10/14/2011 Tokyo Hit With Fukushima Radiation

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 10/14/2011

Fukushima Radiation Hits Tokyo

CNN reports today:

An extraordinarily high level of radiation was detected in one spot in a central Tokyo residential district Thursday, prompting the local government to cordon off the small area, local officials said.
Radiation levels were higher in Tokyo’s Setagaya ward than in the evacuation area around the badly damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, according to ward Mayor Nobuto Hosaka.
“We are shocked to see such high radiation level was detected in our neighborhood. We cannot leave it as is,” Hosaka told reporters.
But the tsunami-struck Fukushima plant may not be the source of the radiation, Hosaka said later on state television.
Officials searching for the cause found “glass bottles in a cardboard box” in the basement of a house in the neighborhood which sent radiation detectors off the charts, he said on NHK.
“We suspect these bottles in basement could be the cause of the high radiation reading and we are hastily working to confirm it,” he said.
Radiation experts are now checking what contaminated the bottles, a Setagaya ward official told CNN, declining to be named in line with policy.

Perhaps it is just some random contaminated bottles.

10/4/2011 Japan to work with IAEA decontamination experts

Source: NHK World
Date: Wednesday, October 05, 2011 05:34 +0900 (JST)
by: Catherine Kobayashi


The Japanese government says it is ready to work with the International Atomic Energy Agency in removing radioactive materials around the damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The government's chief spokesman, Osamu Fujimura, made the remark on Tuesday ahead of a visit by a team of IAEA experts who will arrive in Japan on Friday.

Fujimura said Japan will cooperate with and learn from international experts in decontamination. He said he hopes their visit will help the process to move faster and more efficiently.

The government says it also hopes to establish the best way to clean up radioactive substances so it can be shared by other nations.

The 12-member team is to make the 9-day visit at the request of Japan's nuclear crisis minister, Goshi Hosono.

The team will travel to Fukushima Prefecture to watch the decontamination process and give advice before compiling a report.

8/2/2011 Govt to conduct comprehensive radiation monitoring

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 19:33 +0900 (JST)

Japan's government has decided to start comprehensive radiation monitoring this year by coordinating organizations that have been checking radiation levels since the Fukushima nuclear accident in March.

The government decided on the plan on Tuesday in response to criticism about difficulty in referring to results of such checks by various ministries, agencies, prefectural governments and utilities.

The plan divides monitoring activities into 6 fields including air, water, farm soil and grass, and food.

Organizations are to be in charge of monitoring and analyzing results in each field and proposing concrete measures.

The government is to set up about 250 monitoring points across the country and draw up maps showing radiation levels at children's facilities, such as schools and public libraries.

The science ministry is expected to set up a website to provide such data by mid-August.

8/2/2011 Govt sets new criteria for contaminated fertilizer

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 17:55 +0900 (JST)


Japan's government has laid down a new set of criteria for the use of fertilizers that may be contaminated with radioactive cesium.

On Tuesday, the agriculture ministry urged farmers not to use humus and compost that contain 400 becquerels of cesium per kilogram or more.

It also called on them not to use livestock feed containing 300 becquerels of cesium per kilogram or more. For fish feed, the limit was set at 100 becquerels per kilogram.

The ministry says it will notify local governments how to measure cesium in fertilizers as soon as possible.

Last week, the agriculture ministry asked famers and fertilizer producers in 17 prefectures in eastern and central Japan to voluntarily refrain from using or selling compost and humus made from fallen leaves possibly contaminated with radioactive cesium.

This was after humus shipped from Tochigi Prefecture was found to be contaminated with radioactive substances.

8/1/2011 Govt to check rice for radiation

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, August 01, 2011 19:15 +0900 (JST)




Japan's government is to ask rice-producing regions to check their crops for radiation before and after harvest.

The government plans to provide local authorities with details of the tests this week. The tests are designed to ensure that rice on the market will be free of radioactive cesium believed to come from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The government says it will suspend rice shipments if levels of cesium exceeding the safety limit are detected.

All 6 prefectures in the Tohoku region, northern Japan, have decided to test their rice for radiation.

Tokyo and 12 other prefectures also say they will carry out or consider radiation checks.

Radioactive cesium has been detected in rice straw, vegetables and compost in wide areas following the accident at the Fukushima plant.

Farmers have voiced concern that their rice may be contaminated, because it was planted after the accident.

Chiba Prefecture near Tokyo will start tests soon, as the region's harvest begins in early August.

8/1/2011 Govt bans beef cattle shipments from Iwate

Source: NHK World
Date: Monday, August 01, 2011 18:45 +0900 (JST)



Japan's government has ordered Iwate Prefecture to suspend shipments of all beef cattle, after radiation levels above government standards were detected in some beef from the region.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said on Monday that the ban was issued to the governor of Iwate after levels of radioactive cesium above the standard were found in beef from 2 municipalities.

Edano said the government will ensure that cattle farmers receive appropriate compensation, adding it will swiftly lift the ban for beef whose safety is confirmed.

Iwate is the third prefecture to face a beef shipment ban after Fukushima and Miyagi. Some cattle in Iwate were fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium.

Authorities have confirmed that beef from 6 such cattle was contaminated with high levels of cesium.

The government will require the inspection of all beef from farmers who shipped meat contaminated with high levels of cesium or used tainted rice straw. Other farmers are asked to check their first beef to be shipped to market. The government says it will allow beef shipments when radiation levels are confirmed to be below the standard.

Iwate ships about 36,000 beef cattle a year. The prefecture says it will check all cattle for radiation exposure before shipment.

The government will also ask the prefecture to temporarily reduce the number of shipments to match its inspection capability.

7/26/2011 Govt to buy back cesium-contaminated beef

Source: NHK World
Date: Tuesday, July 26, 2011 11:48 +0900 (JST)



The Japanese government says it will buy back beef containing unsafe levels of radioactive cesium that has already reached the distribution chain.

Agriculture minister Michihiko Kano announced the step on Tuesday, adding that the contaminated beef will be purchased through a private-sector body.

Kano said the measure is designed to allay consumer concerns over the feeding of cattle with rice straw containing cesium in excess of the government-set limit.

NHK has learned that nearly 2,900 head of cattle allegedly given such feed have been shipped to 46 of Japan's 47 prefectures, excluding Okinawa.

Excessive levels of cesium have been detected in beef in 6 of the prefectures, including Fukushima, where work continues to contain a nuclear plant accident.

Beef with radioactive cesium at levels within the safety limit will not be bought back. But, the government will subsidize the cost of storing it for the time being.

Agriculture minister Kano assured consumers that these measures will ensure that only safe beef reaches market.

The costs of purchasing and storing the beef will be eventually passed on to Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the disabled nuclear plant.

The government will also help livestock farmers affected by restrictions and price declines by offering them 50,000 yen, or about 640 dollars, for each head of cattle that was supposed to be shipped.

6/14/2011 | Japanese government props up ailing TEPCO utility

Date: 6/14/2011 published
by: Jason Chan

Shorts got an unpleasant surprise yesterday (June 13, 2011) as TEPCO shares spiked up 25% after news that the Japanese government approved a disaster compensation bill which would help TEPCO pay compensation to victims of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.  In addition, the Tokyo Stock Exchange raised margin requirements which discourages short selling of TEPCO. [1]

As we have seen from other examples, margin rule requirements when implemented can cause drastic changes in the previous direction of stocks or commodities. For example the recent silver crash is due primarily to aggressive margin hikes on the part of the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange).  Due to the timing of news from both the Japanese government and Tokyo Stock Exchange margin hike on short selling TEPCO stock (both being released on the same day), one might wonder if there were not some form of coordinated activity between the Japanese government and the Tokyo Stock Exchange in order to artificially prop up the TEPCO stock. Note that this is just speculation and not what the text of the Bloomberg article I am referencing says. In the case of the CME (Chicago Mercantile Exchange) the aggressive margin hikes recently on silver also seemed a little suspicious and in this case I also wondered if there were not perhaps some form of communication or coordinated activity with another entity (or entities) with a vested interest in keeping the price of silver down. I will let you guess who I mean. The official story in both the case of the Tokyo Stock Exchange or CME for why they increased their margin requirements is that their mathematical risk management model has been triggered and margins are hiked in a robotic fashion in response. I am not sure if I personally buy that line.

Source:
[1] Tokyo Electric Jumps by Record 25% After Short Sale, Margin Rule Changes, Bloomberg