| Feb 04 | Dolphins take up residence in Japan bay |
 Wildlife experts in Japan say Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins appear to have taken up permanent residence in Kagoshima Bay on the south coast of Kyushu.
Experts at Kagoshima City Aquarium said several years of field studies have confirmed two schools of some 50 dolphins are residing in the bay, Kyodo News reported.
There are young dolphins in both schools, meaning the animals are probably reproducing in the bay off Japan's southernmost island, they said.
(UPI  ) |
| Feb 04 | Scientists say contamination of ocean fish minimal so far |
| The massive radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has sparked fear in seafood lovers and commercial fishermen both at home and abroad, and some worry the contamination could pass through and even become more concentrated in the ocean food chain. But more than 10 months after the three reactor meltdowns, testing of thousands of fish, including tuna, bonito and "sanma" (Pacific saury), caught far from Tohoku's coast has turned up little contamination. Nevertheless, experts point out that consumer concern and uncertainty will remain regarding bottom fish from coastal areas near Fukushima Prefecture, including "hirame" (Japanese flounder), as well as freshwater fish from Fukushima and parts of Gunma and Tochigi prefectures. (Japan Times) |
| Feb 03 | Bird life badly hit by nuclear fallout in Japan |
| Researchers working in the irradiated zone around the disabled Fukushima nuclear plant say bird populations there have begun to dwindle, in what may be a chilling harbinger of the impact of radioactive fallout on local life. In the first major study on the impact of the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years, the researchers from Japan, the US and Denmark say that analysis of 14 species of birds common to Fukushima and Chernobyl shows the effect on numbers is worse in the Japanese disaster zone. Published next week in the journal Environmental Pollution, the paper says its findings demonstrate "an immediate negative consequence of radiation for birds during the main breeding season March-July". Two of the study's authors have spent years working in the irradiated 2,850sq m zone around the Chernobyl plant, which exploded in 1986. A quarter of a century later, the zone is almost devoid of people. (irishtimes.com) |
| Feb 02 | Pipe leaks water from reactor 4 fuel pool |
 Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Wednesday it has found radioactive coolant water leaking from a broken pipe in reactor 4 of the stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, but it hasn't flowed outside the building.
The reactor's fuel rods are in the spent-fuel pool, as the reactor was offline for maintenance when the March 11 disaster struck. The leaked coolant water contains radioactive materials from the fuel pool.
According to Tepco, about 8.5 tons of water leaked onto the floor of the reactor 4 building at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. The leak was stopped 13 minutes later by closing a valve, officials said. (Japan Times ) |
| Feb 02 | Japan plans to merge major science bodies |
| In its battle against a sluggish economy, Japan's government is gearing up to make cost savings through a root-and-branch reform of the country's science system, merging some of its most prominent research organizations. Plans approved by the government's cabinet on 20 January would consolidate the RIKEN network of basic-research laboratories with the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) - the national funding body. The policy would probably create an overarching body to supervise all five institutions, which would share more of their research and administrative resources, and lose some of their executive directors. But with few details about the timing, potential cost savings or full implications of the change, many researchers are concerned that it could be a recipe for harsh funding cuts and even greater bureaucracy. (nature.com) |
| Jan 31 | Japan's next asteroid probe approved for development |
 Japanese government officials last weeek gave the green light to Hayabusa 2, a robotic explorer due for launch in 2014 on a journey to retrieve and return rocks from a near-Earth asteroid.
The Space Activities Commission, a board governing funding for the Japanese space program, formally approved the Hayabusa 2 mission last week. The decision came after a 2010 ruling that directed the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to continue preliminary design of the probe.
Launch of Hayabusa 2 must occur in 2014 to reach asteroid 1999 JU3, the mission's 3,000-foot-diameter target. Asteroid 1999 JU3, which is still awaiting a name, is a C-type body, the most common form of asteroid in the solar system. Observations by telescopes on Earth indicate the asteroid is roughly spherical and has dark features. (spaceflightnow.com) |
| Jan 29 | Number of flu cases tops million mark |
 The number of flu-stricken patients reached about 1.11 million in the week ending last Friday, an increase of about 400,000 from the previous week, according to figures compiled by the health ministry.
In the week starting Jan. 16, the number of patients suffering from influenza reported to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry from about 5,000 medical institutions was about triple that of a week earlier. The number of patients per medical institution during that period was 22.73 persons, up from 7.33 persons the week before, according to the ministry. (Yomiuri ) |
| Jan 29 | Active 200-km fault found off Honshu's Kii Peninsula |
 An active fault around 200 km long that is believed to have been a source of huge quakes in the past has been found off Honshu's Kii Peninsula, according to researchers at the University of Tokyo.
If the fault on the Nankai Trough moves, it could trigger a magnitude 8.0 earthquake, the researchers said, adding they have found a seabed cliff several hundred meters high that was created by the fault's past movements.
"There is a high probability that fault shifts have caused great tsunami," said Park Jin Oh, associate professor of marine geology. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 28 | Huge Yamanashi solar farm online |
| A solar power plant with a capacity of 10 megawatts began operating Friday in Kofu, Yamanashi Prefecture. The Komekurayama power station, built by Tokyo Electric Power Co. on a 12.5-hectare site, is one of the largest photovoltaic facilities in Japan and produces enough electricity to power around 3,400 homes. The site is being leased to Tepco for free by the Yamanashi Prefectural Government. Landlocked Yamanashi receives plenty of sunshine and is trying to attract solar power plant projects. In addition to the one in Kofu, other projects are proceeding in the cities of Kai and Nirasaki. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 27 | Past 3,500 years saw seven M9s |
| At least seven magnitude 9 earthquakes have occurred along the Pacific coast from Hokkaido to Tohoku over the past 3,500 years, generating huge tsunami that inundated the coastline, a new study by a Hokkaido University professor says. Kazuomi Hirakawa, professor of natural geography at the university, drew the conclusion after analyzing deposits believed linked to tsunami at more than 400 sites from Nemuro in Hokkaido to Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, in Tohoku's Sanriku region. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 26 | New quantum dot growing technique could increase fiber optic speeds |
 Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology has completed research that it says could let fiber optic networks use new parts of the spectrum. Using tiny chips of semiconductor material known as quantum dots, NICT scientists have optically transmitted data in an unused frequency band about 10THz wide, about the same width as the bands currently used for optical communication. The researchers speculate they could eventually use a band about 70THz wide, opening up large amounts of spectrum for faster communication.
This experiment was achieved by using a new method of growing quantum dots. Currently, most quantum dots are grown directly on a hospitable surface, a process that sometimes leads to defective "giant dots" (on a quantum scale - so, very large very tiny structures) that can affect performance. (theverge.com) |
| Jan 25 | Fallout from Fukushima No. 1 on rise |
| The amount of radioactive materials released from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant has risen this month compared with December, Tepco said. The amount so far has come to 70 million becquerels per hour, compared with 60 million becquerels in December, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Monday, adding that the increase is attributable to the displacement of radioactive materials that had settled on facilities and equipment as a result of work conducted near reactors 2 and 3. Tepco has recently probed the inside of the container vessel for the No. 2 reactor with an industrial endoscope and conducted scrap work around reactor 3. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 24 | Tainted stone tied to 60 buildings so far |
 Crushed radiation-tainted stone quarried near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant was used to build 60 houses and condominium buildings in Fukushima Prefecture.
The number could climb to over 100 if more studies on the crushed stone, which was shipped from a quarry in Namie, are conducted, government sources said Sunday.
The quarry shipped 5,725 tons of stone between the March 11 start of the triple-meltdown crisis triggered by the earthquake and tsunami, and the time in April when the government designated Namie as part of the nuclear exclusion zone. (Japan Times ) |
| Jan 23 | Japan study: Big quake could hit Tokyo 'within 4 years' |
 Japanese researchers have warned of a 70 percent chance that a magnitude-seven earthquake will strike Tokyo within four years, a report said Monday -- much higher than previous estimates.
Researchers at the University of Tokyo's earthquake research institute based the figure on data from the growing number of tremors in the capital since last year's March 11 earthquake off northeast Japan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.
According to the meteorological agency, an average of 1.48 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from three to six have occurred per day in and near Tokyo since March. (gmanetwork.com ) |
| Jan 21 | A peep into hell |
 Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) released the first pictures of the interior of the number 2 reactor containment vessel at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The images, taken on Jan. 19 using an industrial endoscope working on the same principle as those used for medical examinations, showed no apparent damage to piping. But it did show paintwork peeling, probably caused by the extreme temperature and humidity inside the vessel.
The images were blurred, partly as a result of the high humidity inside the vessel, and were also affected by visual noise, which may be due to the high level of radiation inside the vessel. (majirox news ) |
| Jan 21 | Japan's oldest elephant turns 65 |
| A female elephant named Hanako in Tokyo's Inokashira Park Zoo has turned 65, making her the oldest elephant in Japan, zoo officials said. A gift to Japan from Thailand, Hanako was born in Bangkok in 1947, but her exact birth date is unknown. Zoo officials decided New Year's Day would be considered her birthday. The zoo said it would hold an event celebrating Hanako's age Feb. 5, when she will be presented with home-made bread, one of her favorite foods. (UPI) |
| Jan 20 | Radiation, rusty metal in Japanese reactor |
| Radiation-blurred images taken inside one of Japan's tsunami-hit nuclear reactors show steam, unidentified parts and rusty metal surfaces scarred by 10 months' exposure to heat and humidity. The photos that were the first inside look since the disaster found none of the reactor's melted fuel or its cooling water but confirmed stable temperatures and showed no major damage or ruptures caused by the earthquake last March, said Junichi Matsumoto, spokesman for the plant operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. Pipes and grates inside the reactor's containment vessel were seen in some images. Other photos were dark and blurry, resembling abstract paintings. Experts are studying the most obscured photos to identify which reactor parts are there. Radiation was visible as static, or electronic interference with the equipment being used. (Sydney Morning Herald) |
| Jan 20 | Scientists say they can find melted reactor fuel |
| One major mystery - and a source of serious concern - at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant is the exact location of the molten fuel from reactors 1, 2 and 3. Hindered by the dangerously high radiation coming from the melted rods, Tokyo Electric Power Co. can't determine where the fuel came to rest. Tepco does say, however, that computer simulations indicate the fuel should still be inside the reactors' primary containment vessels. One solution may be found with a Nagoya-based scientist group that is working on capturing images from inside nuclear plant reactors, much like X-ray photos, by using muon cosmic rays. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 19 | Electricity goes out at nuke plants |
| Power transmission problems temporarily halted cooling systems for spent nuclear fuel facilities at both the Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear plants Tuesday afternoon, as well as nitrogen injections into the wrecked No. 1 plant's crippled reactors, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said. The power glitch also disrupted contaminated water treatment systems at the two plants, Tepco said. The systems were halted after a power facility in Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, experienced difficulties at around 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, reducing the supply of electricity to the two power stations. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 18 | Yamanashi to farm newly found endangered salmon |
| The Yamanashi Prefectural Government plans to raise an endangered deepwater salmon species discovered in 2010 in Lake Saiko at the foot of Mount Fuji - 70 years after it died out in its original habitat 500 km northeast in Akita Prefecture's Lake Tazawa. Yamanashi Prefectural Fisheries Technology Center culturists will gill-net the "kunimasu" species in the 2.1-sq.-km lake, collecting sperm from males and eggs from females for fertilization at a hatchery in February and March - peak mating season - said Kiyoshi Mitsui, the center's director. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 17 | Radioactive concrete found in new condo |
 High levels of radiation have been detected in a condominium building in Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture, which was built in July using concrete mixed with material taken from an evacuation zone created in the aftermath of Japan's nuclear crisis, the city announced.
The announcement, released Sunday, says about 1 microsievert of radiation per hour was detected in a room on the first floor of the three-story building, which has tenants living in 12 units.
The city intends to move four households occupying the building's first floor from the condominium and discuss the problem with the central and prefectural governments.
Concrete used to construct the building included broken pieces of stone quarried from Namie Town, which was included in the government's evacuation zone after the Great East Japan Earthquake due to its proximity to the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. (Yomiuri ) |
| Jan 16 | Second crested ibis found injured after possible attack by bird of prey |
| An injured crested ibis found on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture was apparently injured by a bird of prey - the second case of its kind in a week, the Environment Ministry said. The ibis, released into the wild by the ministry in September 2009, is being treated at the Sado Japanese Crested Ibis Conservation Center but is not in critical condition, officials said Saturday. The 4-year-old male was found hurt in a lotus field about 200 meters from its roosting site early Saturday. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 14 | Virus attacks Japanese Space Agency computer |
| A computer virus infected a data terminal at Japan's space agency, causing a leak of potentially sensitive information, officials announced today (Jan. 13). The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) discovered the malware Jan. 6 on a terminal used by one of its employees. A trace showed that the computer virus had gathered information from the machine, officials said. JAXA still isn't sure how the virus got on the computer, or who put it there. The employee in question works on JAXA's H-2 Transfer Vehicle, an unmanned vessel that ferries cargo to the International Space Station. Information about the robotic spacecraft and its operations may thus have been compromised, officials said, along with stored email addresses and system login information accessed from the infected computer. (discovery.com) |
| Jan 12 | No. 1 plant radioactive water leak kept ashore |
| Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it found that about 10 liters of water containing radioactive strontium leaked from a water processing facility at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant but it did not flow into the Pacific Ocean. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency ordered Tepco on Tuesday to take measures to prevent a recurrence and consider moving up the schedule for installing a facility for removing radioactive substances such as strontium from water, a difficult process for the existing facility. Tepco said earlier it plans to install the "multi-nuclide removal facility" sometime in 2012. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 12 | Japan's oldest elephant turning 65 |
| The oldest Asian elephant in Japan will turn 65 next month and officials at the Inokashira Park Zoo in western Tokyo say they're planning a party for her. The elephant, named Hanako, has been living at the zoo for more than 50 years and has never had a major disease or injury, her keepers say. "She likes people very much," Miwa Saito, 28, one of four keepers who look after the pachyderm, told Kyodo News. Hanako is fed about 120 to 175 pounds per day of fruit and vegetables, fresh grass and hay and bread, keepers said. Her food is cut into small pieces since the elephant lost all but one of her four teeth about 30 years ago. (UPI) |
| Jan 09 | Japan plans to scrap nuclear plants after 40 years |
| Japan says it will soon require atomic reactors to be shut down after 40 years of use to improve safety following the nuclear crisis set off by last year's tsunami. Concern about aging reactors has been growing because the three units at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in northeastern Japan that went into meltdown following the tsunami in March were built starting in 1967. Among other reactors at least 40 years old are those at the Tsuruga and Mihama plants in central Japan, which were built starting in 1970. Many more of the 54 reactors in Japan will reach the 40-year mark in the near future, though some were built only a few years ago. The government said Friday that it plans to introduce legislation in the coming months to require reactors to stop running after 40 years. Japanese media reported that the law may include loopholes to allow some old nuclear reactors to keep running if their safety is confirmed with tests. (AP) |
| Jan 08 | Japan's Super-K to resume seeking why anything exists |
 To start the year, here's an appreciation of a site in Japan that would have left even the Zen-imbued architects of Kyoto's sublime Kinkaku-ji (Temple of the Golden Pavilion) open-mouthed with awe.
Not only that, but it's a site where basic questions about the nature of reality are being probed - questions that go beyond even the most mind-bending conundrums posed by Zen masters at the Enkaku-ji Temple in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. (And I know they are mind-bending because I went on a Zen course there once, and we had to wake at 4 a.m. every day to meditate upon them.)
The site I speak of is the Super-Kamiokande detector located under Mount Kamioka in the Japanese Alps near Hida City, Gifu Prefecture. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 08 | Researchers strive to discover whether dogs also like hot springs |
| Are hot-spring baths as relaxing for dogs as they are for humans? A research team from a professional training college in Okayama City is looking into the matter. Dogs unaccustomed to bathing in hot springs do exhibit signs of stress, but appear to relax again as they become more familiar with the activity. Okayama University of Science Specialized Training College, a vocational training school for animal health technicians, conducted the study at Yubara hot spring in the city of Maniwa, Okayama Prefecture, from May 2010 to October 2011 with help from the Maniwa City government and an association of inns and hotels in the former Yubaracho area, now in Maniwa. The group intends to study better ways for dogs to bathe in hot springs. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 08 | Tiny particles may illuminate reactor cores |
 Using particles from space to look into the heart of nuclear reactors--this is the goal of researchers at Nagoya University.
The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned that a team of researchers from the university is developing technology to use elementary particles from space to see into the interiors of crippled reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Their aim is to establish technology that can obtain images similar to X-rays of what is happening inside the Nos. 1 to 3 reactors, whose cores melted down in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. plans to start operations to move melted-down nuclear fuel out of the reactors within the coming 10 years as a step toward decommissioning them. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 07 | Oil-yielding algae show promise as domestic, export energy trove |
| Not many people imagine that resource-poor Japan might one day become an oil exporter. But someone who does is Makoto Watanabe, a leading expert in research on producing oil from microscopic algae. Research into creating biofuel from so-called microalgae may well grow more important as Japan looks for other energy sources to help reduce the reliance on nuclear power in light of the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant. "If we can develop technology that taps the potential of microalgae to the fullest extent, Japan may become a country that can export oil," the 63-year-old professor at the University of Tsukuba in Ibaraki Prefecture said at his lab. (Japan Times) |
| Jan 04 | Soy may not protect against stomach cancer |
| Estrogen-like compounds that come with a soy-rich diet are sometimes linked to a reduced risk of cancer, but new research from Japan suggests that protection doesn't extend to stomach cancer. In a study that tried to tease apart the effects of isoflavones -- also known as phytoestrogens -- found in soy, and other nutrients, like salt, Japanese researchers found no difference in gastric cancer risk between people who consumed a lot of isoflavones and those who consumed the least. Azusa Hara and her colleagues from the National Cancer Center in Tokyo examined data on about 85,000 people in an existing Japanese study. (Reuters) |
| Jan 04 | Solar power from external walls / New material allows for more efficient energy production |
| Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corp. plans to sell a new type of external building material that generates power from sunlight beginning in fiscal 2013, it has been learned. Unlike conventional solar panels, whose installation sites are limited to roofs and other specific places, the new material can be used for walls of buildings and other structures in sunny locations. The new material will likely boost the spread of renewable energy. If the material is used for skyscraper walls, just one or two buildings could produce electricity equal to that generated at a large-scale solar power plant, according to experts. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 04 | Sky Tree booked for 1st month |
| The Tokyo Sky Tree, set to open on May 22, has been completely booked by groups seeking to visit the tower during the first month of its opening, while individual tickets are yet to be made available. Requests can be made to visit the tower up to six months in advance, but only 2,654 of the 27,122 groups that had requested to tour the Sky Tree during the first month of its opening have been able to secure tickets. Up to 4,000 people can visit the tower each day in groups of 25 people or more. (Yomiuri) |
| Jan 03 | Sakurajima hits 996-eruption high |
 Mount Sakurajima, an active volcano in Kagoshima Prefecture, explosively erupted 996 times in 2011, the most since record-keeping began in 1955, the local meteorological observatory said.
At the 800-meter-high Showa crater, which erupted in June 2006 for the first time in 58 years, 994 eruptions were observed last year. Two eruptions were observed at the Minamidake vent, which is at an elevation of about 1,000 meters, the Kagoshima Meteorological Observatory said Sunday.
Mount Sakurajima's previous record for eruptions was 474 in 1985. (Japan Times ) |
| Jan 02 | Japan performs better than other countries in plastic recycling |
| Japan registered 77% plastic recycling rate in 2010. This is twice the rate of UK and 20% higher than the United States. The rate to which Japan recycles its plastic waste is a rise from its 73% rate in 2006 and the 39% figure in 1996, according to the nation's Plastic Waste Management Institute. Since Japan implemented its disposal and treatment of plastic waste, the list of plastic items has included other items like boxes and cases, cups and containers, wrappings, plates and trays, tube-shaped containers, lids and caps. It was in 1997 when Japan mandated businesses and households to separate plastic waste for the first time. Many laws on waste disposal have been passed since then. (todayonline.com) |
| Jan 01 | Japan developing cyber weapon |
| Japan has been developing a virus that could track down the source of a cyber attack and neutralise its program, the daily Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Sunday. The weapon is the culmination of a Y179 million ($A2.28 million) three-year project entrusted by the government to technology maker Fujitsu Ltd to develop a virus and equipment to monitor and analyse attacks, the daily said. The United States and China are reported to have put so-called cyber weapons into practical use, Yomiuri said. Japan will have to make legal amendments to use a cyber weapon as it could violate the country's law against the manufacture of a computer virus, the daily said. (MSN) |
| Jan 01 | A magnitude 7.0 earthquake hits eastern Japan, no danger of a tsunami |
 A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.0 earthquake hit off the shores of Japan's southern Pacific island.
The Meteorological Agency says the offshore quake Sunday struck about 370 kilometers (230 miles) below the sea surface. The agency said there was no danger of a tsunami. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries. (Washington Post ) |
| Jan 01 | Rare Asian bird takes 'wrong turn,' lands in Tennessee |
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| Dec 30 | DNA used to ID 2,383 in Tohoku |
| DNA analysis was used to identify 2,383 disaster victims in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, a survey by the National Police Agency said Thursday. After finding it difficult to identify victims, most of whom died in the March 11 tsunami and whose bodies were not recovered until much later, police started collecting DNA samples from more than 7,000 family members of the missing victims and putting the data into a database. According to the NPA, the number of victims found in the three prefectures, which bore the full brunt of the quake and tsunami, totaled 15,773 as of Dec. 11, with 15,104 successfully identified. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 28 | Japanese boffins crack arse-based ID recognizer |
Researchers at Japan's Advanced Institute of Industrial Technology have developed a seat that can identify the user by the shape and heft of their buttocks.
The seat, currently designed for use in the car industry, contains 360 sensors measuring pressure points, on a scale or one to 256, and uses the data to build a US-style fanny fingerprint of the designated driver. The system is 98 per cent accurate, associate professor Shigeomi Koshimizu told Physorg.
"I'm feeling your bottom Dave"
If the auto makers take a liking to the technology the seat could be in use by 2014, but it's not just the car industry that could be interested. (The Register) |
| Dec 28 | Activists using drones against Japanese whalers |
The longstanding battle against whaling has mostly been a game of wait, watch, chase and hope for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. But activists are now hoping they'll be able to chase down whaling vessels before they ever make their first kill - with the help of drone aircraft.
Two of Sea Shepherd's ships are outfitted with long-range drones fitted with cameras and detection equipment, which help the ships scan hundreds more miles of ocean for whaling vessels, thanks to a donation from Bayshore Recycling Corp. of Woodbridge, New Jersey.
"We can cover hundreds of miles with these drones and they have proven to be valuable assets," Capt. Paul Watson said on board the ship Steve Irwin. (CNN) |
| Dec 28 | Satellite launch business faces cloudy future |
 Japan's H-IIA rocket appears to have joined the ranks of the world's major launch vehicles following the Dec. 12 launch of an intelligence-gathering satellite.
With 19 successes and one failure, however, Japan may stand little chance of capturing a substantial slice of the commercial satellite launch market, given the presence of well-entrenched competitors such as Europe and Russia.
The government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are hoping that the successful development of the H-IIA will provide a big break for Japan as it advances into the satellite launch market. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 27 | New plants to clean Fukushima debris |
| Three experimental plants are scheduled to open next month in Fukushima Prefecture to test ways to reduce the amount of radioactive material in debris and soil there, sources said Monday. Under the aegis of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, a government-backed research organization, the small plants will be built in Okuma, one of the two towns on which the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant sits, and in the towns of Tomioka and Naraha, which are straddled by the Fukushima No. 2 power plant, the sources said. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 23 | Space development division planned |
| The government will set up a division to handle space development policy, including a satellite system for improving the accuracy of Japan's global positioning system, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Thursday. The division will deal with the development, maintenance and the operation of equipment, including a system utilizing "quasi-zenith" satellites, that will be part of the GPS program, Fujimura told a news conference. The government will submit related legislation to the next Diet session in January, he added. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 22 | TEPCO switches on Japan's largest solar power plant |
| The Ohgishima solar power plant began operations on Dec. 19 in the coastal area of Kawasaki City, according to Kawasaki City Mayor Takao Abe and Tokyo Electric Company. The mega plant will provide electricity to approximately 3,800 households, said TEPCO President Toshio Nishizawa. However, combined with the Ukishima power plant on Tokyo Bay, which went into operation in Aug. 2011, the combined output will be enough for 5,900 households. It was built by Kawasaki City and TEPCO. The plant, which consists of approximately 64,000 solar panels made by Kyocera, was built on a 23-hectare site and generates 13,000 kW. Kyocera has been one of the world's leading manufacturers of solar power for 35 years. (majirox news) |
| Dec 22 | Health ministry seeking stricter food-cesium rules |
| The health ministry is proposing much stricter regulations on radioactive cesium in food that would lower the current limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram to 100. Changes would also be made to the cesium limits for milk and water. For example, limit for milk would be lowered from 200 becquerels per kilogram to 50, while the limit for water would drop from 200 becquerels to just 10, finally bringing Japan's standards in line with those used by the World Health Organization. The proposal will be submitted to the ministry's Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation Council on Thursday, and then to the science ministry's Radiation Council. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 21 | Research reactor ceiling catches fire |
 A fire Tuesday partially burned the ceiling of a building housing a nuclear reactor in Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture, the prefectural government and the reactor's operator said.
The fire broke out at around 9:30 a.m. and was extinguished two hours later, they said, adding the blaze at the research reactor facility did not result in a radiation leak and no one was injured.
The ceiling under the building's steel plate roof was set alight by sparks during welding work on the roof, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency said. (Japan Times ) |
| Dec 20 | Radioactive water floods tunnel at Fukushima plant |
| Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Dec. 19 released a photo showing about 230 tons of radioactive water that had accumulated in an underground tunnel at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The tunnel, adjacent to the central waste treatment building, may have been flooded with water leaked from supposedly waterproof storage containers of highly radioactive water in the building. The water in the tunnel was discovered on Dec. 18. TEPCO said the tunnel is about 4.5 meters wide and about 54 meters in length. (Asahi) |
| Dec 20 | 'Miracle pine' seedlings growing in pods at institute |
| Seedlings of the "miracle pine" that remained standing among a grove of thousands swept away in the March tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, are growing in pods at a forestry institute and will be planted in the city at a future date. The 260-year-old, 70-meter pine, however, is not expected to survive as its roots have been rotted by the seawater. Sumitomo Forestry Group said it has grown 18 seedlings from seeds taken from pine cones from the tree at its institute in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture. It unveiled the plants Wednesday at a press conference in Tokyo. (Japan Times) |
| Dec 18 | Daunting tasks await despite declaration of cold shutdown |
| Officials on Friday finally declared a state of cold shutdown at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, only to find they still face a long and bumpy road toward scrapping its crippled reactors and restoring the public's shattered confidence in nuclear energy. When the time comes to remove the fuel from reactors 1, 2 and 3, they intend to draw on the lessons of the 1979 Three Mile Island accident in the U.S. But the task will be more challenging than at the Pennsylvania facility because the fuel is believed to have melted through the bases of the reactor pressure vessels. (Japan Times) |