February 2012
9 posts
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JAEC says "more economical not to reprocess spent...
Mainichi Shinbun issued on Feb. 23, 2012, reported a rather important news regarding the future of nuclear energy policy of Japan.
The chairman (Mr. Tatsujiro Suzuki) of Japan Atomic Energy Commission, a subcommittee of the Cabinet Office, announced, “Presently, the most economical way to dispose the spent fuel is to dispose it directly without reprocessing it for another recycled use, at...
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Japan: a departure from nuclear power?!
Only two nuclear reactors are currently generating electricity; the No6 reactor of the Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power plant operated by TEPCO and Hokkaido Electric Power Company’s No3 reactor of the Kashiwa plant. Kansai Electric’s No3 reactor at the Takahama plant has just halted for a routine maintenance on February 20.
Those last two reactors’ maintenance halt approaching...
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A report from Yokohama
The city of Yokohama started lending the dosimeters to the residents since last month (January). Each ward has two devices, and a household can borrow one for 24 hours by appointment (until April 27).
When I found this out, I sent out an email FYI to my parents and brother. Honestly, it’s not a huge worry where they are, but it wouldn’t hurt. In fact, when I was there back in December...
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Fukushima Daiichi No2 reactor thermometer broken?
One of the thermometers inside of the No2 reactor of TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi plant has been indicating rising temperature for this past week, and worrying many of us. Here’s what NHK news reports.
TEPCO’s investigation showed that the troubled thermometer has been indicating an unusual value in its electric current resistance, which suggests that one of the wiring may have...
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A new ballet star is born from Japan
Ms. Madoka Sugai, 17, from Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, won the Prix de Laussane international ballet competition for young dancers in Laussane, Suitzerland.
She also won the best contemporary dance award.
NHK interviewed Ms. Suigai the day after she won the Prix de Laussane. “When they called my name at the award ceremony, my mind went totally blank! My hard work - that I practiced...
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Some dirty truth about the nuke plants in Japan
I’ve started this blog last year after the 3.11 disaster to mainly relay some of the good news from Japan. Good news is essential for any of us to keep our spirit up. But sometimes, things don’t change for better without relaying some terrible truth. Here is a recent newspaper article published on Asahi Shinbun regarding the nuclear power plants and the workers, which I was so appalled...
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Japan: Smokers on the decline; Now less than 20%
From the survey conducted by the Japan Ministry of Health, the number of chronic smokers as of November 2010 was 19.5% (3.9 less than the previous year). Historically, it was the lowest and the first time it went under 20% since the ministry have started the survey in 1986.
Among those 19.5%; 32.2% were male (6 less from the previous year), and 8.4% were female (2.5 less from the previous year).
...
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Japanese sake breweries hosted a promotional...
On January 30, nine sake breweries from Japan held a sake tasting in Los Angeles, CA, to promote their sake. They’ve invited about 70 representatives from restaurant and wholesale industries, and introduced the Junmai Daiginjo sake. Roughly 20% of all Japanese sake export is to the U.S. which holds the largest export share, however, its growth is sluggish due to localed production of sake...
January 2012
27 posts
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Shimane: No2 reactor halted for inspection
The No2 reactor of the Shimane nuclear power plant operated by the Chugoku Electric power company has been halted for the routine inspection on January 27. Now only 3 out of 54 nuclear reactors are in operation in Japan.
Chugoku Electric has been working on the mandate stress tests of the already inspected previously halted No1 reactor, however, there is no outlook in resuming operation since...
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The Louvre to bring special exhibit in Iwate,...
The Louvre will be bringing a special exhibit of its sculptures and paintings in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima beginning this April.
This special exhibit was suggested by the Louvre that they wished to support the victims of the 3.11 disaster through art. The fine art museum will be bringing about 20 works; including the relief of ancient Mesopotamian mother and infant, and painting of the Blessed...
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Japan to donate $100K for rebuilding Iraqi schools
The Japanese government will be donating $100,000 to help rebuild the elementary and middle schools in Sadr city, Baghdad, Iraq. Japanese ambassador Hasegawa met with Iraqi officials in Baghdad for a signing ceremony on January 25.
Much of the city had been destroyed and many citizens were killed during the Iraqi war and the subsequent terrorist activities against the U.S. regime. The Japanese...
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Tochigi: Thin solar sheets experiment
Extremely thin solar panels which are less than 1mm were placed on the roof of the Japan Rail’s Tsuruda Station in Utsunomiya city, Tochigi prefecture. JR East Japan is conducting the experiment.
This very thin solar sheet power generator was developed by a maker in Sendai city, its thickness is less than 1mm and weighs one tenth of the conventional solar panels. Also, it’s much...
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Japanese entrepreneur invited to the State of the...
Mr. Hiroyuki Fujita, a Japanese entrepreneur, whose company manufactures medical equipment in Ohio, was invited to the State of the Union address at the White House on January 25. He was one of 24 guests who got the seats of honor.
Mr. Fujita who has a Ph.D in physics from Case Western Reserve University is one of the leading researchers who developed “MRI” device, and his company,...
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Japan: 50 out of 54 reactors halted
The No5 nuclear reactor at the Kashiwazaki Kariwa power plant (operated by TEPCO) in Niigata prefecture will be halted for a routine maintenance on January 25. There will be only one other reactor (the same plant’s No6 reactor) generating power on TEPCO grid after this Wednesday.
Currently, 15 out of 17 reactors of TEPCO are halted; 5 are still under restoration since the Niigata earthquake...
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いろは歌 Iroha poem
Iroha-uta is an ancient Japanese poem that uses 47 Japanese characters only once each, which teaches a lesson about life. It is said to be from the mid-Heian period, 8th century, Japan.
色は匂えど散りぬるを 我が世誰そ常ならむ 有為の奥山今日超えて 浅き夢みじ酔ひもせず
In hiragana only: いろはにほへとちりぬるを わかよたれそつねならむ うゐのおくやまけふこえて あさきゆめみしよひもせす
It roughly means: Just as fragrant and colorful flowers soon fade, no one can remain in this world;...
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Tokyo: Izakaya, pub restaurant, opened for 3.11...
An established Akita-city-based chain izakaya (pub restaurant where they serve tapas like small dishes but with Japanese food) has opened their second “Recovery Support Pub,” in Minato ward, Tokyo. They will donate the total amount of profit to support the Tohoku recovery from the 3.11 disaster.
The izakaya was opened inside of the building across from the JR Shinbashi station on...
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Mie: Heian period pottery w/ iroha poem unearthed
A few remnants of heian period pottery on which Iroha poem was written were discovered at the Saigu* site in Meiwa town, Mie prefecture.
According to the Saigu Historical Museum, the pottery was possibly used Heian period between the end of 11th century and early 12th century, judging from other artifacts found in the same layer of the site.
Inside of the pottery, hiragana** letters of...
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France: Rally to demand shutdown the oldest nuke...
In a wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, there was a rally to demand the shutdown of the Fessenheim nuclear power plant on January 15. About 300 demonstrators gathered from France and the neighboring nations and demanded an immediate shutdown with placards that said, “Never let the Fukushima / Chernobyl repeat again” and “Worried about the aging...
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Gas stations to serve "quick electric recharges"
Amid the growing trend of more economical hybrid and electric vehicles, and less demand for gas, a major Japanese gasoline companies (Idemitsu, Cosmo, and JX Steel & Oil, and Showa Shell) will start testing the market for “quick electric recharge” service for electric cars at their gas stations.
They plan to incorporate this new experimental service in 30 gas stations in Tokyo...
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Ikata Nuke plant's No2 reactor halted: 90+% all...
Ikata nuclear power plant in Ehime prefecture, operated by Shikoku Electric Power Company, has halted its No2 nuclear reactor on January 14 for the routine maintenance check. As a result, presently more than 90% of all nuclear reactors in Japan has been halted.
The No1 & No3 reactors of the Ikata plant had been halted earlier for the maintenance. It takes about three months to complete the...
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Experimental visualization of radiation level
A major Japanese electrics maker, Toshiba, has developed a special camera which visualizes the level of radiation in the area with colors (much like a thermographic camera) - red indicating high and blue indicating low radiation, and they have started testing in the Onami area of Fukushima city on January 11.
They compared the radiation levels of the area’s before and after the...
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Okinawa: Lunar rainbow photographed
A rare phenomenon “lunar rainbow” - aka moonbow - was observed in the Kunitachi observatory in Ishigaki Island, Okinawa prefecture, and they successfully photographed the faintly growing rainbow in the night sky.
Lunar rainbow is only observed when there’s moisture in the air on a nearly full moon night in dark locations. The lights reflected in the water molecules are very...
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Tokyo: New energy fund
Since the accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Tokyo prefecture aims to create a system to provide steady power supply to its residents. They requested the government to loosen the regulation, so that private firms can easily get into power generating business. Moreover, they decided to set up a new energy fund, collecting as much as 20 billion yen from private sectors. This fund...
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Honda plans to manufacture hybrids in the U.S.
On January 9, Honda CEO has announced at the Detroit Auto Show that the company will start manufacturing their newly introduced hybrid compact sedan in their factory in Indiana this spring. They also have a plan to start producing their new hybrid sports car, which they just revealed at the auto show, in their factory in Ohio within the next three years.
Currently Honda manufactures all hybrid...
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Miyagi: Famous ink-stones of Ishinomaki
For traditional Japanese calligraphy, a suzuri (or an ink stone in English) is one of the most important elements, which is used for blending sumi ink with water. All Japanese children take traditional Japanese calligraphy classes.
Ishinomaki city, Miyagi holds nationally famous Ogatsu suzuri makers. They, too, ware affected by the disaster of 3.11 last year. Their factory received much damage...
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Namie town kids' reunion in Yokohama
The Namie town residents have evacuated all over the nation since the accident of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, and the majority of the children have been separated from their friends from schools for a long time. There were 6 elementary schools in Namie town.
A building management firm in Tokyo planned and sponsored a Namie kids’ reunion in Yokohama, so that they can reunite...
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Smartphone street guide tested in Ginza
The city of Tokyo is testing a new service to visitors in Ginza, which they send the useful and suitable information of the area through an app to enhance their visiting experience. They will continue the experiment until March this year, and will fine-tune and determine its best use.
The city aims to provide useful information at all time through this service. When using a smartphone with a...
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More Japanese "EcoCars" in China
Many Japanese automobile makers are planning to introduce more eco-friendly cars, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, that emit less CO2 in China, projecting that the demand will increase as they, too, will combat global warming while reducing energy consumption.
China has been one of the largest automobile market, however, the Japanese auto makers are struggling to expand their eco-car sales...
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Iwate: First squeeze of freshly brewed sake in...
The only sake sake factory in Miyako city, Iwate prefecture, “Hishiya Sake Company” has been making sake for the last 160 years. Much of the seaside factory and equipment had been washed away by the tsunami of 3.11 last year. Since then, the company has rebuilt the factory in the same location, and finally started making a new batch of sake in December 2011, thanks to all employees...
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Danbo desk ornaments [●▲●];
Among many cute stuff taking off in Japan, I recently came across “Danbo” desk ornaments. I think I first spotted one in a photo posted by GreenMind on his Tumblrlog, but back then, I had no idea what it was (only thought that it was a neat photo prop).
According to ja.wikipedia, Danbo originally appeared in a manga titled “Yotsubato!” (written by Kiyohiko Azuma) and it...
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Kyoto: Kemari at Shimogamo shrine
Kemari is a hacky sack like game which was played by the nobles in Heian period (8th century) Japan. It is said to be brought from China in the 7th century.
On January 4, members of the historic preservation board wearing colorful Heian period costume re-enacted Kemari games in front of many visitors to the Shimogamo shrine in Sakyo ward, Kyoto. The shrine has a long tradition of offering a...
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Iwate: New city staff members appointed in Rikuzen...
The city of Rikuzen Takada, Iwate prefecture, has lost as many as 68 staff members (about 1/4 of all staff) to the 3.11 disaster. Their loss was the largest among the autonomous governments in Iwate prefecture.
The city is hiring 26 new staff to make up for the loss, and 8 were appointed to their new jobs starting January 1. The city’s mayor handed them the letters of appointments at a...
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Developing geothermal power plants in Fukushima
Amid heightened interest in renewable energy triggered by the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident, independent administrative agencies and a national council of geothermal industries will jointly embark on developing geothermal power in Fukushima starting spring of 2012.
Geothermal power makes use of high temperature steam occurring in underground places more than 1,000 meters below...
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Iwate: Lovely New Year's greeting card
Nengajo is a traditional Japanese New Year’s greeting postcard. The majority of the cards are specially delivered on January 1st by the Japanese postal service. Oh, and there is an unwritten rule that one abstains from sending them when there is a death in the family.
Due to the disaster, perhaps, less nengajo cards are exchanged in the disaster-stricken areas this year. One very...
Happy New Year!
Hope 2012 will be filled with good news all around the world! and hopefully I’ll be able to relay lots of good news from Japan!! Have a wonderful year, everyone!!! Thank you for following my tumblrlog :)
December 2011
4 posts
4 tags
iPhone radiation detector for everyone
From Radiation-Watch group’s website:
“radiation-watch.org is an open and non-profit project to develop cheap and smart survey meter (radiation detector) for everyone, especially around and in Fukushima. The project is supported by volunteer engineers and designers.”
What a great idea!!
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Dental pulp stem cells to treat the spinal cord...
A group of Nagoya University Medical Researchers lead by Prof. Minoru Ueda and Associate Prof. Akihito Yamamoto successfully treated 10 mice with the spinal cord injury using the dental pulp stem cells. This is the world first successful experiment.
The group discovered that the dental pulp stem cells, which are found in both baby teeth and wisdom teeth in human, have the property to change...
November 2011
17 posts
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Photo exhibition of Rikuzen Takada city in Vienna
A photographs of disaster stricken Rikuzen Takada city captured by a photographer, Satoshi Ueda, who lost his mother to the 311 tsunami are being exhibited in Vienna, Austria. The exhibition features 45 works which vividly depict the lives of the disaster-stricken residents and the harsh reality of the tsunami taking everything in its way, including the one that was taken at the location where...
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Radiation dose rate maps of Japan →
A collection of several Radiation Dose Rate Maps of Japan since the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident. The site is in both English and Japanese.
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Factory site of Nara period discovered
Several large scale factory sites of Nara period were discovered near the Heijokyo site in Nara city.
The National Research Institute of Nara Cultural Properties have excavated to find several building sites. Three of the sites contained marks for possible ovens to melt steel, anvils, and holes for waste; suggesting that the building might have been used as factories for making nails and so on....
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Miyagi: Support centers at temp. housing to open
The city of Kisennuma has set up support centers for its residents in 4 different temporary housing sites. The first one opened in the neighboring Ichinoseki city, Iwate prefecture on the 18th. Kisennuma-city’s mayor Sugahara visited the Ichinoseki support center and greeted the residents at the open.
According to Kisennuma city, about 30% of those who live at the Ichinoseki temporary...
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More pet owners opt for microchip since the East...
In a wake of the East Japan earthquake, more pet owners have chosen to use microchip, which is a 2 mm glass encased identification that contain 15 digit numbers placed under the pet’s skin.
Japan Veterinary Medical Association, who has been managing the data since 2006, reported that the number of microchip use have risen to the highest of 39,895 cases in a 3-month period between...
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Swallowtail butterflies sample the taste of host...
A team of international researchers at JT Biohistory Research Hall (Osaka), Osaka Univ. and Kyushu Univ. have discovered that swallowtail butterflies use their gustatory receptors on the front legs to detect suitable host plants, Rutaceae, for their offspring. The findings were announced on the Nature Communications Online magazine on Nov. 15, 2011.
The same mechanism is said to be the case for...
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Parti-colored bat breeding in Hokkaido
Parti-colored bats (Vespertilio murinus, sometimes called Rearmouse) are medium sized (5 cm or so) bats which belong to the family of Vesper bats. They are one of the protected species, which commonly known to occur in Europe. They’re called “hime-hina koumori” in Japanese.
Here’s a great shot of a parti-colored bat by Daniel Hargreaves on Flickr
Parti-colored bats...
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Uh oh, old plutonium container was corroded in...
On November 8, several workers of Idaho National Laboratories were accidentally exposed to plutonium radiation while they were handling the plutonium stored in a steel box which was encased in an aluminium box since 1981. Officials said that 7 workers were exposed to some external radiation, and 3 were possibly contaminated internally after medical examinations.
NHK news: 11/10/2011 (13:27)
...
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Drifting East Japan Earthquake debris of the...
It is estimated by the National Institute of Environmental Studies that roughly 3 million tons of debris has been washed away in the East Japan earthquake and tsunami in March, a part of which is still drifting in the Pacific ocean.
A research group from the University of Hawaii released a result of the investigation that the Japan tsunami marine debris is drifting about 3,200 km east of...
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Honda introduces a new robot, Asimo
A major automobile maker, Honda Corp., introduced a new and improved humanoid robot named Asimo. It has an improved ability to think for itself; it senses its surroundings and acts accordingly - for example, it can avoid bumping into an oncoming person. Its hands feature 13 joints each, almost as many joints as human hands. Asimo can open a jar as well as use sign language to communicate.
Honda...