"Utilities expected to secure sufficient power supplies this summer"

As reported by the Asahi Shimbun, Japan's electric utilities will be able to meet demand this summer without requiring conservation efforts by their customers, even though all of Japan's 48 still-operable atomic reactors remain closed amid safety concerns after the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe, which began on 3/11/11. The melted down and exploded nuclear power plant continues to release radioactivity into the Pacific Ocean, more than three years later.

Before the Fukushima catastrophe, Japan had 54 commercial atomic reactors. But Units 1, 2, 3, and 4 were destroyed at Fukushima Daiichi. Eventually, Tokyo Electric decided to simply retire and decommission the immediately adjacent Units 5 and 6 as well, even though theoretically, they were still operable.

"Estimated radiation doses of Fukushima returnees withheld for half a year"

As reported by the Asahi Shimbun, the Japanese national government withheld radiation survey results for a half-year, taken in Fukushima Daiichi fallout contaminated communities such as Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture.

The surveys showed that residents would be exposed to more than 100 millirem per year from the contamination.

One such community was given the go-ahead to re-occupy its evacuated homes on April 1st. The government did not even let on that such testing had been underway for six months, even though they held a number of meetings with the community's nuclear evacuees about moving back into their abandoned homes. The government only made the data available after pressed to do so by the Asahi Shimbun on April 15th.

Although the 100 mR/yr exposure level is the ultimate clean-up goal, in the meantime, dose rates of 2 Rem/year will be allowed (20 times the 100 mR/yr level), even for children, pregnant women, the old, the infirm, etc. 2R/yr is how much radioactivity a German nuclear power plant worker is limited to.

"Three Years After the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Disaster: Bringing he Focus Back on Life"

As posted at the Fairewinds Energy Education website, Chiho Kaneko, a member of the Board of Directors of Fairewinds Energy Education, discusses how:

The Fukushima Daiichi disaster opened the door to see how this is not merely a Japanese crisis. It is a crisis that transcends geography and time. We traced the roots of this crisis back 60-years to the fishing boat Daigo Fukuryumaru, or #5 Lucky Dragon, and American efforts to force nuclear power upon the Japanese people.

The website includes a link to the video, as well as the transcript of Chiho Kaneko's remarks.

"The Hottest Particle"

Arnie GundersenAs posted on the Fairewinds Energy Education website:

Three years ago, Fairewinds was one of the first organizations to talk about “hot particles” that are scattered all over Japan and North America’s west coast. Hot particles are dangerous and difficult to detect. In this video Mr. Kaltofen discusses the hottest hot particle he has ever found, and it was discovered more than 300 miles from the Fukushima Daiichi site. If Fairewinds Energy Education was a Japanese website, the State Secrets Law would likely prevent us from issuing this video.  Arnie Gundersen [photo, left] provides a brief introduction and summary to the video.

Beyond Nuclear on WHDT for Fukushima nuclear catastrophe three-year mark

WHDT TV interviewed Beyond Nuclear's Kevin Kamps regarding the high-level radioactive waste storage pools at Fukushima Daiichi, the wrecked reactors' radioactive discharges to the Pacific, and what lessons the U.S. should have learned from the nuclear catastrophe.