Archive for March, 2011

People Rally in Belgrade to Support Japan

Serbians gather in in Belgrade as a gesture of support for the Japanese people:

For a larger photo, check Belgraded.com.

Hat tip to Viktor, who wrote, “Belgrade citizens had an action of sending support to Japan, moral support besides the financial is probably also important now too.”

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Subway Restaurants Use Vegetables From Ibaraki

FTV reports on how Subway restaurants in Japan are proudly using vegetables from Ibaraki prefecture, despite radiation fears from consumers:

Ten days ago, the Japanese government placed restrictions on the sale and shipment of spinach and a few other vegetables from the areas near Fukushima after radiation tests found amounts that exceeded safety standards. Ibaraki spinach was included in the list of banned items.

Subway apparently does not use much spinach, but it does buy another leafy vegetable from Ibaraki: lettuce. They’ve decided to honor their contracts with farms in Ibaraki and use that lettuce in their subs. The lettuce is, of course, double-tested for radiation before it is shipped out. So far, tests have found amounts that are well within safe background levels.

While some consumers might be worried about buying vegetables from Ibaraki, Tochigi, and the Tohuku region, businesses like subway seem to be betting that the positive PR they get from their support of local farmers will outweigh any concerns about radiation. I’ve seen several other restaurants and shops that have put up signs proudly proclaiming that they sell or use vegetables from Tohoku. A lot of shoppers will probably be happy buying and eating those vegetables, since their actions will contribute to the economic recovery of the region.

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City Failed to Fully Disclose Tap Water Radiation Data

Yesterday, FTV news reported some interesting information about radiation in tap water. Although the radiation levels for the Kanto region have dropped since a brief spike was recorded about a week ago, some new concerns have come to light:

• Some companies that produce ice have suspended creation of new ice blocks. One company in Chiba prefecture, which provides ice to fish markets, will soon run out of old ice in its warehouse. If concerns about radiation in tap water are not put to rest, there may soon be serious ice shortages in the Kanto region.
• In the city of Ushiku in Ibaraki Prefecture, the local government released tap water radiation data for last week that showed iodine remaining below the 100 bq/l safety level for infants. However, it has been revealed that a test on the night of the 24th found that iodine was at 124.9 bq/l. Because a test a few hours later found that levels had dropped below 100 bq/l, the city decided to not inform residents of the 124.9 bq/l reading.
• The Tokyo city government made a rather serious mistake when announcing the areas that received tainted tap water from the Katsushika purification plant. They didn’t include Hachioji in their list, even though some areas of Hachioji were using tap water from Katsushika. City employees have apparently been going door to door in those areas to inform residents of the error.

News like this makes it look like we won’t be seeing a quick end to the rampant hoarding of bottled water.

Although it’s been almost a day since the story broke in the Japanese language media, I haven’t seen any English language media reports about the Ushiku radiation data. The slowness to report a story with such potential scare value almost makes one think that they aren’t paying attention to the domestic media.

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Tokyo Disneyland to Reopen in April

Tokyo Disneyland, which has been closed since the March 11th earthquake due to concerns about electricity conservation, will be reopening in April:

The exact date has not yet been set since Oriental Land is still wrestling with the problem of power conservation. The parks are located in an area subject to rolling power cuts and given the parlous condition of the nuclear reactors in Fukushima, no improvement is likely for weeks or even months.

When all Disney facilities are operating normally, they use enough electricity in one day to supply 57,000 households.

Options include shortening park operating hours, keeping some attractions closed or, most drastically, opening only one park.

There had been talk of keeping the park closed for many months, or even the rest of the year, but apparently there was huge pressure from businesses that rely on Tokyo Disney for their survival. If the park remains closed, dozens of area hotels and travel agencies would also have to shut down. Opening just one of the parks on a limited schedule might be enough to save the local economy.

Note: The video clip embedded in this post is a Tokyo Disneyland commercial that ran on TV yesterday. It expresses condolences to the victims of the recent disaster and informs viewers that Disney is taking a short break, but will be back soon.

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Evacuation or Paid Vacation? Military Families That Fled Japan Receive Generous Travel Allowances

Since the Fukushima nuclear accident, thousands of American military families temporarily left Japan under the U.S. government’s “voluntary departure” program. Some are genuinely afraid of radiation, but others are not. As Stars and Stripes points out, participants in the program are basically receiving paid vacations:

Each family member who leaves Japan under the voluntary departure program is entitled to lodging, meals, a daily stipend for incidentals and a $25 daily family travel allowance.

The amount they’re allowed to spend depends on the location the family picked as its so-called “safe haven,” and whether family members are staying with relatives or in a hotel. Children 12 or older are eligible for 100 percent of the local per diem rate, while children under 12 are eligible for 50 percent.

In a low-cost area, such as Grand Forks, N.D., a military family of three — mom, a teen and a child under 12 — would receive a maximum of $9,795 for the first month. That same family, however, would receive as much as $21,975 for the first month if they picked Honolulu, with its much higher cost of living, as the place they wanted to stay until they were authorized to return to Japan.

Those figures are based on the maximum allowed for lodging; families will only be reimbursed for the exact cost of their lodging up to that amount. But families also receive the maximum food allowance regardless of how much they actually spend on meals. That allowance would be $3,075 for families staying in North Dakota and $5,375 for those in Honolulu.

Maj. Corey Gibbs, commander of the 35th Comptroller Squadron at Misawa Air Base, confirmed the rates. He said many of the family members had questions about their entitlements, and his office created hand-outs detailing allowances based on guidance from the Air Force Accounting and Finance Office.

A spokesman for the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki said the hotel has seen an influx of military families from Japan.

“Just landed in Hawaii with my family,” one commenter wrote on a stripes.com message board, where tensions over the voluntary departure program have erupted in recent days. “I am not a state resident here, but they offered us the flight with lodging at the Hale Koa. … Thanks for all the brave men and women who have stayed behind for our sakes. We will drink one to you on Friday. Mahalo and stay safe!”

Wrote another commenter: “This is the best thing I have even seen in my 18 years in the military. I told my family to enjoy Orlando and check out Disney.”

In a related story, military family members who participated in the safe haven program and have decided they’d like to return to Japan are being told that they will have to wait for the program to be over before coming back. Those who pay for their own tickets on commercial airlines will risk “limiting themselves as far as future entitlements.”

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Greenpeace: Japanese Government’s Radiation Data is Accurate

A few days ago, anti-nuclear activists from Greenpeace set up their own radiation monitoring equipment in Fukushima. If they were trying to expose Japanese government lies radiation levels, they were not successful:

The organization, which has a well-known anti-nuclear stance, had said that it was coming to Japan to provide “an alternative to the often contradictory information released by nuclear regulators.”

There has been some public mistrust regarding the official data, with fears exacerbated by occasionally contradictory announcements. But Jan van de Putte, a Greenpeace official, said Wednesday that its scientists’ findings largely correlated with the official Japanese data.

“There is no contradiction between Greenpeace data and local data,” he said. “The contradiction is between the data, and action to help people” in the affected areas.

The organization recommended that the government move more aggressively to evacuate residents near the complex.

The official Japanese government policy concerning people living 20 to 30 kilometers from the plant is that evacuation is voluntary, but recommended based on the limited availability of basic goods and services in the area. Greenpeace thinks evacuation from that area should be mandatory.

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