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Crescent City on its way to a stronger harbor; Reconstruction will make harbor able to withstand 15-foot waves

admin — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:00:24 +0000

Reconstruction work is underway at the Crescent City Harbor to ultimately make it capable of withstanding the strongest possible tsunami generated in a 50-year period.

Crescent City engineer Ward Stover said rock and other materials are currently being delivered to the harbor for the reconstruction project, which recently broke ground. he said the reconstruction design will give the harbor 50-year protection, meaning the infrastructure will be able to withstand the strongest tsunami that has a 2 percent chance of occurring any year during a 50-year timeframe.

”A 2 percent occurrence has a (wave) height of about 15-feet,” Stover said.

Construction is focused on rebuilding the inner boat basin, which was damaged by tsunamis in 2006 and 2011. on March 11, 2011, a tsunami generated by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake in Japan decimated the harbor, with the largest wave measuring more than 8-feet high. at that time, damage done by a smaller tsunami on Nov. 15, 2006, had not been repaired.

Right now, construction consists of updating the harbor’s rock slope protection and reviewing the structural design of the floats. Stover said pipe piles and other materials are continuing to arrive at the harbor.

”We’re going through the review and approval process of all the materials before they get them ordered,” Stover said.

Harbormaster Richard Young said the project will ultimately make the harbor stouter, with bigger and more closely placed pilings. he said it has been a long road to get all the geotechnical, permitting and design components in place before any actual construction occurs.

”We’re right at the beginning of things that will be visible to people,” Young said.

He said a barge with a crane is expected to start making its way from San Francisco to Crescent City soon. The barge will be used to install the pilings.

The first phase of the project — which involves updating the westerly side of the inner boat basin — is expected to be completed by Nov. 15. Stover said the contractor is required to have the first phase completed in time for the winter crab season.

”We’ll have some permanent facilities to put boats at,” Stover said.

The $33.8 million reconstruction project is contractually scheduled to be completed by February 2014, Stover said. The Dutra Group, a Bay Area company that specializes in marine construction, is doing most of the work and will be providing the barge. Eureka business Maple Service Plumbing, Heating and Air is doing all of the water utility work. Stover said both businesses’ tasks are highly specialized.

The majority of the project will be paid for with California Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency funds. Because the 2006 tsunami was only deemed a state emergency, FEMA funds aren’t involved and the coverage rate for damage is lower. In addition, the harbor still has to cover 6.25 percent of the rebuilding costs for the March 2011 event.

Young said the Crescent City Harbor District is in the process of negotiating a $5 million to $5.5 million loan with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and its rural development program to help pay for the project. he said the harbor already has about $600,000 in existing debt that it needs to cover, and has been unsuccessful in obtaining grant funding.

”It’s really going to be financially trying for the district to make those (loan) payments, but we really have no choice,” Young said.

It’s estimated the entire project and future outer basin projects will cost a total of $50 million, Stover said. he said the harbor is working on getting the permitting in place to dredge the outside of the basin and improve the outer rock slope protection.

While officials hope the improvements will protect the harbor for decades to come, there is no denying that the Del Norte County coast is a hotspot for dangerous tsunamis. In 1964, an 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Alaska triggered a more than 20-foot wall of water that killed 11 people in Crescent City, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

National Weather Service spokesman and meteorologist Troy Nicolini said there are a number of factors that make the city and its harbor a natural conveyer of the surges. he said the harbor’s shape and design — with steep rock walls — traps wave energy, making it nearly impossible for entering waves to break.

”The waves tend to bounce around inside and not dissipate,” Nicolini said. “It’s almost like kids playing in the bathtub and the waves double up and then break over the (side of the) tub.”

He said the Crescent City Harbor tends to amplify incoming waves, while Humboldt Bay does the exact opposite.

”If a tsunami comes inside the bay, that wave is going to break on the mudflats,” Nicolini said.

The shape of the ocean floor and surrounding sea features also play into Crescent City’s susceptibility. Nicolini said the reef off Point St. George is a shallow area of the ocean that can push waves coming from Alaska into the harbor. he said the waves tend to bend and wrap around shallow water, refracting right into the inner boat basin.

Deep in the Pacific Ocean, Nicolini said the focus still seems to be on the Del Norte coast.

”The shape of the ocean floor halfway across the Pacific has wave features that tend to concentrate the wave energy toward Crescent City,” Nicolini said.

Unable to protect the harbor from every catastrophic ocean event, harbor officials said they’re happy to at least be putting the 50-year protection model in place. Stover said there’s no easy way to plan for a larger event or a 75-year design as structures around the harbor and in the city would need to be moved and built above tsunami inundation areas.

Despite its higher cost, Young said the 50-year design project is a good investment.

”Over the life of the project, the cheapest thing to do was build it to a 50-year standard,” Young said. “it minimizes the life-cycle cost.”

Megan Hansen can be reached at 441-0511 or .

[View the story "Rebuilding the Crescent City harbor" on Storify]

Tsunami refugees cheer Japanese track rider

admin — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:14 +0000

By Shigemi Sato, Agence France Presse
Published Aug. 5, 2012

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LONDON (AFP) — A Japanese track cyclist from the no-go zone around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is helping unite a community scattered by last year’s quake-tsunami disaster as they cheer him on in the London Olympics.

Refugees gathered in the city of Tsukuba on Friday to watch Kazunari Watanabe in the team sprint and will get behind their native son again on Tuesday when he takes part in the keirin.

“I’ve raced bearing in mind how everyone felt about me. I want to repay the courage they have given me,” Watanabe told Japanese media after his first race, in which his three-man team finished eighth, well out of the medals.

The 28-year-old’s family — including his wife, parents, and grandmother — now live in different locations across Japan after the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 triggered the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

The cyclist’s mother, Tomoko, has said she can “see in everyone a feeling that they have grown into one” because of her son.

Hopes are high that Watanabe can grab a medal on Tuesday in the keirin, an event that originated in Japan. in April, he placed fifth in the world track cycling championships in Melbourne.

Junko Nakamura, who fled the disaster zone with her family last year, was among dozens of people who watched a delayed broadcast of Thursday’s Olympic cycling races on a big television set under a tent in a park.

“I hope he does well in London and wins a gold medal to bring us all bright hope,” said the 37-year-old, who has settled in Tsukuba, north of Tokyo, with her banker husband and two daughters.

“Isn’t it wonderful that we can unite as one because of him? I will come to see his next race here too.”

Nakamura is one of the roughly 7,000 people from Futaba, the cyclist’s hometown near the Fukushima Daiichi plant, who fled following the disaster.

The giant tsunami swamped the plant, sending reactors into meltdown and scattering radiation across the surrounding area — the worst atomic crisis in a generation.

Some 19,000 people were left dead or missing by the tsunami, and more than 160,000 are still displaced from their homes in the Fukushima region because of high radiation levels and the devastation wrought by the disaster.

It remains uncertain whether they will ever be able to return — experts say it could be decades before the area is deemed safe.

Tsukuba is a relatively new city with universities and scientific laboratories that draw newcomers from around Japan.

Earlier this month, about 200 locals wrote messages of support on a huge Japanese flag to help cheer Watanabe on.

“I wrote, ‘please stay strong,’” said 75-year-old Hisako Katsukawa, who was also watching on Friday.

“I have watched different sports in the past Olympics, but not cycling. I want to come back and see his courage. It will be moving if he wins a medal.”

Junya Kataoka, who organized the big-screen viewing, said he wanted to help refugees adjust to their new life.

“Instead of clearing debris from the disaster area, we are helping refugees take mental care of themselves and communicate with local people,” he said.

FILED UNDER: News / Olympics / Track TAGS: Kazunari Watanabe / London 2012 Olympics

Samurai festival returns to disaster-hit Japan

admin — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:00:23 +0000

Clad in samurai armour, Ishin Takahashi was among thousands who took part in an ancient festival at the weekend in the shadow of Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

People in samurai costumes ride horses during a horse racing event at the annual “Soma Nomaoi” festival in Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, on July 28. The traditional festival kicked off for the first time since the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

With an evacuation order following last year’s atomic crisis and rampant fears about radiation, the 1,000-year-old “Soma Nomaoi”, or wild horse chase, was all but cancelled following the March 11, 2011 quake-tsunami disaster.

But a year later, Takahashi and others wearing 10th Century period costumes hope that reviving the traditional festival will help lift spirits in their disaster-struck community — and inspire the younger generation.

“This is a symbolic first step to recovery,” the 69-year-old told AFP as a scorching sun beat down on Minamisoma, a small community about 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the nuclear plant that went into meltdown after it was swamped by the giant tsunami.

“Some of our communities remain devastated, but I’m sure we can rebuild them or make them even better.”

Minamisoma remains largely a shell of its past with many residents having fled to other communities across Japan over fears about living in the shadow of the doomed reactors — the site of the worst nuclear accident in a generation.

But on Saturday its street came alive with locals — many of them returning just for the festival — galloping triumphantly on horses around a specially-built hippodrome for the three-day festival.

Clad in decorated helmets and carrying razor-sharp traditional Japanese swords, participants swaggered about on horseback followed by a feudal lord’s procession decorated with colourful banners displaying their family crests.

The sound of conch horns echoed through the streets with tens of thousands of visitors coming out to see the ancient show of military pomp and pageantry featuring about 400 hundred horses.

“Nomaoi is my motivation in life,” said Kohei Inamoto, a 20-year-old plant worker who temporarily returned for the event after he and his family fled to Chiba, south of Tokyo.

“Nomaoi is my ’soul’ connection with my hometown. If there were no Nomaoi, I would have abandoned my hometown.”

Inamoto was among many who missed last year’s scaled-back festival which saw most of the top events, including horse racing and capturing flags shot into the air by fireworks, cancelled.

The heritage event aims to recreate a medieval battlefield, having originated from secret military exercises held by samurai warriors from the tight-knit Soma clan.

“I’m glad to see the festival come back… but we are too old to keep it going,” said Shigeru Ouchi, 60, standing beside his steed.

“I’m concerned that young people are disappearing from the town after the disaster, but I hope the remaining youth will take it over and pass the baton to the next generation,” he added.

For decades small Japanese communities have seen younger people leave for larger urban centres, but the crisis has stoked that exodus and worried older residents fear that the festival might never reclaim its former glory.

“We still can’t hold Nomaoi in style, as it used to be, until the nuclear accident is settled, but I will die before I see that,” Kosaku Motobayashi, 77, said quietly.

Hideki Noda, a 23-year-old farmer, said he wants to keep the festival alive but didn’t know when he could return to his hometown just a few kilometres from the stricken reactors.

“I’m proud of the festival,” said a smiling Noda. “The younger generation should take the lead in maintaining the 1,000-year-old tradition, no matter what.”

The quake-sparked tsunami left some 19,000 dead or missing and knocked out cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, causing meltdowns that spread radiation over a large area and forced thousands to evacuate.

Some have moved back to nearby communities, but many more have not and there are fears it could be decades before nearby towns are deemed safe to live in.

“I can’t come back now but I will return as a descendant of Soma samurai, at any cost,” said 59-year-old evacuee Yoshiyuki Itakura. “My will is unshakable.”

Even holding this year’s festival was a challenge, with organisers spending a year preparing. they decontaminated the racing course and spectator stands and brought in horses from other regions.

About 100 local horses used in past festivals drowned in the tsunami or died of starvation after the area surrounding the plant was designated a no-go zone.

“I would like to send a message to the world that victims of the disaster are holding this event with a renewed sense of spirit,” organiser Koichi Fujita said.

“We hope this will help speed up reconstruction of our community.”

After tsunami, nuke plant chief in Japan calls damage ’serious’

admin — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:00:23 +0000

TOKYO – the emergency command center at Japan’s stricken nuclear plant shook violently when hydrogen exploded at one reactor and the plant chief reacted by shouting, “This is serious, this is serious,” reveal videos taken as the crisis happened last year.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. initially refused to release the videos, but the company is now under state control and was ordered to do so. the footage seen Monday was mainly of teleconferences between company headquarters in Tokyo and staff at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant after the March 11, 2011, tsunami critically damaged its reactors.

In the videos, then-plant chief Masao Yoshida complained about phone calls to the prime minister’s office not getting through and showed frustration as he fought the government’s nuclear safety officials interfering with technical suggestions that didn’t fit the plant’s conditions.

Around 11 a.m. on March 15, Yoshida screamed to officials at Tokyo headquarters: “The headquarters! this is serious, this is serious. the No. 3 unit. I think this is hydrogen explosion. We just had an explosion.”

In the video’s background, other officials shout questions, asking for radiation levels and other data. the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit northeast Japan had knocked out the cooling systems that kept the reactors’ nuclear material stable, and the cores of three reactors melted, releasing large amounts of radiation.

“I can’t see anything from here because of heavy smoke,” Yoshida said after the explosion. Even though workers struggled to assess the situation, they fell behind media reports. a voice from an off-site emergency center is heard, a man saying he saw explosion on television news.

The buildings housing three of the reactors had hydrogen explosions after the gas filled the unvented buildings, and the blasts spewed radiation and delayed repair work. To avoid the explosions, officials had even considered dropping a hammer from a helicopter to make a hole on the ceiling, although they scrapped the idea because it was too dangerous.

The videos also included conversations showing communication problems between the plant and the government, workers’ lack of knowledge in emergency steps and delays in effort to inform outsiders about the risks of leaking radiation.

Just after the Unit 3 explosion, plant officials and TEPCO executives discussed extensively if they should call it a hydrogen explosion. Another segment showed they forgot to notify officials outside TEPCO and residents about a meltdown at another unit, No 2, or even provide data crucial for their evacuation.

“Are we providing a release on this?” asked TEPCO vice president Sakae Muto, while discussing with other officials the timing of the March 14 melting of Unit 2’s reactor core. An anonymous plant worker says no, while another executive, Akio Komori, instructed workers to quickly conduct radiation monitoring as he suggested they might have to evacuate at some point.

Komori said workers may have to withdraw from the unit control room. a TEPCO official said he did not know evacuation details in an emergency manual: “Sorry, that’s not in my head.”

After the March 12 explosion at Unit 1, dozens of workers were highly exposed, but TEPCO officials debated how they could allow extra exposures without getting in trouble. One anonymous official suggested “they can go home and take a bath and open their pores” to wash off contamination. He said they could get health checks when whole body counters become available later, while another official suggested they should abide by the rule. Days later, the government raised the maximum exposure levels to more than double the usual limit for emergency operation.

The Unit 2 reactor was the most critical in the first few days, which Yoshida described as “skin-tight” situation. “Radiation levels are extremely high. you don’t understand because you’re not here, but it’s really a skin-tight situation. (The workers) can go in only a short while, and they have to rotate.”

Also on March 15, the videos showed then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan bursting into TEPCO’s Tokyo office, rebuking officials and demanding they work harder. the portion of his visit has no sound. While Kan spoke for 20 minutes, operations at Fukushima Dai-ichi seemed halted, with officials and workers there, as well as TEPCO executives in Tokyo, sitting straight and quietly listening to him.

Shown from behind, Kan spoke at length, appeared upset and frequently raised and lowered his arms. Government and parliamentary investigation reports have said that Kan, who thought TEPCO executives planned to fully withdraw workers and abandon the plant, yelled at TEPCO executives, demanding they “risk their lives” to get the plant under control. in a separate video segment, TEPCO executives debated a withdrawal but it is unclear whether they meant a partial withdrawal.

Kan also reportedly said Japan would be destroyed if the plant situation worsened.

Eventually a total of 71 workers remained — those some have called the heroic Fukushima 50 — trying to avoid catastrophe.

The plant’s reactors were declared stable in December, and many more workers are toiling at the site, undertaking a cleanup that may take decades. More than 160 workers have exceeded radiation exposure limits that require they no longer work at the plant, but no one is known to have developed a radiation-induced illness.

TEPCO made a 90-minute video of selected clips available for download, while journalists who registered beforehand were allowed to see 150 hours of coverage. the content was heavily edited, with white shades shielding workers’ faces and nametags and beeps masking voices and other sound.

Kan left office last year after being criticized for the government’s failings during the disaster, which was the world’s second worst nuclear accident after Chernobyl. the plant’s chief, Yoshida, has since left TEPCO due to illness.

Doctors: Japan nuclear plant workers face stigma

admin — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 20:00:10 +0000

TOKYO—A growing number of Japanese workers who are risking their health to shut down the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant are suffering from depression, anxiety about the future and a loss of motivation, say two doctors who visit them regularly.

But their psychological problems are driven less by fears about developing cancer from radiation exposure and more by something immediate and personal: Discrimination from the very community they tried to protect, says Jun Shigemura, who heads a volunteer team of about ten psychiatrists and psychologists from the National Defense Medical College who meet with Tokyo Electric Power co. nuclear plant employees.

They tell therapists they have been harangued by residents displaced in Japan’s nuclear disaster and threatened with signs on their doors telling them to leave. some of their children have been taunted at school, and prospective landlords have turned them away.

“They have become targets of people’s anger,” Shigemura told the associated Press.

TEPCO workers—in their readily identifiable blue uniforms—were once considered to be among the elite in this rural area 230 kilometers (140 kilometers) north of Tokyo. But after the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami set off meltdowns at the Fukushima plant, residents came to view them as “perpetrators,” Shigemura said.

Many TEPCO families in the area now hide their link to the company for fear of criticism, local doctors and psychiatrists say.

Shigemura likens the workers’ experience to that of U.S. Vietnam veterans returning home to hostility in the 1960s and early ’70s.

“They both worked for (the good of) their countries, but they got a backlash,” he said.

About a dozen nuclear workers approached by the AP declined to be interviewed for this report. except in rare cases, TEPCO has repeatedly declined requests to interview workers, and the workers themselves have shunned virtually all media attention, so these doctors’ accounts provide an unusual glimpse into their lives.

One former TEPCO employee who lived in the town of Tomioka, inside the 20-kilometer (15-mile) exclusion zone around the plant, told journalists during a rare visit to the Fukushima plant in February that she was frequently harassed by evacuees among the 100,000 displaced by the disaster.

“Many people who want to go home are getting frustrated and they often yell at me, ‘How are you going to make it up to us?’” said Saori Kanesaki, a former visitor guide at the Fukushima plant.

More than a half-century ago, many Japanese survivors of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were stigmatized due to fears about their exposure to radiation. But the Fukushima disaster has thrown up a completely new kind of discrimination because of the workers’ links to TEPCO, a company widely despised throughout Japan for its mishandling of the disaster.

Some 3,000 TEPCO employees and other contractors continue to labor daily at the plant in one of the world’s riskiest jobs—keeping three melted-down reactor cores as well as spent fuel pools cool through a makeshift system of water pipes.

They face a long haul: Removing the fuel and completely shutting down the plant could take 40 years.

Worries about radiation exposure aren’t overwhelmingly prevalent among the TEPCO workers, both doctors say, although some workers are concerned, especially those with higher exposure counts. during the crisis, authorities raised the maximum radiation exposure limit to 250 millisieverts from 100 millisieverts. Six TEPCO workers surpassed that level, and were removed from work at the plant. That exposure level was lowered again in December to 50 millisieverts, with an exception allowing up to 100 millisieverts in emergencies.

In addition to the discrimination, the TEPCO nuclear workers, who are specially trained, are anxious that they will be transferred to a completely different kind of job, such as clerical work, if they should surpass the exposure limit, the doctors say.

“More than health risk, they are worried about social risk and employment risk,” said Takeshi Tanigawa, an epidemiologist with Ehime University’s medical school who visited the plant after the disaster and was the one of the first to report its harsh working conditions, which have since improved. He has been back 15 times since, and Shigemura later volunteered to join him.

The two doctors report that they are not aware of any case of radiation sickness or radiation burns among the workers, who undergo regular checks for radiation levels in their bodies.

A brief report on their experience visiting the Fukushima plant soon after the disaster that highlights the discrimination workers faced was published in Wednesday’s issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The Japanese public and press, meanwhile, has offered the workers little praise, unlike the Western media, which during the height of the crisis portrayed the remaining band of workers at the plant as the heroic “Fukushima 50.” the domestic press instead emphasized how the dangers faced by the workers reflected the risks of nuclear power.

Culture helps explain some of these dynamics, including the strong Japanese sense of duty and group responsibility.

“People believe the workers share in the responsibility” for the disaster even though they didn’t cause it, Tanigawa said.

Disaster psychiatry is not well-developed in Japan. the 1995 Kobe earthquake brought growing awareness of the psychological trauma of disasters, but specialists in the field remain rare.

Research from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster suggests that mental health problems will persist for years.

Eighteen years after that crisis, Chernobyl clean-up workers experienced higher rates of depression, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, headaches and suicidal thoughts than the general population, according to a 2008 study in the journal Psychological Medicine.

Many TEPCO workers now live in a temporary barracks at a soccer stadium called J-Village, several kilometers (miles) south of the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant. Workers at J-Village approached by a journalist refused to talk, and other contractors said they would get in trouble with the utility if they did.

Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, who is also in charge of nuclear crisis management, has made a point of thanking the workers during visits to the Fukushima plant, and children from around Japan have sent drawings and words of encouragement. But the workers have told the doctors that in restricted areas around the plant, former neighbors have shouted, thrown bottles and shoved them during their brief visits home to retrieve belongings.

Such discrimination weighs heavily on the workers, said Shigemura.

“Showing appreciation to the workers is an urgent need. It’s totally lacking,” Shigemura said, adding that he believes stigmatization is a key factor in influencing the workers’ psychological distress.

A growing number of the workers tell the visiting psychiatrists of sagging motivation and hopelessness, and Shigemura warned that such attitudes could lead to ”misconduct or human error or sabotage.” He also said the workers are drinking more alcohol and smoking more.

His team started to receive some research funding from the Health Ministry in April.

Shigemura predicts that the rate of post-traumatic stress disorder among Fukushima workers 2-3 years after the disaster will surpass the rate among 9/11 rescue and recovery workers, which a 2007 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry said was 12.4 percent.

TEPCO says it is considering hiring a full-time psychiatrist to help meet the mental health needs of workers at the plant, but that there are a shortage of such experts, particularly in the Fukushima region.

“The public’s trust in TEPCO has declined, so we will work to improve that,” said Yuji Ohya, an official with the company’s health and safety department. “Hopefully as that improves, it will boost the workers’ spirits.”

——

Associated Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Nuclear power addressed at Nagasaki

admin — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 11:00:14 +0000

NAGASAKI, Japan, Aug. 9 (UPI) — the mayor of Nagasaki, in ceremonies Thursday commemorating the 67th anniversary of the city’s atomic bombing, urged the Japanese government to develop new energy sources in place of nuclear power.

The government should “present concrete measures to implement these policies,” and to seek “a society free from the fear of radioactivity,” said Mayor Tomihisa Taue, the Asahi Shimbun reports.

During last year’s Nagasaki anniversary speech, in the wake of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster following the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, Taue became the first Nagasaki mayor to speak out against nuclear power.

Also speaking at the ceremony, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the government would pursue a combination of energy sources.

“Under the basic principle of moving away from a dependence on nuclear energy, we will seek to establish a combination of energy sources that will bring peace of mind to the public in the mid- and long-term future,” he said.

Separately, a group of 75 members from various parties of Japan’s House of Representatives, called Zero Nuclear Power, had its first plenary meeting, Kyodo News reported Wednesday.

Topics of discussion included a proposal to decommission all nuclear reactors in Japan and ways in which to offer legal support to residents in areas where nuclear plants are located.

Last month Japan restarted the first nuclear reactor since the Fukushima disaster, at the Oi nuclear complex in Fukui Prefecture in western Japan. That was after the last of Japan’s 54 reactors was shut down in may, leaving the country without a working nuclear plant for the first time in four decades.

Yoshihito Iwama, a spokesman for the Japanese Business Federation, says the business community supported the restart of nuclear reactors.

“If Japan decides to stop all nuclear power, we will not have a stable and inexpensive source of electricity. the cost of everything will go up by at least 20 percent. Our economy will suffer,” he was quoted as saying by National Public Radio.

Still, thousands of Japanese have been gathering in Tokyo every Friday to protest the country’s use of nuclear power, with at least 75,000 people attending a recent demonstration.

Noriyuki Shikata, a spokesman with the prime minister’s office, acknowledged that it’s “really tough” to balance the concerns of the public and the country’s power needs, NPR reports, adding that it will take time to rebuild the people’s trust.

“We need to step up our efforts to be able to explain to the public the challenges that we are facing, and also especially in terms of safety. we have to keep on working on engaging the public in this arena,” Shikata said.

But he says the government has no immediate plans to restart another reactor.

Coca-Cola Company’s Executive Vice President Visits Japan for School Ceremony to Commemorate Completion of Solar Facilities Installed with Grant from Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund

admin — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:00:30 +0000

the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund held a ceremony at the Miyato Elementary School in Higashi Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, on July 9 to commemorate the completion of solar power facilities for which the fund provided a substantial grant.

(Photo: prw.kyodonews.jp/opn/release/201207095523/ )

the Fund decided to provide assistance after evaluating a request to help reinforce disaster management with new solar power facilities and to help educate pupils about clean energy. the Fund is paying a consumption tax-inclusive grant of up to 30 million yen to acquire and install solar facilities. they comprise an emergency solar generator with a maximum capacity of 20 kilowatts and storage batteries with an aggregate capacity of up to 16 kilowatts.

the completion ceremony began with opening remarks from Yukichi Onuma, Deputy Mayor of Higashi Matsushima. mr. Onuma then handed a letter of appreciation to Alexander B. Cummings, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of the Coca-Cola Company. mr. Cumming spoke about the recovery assistance efforts of the Coca-Cola Reconstruction Fund and its funding for setting up solar facilities at the Miyato Elementary School. Yoshimitsu Kusaka, the Principal of Miyato Elementary School, spoke about using the solar facilities in environmental education, saying in a message to children, “We want you to use the installed solar panels to learn about energy.” Representing the pupils, Soshi Monma, a sixth-year student, said, “We will carefully use the solar power produced on the roof.” Finally, Shogo Kamei, Chairman of Sendai Coca-Cola Bottling co., ltd., presented a commemorative gift to Soshi.

after the ceremony, all of the students were present in front of a monitor displaying solar power generation and usage progress, with one of the students acting on their behalf in turning the monitor on.

mr. Cummings visited Japan to check on progress with the Coca-Cola Company-established fund.

the solar panels were installed on the roof of the school building, while the storage batteries are in a storage shed on the premises. a monitor in the hallway helps students evaluate performance by displaying the amount of electricity generated, carbon dioxide reductions, and other information. the new solar facilities will contribute to almost all of the school’s regular electricity requirements while functioning as a valuable source of emergency power.

the Great East Japan Earthquake cut access through the sole road from the mainland to Miyato Island, prompting almost all of its residents to seek shelter at the Miyato Elementary School. it took around a month and a half to restore power, highlighting issues with shelter facilities. the new solar generation setup reinforced disaster management while providing hope that the 1,000 or so residents can use this shelter as a hub for community restoration.

the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund decided to provide grants to purchase and install solar generating facilities under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. the grants are to assist public elementary and junior high schools in Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima Prefectures, which the Great East Japan Earthquake hit hardest, and help educate students about the benefits of clean energy. the fund aims to provide assistance to a total of 50 schools in three rounds between September 1, 2011, and March 31, 2014. in September 2012, the fund plans to start its second round of soliciting applications for solar facilities grants as part of its ongoing disaster recovery assistance program.

— CommentsMasaaki Kudo, Chairperson of the Higashi Matsushima City Board of Education, Miyagi Prefecture: Most buildings in the villages of Ohama, Tsukihama, and Murohama were destroyed in the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2012. the sole road from the mainland to Miyato became impassable following the catastrophe, and vessels were swept away. cut off from the outside world, most local residents took refuge at the Miyato Elementary School. for around two months they stayed communally at the school, surviving on supplies from vessel operators from other areas and from Self-Defense Forces helicopters. during that time, the people had no electricity or regular water supply. Despite hopes for a quick restoration of services, it took around a month and a half to get everything back on line, creating a keen awareness among local officials of the need to enhance facilities at the school.

the Miyato Elementary School escaped the tsunami. the quake caused some structural damage that has been mostly repaired.

the quake weakened the Miyato district’s lifelines, prompting local residents and school officials to seek facilities that would provide better security and safety following disasters. it was as a result of this process that we were able to receive solar generating and storage battery facilities for the Miyato Elementary School through the Coca-Cola Reconstruction Fund’s Eco Project aid for public elementary and junior high schools. We are deeply grateful for this assistance.

We look for the solar generating facilities to be of tremendous assistance during power outages while serving as a valuable hands-on tool for educating the young about clean energy that is free of carbon dioxide emissions, raising their overall environmental awareness. in the near future, we hope for junior and elementary schools throughout our city to install solar generating facilities to make these institutions more robust during disasters while using the facilities to teach about the environment.

Yoshimitsu Kusaka, Principal of the Miyato Elementary School, Miyagi Prefecture:

I would like to express my deep appreciation to Coca-Cola for recently giving us a solar power system.

the Miyato district experienced massive destruction in last year’s Great East Japan Earthquake. although my school functioned as a shelter following the disaster, the community lifelines of electricity and running water were severed, making daily living very difficult for quite some time. Immediately after the quake, the Miyato district was completely cut off from the rest of the world.

I am extremely grateful for Coca-Cola’s generosity in enabling us to install a solar power system at the school. the earthquake drove home to us just how important it is to conserve goods and resources. the new generating system is gratifyingly timely in that respect, and we will use it as a tool in providing science, environmental, and moral education.

We will carefully use the new system so we can secure power during emergencies while conserving electricity during normal times. Again, thank you very much for the assistance.

Alexander B. Cummings, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer,

the Coca-Cola Company:I would like to reiterate our deepest condolences to those who lost their loved ones in the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011. although we cannot even begin to imagine your suffering, we are committed to doing anything we can to help you build a brighter future.

We hope that this solar generating system will be an assured source of renewable energy for current and future students at Miyato Elementary School and for the people of Tohoku when times are good and during emergencies.

I would like you to remember that whenever you turn on this switch, the thoughts of all of us in the Coca-Cola family and countless other people will be with you. and keep in mind that we are always ready to lend a helping hand and be of service to you.

Reference Materials

— Public elementary schools receiving assistance in the first round of environmental education grants from the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund

Prefecture Municipality School 1 Iwate Tanohata,Shimohei District Tanohata Elementary School 2 Iwate Tanohata, Shimohei District Tanohata Junior High School 3 Iwate Noda,Kunohe District Noda Elementary School 4 Iwate Noda, Kunohe District Noda Junior High School 5 Miyagi Higashi Matsushima Higashi Matsushima Miyato Elementary School 6 Miyagi Shiraishi Shiraishi Daiichi Elementary School 7 Fukushima Otama, Adachi District Otama Junior High School 8 Fukushima Shinchi, Soma District Shinchi Fukuda Elementary School 9 Fukushima Shinchi, Soma District Shinchi Elementary School 10 Fukushima Shinchi, Soma District Shinchi Komagamine Elementary School 11 Fukushima Shinchi, Soma District Shinchi Shouei Junior High School

— the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund the Coca-Cola Company set up the fund within the Coca-Cola Education and Environmental Foundation on March 24, 2011, to assist areas stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake. the fund seeks to help rebuild lives by supporting the construction of public facilities, particularly those for educating children, in keeping with the philosophy of the Coca-Cola Educational and Environment Foundation. the fund determines its specific initiatives after liaising closely with relevant organizations in disaster areas, reporting on its activities through its website. the Coca-Cola Company created the fund to augment the support efforts of the Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, and 12 bottlers. they collectively donated money and the equivalent of more than seven million 500-milliliter PET bottles of beverages to assist victims. Total disaster support from the Coca-Cola Company exceeded 2.5 billion yen by August 29, 2011.

the following website details the activities of the Coca-Cola Japan Reconstruction Fund:( cocacola.co.jp/info/donation/en_index.html )

— the Coca-Cola system in Japan this system encompasses several entities. one is Coca-Cola (Japan) Company, Limited, which supplies, manufactures, and sells concentrates and undertakes marketing, including product planning and development and advertising. the other entities are 12 regional bottlers and other affiliates. the system conserves energy in the course of business to pursue growth while reducing environmental impact. the system has employed renewable energy in various aspects of operations. for example, it set up solar-powered vending machines and deployed biodiesel-fueled vehicles in its fleet.

— the Coca-Cola Educational and Environmental Foundation the Coca-Cola Educational and Environmental Foundation was established in June 2007 to integrate the activities of two predecessors. one was the Coca-Cola Bottlers Japan Scholarship Foundation, which operated for 37 years. the other was the Coca-Cola Environmental Education Foundation, which served for 14 years. in keeping with its guiding principle of “Healthy Active Life,” the foundation engages in diverse environmental, educational, and sports initiatives so young people can ultimately build a better world.

— the Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world’s most valuable brand, our Company’s portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the no. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world’s largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of more than 1.8 billion servings a day. With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world’s top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees. for more information, please visit thecocacolacompany.com or follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo.

Contact: Yusuke YamanakaPublic Affairs & Communications GroupCoca-Cola (Japan) Company, ltd.Tel: +81-3-5466-8120Fax: +81-3-3797-1481

SOURCE Coca-Cola (Japan) co., ltd.; Coca-Cola Educational & Environmental Foundation

Japanese women lose life expectancy lead after tsunami

admin — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 12:00:10 +0000

The massive loss of life in last year’s tsunami disaster in Japan has trimmed the average life expectancy of the country’s women, knocking them off the top of the global longevity chart for the first time in 26 years, according to government data.

The health and labour ministry said the average lifespan of Japanese women fell by 0.4 years to 85.9 years in 2011, putting it behind that of women in Hong Kong who average 86.7 years.

The large number of elderly victims was a defining characteristic of the disaster in March 2011, which killed almost 16,000 people and left about 3,000 unaccounted for. National police agency statistics show that more than 56% of those who died were aged 65 or older, and almost three-quarters of those missing were over 60.

More than 90% of the victims drowned or died from injuries sustained in the tsunami, compared with a tiny number who perished in the magnitude-9 earthquake that preceded it. In small towns and fishing communities with ageing populations, many victims were unable to flee quickly enough before being swept away by the waves. Others were stranded at home and could not be reached in time by younger neighbours.

The high number of suicides also played a role in the drop in women’s longevity, the ministry said. Suicide rates have fallen slightly among men in recent years but have risen among women. The number of suicides in Japan exceeded 30,000 last year for the 14th consecutive year.

The average life expectancy among Japanese men fell slightly to 79.44 years, leaving them level with Italians in the global rankings. Swiss men head the chart with an average life expectancy of 80.2 years.

Experts attribute Japan’s impressive longevity statistics to a diet low in fat – though high in salt – and to strong relationships with neighbours, universal access to healthcare and a comfortable standard of living after retirement.

Despite the slight drop in life expectancy, the ministry figures show that a large proportion of Japanese will live well into old age, with more than 45% of women and 20% of men expected to celebrate their 90th birthday.

Wives of Israeli and Japanese Ambassadors to Washington Visit IsraAID Program in Japan

admin — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 05:00:11 +0000

On June 19th, the wives of the Israeli and Japanese Ambassadors to Washington, mrs. Sally Oren and mrs. Yoriko Fujisaki, visited IsraAID programs in Japan’s Tohoku region which was devastated by the last year’s Tsunami. The senior diplomats’ wives, who are also close personal friends, attended a Post Trauma training workshop for kindergarten teachers in Shinchi-machi, led by Israeli music therapist Ayala Gerber-Snapir. Oren and Fujisaki were greeted by the mayors of both Shinchi-machi and the nearby Watari-cho, cities where IsraAID arrived just weeks after the disaster, and has been operating in ever since. The mayors thanked IsraAID for its ongoing support to the people of Japan, and requested that this message be conveyed to the respective embassies. during the session in Shinchi-machi, mrs. Sally Oren, previously a dance teacher, taught 40 children and 8 teachers an Israeli song and dance called ‘Sim Yadcha Be’yadi’ – put your hand in mine. Of the visit Mrs. Oren remarked “I am so thrilled to have taken part in this IsraAID project in Japan. The profound impact on the children is obvious, and I have been personally moved by the experience.”

Mr. Yotam Polizer, IsraAID’s Japan Country Director, was delighted with the diplomatic visit and thanked Oren and Fujisaki for coming: “It means so much to us, and to the people of Tohoku. Visits like this one give us the strength to continue and support the people of Tohoku for years to come”. IsraAID arrived on the ground in Japan less than 4 days after the March earthquake and ensuing Tsunami. while initial efforts went into distributing vital relief items, IsraAID quickly shifted its focus to the mental needs of tens of thousands of tsunami survivors. Today, IsraAID is active in 8 cities, and is training nearly 1,000 educational professionals from the Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures of Tohoku. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto is the world’s largest financial supporter of IsraAId.

B.C. forms task force for tsunami debris cleanup

admin — Mon, 23 Jul 2012 10:00:25 +0000

B.C.’s environment minister is touring remote coastal communities in Haida Gwaii today to hash out how best to deal with debris that has washed ashore from last year’s Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

Under pressure from critics who have urged the government to act more quickly to address the incoming wave of floating garbage, environment minister Terry Lake will meet today for the first time with First Nations and community leaders to discuss a debris management plan.

‘It would be premature to earmark a certain amount of money. we are at the fact-gatehring stage at this time’—B.C. environment minister Terry Lake

Lake said the province has now formed a task force with the federal government to devise a cleanup strategy, adding that a primary reason for his visit was to provide a first-hand account to build a case for funding allocations.

“There’s been a lot of concern about the extent of the problem, and there has been some accounts that would indicate the extent of the problem is getting to be quite bad,” Lake said.

Since April, when a Harley-Davidson motorcycle was reported as among several pieces of foreign debris found buried in the beach, residents have been picking up the Japanese debris on their own.

But Andrew Merlees, mayor of the village of Masset, said his community can only deal with so much.

‘A lot of catch-up to do’

“If the main part of the debris field hits Haida Gwaii, or anywhere on Haida Gwaii, our landfill is not equipped to handle that, so we need support in that regard,” he said.

Lake acknowledged the mayor’s concerns and said he would be discussing a contingency plan “if we need to move the debris off the island.”

A Harley-Davidson motorcycle washed up in Haida Gwaii and was found on its side in the back of a moving truck container from Japan. (Submitted by Peter Mark)

NDP environment critic Rob Fleming has been vocal about his disappointment with the government’s approach to the problem, characterizing it as a wait-and-see response.

“The debris is happening now, and plans are not in place to deal with it,” he said. “A lot more is going to arrive later, so I think B.C. has a lot of catch-up to do.”

While authorities south of the border in Washington state and Oregon have already allocated hundreds of thousands of dollars for cleanup efforts, no such funding commitments have been announced by B.C.

“At this stage, we don’t know the extent of the problem,” Lake said. “So it would be premature to earmark a certain amount of money. we are at the fact-gathering stage at this time, that’s why i’m here.”

The bulk of the tsunami debris is expected to arrive in 2013, though some residents have already expressed concern that the trash has begun arriving sooner than expected.

With files from CBC’s Justine Ma