Politics and Power: Creating Bankruptcy and a Real Nuclear Disaster in Japan

The only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history - Friedrich Hegel (1770 - 1831)


A couple of recent articles on Japan have hit my eye. They both have to do with money and how poorly the Japanese government have handled the economy and how the regular Japanese is paying the price.


The first article is about another doofus who thinks that a Japanese government takeover of TEPCO, the company that owns the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, is the answer to our problems. Read this article and wonder no more how this guy never got a job in the real world.

The traditionally left wing Asahi Newspaper reports about how Tadashi Maeda, an adviser to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, has proposed the nationalization of all nuclear power plants in Japan as a means to secure the long-term viability of atomic energy:

(Tadashi) Maeda, chief of the Corporate Planning Department of the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, said during a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun that the risk of a disastrous nuclear accident resulting in a tremendous amount of monetary compensation argues for the nationalization of nuclear power generation.

Tadashi Maeda is a

blood sucking tax feeder or just plan stupid?

Question: Why should nuclear power plants be nationalized?

Answer: Atomic energy should be in the hands of a state-run operator of nuclear power plants. It is important for the government to assume full responsibility for (their safe operation). The state-run company would acquire the nuclear power operations from utilities and sell electricity to TEPCO and other electric power suppliers as a wholesaler. The profits from the power sales would be used to pay compensation for the nuclear disaster. This way, the financial burden imposed on the public through higher electricity bills and other forms would be minimized. This system would also contribute to ensuring a stable power supply.

Riiiiight! Get that? What he means to say is that the state run company would be a middle man and sell the electricity to TEPCO who would then sell it back to you and me. Now, how in the world will having the idiots in government as a middleman, and taking a cut off the top, going to keep costs low? Isn't this the very same government that wants to double our Sales Taxes? 


This sounds like another sham to try to get more money from the public and private enterprise without it looking like what it actually is: Another tax guised in the mask of protecting the public.   


Now, who in their right mind would recommend such a thing? How could anyone think that the government could run anything and not turn it into a boondoggle with massive red ink? How could anyone think that adding a government run middleman will do anything except increase costs and prices?


TEPCO didn't get to be the biggest power company in all of Asia and the 4th largest power company in the entire world by having a bunch of lazy, useless bureaucrats running their organization.


Who could possibly think it would be beneficial to anyone to have the Japanese government running our nuclear industries? Look at how well the Japanese government has done at running the economy and the social welfare programs over these last 20 + years! What a marvelous job they've done there. Why, we're only at debt that is 225% of annual GDP.


Imagine the work of wonders these geniuses can do if they get a hold of the nuclear industry. If having the Japanese government run the nuclear industry is such a good idea, why stop there? Why doesn't the Japanese government just nationalize all industry, from cars, to electronics, to farming, to broadcasting, to the Internet, and even to production of candies for kids in order to protect the public and companies from high costs?


Hell, nationalize everything and we'll have a workers paradise!


Just like North Korea or the old Soviet Union. Paradise!


How could I have been such a fool not to realize it all this time? That's it! The answer to our problems! Nationalize everything!


You see, I'm married and my wife gives me an allowance to live on, like most Japanese wives do for their Japanese husbands. But, darned if this allowance hasn't been going down annually over these last twenty years. This situation is really getting desperate.


Bloomberg reports:


Japanese men have seen allowances wither to the least in three decades as their wives pare household spending in an economy mired in deflation. Known in Japan as salarymen, the workers receive 36,500 yen ($452) per month for pocket money, amounting to $15 a day and the smallest amount since 1982, according to a survey by Shinsei Financial Co. released today. Japanese wives typically manage their husbands' earnings. Japan's growth of less than 1 percent per year in the past 10 years has crimped pay, forcing housewives to cut back on pocket money and exacerbating the deflation that has plagued the economy for more than a decade. Wages have been dropping since the March 11 earthquake and household sentiment is near a two- year low, making a consumer-driven economic rebound less likely.  


In my case, I used to get about $50 for a night's out at the pub. But recently, over these last ten ~ fifteen years,  that has dropped to about $35 a night as well as cut from four night's a week to two.


This has been during the bursting of the so-called Japanese Bubble Economy. Just like the west and the USA has done over the last three years, the Japanese government has blown hundreds of billions of dollars propping up Zombie banks and defacto insolvent institutions. They did this by borrowing and using tax money.


They used our tax money and have now borrowed us and our children into a debt that they can - we can - never repay. 


One day soon the piper will need to be paid. 


That is the day Japan goes bankrupt....


And idiots like Tadashi Maeda think the Japanese government should take over our industries? See? We never do learn from history. 

Fukushima Disaster: The People of the Lie

"A lie told even ten thousands times never becomes the truth" - Mikhail Gorbachev


There are people in this world who are so desperate to be proven "right," at least in their own minds, that they would do, or hope for, most anything to achieve those ends. Some of these people are very mentally ill yet they fail to realize or see the shortcomings of their thinking. 

CARLY SIMON - YOU'RE SO VAIN

They are the People of the Lie. These people are all around us. They function in our society. We see them daily. These are the bosses at work who extoll the virtues of living right, telling the truth and working hard yet they are having an affair with another woman. 


These are the people who claim to be in search of the truth yet they commit lies at work and home. These are the wives and husbands who, on the surface, seem contented but actually commit domestic violence against their spouses and children.


These are the People of the Lie. These are also people who will do most anything or hope for ill fortune against others in order for them to get their desired gains.


The most extreme (traditional and much over-used) example of those sorts of people - people who will do anything to be proven correct - are political groups like the Nazis. These people were so sick that they would even kill others in an effort to be proven correct.


Recent modern day examples of these sorts of people were the hard-core believers in Man-Made Global Warming (AGW). I remember on a very popular morning FM radio show in Tokyo in 2006 when I was debunking the entire theory of AGW - after having Greenpeace members as guests on the program (who couldn't rectify their beliefs with scientific fact) - we received a telephone call from a very irate listener who firmly believed in Man- Made Global Warming. This listener was so furious that I would go on air and publicly debunk this polemic. 


He wanted to talk to the boss of the station. It was to his shock when I told him that I was the general manager of the station and if he didn't like what he heard on air there was something on the radio called a "tuner" and he should use it to change the station. He was so furious with that that he threatened to, "Come down to the radio station, set it on fire and burn it to the ground."


I told him that if he did that then we would have, "The police come down to your house, arrest you and send you to prison." Never heard from him again. 


I wonder if he still believes that AGW nonsense?


This is the kind of person who I classify as the People of the Lie; they will do anything to be proven correct, even if it means that people must be injured or die (of course not them) in order for that to happen.


The most recent example of this disgusting sickness, in many forms, is the current controversy about radiation from Fukushima. Specifically, how the Fukushima problem affects us in Tokyo, 230 kilometers away.


We've heard all sorts of stories; how Fukushima was going to make 1/3 of Japan uninhabitable; then it was half of Japan; there was going to be a nuclear winter, etc., etc.


I know one guy who, at the start of this entire affair, took his whole family and ran away to southern Japan. It was with glee when he announced on Facebook that they had found two TEPCO workers dead at the damaged reactors. He triumphantly wrote something to the effect of, "See? I was right. You are going to see more and  more dead guys like this coming out of there in the next few days and weeks."   


It was to his chagrin that I had to alert him to the fact that those two guys were killed because they drowned. When the tsunami hit, they were trapped underground and couldn't escape. Their deaths had nothing to do with radiation. Their bodies were covered in bruises and they had broken bones from being bashed around in a small room when the water came in and there was no way out.


May they rest in peace. Too bad some sick people are happy about their sorry lot.


To date, there haven't been any deaths directly related to radiation at Fukushima. It seems that, like Chernobyl, panic over radiation will cause much more damage than the actual radiation itself.


Yesterday, I wrote a post entitled Results of Geiger Counter Use in Tokyo that was about my factual research using a "professional use" Geiger counter in various places in and around town. I could not find any elevated levels of radiation even though I went to several major areas in this city. The levels were all lower than regular levels in Hong Kong and in some UK cities. I wrote:


The readings have all been between 0.07 mSV/hr to 0.13 mSV/hr. A flight on a commercial jet airplane from Tokyo to New York will expose you to about 190 mSV (about 18.0 mSV/hr) so you can see that the current levels are not be worried about. Unless, of course, you are the worrying sort.  


Yet, even with my merely reporting the facts, some people want to take me to task and argue with me for doing so. Since this post is not about people's lack of critical reading skills or lack of analytical thinking abilities (I've covered that here: Critical and Analytical Thinking are Lost Arts Amongst Many of Today's Adult Population) I will stick with the subject and that is an examination of the People of the Lie; People who are so desperate to be "right" that they will do anything or desire anything so that they can be  proven correct.


One such person is a reader who is so desperate for this that it seems he hopes radiation is at dangerous levels and many men, women and children in Tokyo do get deathly ill so that he can say later, "I told you so." I don't think it is a problem using his pen name since it is a moniker. His handle is Richardw. He commented:


The question is not what readings you found - but which areas you didn't read that others have found high levels in. Why is it your call to say no big deal? You are a shill - and you are doing a good job of protecting the industry. Hope it goes well for you. Nice to see you work for the industry that TEPCO is known for funding. Well done - Marketing suits you.


Richardw's lack of reasoning skills are so faulty that I don't know where to begin. Richardw accuses me of being a "shill - and you are doing a good job of protecting the industry." And to what basis does he make these claims? Because I reported factually and truthfully what the readings of the Geiger counter I used showed!? Astounding! 


Do tell, Richardw, how does that make me a shill? Would you have been happier if I lied and made up wild claims of dangerous radiation in Tokyo? It seems you would.


The knee-jerk reaction and excuse of most of these people like Richardw is that TEPCO lies. Well, it is known and a matter of public record that TEPCO has lied about many things in the past. There is no debate and argument about that. There is, though, argument about what they lied about in this most recent case at Fukushima. For example, the charges that TEPCO lied about meltdowns at the reactor cores as early as March 18th. There was conjecture that the cores may have melted down at that time. Even TEPCO's own records show that there was this possibility, but until the radioactive release and danger was brought under more control, these claims could not be verified. That TEPCO did not announce unverified information does not constitute a lie. Unverified information is just that; it is conjecture. Public companies handling a nuclear crisis have a responsibility to tell the truth. They do not and should not go on the mass media making pronouncements of unverified claims. That would be most irresponsible.


Once again, we must only deal with known facts. I always want to deal with facts. My post was factual. What else is there?


What is the motivation for being one of the People of the Lie?


Either way, like I said, TEPCO has lied. That is a known fact and in the public domain. Lying is a very bad thing and should not be easily forgiven. TEPCO's motivations for lying are for money and lying to protect people's job's and their own, as well as the livelihoods of their employees and their families. 


That being said, these motivations for TEPCO's lying are easily recognizable, and, in a way, very understandable.  


Motivations for people like Richardw, on the other hand, are more difficult to pin down. But, in my opinion, once you do recognize then for what they are, they are even more ugly, disgusting and grotesque than TEPCO's simple-minded motivations.


Like my friend who ran away to southern Japan, these people are so "sick" that they desperately want people to suffer or die in order to be proven correct. The fact of the matter is that People of the Lie, like Richardw, want to be proven correct for nothing else but to be able to say, "I told you so." It is nothing short of narcissism and the twisted vanity of a psychopath. 


Trust that, even though they fail to realize it, the fact is that people like the ones who lied at TEPCO and people like Richardw are actually birds of a feather. 


They all are truly People of the Lie.  

To read more on the concept of the People of the Lie, I recommend F. Scott Peck's bestselling book, "People of the Lie - the Hope for Healing Human Evil"

Asahi Newspaper in Japan Confirms Core Meltdown May Have Occurred at Fukushima

Asahi Newspaper in Japan confirms core meltdown may have occurred at Fukushima reactors #2 & #3. 


The information shows that, at the time of the problem in March, when TEPCO was saying that there was no meltdown, as of information on May 16, it may have melted down. The Japanese is ambiguous. 


In keeping with responsible reporting on this accident, the facts, once verified must be reported. So, a meltdown may have occurred, but, according to data from TEPCO on the date of the incident and soon after the incident, there was no way to verify nor deny any meltdown. The final paragraph of the news story shows how this incident unfolded. 

Asahi Shinbun (3:01AM JST 5/17/2011):

東京電力福島第一原子力発電所の２、３号機でも炉心溶融が起こり、原子炉圧力容器の底に燃料が崩れ落ちるメルトダウンが起きていたとみられること が、１６日に東電が公表したデータで裏付けられた。３号機では溶けた核燃料がさらに下の格納容器内に落ちた恐れもある。専門家は事故直後から指摘してお り、細野豪志首相補佐官も１６日の会見で２、３号機でのメルトダウンの可能性を示唆した。

The data disclosed by TEPCO on May 16 shows that core meltdown may have occurred in the Reactors 2 and 3 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant. In the Reactor 3, the melted fuel may have dropped to the Containment Vessel. Nuclear experts have pointed to the possibility [of meltdown in the Reactors 2 and 3] and Prime Minister's Assistant Goshi Hosono hinted at the possibility in the May 16 press conference.

　東電が４月１７日に示した工程表は、６～９カ月で原子炉を安定した状態で停止させるとした。１号機に続き２、３号機でもメルトダウンの可能性が出てきた ことにより、工程表の大幅な見直しは必至だ。炉心を冷やすシステムづくりに時間がかかり、高濃度の放射能汚染水の処理も膨大になるからだ。

According to TEPCO's "roadmap" on April 17, it was going to take between 6 to 9 months to shut down the reactors. The revision of the "roadmap" will be inevitable now that both Reactor 2 and Reactor 3 may have had a meltdown, as it will take more time to build a cooling system for the reactor core, and the massive amount of highly contaminated water will need to be processed.

　今回公表された地震直後のデータは原発内の中央制御室にあり、電源復旧に時間がかかったことや、記録紙に放射性物質が付着しているため整理に時間がか かっていた。公表されたのは、記録紙に打ち出されたグラフや当直長がつける運転日誌などで、大型ファイル４冊分にあたる。

The data disclosed on May 16 was the data right after the earthquake on March 11. It took TEPCO some time to retrieve the data from the central control room of the plant because of the long period of power outage and the radioactive materials on the recorded printout. The data in 4 large binders includes graphs on the printout and operation diaries kept for each shift.

　データによると、圧力容器内の圧力が、２号機は３月１５日午後６時４３分に、３号機は３月１６日午後１１時５０分に、それぞれ下がった。圧力容器の密閉性が損なわれ、圧力が抜けたとみられている。

According to the data, the pressure inside the Reactor 2 RPV (Reactor Pressure Vessel) dropped at 6:43PM on March 15 (JST), and the pressure inside Reactor 3 RPV dropped at 11:50PM on March 16. The integrity of the RPVs were compromised, it is thought, and the pressure went down.

　圧力容器の底には制御棒や計測機器を外から通すための数多くの貫通部がある。メルトダウンした核燃料が圧力容器の底にたまり、その熱の影響で機器が溶け るなどした結果とみられる。３号機内の汚染水からは、原子炉内の核燃料が損傷して出るテクネチウムなどの放射性物質も確認されていることから、溶けた燃料 がさらに圧力容器から格納容器内に落ちた可能性もある。

There are many channels that go through the bottom of the RPV [16 centimeters thick] to insert control rods and measurement devices. The melted fuel went down to the bottom of the RPV, and may have melted the devices at the bottom. The contaminated water from the Reactor 3 has been found to contain the radioactive materials like technetium that are produced when the nuclear fuel gets damaged, indicating that the melted fuel may have dropped from the RPV into the Containment Vessel.

　東電は会見で「プラント全体の事象を追いかけられておらず、評価できていない」と明確な判断を示さなかった。

In the press conference, TEPCO refrained from saying anything definite. "We haven't fully grasped the situation at the plant, and we haven't been able to evaluate it."

　一方、細野氏は会見で炉心に水が入らなかった時間について「１号機は１４時間９分、２号機は６時間２９分、３号機は６時間４３分と短くない」とし「炉心の完全な溶融（メルトダウン）の可能性をみておかないといけない」と話した。

PM Assistant Hosono said that there was no water being poured into the Reactor 1 for 14 hours and 9 minutes, Reactor 2 for 6 hours and 29 minutes, and Reactor 3 for 6 hours and 43 minutes. He said "We should be prepared for the possibility of the complete meltdown of the reactor core."

　また原子力安全委員会の班目（まだらめ）春樹委員長は１６日の定例会後の会見で「３月下旬に２号機で高濃度汚染水が発見された時点で、メルトダウンして いたという認識があり、助言した。１号機と３号機も、事故の経緯を考えると同じことが起こっているとの認識を持っていた」と語った。

Haruki Madarame, chief commissioner of the Nuclear Safety Agency spoke after the regular meeting of NSA on May 16. "When the highly contaminated water was found coming from the Reactor 2 in late March, we recognized that the reactor had had a meltdown, and advised [the government]. We also knew that the Reactor 1 and 3 had the same situation, looking at how the accident unfolded."

　東電によると、機器の記録から、運転中だった１～３号機は地震によっていずれも自動停止。配管の破断などの兆候はみられないとしている。非常用ディーゼ ル発電機も正常に起動していたという。東電はこれらの記録や地震計のデータをもとに、地震直後は機器が正常に作動し、津波到達までは大きな損傷はなかった とみている。（中村浩彦、佐々木英輔）

According to TEPCO, based on the records, the Reactors 1, 2 and 3 stopped automatically after the quake, and there was no sign of any physical damage to the reactor. Emergency diesel power generators were working. TEPCO concluded that all the equipments were working normally after the quake and there was no major damage to the plant until the tsunami hit.

Thanks to EX-SKF Blogspot!

Nuclear Crisis in Japan? When the Cure is Worse Than the Disease

I recently concluded an interview with a new publication that is under the support of Casey Research and that publication s called the International Man. It is a publication geared towards the expat or people thinking of expatration out of the USA or other western nations into the developing world in order to find their success and new opportunities.


You can subscribe to the International Man here.

BING CROSBY - BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

We spoke of many things related to Japan and one of the most difficult questions dealt with the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami and subsequent Fukushima nuclear accident. I was asked how this chain of events would affect the Japanese and world economy.


Not to belittle a serious situation, I replied that, in and of itself, the disaster followed by the nuclear accident at Fukushima is, in the long run view of things in Japan, a blip on the screen. The nuclear problems in Fukushima are serious to be sure, but for the over-all view of Japan, that alone is not such a huge event. It is the ping-pong effect that this incident is going to have on Japan that is difficult to access the total damage that it will cause. Specifically, how much bungling will the incompetents running this country into the ground will cause with their ill-conceived and poorly considered "solutions".


Consider: There are only 750,000 people living in the Miyagi area where the earthquake and tsunami struck hardest. This disaster and the nuclear power plant accident has displaced about 400,000 (if anyone has exact figures, please send along!). Had this accident happened in Hamaoka or Tokai, south of Tokyo, it would have been an entirely different story. There are 35 million households in the Tokyo area alone.


At the end of World War II, Japan had over 2 million dead soldiers. Almost 1 million dead civilians and her cities were carpet bombed into ruin. Yet Japan recovered. This earthquake, tsunami and nuclear incident is in a small corner of Japan. Once again, not to belittle a very dire and serious situation, but it is the aftereffects of this situation - combined with Japan's debt versus GDP and a rapidly aging society - along with an exodus of cheap foreign labor that's what's really going to hurt this country.


The actual disaster is bad enough. But it is the after effects that are going to kill us. You've heard the expression that the "Cure is worse than the disease?" Well here is a case example happening in slow motion right in front of our faces.  It is the "ping-pong" effect. And the repercussions of this ping pong effect are spreading wider and wider and everyday brings a new facet to this problem as it continually evolves.  


That ping-pong effect could have very serious and long term effects and cause huge damage to the Japanese economy and, in turn, seriously hurt the world economy.

One of the worst things to come out of the Fukushima accident is, not only radiation leaking out into the ocean is - quite surprisingly -  the fact that radiation has been detected in unsafe levels in tea leaves in farms in Odawara - south of Tokyo. This is very bad for those farmers and a real head scratcher as to how this has come about. It also, on the other hand, dampens complaints that some people have about the government covering up and lying about the radiation levels. If the government were always lying and covering up as some claim, then this information would have never seen the light of day. I'll be the first to suggest that everyone should be skeptical of everything they hear and see on the mass media or from what the government says, but I also have always said that each person needs to research facts. This is why I list the radiation levels in Tokyo that are published daily by a non-governmental, science research group, the Advanced Science and Technology Unit. on this blog. See here. This group does not publish conjecture and just facts as to daily radiation levels. (The fact that a government group has also researched a published results of radiation levels in food in Fukushima, Miyagi and now Kanagawa proves that there are reliable reports coming out about radiation levels of concern to the public well-being.)


But, in the long run, and for the over-all view of the health of the nation, let's examine briefly the shockingly great deal (poor deal for the public) the Japanese government has given to TEPCO, the owners of the nuclear power plant, to bail out that company. First off, any thinking person should be dead set against a government bailout of any privately owned company. Why do privately owned companies get to enjoy profits (TEPCO charges the highest utility rates in the region and owns 44% of the market and is the #1 energy company in all of Asia) and pocket them but when they lose money, they get bailed out by the public? It is also a crime that TEPCO carried no casualty insurance. (Global Research has a great article on this here.) You or I lose our drivers license if we have no car insurance but a big company in bed with the government can run a nuclear power plant without insurance!?


The bailout package is $62 billion (USD).  Japan cannot afford this bailout. It is, also, not really a bailout as such. There will be no bonds issued. TEPCO has 30 years to repay so the actual plan is to have the Japanese government print our way out of this mess.


Throw on top of that the point that a privately owned company is giving up some control to the government and you really have to wonder what people are thinking about. Why in the world would anyone want such an inept and useless bunch of people like the Japanese government - a government who has nearly bankrupted this nation - to take over a privately owned corporation? I think this is beyond comprehension. 


Think about it folks, we are already at 225% debt to GDP. This debt is growing like a dangerous anuerism near the heart of the public. Giving this government more control and more leeway to spend and throw money at problems is not the solution. Adding another $62 billion dollars to Japan's debt mountain is not going to help us at all. The public has shown a willingness to save, but the government has not shown a willingness to stop the spend and the printing. This, plus a recession, deflation, aging population, exodus of cheap foreign labor, and some more problems that will surely pop up as we go - just as sure as the sun will rise in the east - shows that it is not the actual disaster that is going to kill us. 


The thing that is going to do us in is not the disease (all of our problems). It's the cure prescribed by the fools running Japan's government (easy credit, printing money and more debt) that will surely kill us all.


Judging from the way things are going and how the government's answer to problems is always the same, it shouldn't come as any surprise to anyone when the day soon comes that Japan's debt to GDP nears 250% ~ 300%. Could it be that far off? I don't think so.


The cure is certainly worse than the disease.

Japan Announces New Evacuation Area - What Does it Mean?

I'm sure the western press is going to have a field day with this new announcement so, before people get all tied up in their undies, I thought a bit of inspection and observation was in order.


This article comes from Jiji Press News. Jiji has been very fair and level-headed about reporting just the facts concerning the disaster and subsequent nuclear accident. Yes. They've done an excellent job of factual reporting and that's probably why you've never heard of them: They don't do End-of-the-World too well.

The Jiji Press News announces

Tokyo, April 22 (Jiji Press)--Japan has set a new evacuation area outside the no-entry zone around the crippled nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, its top government spokesman said Friday. 

   Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato and heads of municipalities concerned to have residents leave the new evacuation area by the end of May, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said at a press conference.

   The new evacuation zone covers Iitate, Katsurao and Namie as well as parts of Minamisoma and Kawamata with the combined population of some 10,000 people.

   The zone is where cumulative radiation levels will likely top 20 millisieverts within a year after the nuclear crisis that erupted after the March 11 quake and tsunami.

   The government announced a plan on April 11 to create a new evacuation zone out of the 20-kilometer radius of Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s <9501> Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Like I mentioned, the western press and some other people in hysterics are going to latch onto this as proof that the world is coming to an end.


Well, if you are one of those people living in the evacuation area, you can be excused for thinking that your life has come to an end or that the world has gone upside down. You could be excused for wanting to run away. It would be quite understandable if you were angry and feared for your lives and loved ones.


But for the rest of us living far away - that is not the case. Now, I am specifically speaking about Tokyo, once again, and want to show you how this extended evacuation line does not compose a heightened risk to us at all.


First, here's a map of the new evacuation area (Here is a Google Maps link with a marker showing the new evacuation area. If that link doesn't work, try this one: http://bit.ly/egTtiU):

DOUBLE CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

You can see that I have inserted three arrows for your ease in viewing. The arrow at the middle - top is Minami Soma. The middle arrow is Namie.  The arrow at the bottom is the crippled Fukushima Power Plant Reactor #1. Notice at the bottom left-hand side of the screen that there is a scale marker. 


The distance between Namie to the crippled Fukushima reactors is about 12 kilometers (about 7 miles). The distance between Minami Soma and the Fukushima reactors seems to be about 40 kilometers (about 24 miles). So, yes it is outside of the original evacuation areas.


The next image shows the relative distance between Fukushima and Tokyo. 

DOUBLE CLICK ON IMAGE FOR LARGER VIEW

At the top right, the new evacuation area and Fukushima are so close together that they are denoted by a red A marker. Tokyo is at the left bottom of the image and is circled in red for your convenience. Once again, there is a distance scale at the lower left. The distance between the crippled Fukushima reactors - and the new evacuation areas - are about 236 kilometers (about 150 miles) from Tokyo. 


In summation, the new evacuation zones announced by the Japanese government are all areas that are within 12 ~ 40 kilometers of the Fukushima power plants? I thought most of these areas already were evacuated. I thought they had evacuated a 30 kilometer radius.


This announcement is, though, a disaster for those poor people who are going to lose their families homes and be separated from the places they love. But for the rest of us, living far away, it doesn't affect our lives at all.


For those who will latch onto this "news" and use it as an excuse and rationale for their panic and leaving Tokyo, may I simply request that they at least show some respect for those unfortunate men, women and children - those quite unlucky families - who were in the wrong place at the wrong time? May I ask that, instead of screaming like Chicken Little's that the sky is falling, how about doing something positive like helping out charity and doing something to make things a bit better for these unfortunate souls whose lives have been ripped upside down?... 


Instead of these people always thinking of themselves first (Me! Me! Me!) and whining all the time, how about, instead, doing something positive to help the situation? It is, after all, a situation that, as I said many times before is a disaster for those directly affected, but for those of us in Tokyo or far away, it has merely been an inconvenience.


How about doing something positive and helping these poor folks out? Do it yourself efforts with local churches are the best... Or, if you simply don't have time and just want to help, thanks. There's a link at the top of this page to charities.