[Column] 3 misunderstandings of foreign media about this election

Because Japan changed too fast, foreign media misunderstood the points of this election.
Correcting the misunderstandings is very important to see what is going to happen. Here I’m going to explain 3 major misunderstandings.

1. Nuclear was not the major issue

Considering what happened in Japan since 311, it is natural for foreign media to think nuclear power is the major issue of this election. However, it is not.
Because Japanese government has been downplaying the affect by using massmedia, most of Japanese people don’t think about nuclear accident anymore. They still can’t even extinguish external and internal exposure,and think smoking is more harmful for them. They don’t remember anything.
2 anti nuclear parties, Japan future party and Yamamoto Taro suffered a crushing defeat. As a matter of fact, voters who chose candidates for their policy about nuclear power are very few. It was not an election to ask pro-nuke, or anti-nuke.

2. The real problems of restarting nuclear plants were not even discussed
Some people think nuclear plants should not be restarted because it may explode again, it stand of active fault, and it’s not efficient. However, there are even more serious and technical reasons why they can not restart nuclear plants in Japan. It’s the serious shortage of spent fuel pool and nuclear workers.

On 9/16/2012, Fukushima Diary reported that 33 of 50 nuclear plants have the spent fuel pools full in 6 years. 14 of 50 nuclear plants have the pools full in 12 years. [Link] Only 3 of 50 nuclear plants have capacity in the pools to run for longer than 12 years. Building a new spent fuel pool takes over 10 years. If they have the pool full, the nuclear plant can never run. Also, Japan is in the serious shortage of nuclear workers. In 2012, Tepco needed 12,000 workers for decommissioning Fukushima. However, actual workers were less than 4,000. [Link] According to Japanese government, decommissioning takes up to 40 years. Even in the first year, they collected only 1/3 workers of planned. These workers were collected from all around in Japan. Once they restart other nuclear plants, most of the workers will move there for less exposure dose.
Having these problems, restarting nuclear plants means stocking spent fuel in dry cask out of interim storage, and having nuclear workers supplied in a compulsory way, such as conscription.
(cf. Edano, Minister of Economy, “Nuclear Spent fuel should be stocked in Tokyo and other big city areas” [Link]) However, none of these facts were discussed.

3. Rearmament is not a game

Some people again, say most of the countries have military and some of them conscript young men. It’s not something to surprise. However, this is not correct.
They “amend” the constitution to build military because they have to do that. They don’t take pains for fashion to look like other countries.
It is presumed that Japan is going to have numbers of lawsuits for health problems. Also, rapid aging and evacuation are killing its tax income and economic growth. To cloud the issues, it is very effective to draw people’s attention to external and imaginary threats. Also, rearmament would require conscription , which is useful to keep the stable supply of nuclear workers. In other country, you are not always taken to the battle field even if you are conscripted. However,Japanese conscription promises you to be exposed to radiation.
Today, they also had an election for Tokyo governor and Inose won. On 3/19/2012, Fukushima Diary reported his comment about the nuclear accident. [Link]
“As a matter of fact, Fukushima is in the war state, currently sub-contract workers are there like landsknecht. However, Fukushima is a national problem. We all Japanese must face it and try to settle down.”

 

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Français :

[Édito] 3 incompréhensions des médias étrangers sur cette élection

Parce que le Japon a changé trop vite, les médias n’ont pas compris les enjeux de cette élection.
Corriger ces incompréhension est très important pour comprendre ce qui va se passer. Je vais expliquer ici 3 des principales incompréhensions.

1. Le nucléaire n’était pas le problème essentiel

Considérant ce qui s’est passé au Japon depuis le 11-3, il est normal que les médias étrangers penses que le nucléaire est le principal problème pour ces élections. Ce n’est pas le cas.
Parce que le gouvernement japonais a minimisé les conséquences via les mass-médias, la plupart des japonais ont oublié l’accident nucléaire. Ils ne peuvent toujours pas empêcher les expositions internes et externes et considèrent que fumer est plus dangereux pour eux. Ils ont tout oublié.
2 partis antinucléaires, le Japan future et le Yamamoto Taro ont subi une cinglante défaite. Objectivement, les électeurs ayant voté pour les candidats défendant leur politique anti-nucléaire ont été très peu nombreux. Ce n’était pas une élection demandant de trancher sur le nucléaire.

2. Le problème réel du redémarrage des centrales nucléaires n’a même pas été débattu

Certains pensent que les centrales nucléaires ne devraient pas redémarrer parce qu’elles peuvent encore exploser, qu’elles sont sur des failles actives et qu’elles ne sont pas efficaces. Il y a des raisons techniques plus graves expliquant pourquoi ils ne peuvent redémarrer les centrales nucléaires nippones. Ce sont les pénuries graves de piscines à combustibles et de travailleurs du nucléaire.

Le 16 septembre 2012, le Fukushima Diary a rapporté que 33 des 50 centrales nucléaires vont saturer leurs piscines à combustibles dans les 6 ans. [Lien] Il n’y a que 3 des 50 centrales nucléaires  ayant une capacité de piscine suffisante pour  fonctionner plus de 12 ans. Construire une piscine à combustibles prend plus de 10 ans. Si la piscine est pleine, la centrale nucléaire ne peut plus tourner. Par ailleurs, le Japon connaît une pénurie grave en travailleurs du nucléaire. En 2012, Tepco avait besoin de 12 000 personnes pour démanteler Fukushima. Néanmoins, le nombre réel de travailleurs a été inférieur à 4 000. [Lien] Selon le gouvernement japonais, démanteler va prendre jusqu’à 40 ans. Rien que sur la première année, ils n’ont pu recruter qu’un tiers des effectifs prévus. Ces travailleurs ont été recrutés dans tout le Japon. Dès qu’ils vont redémarrer les autres centrales, la plupart des travailleurs vont y aller pour recevoir moins en dose d’irradiation.
Avec ces problèmes, redémarrer les centrales nucléaires implique de stocker les combustibles usés dans des conteneurs à sec en dehors des stockages temporaires et de se procurer des travailleurs du nucléaire de façon contraignante, genre conscription.
(cf. M. Edano, Ministre de l’Économie : “Les combustibles nucléaires usagés devraient être stockés dans Tokyo et dans d’autres grandes villes” [Lien]) Il est flagrant qu’aucun de ces faits n’a été débattu.

3. Le réarmement n’est pas un jeu

Certains encore disent que la plupart des pays ont une armée et que certains d’entre eux ont un service militaire. Ce n’est pas surprenant. Ce n’est pas correct non plus.
Ils “amendent” la constitution pour monter une armée parce qu’ils ont à le faire. Ils ne se fatiguent pas pour se mettre à la mode des autres pays.
On s’attend à ce que le Japon va connaître de nombreux procès sur des problèmes de Santé. De plus, le vieillissement rapide et les évacuations ralentissent la perception d’impôts et le développement économique. Pour masques ces questions, il est très efficace de détourner l’attention des gens sur des menaces extérieures imaginaires. En outre, le réarmement va exiger une conscription, ce qui est très utile pour stabiliser une fourniture en main d’œuvre nucléaire. Dans les autres pays, on ne vous envoie pas au combat même si vous faites votre service. Ici, le service japonais vous garantit d’être exposé à la radioactivité.
Aujourd’hui, il y a eu aussi l’élection du gouverneur de Tokyo, remportée par M. Inose. Le 19 mars 2012, le Fukushima Diary avait rapporté sa vision sur l’accident nucléaire [Lien] :
“Objectivement, Fukushima est en état de guerre, les ouvriers sous-traitants actuels sont des mercenaires lansquenets. Néanmoins, Fukushima est un problème national. Nous devons l’affronter, tous les japonais, et essayer de le résoudre”.

  1. If you thought Fukushima I under DPJ was a classic misadventure, just wait until the M8 aftershock hits in the next few months and the LDP has to figure out what to do with a collapsed Unit 3 (and perhaps unit 4) spent fuel pool. There is no future in nuclear power. Japan and much of the world will have to learn the hard way.

    See you in Australia after the collapse.

    1. Australia welcomes refugees from everywhere in the world.
      Different times, different reasons, from different directions.

      I have sent a message to the new Freedom of the Press Foundation
      https://pressfreedomfoundation.org

      to ask them to consider supporting Fukushima Diary.

      It would be a big help to Iori to have some stable financing.
      The urgent situation of the safety of the people of Japan needs this website.

      Politics is like watching snails crawling over paper with different labels painted on them. Eventually the paper has holes and the snails get bored with people looking at them….

      Cheers Helen

  2. On re-armament issue, what will Abe do when Xi JinPing calls his bluster and bluff, and Chinese marines lands on those island with permanent placement of the Chinese flag and armed bases? Americans armed forces, which are greatly dislike in Japan, especially Okinawa, will not go to war with Chinese over these rocks to protect LDP’s policy of bushido.

    Japan’s governance problems are in North Honshu, not some southern islands 100’s of kilometers from real Japanese civilization and authority.

    1. Let’s hope the Chinese government doesn’t make the same miscalculation you are. The US WILL MOST CERTAINLY go to war if any part of Japan is attacked.

      1. if it means war, so be it. those island doesnt belong to japan. zionist wont pay a thing to protect japan. we x

        1. Who you going to believe SAR? Even a Chinese should know that a state-controlled media lies to its citizens. Chinese claims are a fabrication.

          1. Read some historic doc and you will see China owns that part of the world since Ming Dynasty. As far as i know, US and Japan gov control their media and lie to their citizens big time. Remember so-called iraq a country with weapons of mass destruction? How bout the way jap gov dealing with fukushima now? The Jap gov even denied the fact of Nanjing massarce and forced women to be sex slaves during WW2.

            1. SAR – As I recall communist China did not exist in the Ming dynasty. As an entity, it is a modern invention.

    2. You’re wrong and right at the same time. The island belongs to nobody in particular – it belongs precisely to whoever is willing to go to war to take it. This type of issue is the fissure between the tectonic plates of the superpowers, China and U.S. Japan standing up for it is directly backed by U.S. who would be grateful for the opportunity to launch its new cold war with China.

      1. Right you are. It was only when the oil was discovered that China started making noise about claims

        1. It’s not about oil. Oil will be obsolete real soon. In the past China doesn’t have enough strength to break the control of US in west pacific. That’s why the chinese gov kept silent until now. That place belongs to China all along. Just that in the past the biggest bully in the world step in the area and let the japanese to control the place , until now.

          1. No chinese issued map cited these as Chinese until recently.

            frankly these are rocks, just like the Spratleys and some of the other little rocks in the osuth chinese sea.

            China never had them and is muscle flexing.

            Just like Japan muscle flexed in the 20th century and the Americans muscle flexed in the 19th century
            and the brits and french and spanish and dutch did in the 18th century.

            Frankly if the japanese want to do everyone a favor they would hire some contractor sto lower the height of these rocks to below sea level and end this silliness.

  3. I heard electoral fraud took place. Many polling stations were open later and/or closed early – one polling station was closed at 4pm.

  4. I’m really scared for the Japanese future. I heard that Japanese police has been arresting anti-nuclear (anti-debri incineration) activists and detaining them illegally. I can’t believe this is happening in Japan.

    One of the detained nuclear activists is a college professor. He has been fighting against Tepco, Japanese government, and nuclear industry for us. Now it’s our turn to help him.

    Let’s sign the petition to demand his release.

    http://fukushimavoice-eng.blogspot.jp/2012/12/unjust-arrest-of-professor-opposing.html

    1. Thank you for informing us ! I signed it and hope he gets released soon.
      When reading this, I understand why Iori is careful.

    2. Thank you for the petition to release Associate Professor protesting against high temp burning of tsunami and nuclear disaster debris in Osaka.
      He was arrested 22 days after walking through a Railway Station precinct.
      PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION if you are reading these posts.

  5. I thought that the point of Defense was driven home recently when China ‘assumed’ control of the south China Sea.

    I truly wish the Japanese would take back ‘their part of the Pacific’, sooner rather than later. 😐

    1. possibly polls close early as media in Christian (and variants) parts of the world would tend to think that one wouldn’t be working that day, if i am not mistaken.

      Please correct me on this.

  6. I think both China and Japan just need an outside issue to divert the attention of their people to, Senkaku is silly-mind controlling and nationalist/international enough.

    The Usa is more than happy to see Chinese and Japanese taking it as a serious issue and participating in the game.

    Clever Chinese and Japanese don’t give a sh.t about it and promote friendship between the two countries, but of course this is never on the news.

    I don’t care who the islands are of, I just care to support clever Chinese and Japanese and their peaceful relationship.

    1. You are right. They should split ownership of these islands.
      But with Fukushima nuclear plants polluting fish in the Pacific Ocean, fish around those little faraway islands (fishing rights in a VERY large zone around them) is worth gold for Japan now.
      And with the booming Chinese population, those same fish are also gold for China.

  7. Japan seems to want to part off it military ties with US.
    I would be US, for peace sake, I could very well align with China against a new fascist and gone crazy Japan.

  8. thank you for the insight : )
    looks like there’s going to be “action”
    in the south “china” sea ?
    war is a good way to shift the media spotlight

    1. #2 economy attacks #3 economy, which has security treaties with #1 economy. No I don’t think so. Aside from everything else they are, the Chi coms are intelligent strategists. They will not likely push this to war.

      By the way, from the comments and performance of the Japanese government in recent years, the Chinese should be careful not to miscalculate. Japanese reaction to Fukushima was more erratic and irrational than Russian reaction to Chernobyl because the Japanese government is not organized to make big decisions and execute quickly on them. In this environment, China can expect stupid reactions to territorial incursions instead of well thought out strategic actions. Chinese strategists need to understand that Japan’s reaction to a provocation would not necessarily be the reaction of a rational opponent. Miscalculations lead to war. I know the Chinese strategists are intelligent. But I do wonder if they are intelligent enough to truly understand the Japanese bureaucratic way of government.

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About this site

This website updates the latest news about the Fukushima nuclear plant and also archives the past news from 2011. Because it's always updated and added live, articles, categories and the tags are not necessarily fitted in the latest format.
I am the writer of this website. About page remains in 2014. This is because my memory about 311 was clearer than now, 2023, and I think it can have a historical value. Now I'm living in Romania with 3 cats as an independent data scientist.
Actually, nothing has progressed in the plant since 2011. We still don't even know what is going on inside. They must keep cooling the crippled reactors by water, but additionally groundwater keeps flowing into the reactor buildings from the broken parts. This is why highly contaminated water is always produced more than it can circulate. Tepco is planning to officially discharge this water to the Pacific but Tritium is still remaining in it. They dilute this with seawater so that it is legally safe, but scientifically the same amount of radioactive tritium is contained. They say it is safe to discharge, but none of them have drunk it.

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