Asia Bizz » Japan

Government of Japan sets safety guidelines for nuclear power plants

Freddie — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 12:11:37 +0000

Asia Bizz: The government of Japan has recently announced new guidelines on how to avoid its nuclear power plants and prevent natural disasters. The measure has been taken so as to prevent the disaster that took place last year, due to tsunami destruction at the Fukushima Power plant.

The government announced the guidelines on April 6, 2012 and aims to ease the concern of the public about restarting the idle reactors. After the major disaster in 2011, the government of Japan is reportedly anxious to restart the two reactors in Fukui in Western Japan.

The public strongly opposes nuclear energy after the meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-Chi power plant. Even local leaders are reluctant on restarting any of the reactors for the fear of a possible nuclear disaster.

According to the guidelines announced by the government, the estimatation of how reactors would cope in the event of a major earthquake and tsunami is of prime concern. In France and other countries, the ‘stress tests’ are meant to find the weakness or suspend the facility, but Japan has used them as a safety guarantee. The objectivity of the tests have also been questioned by many people and if the utility meets the new guidelines, then the authorities hope that the public will be convinced that the reactors are safe.

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Series of Earthquakes Rock Japan, No Damage Reported

Freddie — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:04:23 +0000

Asia Bizz: Panic spread in Tokyo and some parts of the northeastern Japan on March 14,2012 after a series of earthquake hit the tiny Asian nation in the evening. No damage or injury has been reported so far in the same region that was hit by a massive earthquake and tsunami last year that resulted in a major disaster.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck off Hokkaido and also generated a minor tsunami. After the earthquake, the authorities had immediately advised the coastal residents to evacuate the area.

A tsunami of 20 centimeters was observed in the water at the port of Hachinohe in Aomori an hour later the earthquake. Small changes were also seen in other places. Later at about 9 pm local time, an earthquake of 6.1 magnitude ricked the buildings in Tokyo and the earthquake was centred just off the coast of Chiba which is east of Tokyo that was 15 kilometeres deep.

Local trains were halted and even the Narita International Airport briefly closed the runways for inspection but the operation was later resumed. The local trains were suspended for safety checks. Even the nuclear power plants remained in a stable condition.

Just a few days before, on March 10, 2012, Japan completed the 1 year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsumani disaster which killed thousands of residents and left many people without homes.

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Japan Adopts New Methods to Clear Radiation

sharjil s — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:08:52 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japan is still trying hard to make communities inhabitable again by cleaning up the radiation contaminated areas. Workers in rubber boots at the frozen ground are digging away to remove five centimetres of radioactive soil from a yard of a single home.

The total amount of waste gathered is roughly 60 tons and still more scrap has to be cleared; but the wind and the rain are the two factors that spread the radiation easily and giving workers a hard time.

It is indeed a massive task and even a costly and uncertain effort by Japan to clear up the waste; many contractors are experimenting with new chemicals and others are trying stick with shovels and high pressure water.

One of the government experts said it is all on a trial and error basis. However, the radiation leak has considerably slowed down at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after a year has passed following the March 11, 20111 earthquake and tsunami. Three of the reactors of the nuclear plant went to meltdown due to the earthquake. Work is still in progress in the permanent shut down, but he Japanese government had declared the plant as stable in the month of December 2011.

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Japan’s mobile phone subscriptions cross 120 million mark in April 2011

Samron Jude — Thu, 12 May 2011 20:03:38 +0000

Asia Bizz: As technology advances at a rapid speed every year, so do users of technological devices and gadgets. In the tiny Asian country of Japan – which is considered to be one of the most technologically-advanced nations in the world – the number of cell phone subscriptions has increased drastically and has even crossed the 120 million mark in April 2011.

Photo Credit: David Sacks/Getty

The increase in the number of subscriptions to mobile phone services has been mainly attributed to the increased usage of the gadget among the older population in the region, in addition to the fact that a major chunk of Japanese cellphone users own both smartphones as well as the usual mobile phone. As the cell phone has become a necessity in the present age, owning more than one is no longer considered a novelty, but an essential part of staying connected at all times.

According to figures released by Japan’s Telecommunications Carriers Association, the total number of subscriptions as of April 2011 was 0.5% higher than the previous year.

Softbank Mobile Corp is the company that has the highest number of users who subscribe to its mobile phone service, and reports state that it has held the top spot in Japan for the past 13 months.

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Live stock to be ejected from radius of Fukushima nuclear plant

Nicholas — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 11:23:31 +0000

Asia Bizz: After the 20 km radius of the Fukushima nuclear plant has been sealed, the Japanese government has decided to remove the livestock which has been left in the area. The 20 km radius has been sealed and has been declared as a no-entry zone after the crisis hit the Fukushima nuclear plant following the massive earthquake and tsunami.

The government workers had dressed in protective suits and had entered the prohibited area to remove the live stock. However, the government has decided to kill the live stock due to health reasons, with the permission of the owners of the animals.

But it is difficult to contact the owners, after they were evacuated last week on the orders of the government. In Minamisoma Odaka district, 80 horses, 887 cows and 260,000 chickens had been raised till October last year.

The government has now decided to kill only those animals, which are on the verge of death. Apart from the live stock, the Self Defense Forces and the US military in Japan had conducted search operations, which was the third round, to find out the missing people after the earthquake. Search missions will also be conducted in the 30 km radius of the nuclear power plant.

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Jobless Rate Still Stagnant At 5.1% In Japan

Freddie — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 09:29:29 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japan is still under the grip of economic instability and as of now the jobless rate in the country is stagnant at 5.1%. For the month of November, the rate remained unchanged to previous month’s 5.1%, the number of jobless people in the country remained around 3.18 million. The figure was researched and disclosed by the Kyodo News Agency Japan.

After looking into the job ratio in the country it remained at 0.57 in the month of November compared to the 0.56 of last the previous month, it means that only 57 jobs were available for every 100 persons in the country. It may not be as disappointing as it was previously, but the statistics remained the same.

130,000 jobs were provided in the year 2010, compared to the jobless figures in the year 2009. There are number of jobs rising around the country but the exact figure as of now is not available. Compared to the situation earlier this year, Japan has been recovered strongly to its jobless rates and economic condition around the country. There is bad news for the people around Japan, and it has been predicted that the people will be losing a number of jobs even in the coming year, by the month of March 2011.

Source: JapanToday

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Japanese Government Meets Budget Targets, But Many Hurdles Still To Cross

Freddie — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 09:43:00 +0000

Asia Bizz: The Japanese government has finally managed to meet its budget targets this year, but there are still many hurdles that they need to cross. One of the main problems is the public finance in the country, which is really in a bad shape. Heavy spending and issuance of bonds have kept the country’s hopes alive, and scaled out a budget outline for next April.

This year too, debt issuance and bonds have topped tax revenue in the country, but the Economic ministers are quite worried about the meek fiscal condition of Japan, and have termed it ‘abnormal’. Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, feels that the new budget for the year 2011-12 should be passed by cabinet early this Friday, as it will be boosting job availability and proper economic stability in the country.

Japanese economy has been struggling to recover from a long time, and recently the country even sold out it Yen into the market. The Yen had been growing very strongly against many of the major currencies in the world, as a result it was threatening the trade sector of the country.

Source: Reuters

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Japan Worried about its Rare Earth Supplies from China

Nicholas — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 08:14:06 +0000

Asia Bizz: Japan Worried about its Rare Earth Supplies from China

After a diplomatic deal between China and Japan in September, China released its first shipments of rare earth minerals which are used for manufacturing high tech products, to Japan. On Wednesday the Japanese trade and industry minister Akihiro Ohata confirmed the release of the minerals from China.

According to the importers in Japan the shipments are held up in the Chinese ports due to strict inspections and paperwork. The ban on the export started after a Chinese fishing boat captain was arrested by Japan, when his ship had banged with the patrol boats near the disputed islands.

However Beijing has denied any kind of ban in the exports. Currently China produces and supplies about 97% of rare earth minerals globally. Rare earth minerals are used in the manufacturing high tech products such as computer drives, cell phones and hybrid cars.

Japan is now worried about its supplies and is looking forward to negotiate with other countries such as Australia, Vietnam and Mongolia to develop fresh mines.

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Prius problems deepen Toyota woes

sharjil s — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 10:58:04 +0000

Toyota’s troubles multiplied its flagship Prius hybrid became the latest model to be targeted in an expanding web of US investigations. Toyota decided to recall an estimated 270,000 Prius cars in Japan and the US to fix the brake problem.

The Japanese automaker has been hit by a whirlwind of safety concerns around the globe and US authorities are scrambling to assure concerned public and angry lawmakers who have begun their own probes into vehicle defects.

The admission of a brake design flaw with its star green car and the subsequent US probe are major new blows that could not have come at a worse time for the world’s largest automaker.

Toyota was already under fire in the US for its handling of massive recalls affecting about eight million vehicles worldwide â€œmore than its entire 2009 global sales of 7.8 million vehicles â€œdue to accelerator trouble.

The latest developments were particularly worrying for Toyota because the Prius has created a global buzz and been Japan’s top-selling car since June â€œahead of its main rival, Honda’s Insight.

Toyota had sold nearly 1.5 million Prius vehicles in 40 countries as of August 31 since the first version’s launch in 1997, making it the world’s most popular hybrid car.

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Fifa World Cup groups for 2010

sharjil s — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:34:33 +0000

The 19th edition of the FIFA World Cup will take place between June 11 and July 11 of 2010 in South Africa.

The draw for the finals took place on Dec. 4 in Cape Town.

Italy is the defending champion, winning 5-3 in the 2006 World Cup in a penalty shootout over France.

Eight groups comprise the field of 32 World Cup teams. Each group and its members are listed below

Group A: France, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay

Group B: Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea

Group C: Algeria, England, Slovenia, United States

Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia

Group E: Cameroon, Denmark, Japan, Netherlands

Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal

Group H: Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland

The winning team of the 2010 World Cup will receive $31 million in prize money.

Click here for moreÂ information