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NEWS ABOUT: 9.0 earthquake

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Somber Japan Marks Year Since Quake

Country pauses to remember its dead

(Newser) - At 2:46pm local time today, people all across Japan stood in silence to remember the 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami exactly one year ago that killed more than 19,000 people, destroyed 370,000 homes, and created the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, reports the AP... More »

Radiation Found in Japanese Baby Formula

Levels not high enough to pose health risk, parents told

(Newser) - Nearly nine months after the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami wrought havoc on Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant, the country's nuclear nightmare is continuing. Traces of radiation have been found in infant formula for the first time and while government experts say the levels aren't high enough to... More »

20M Tons of Tsunami Debris Heads for US Shores

Expected to reach Hawaii in early 2013, then mainland in 2014

(Newser) - Debris from the massive tsunami that struck Japan in March is on its way: Up to 20 million tons of trash, like "confetti soup," is slowly drifting across the Pacific Ocean and heading toward the United States, reports the LA Times . Already garbage has been found 2,000... More »

Japan PM Resigning

Naoto Kan will officially quit next week

(AP) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced today he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis. In a nationally televised speech, Kan said he was stepping down as chief of the ruling Democratic Party... More »

Quake Survivors Return $78M in Found Cash

Nearly 6,000 safes have washed ashore in Japan

(Newser) - In the five months since a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated the east coast of Japan, honest citizens have returned $78 million in cash—$48 million found in thousands of wallets, and $30 million from some 5,700 safes that turned up onshore, reports ABC News . One safe had $1... More »

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Stabilized

Workers on track for cold shutdown within six months

(Newser) - Some good news from Japan: The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is stabilized and a cold shutdown should be achieved within six months. Even so, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warns that final cleanup—which will involve encasing the plant in concrete—could take more than 10 years. Engineers have recently... More »

Japan's Big Roadblock: 25M Tons of Debris

Before the nation can fully rebuild, it has years of cleanup ahead

(Newser) - A giant kiln at a cement factory in Japan finally returned to action today and incinerated 10 tons of debris from the March earthquake. Which sounds like a handsome total until you consider that an estimated 25 million tons remain, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nation is now grappling... More »

Tepco Halts Water Filtering at Fukushima

Power company running out of room to store contaminated water

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric launched its much-hyped water filtration system yesterday at its foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—only to shut it down a mere five hours later. The setback is very serious, notes the New York Times, with Tepco in grave danger of running out of room for the tens of... More »

Japan's PM Beats Censure, Hints He'll Resign

Naoto Kan acknowledged 'shortcomings' after earthquake

(AP) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan defeated a no-confidence motion today over his handling of Japan's triple disasters, but the victory may be short lived—he said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery kicks in. Kan, who has been criticized for delays in the construction of temporary... More »

What Really Happened When Quake Hit Fukushima

Nuclear crisis was more desperate than the world realized

(Newser) - The first 24 hours of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi were more chaotic and dangerous than the outside world ever dreamed. When the tsunami hit and knocked out the plant’s backup generators, workers turned into scavengers, searching nearby homes for flashlights and ripping the batteries out of... More »

Japan to Aging Nuke Plant: Shut Down

Hamaoka plant in earthquake-prone region closer to Tokyo than Fukushima Dai-ichi

(Newser) - Nearly two months after an earthquake-tsunami one-two sent Fukushima Dai-ichi into a nuclear crisis that will haunt it for decades, Japan is telling another aging nuclear plant to close its doors until it can muster stronger defenses against Mother Nature. The decision might seem like it took an eternity to... More »

Workers Venture Back Into Exploded Reactor

They're attempting to use ventilation system to clear radioactive air

(AP) - Workers entered one of the damaged reactor buildings at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant today for the first time since it was rocked by an explosion in the days after a devastating earthquake, the country's nuclear safety agency said. They'll attempt to connect ventilation equipment in Unit... More »

S&P Downgrades Japan, Too

Rating agency fears cost of rebuilding will damage country's finances

(Newser) - Looks like the US has some company: Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Japan’s credit outlook to negative, much as it did for the US last week. In Japan’s case the culprit is, of course, the earthquake and tsunami, which S&P believes could cost the government as... More »

Japan Launching Massive Recovery Mission

Soldiers aim to retrieve bodies from land and sea

(Newser) - Japan will begin an extensive recovery mission tomorrow, sending almost 25,000 soldiers into the disaster zone to look for the bodies of last month’s earthquake and tsunami victims. About 14,300 people are confirmed dead, but another 12,000 are still missing and presumed killed, the AP reports.... More »

Japan Bans Entering Evacuation Zone

Residents barred from returning amidst radiation fears

(Newser) - The 12.5 miles surrounding the foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant are now officially off limits, the Japanese government announced yesterday. Until now, the government had merely advised people that entering the evacuation zone was a bad idea, but many residents ignored that advice, venturing in to retrieve their possessions... More »

Tepco: Fukushima Crisis Over in 6-9 Months

Plant operator outlines plans to shut down reactors

(Newser) - Tepco today laid out a plan to have the nuclear crisis at Fukushima Dai-ichi contained within six to nine months. "We sincerely apologize for causing troubles," said Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata in unveiling the plan. "We are doing our utmost to prevent the crisis from further worsening."... More »

Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies

They're good for you, not oozing radiation

(Newser) - Japan has become the latest ardent convert of the locavore movement, reports the Washington Post, launching a public relations blitz intent on convincing its citizenry that produce fresh from the nuclear-contaminated Fukushima prefecture is safe, even yummy. The government even opened a restaurant yesterday, making a show of high-ranking politicians... More »

What Does Fukushima's Level 7 Mean?

It sounds really, really bad. Is it?

(Newser) - Japan has made the decision to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster severity level from 5 to 7. That obviously means "worse." But what else does it mean?
  • Japan finally has an estimate on how much radiation has been released: The level is an indication of the total
... More »

Japan Nuke Crisis Raised to Chernobyl Level

Fukushima Dai-ichi may have spilled more radiation than thought

(Newser) - Japan has decided to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster from 5 to 7, according to government sources, a severity level only previously seen in Chernobyl, reports Kyodo News. The country's Nuclear Safety Commission today found that at times after the breach, the plant was emitting some 10,000 terabecquerels... More »

Fukushima Endgame: Years, a Fortune Away

Will likely take decades to decommission nuke plant

(Newser) - The day when radiation stops spilling out of Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi is still unknown, but it'll be at least a decade and millions of dollars beyond that by the time the nuclear plant is decommissioned, reports the AP. That's the timeline from Toshiba, which built four of the six reactors,... More »

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