Japan

NOVANEWS “Other Sources of Contamination” Are Flowing Into Ocean By Global Research News Global Research Asahi Shimbun, Feb 28, 2015 (emphasis added): The nation’s nuclear watchdog body slammed [TEPCO] over its failure to disclose information on the leakage of radioactive rainwater into the sea… TEPCO President Naomi Hirose… apologized profusely… TEPCO became aware more than a year ago that the concentration of radioactive materials in the water flowing… was high [first disclosing it to regulators] January 2014… TEPCO continued to conceal details, including the fact that the concentration became high whenever it rained… However, TEPCO had decided long ago there was no need to monitor rainwater for radioactive materials. NHK transcript, Feb 27, 2015 : Experts and local government of...

NOVANEWS By Prof Michel Chossudovsky Global Research Nuclear radiation resulting from the March 2011 Fukushima disaster which threatens life on planet earth is not front page news in comparison to the most insignificant issues of public concern, including the local level crime scene or the tabloid gossip reports on Hollywood celebrities. The shaky political consensus both in Japan, the U.S. and Western Europe is that the crisis at Fukushima has been contained. The truth is otherwise. Known and documented, the ongoing dumping of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean constitutes a potential trigger to a process of global radioactive contamination. Tthis water contains plutonium 239 and its release into the Ocean has both local as well as global repercussions. A microgram of pl...

NOVANEWS By Jeff Kingston Global Research Many Japanese and long-time Japan observers have expressed dismay about the recrudescence of self-righteous nationalism under PM Abe Shinzo who has emboldened rightwing extremists now threatening democratic institutions, civil liberties and Japan’s relations with its neighbors. Nakano Koichi, a professor of political science at Sophia University, comments, “The revisionist right in Japan with the active encouragement, if not involvement, of the Abe government has succeeded in controlling NHK news, intimidating Asahi Shimbun, and now academia.” Abe has presided over the mainstreaming of reactionary extremism in his quest to rewrite and rehabilitate Japan’s dishonorable wartime past in Asia and in doing so instigates widespread internationa...

NOVANEWS By Global Research News Global Research Japan Times, Nov 22, 2014 (emphasis added): Tepco fails to halt toxic water inflow at Fukushima… [TEPCO] admitted failure Friday in its bid to halt the flow of toxic water into underground tunnels alongside the ocean… Some 11,000 tons of highly radioactive water have accumulated in the tunnels… connected to the reactor 2 and 3 turbine buildings… according to Tepco. There are fears that this toxic buildup… could pour into the Pacific, which is already being polluted by other radioactive leaks… Friday, Tepco proposed a new technique for the tunnels: injection of a cement filler… some [highly radioactive water] would be left behind, endangering plant workers, Tepco acknowledged… [Gov't experts] argued that Tepco should stick to the orig...

NOVANEWS By Saul Takahashi Global Research The efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to change Japans pacifist Constitution has received much attention overseas. This attention is very justified, and one hopes it will continue. However, most foreign media outlets fail to convey just how dramatically, and how rapidly, the public debate in Japan is heading in the wrong direction. Abe has essentially declared war on all aspects of Japans pacifism, and the results can only be disastrous for the country and for the world. An early September feature in the influential Japanese weekly Bungei Shunju shows how dramatically public debate in Japan has changed in recent years. Ruka Miura, a young conservative academic with close ties to the current government, argues openly for a return to...

NOVANEWS  Denuclearize or lose our species: Multigenerational effects of exposure to radiation by Christopher Busby and Majia Nadesen “PRESS RELEASE: Atomic Test Veteran Children and Grandchildren affected by fathers’ exposures to internal radiation from Uranium and Plutonium at the test sites”–Christopher Busby To hear it from Jim Stone, Fukushima poses no serious risk to civilization or to the survival of the human species. The idea is merely a profit-making myth. “Fukushima was bad, but it is Japan’s problem. All the stories about the Pacific dying are bold faced lies spewed for ratings to generate ad revenue. You still cannot go into many of the nuclear testing zones in Russia because it is too radioactive. “America was more careful, and does not have similar problems. The 30 KM ...

NOVANEWS By Global Research News Global Research Photo: Former NHK anchor Jun Hori. (TEDxKyoto/Flickr Creative Commons) Nuclear Scientist: I have not trusted the information from beginning… “The worst scenario I predicted has happened”  PRI’s ‘The World’, Oct 17, 2014:  Japan’s timid coverage of Fukushima led this news anchor to revolt — and he’s not alone — No one is telling [evacuee] Shiga Kamematsu the truth Complaints about censorship… continue to this day… Evacuees don’t trust the gov’t or Tepco… they’re blaming the media for not holding them both accountable… Criticism goes beyond a lack of investigation. Journalist Jun Hori says his news agency prevented him from accurately reporting what happened… It restricted what he and other journalists could say about Fukushima [like...

NOVANEWS  The Clock Stopped at Hiroshima At precisely 8:15 AM on August 6th, 1945 ~ 200,000 people eventually died from an Atomic Bomb dropped by the United States on Japan and our world permanently changed, for at that moment man had discovered the ultimate means to destroy ourselves but now, 69 years later, we are still learning the intellectual and soul based moral bearings needed to control the fearsome murderous beast we unleashed on Hiroshima and then three days later on Nagasaki. Perhaps now we are ready to fully experience the life sustaining choice of love, social cooperation and altruism which are the innate driving forces of evolution as well as our only choice for the survival of our species: Allen L Roland, Ph.D The day will come, when, after mastering the ether, the winds, ...

NOVANEWS Reinterpretation of Constitution marks dramatic shift from decades-long pledge to pacifism - Lauren McCauley Thousands demonstrated outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo in Monday against the remilitarization of the country. (Screenshot via Ruptly TV)Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday announced that despite public opposition the government of Japan was re-authorizing the military, marking a dramatic shift from the nation's decades-long pledge to pacifism. In a meeting Tuesday, the government Cabinet approved a reinterpretation of Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, permitting Japan to now exercise the right to "collective self defense." The post-World War II document forbids the use of force in all cases except when the nation comes under direct attack, outlaw...