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@Lilly Hi! Romney is saying similar things..he wants to lift all regs too! It's simply terrifying! I guess they can afford their private jets and fallout shelters so they couldn't care less.

@Edano I've got every finger and toe crossed but I'm a little nervous about this country's stupidity quotient.

@all Computer bumped me off...didn't mean to post and run away. @lillymunster @LM agree that false arguments do play a part in how certain industrys and governments validate their positions. It may then boil down to a attempt to create a state of fear whether that fear be blackouts and loss of amenities or fear of economic meltdown ...(This is me, very much appreciating the input that each of you bring to the table )

Kan: I couldn't let TEPCO withdraw from Fukushima disaster : PhotoNaoto Kan (Photo by Satoru Iizuka)
Naoto Kan was told by his industry minister at 3 a.m., four days after the start of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, that the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co., was proposing to withdraw from the stricken facility.
In his first interview since leaving office, the former prime minister told The Asahi Shimbun on Sept. 5 that he had briefly stared into an abyss in which the plant's damaged nuclear reactors might have been abandoned. www.asahi.com

Good morning

good morning, I read this article www.asahi.com linked from gakuranman.com that Radioguy provided yesterday and found it to be a strong testimonial to government actions early in the crisis. Though the timeline around Mar 15 seems muddled, it gives good insights on Kan's decisions and tepco leadership ineptitude. I quote from the article:
In the end, it was unclear who and when the decision to begin venting was made.

At an April 9 news conference at TEPCO headquarters, Muto avoided giving a clear answer, only saying, "Amid a very serious situation, there was a need to make a number of different actions. A clear answer will require further study."

Fukushima residents need apt nuke crisis info to make decisions about future

About a month after the Fukushima nuclear crisis began, I spoke to a man who had been forced from his home in the town of Tomioka -- part of the crisis exclusion zone -- and had evacuated to Saitama Prefecture. One thing he said has stuck with me ever since: "The things I want to know the most are, how much radiation is there on my property, and can I ever go home again? I'd like to know as soon as possible, so I can start thinking about the rest of my life."

At the end of August -- nearly six months after the March 11 earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis -- the government finally released a map showing radioactive contamination levels around the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. The government also said that there were some areas "where it may not be possible to return for a very long time."

Takuya Saze, a 39-year-old instructor at Tokushima University and a native of Aizuwakamatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, told me, "Experts looking at the state of the reactors knew a lot earlier that the evacuations would be long-term." When Saze, who does research into the health effects of radiation, saw the nuclear disaster unfolding so close to his home town, he knew the effects would be terrible. However, he also thought that it was for exactly moments like these that he was doing his research. And so he set out for Aizuwakamatsu.

At a public information session in the city, Saze heard residents complaining bitterly that "every day someone moves away," and that "the question of evacuation has caused a lot of family friction." As both the national and local governments were moving slowly on the radiation problem, Saze decided to "do something individually to help reduce the danger and anxiety" felt by those around him. Along with the Japanese Society of Radiation Safety Management (JSRSM), where Saze is a member, he concentrated on producing a home manual for decontamination.

Thorough decontamination is no easy task. Especially in badly contaminated areas, decontamination in just one cleanup pass is very difficult, and the JSRSM is calling for "a realistic and persistent cleanup effort."

But it is painful that no decisions can be made or future plans imagined. At a news conference after being named prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda said, "We want to put every effort into decontamination" of the communities around the stricken nuclear plant. Implementation of a steady decontamination process is a matter of course.

I call on the government to promptly make information and analysis on the present situation available to the public, so that residents will have a solid foundation to base their judgments on.

"There are probably some places where decontamination will take decades," Saze said. "Even so, I'll work hard on it, so that even one more family can return home earlier. (By Etsuko Nagayama, Science and Environment News Department)
mdn.mainichi.jp

Nuke plants will one day be 'zero' ndustry minister Yoshio Hachiro said Tuesday that the number of Japan's nuclear power plants will one day be "zero," based on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's policy of ending further plant construction and decommissioning those long in service. search.japantimes.co.jp

IAEA to call for nuclear crisis team VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency will call on its members to establish an emergency team to respond to major nuclear accidents worldwide, part of an agency plan to enhance nuclear safety, according to a draft obtained Tuesday.

The Vienna-based nuclear watchdog also plans to dispatch safety investigators within three years to all member countries who operate nuclear power plants, following the Fukushima nuclear crisis, according to the draft. more .....http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110907a1.html

TEPCO to put 2.38 bil. yen into Fukushima compensation body

TOKYO, Sept. 7, Kyodo

Tokyo Electric Power Co. will put 2,379 million yen into a new entity set up to help the utility pay compensation to individuals and businesses claiming damages caused by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster, sources close to the matter said Wednesday.

The body will also receive 7 billion yen in public funds as well as a total of 7 billion yen from 12 nuclear plant operators, with the crisis-hit utility known as TEPCO shouldering the largest amount among the 12.

The 11 other nuclear power companies will pay into the entity because it is meant to work as a compensation scheme for future accidents. The percentage of their contributions is fixed in proportion to the power output of their plants.
english.kyodonews.jp