. Japan’s Meteorological Agency … Read more
Japan’s disaster reconstruction minister is expected to resign on Wednesday following his controversial remarks over the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in a setback for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, local media reported. Masahiro Imamura plans to submit his resignation to Abe Wednesday morning, national broadcaster NHK said late Tuesday, adding that Abe had already decided to … Read more
Satsuki Sekine’s home was destroyed in Japan’s 2011 tsunami disaster and her family fled in the nuclear panic that followed. But crueller still were the insults and stigmatisation she faced in the community where she sought refuge. Rather than offer sympathy, Sekine’s new classmates bullied her with nasty jibes — part of an epidemic of … Read more
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday issued a sharp warning to the private club set to host golf at the 2020 Tokyo Games: admit women or you’re out. On a visit to Tokyo to check on the city’s Olympic preparations, IOC vice president John Coates said the Kasumigaseki Country Club in Saitama prefecture was … Read more
The operator of Japan’s stricken Fukushima nuclear plant said Thursday it will craft a plan this summer to extract highly radioactive fuel from the damaged reactors — a key step in decommissioning work expected to take decades. Operator Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) and the Japanese government have struggled to clean up the world’s worst … Read more
A ‘scorpion’ robot sent into a Japanese nuclear reactor to learn about the damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown had its mission aborted after the probe ran into trouble, Tokyo Electric Power company said Thursday. TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, sent the remote-controlled device into the No. 2 reactor where radiation levels … Read more
A “scorpion” robot sent into a Japanese nuclear reactor to learn about the damage suffered in a tsunami-induced meltdown had its mission aborted after the probe ran into trouble, Tokyo Electric Power company said Thursday. TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima nuclear plant, sent the remote-controlled device into the No. 2 reactor where radiation levels … Read more