8/1/2011 Strong quake jolts central Japan, no tsunami alert

Source: Reuters
Date: Mon Aug 1, 2011 11:42am EDT
by: Yoko Kubota 
Editing by: Mark Heinrich


(Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.1 jolted central and eastern Japan on Monday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, but it did not issue a tsunami alert.

The quake, which occurred at 11:58 p.m. (10:58 a.m. EDT), was also felt in Tokyo. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

The focus of the tremor was 20 km (12 miles) below the surface of the earth, off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, about 200 km west of Tokyo, the Meteorological Agency said.

All reactors at Chubu Electric Power's Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka are shut after Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for its closure, citing research showing that the area is at particularly high risk for a major earthquake within the next few decades.

No abnormalities have been reported from the Hamaoka plant, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency.

Editor's Note: USGS Report


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7/28/2011 12 prefectures step up voluntary checks on beef

Source: NHK World
Date: Thursday, July 28, 2011 19:38 +0900 (JST)



Twelve prefectures in Japan have voluntarily stepped up radiation checks on beef before shipment in a bid to alleviate consumer concerns over meat safety.

About 3,000 beef cattle are suspected of having been shipped out after being fed rice straw contaminated with radioactive cesium from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

In Yamagata Prefecture, northwest of the plant, testing equipment is being used to measure radiation levels of meat from slaughtered cattle.

The beef is shipped only when its radiation levels are confirmed to be lower than the government safety limit.

In Shizuoka Prefecture, 350 kilometers southwest of the plant, local agricultural cooperatives are asking private laboratories to check all beef shipped from meat-processing plants run by the cooperatives.

Despite difficulties in tightening voluntary checks due to lack of testing equipment and financial burdens, more prefectures are expected to follow suit.