Japan anti-nuclear protests mark 6 months since quake - Reuters

 

1 of 5. Protesters stand as they form a human chain around the building of Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) during a protest against the government's handling of the nuclear crisis and tsunami aftermath six months after the disaster in Tokyo September 11, 2011. Thousands protesters gathered in central Tokyo on Sunday to make human chain around the building of METI as Japan works out a national energy policy in the wake of the world's worst nuclear crisis at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima plant.

Credit: Reuters/Issei Kato

TOKYO | Sun Sep 11, 2011 7:03am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) - Anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets of Tokyo and other cities on Sunday to mark six months since the March earthquake and tsunami and vent their anger at the government's handling of the nuclear crisis set off by meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant.

In one of the largest protests, an estimated 2,500 people marched past the headquarters of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and created a "human chain" around the building of the Trade Ministry that oversees the power industry.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeastern coast left 20,000 dead or missing and crippled the Fukushima plant, triggering the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The accident that led to radiation and contamination fears spurred widespread calls for an end to Japan's reliance on nuclear power in the quake-prone country.

Protesters, marching to the beat of drums, called for a complete shutdown of nuclear power plants across Japan and demanded a shift in government policy toward alternative sources of energy.

Among the protestors were four young men who declared the start of a 10-day hunger strike to bring about change in Japan's nuclear policy.

"I believe it is very important that the young generation voices opposition against nuclear power, and in order to bring our point across we need to put ourselves on the line and that's why we chose to hunger strike for 10 days," said 20-year-old Naoya Okamoto.

Japanese media reported similar protests in other cities across Japan on the day many offered prayers to those who died in the March 11 disaster.

(Reporting by Olivier Fabre; Writing by Tomasz Janowski)

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Japan marks 6 months since earthquake, tsunami (AP)

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA, Associated Press Tomoko A. Hosaka, Associated Press – 1 hr 38 mins ago

TOKYO – As the world commemorates the 10th anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, Sunday is doubly significant for Japan. It marks six months since the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, a date now seared in the national consciousness.

Up and down the hard-hit northeast coast, families and communities came together to remember victims. Monks chanted. Survivors prayed. Mothers hung colorful paper cranes for their lost children.

At precisely 2:46 p.m., they stopped and observed a minute of silence. March 11 changed everything for them and their country.

The magnitude-9.0 earthquake produced the sort of devastation Japan hadn't seen since World War II. The tsunami that followed engulfed the northeast and wiped out entire towns. The waves inundated the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, triggering the worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

Some 20,000 people are dead or missing. More than 800,000 homes were completely or partially destroyed. The disaster crippled businesses, roads and infrastructure. The Japanese Red Cross Society estimates that 400,000 people were displaced.

Half a year later, there are physical signs of progress.

Much of the debris has been cleared away or at least organized into big piles. In the port city of Kesennuma, many of the boats carried inland by the tsunami have been removed. Most evacuees have moved out of high school gyms and into temporary shelters or apartments.

The supply chain problems that led to critical parts shortages for Japan's auto and electronics makers are nearly resolved. Industrial production has almost recovered to pre-quake levels.

But beyond the surface is anxiety and frustration among survivors facing an uncertain future. They are growing increasingly impatient with a government they describe as too slow and without direction.

Masayuki Komatsu, a fisherman in Kesennuma, wants to restart his abalone farming business.

But he worries about radiation in the sea from the still-leaking Fukushima plant and isn't sure if his products will be safe enough to sell. He said officials are not providing adequate radiation information for local fisherman.

"I wonder if the government considers our horrible circumstances and the radiation concerns of people in my business," said Komatsu, who also lost his home.

Another resident, 80-year-old Takashi Sugawara, lost his sister in the tsunami and now lives in temporary housing. He wants to rebuild his home but is stuck in limbo for the time being.

"My family is not very wealthy, and I only wish that the country would decide what to do about the area as soon as possible," Sugawara said.

He might be waiting for a while. The Nikkei financial newspaper reported this week that many municipalities in the hardest-hit prefecture of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima have yet to draft reconstruction plans.

Of the 31 cities, towns and villages severely damaged by the disaster, just four have finalized their plans, the Nikkei said. The scale of the disaster, the national government's slow response and quarrels among residents have delayed the rebuilding process.

The Red Cross also expressed frustration over the layers of bureaucracy that delayed distribution of assistance to victims.

"The speed and scope of implementing the response during the emergency phase was not as swift and comprehensive as (the Red Cross) wished, partly due to the structure of disaster management in Japan, partly because of insufficient preparedness," it said in a six-month report.

Criticism of the government's handling of the disaster and nuclear crisis led former Prime Minister Naoto Kan to resign. Former Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda took over nine days ago, becoming Japan's sixth new prime minister in five years.

He spent much of Saturday visiting Miyage and Iwate prefectures, promising more funding to speed up recovery efforts and trying to shore up confidence in his administration.

But the trip was overshadowed later in the day by his first big political embarrassment. Noda's new trade minister Yoshio Hachiro resigned, caving into intense pressure after calling the area around the nuclear plant "a town of death," a comment seen as insensitive to nuclear evacuees.

Public support for the new government started out strong, with an approval rating of 62.8 percent in a Kyodo News poll released last Saturday. Hachiro's resignation will likely translate into a drop and new doubts about Noda's ability to lead.

On Sunday, he apologized for hurting the feelings of Fukushima residents.

"I continue to believe that without a revival in Fukushima, there will be no revival of Japan," Noda said.

Regardless of politics, what's clear is that the road ahead will be long.

"Given the enormous scale of the destruction and the massive area affected, this will be a long and complex recovery and reconstruction operation," Tadateru Konoe, the Red Cross president, said in a statement. "It will take at least five years to rebuild, but healing the mental scars could take much longer."

___

APTN Videojournalist Miki Toda in Kesennuma contributed to this report.

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Japan anti-nuclear protests mark 6 months since quake (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – Anti-nuclear protesters took to the streets of Tokyo and other cities on Sunday to mark six months since the March earthquake and tsunami and vent their anger at the government's handling of the nuclear crisis set off by meltdowns at the Fukushima power plant.

In one of the largest protests, an estimated 2,500 people marched past the headquarters of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Company, and created a "human chain" around the building of the Trade Ministry that oversees the power industry.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan's northeastern coast left 20,000 dead or missing and crippled the Fukushima plant, triggering the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.

The accident that led to radiation and contamination fears spurred widespread calls for an end to Japan's reliance on nuclear power in the quake-prone country.

Protesters, marching to the beat of drums, called for a complete shutdown of nuclear power plants across Japan and demanded a shift in government policy toward alternative sources of energy.

Among the protestors were four young men who declared the start of a 10-day hunger strike to bring about change in Japan's nuclear policy.

"I believe it is very important that the young generation voices opposition against nuclear power, and in order to bring our point across we need to put ourselves on the line and that's why we chose to hunger strike for 10 days," said 20-year-old Naoya Okamoto.

Japanese media reported similar protests in other cities across Japan on the day many offered prayers to those who died in the March 11 disaster.

(Reporting by Olivier Fabre; Writing by Tomasz Janowski)

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Japan in first national quake drill since tsunami

Japan in first national quake drill since tsunami Japan on Thursday conducted its first national earthquake drill since the March 11 disasters that left 20,000 dead or missing and triggered a nuclear crisis. Police supervised traffic at some 100 points in central Tokyo while passengers were guided to safe zones from train stations in a simulation of a post-quake scenario in which all rail and subway services are suspended. Disaster Prevention Day is an annual drill to train for a potentially deadly magnitude-7.3 quake scenario in Tokyo and is held to commemorate the anniversary of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed more than 140,000.
1 Sep A new erotic photo book is achieving brisk sales in spite of not revealing any of the faces of the female models nor full nudity, reports weekly tabloid Shukan Asahi Geino (Sep. 8). The magazine says that the book emphasizes the subtle aspects of swimsuits and uniforms: The skirt of a sailor suit gently rises to expose high up a thigh; a sock is visible just before a change into a swimsuit; and an exercise session gently reveals a bare midriff. The book "Natsufuku Joshi (Summer Clothing Girls)," by Million Publishing, is recording tremendous sales, ascending to the top of the photo book section of Amazon.jp at the end if July (and still holding that position now). (Tokyo Reporter)
1 Sep Following BEAST, CN Blue has been reported to be caught up in Japan due to their entrance being denied for visa problems, delaying their upcoming press conference. CN Blue was originally supposed to enter Japan through the Haneda Airport on August 31 but was denied for the same reason BEAST was denied earlier this month. The group has an official press conference for their major debut on September 1 as well as music video filmings. (soompi.com)
1 Sep With the aid of bacteria that lowers the level of sodium in soil, a farmer in the city of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, harvested 150 tomatoes last month on farmland that was swamped by the March 11 tsunami. The cyanobacteria - also called blue-green algae - is found in seawater and sludge on the seafloor. Since it consumes salt when it photosynthesizes, it lowers the level of sodium when mixed in soil. Farmer Etsuo Iizuka, 62, used the soil on his 1,000-sq.-meter tsunami-damaged farm to plant 400 tomato plants in June. Each yielded about 10 tomatoes. (Japan Times)
31 Aug Vines creep across Tomioka's empty streets, its prim gardens overgrown with waist-high weeds and meadow flowers. Dead cows rot where they were left to starve in their pens. Chicken coops writhe with maggots, a sickening stench hanging in the air. This once-thriving community of 16,000 people now has a population of one. In this nuclear no-man's land poisoned by radiation from a disaster-battered power plant, rice farmer Naoto Matsumura refuses to leave despite government orders. He says he has thought about the possibility of getting cancer but prefers to stay - with a skinny dog named Aki his constant companion. Nearly six months after Japan's catastrophic earthquake and tsunami, the 53-year-old believes he is the only inhabitant left in this town sandwiched between the doomed Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power station to the north and another sprawling nuclear plant to the south. (twincities.com)
31 Aug A growing number of Japanese men and women keen to lose weight are slipping into underwear which claims to burn hundreds of calories a week, simply by wearing them. Perfect for exercise-shy food-lovers, the MXP Calorie Shaper Pants are made with non-elasticated material that the company claims can make muscles work extra hard while walking or climbing stairs. The new underpants, from the Tokyo-based Goldwin company, claim that the average 10 stone man who walks 90 minutes a day while wearing them can lose 210 kilocalories weekly - the equivalent of half a litre of beer. (telegraph.co.uk)

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Japan holds annual earthquake drill, first since March disaster - Telegraph.co.uk

The government conducted drills based on the scenario of a 7.3 magnitude earthquake striking Tokyo, which would have catastrophic consequences given that the capital and its surrounding prefectures account for over a quarter of Japan's population and about a third of its economy. The March earthquake measured 9.0.

More than a thousand people participated in exercises in central Tokyo's Yoyogi Park, where military helicopters buzzed overhead, police bikes sped past and medical personnel tended to people trapped under a damaged car in a mock emergency situation.

Outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan, whose support ratings plummeted due to disapproval of his administration's response to the March disaster, held a mock press conference in which he told the public that the government was doing its utmost to minimise the damage.

"It feels more real, that this place could actually be filled by people unable to get home," said Ikuo Suzuki, an official at Yoyogi Park, which is a designated evacuation area in the event of a major earthquake.

Preparedness exercises included experiencing various disaster situations, such as boarding a specially designed elevator that shakes violently as if in a strong earthquake.

"It has a tenser atmosphere than I expected," said Masako Yoshida, a mother of two who was participating for the first time. "I remembered how on that day (March 11), I was separated from my children. Transport had stopped."

The police also conducted exercises in which they blocked traffic at about 100 locations in Tokyo to practice ensuring the passage of emergency vehicles.

The preparedness drills are held every year on Sept. 1, the anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake that killed 140,000 people in the Tokyo area.

The government forecasts that a 7.3 magnitude quake directly under Tokyo would kill up to 11,000 people, injure about 210,000, force 7 million to evacuate and cost the $5 trillion economy around $1 trillion in damages – five times the estimated damages from the March 11 disaster.

Kishie Shigekawa, a professor of environmental disaster studies at Fuji Tokoha University, said progress has been made in improving Tokyo buildings' anti-quake reinforcements, after the 1995 Kobe earthquake in western Japan took so many lives due to lack of structural strength in that city's buildings.

But she warned that post-quake fires were an urgent issue given Tokyo's dense population and crowded architectural landscape.

"It inevitably takes time, but long-term city planning to reduce loss of life ... is something we need to keep on pushing for," Shigekawa said.

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Tomari reactor first to go back fully online since 3/11

SAPPORO — A reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido became the first to resume full commercial operation since the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 plant after Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi officially gave her approval Wednesday.

The Tomari plant's reactor 3 is the first of the reactors undergoing regular inspections at the time of the Fukushima crisis to go fully online again.

However, because the reactor has already been generating electricity at full capacity under what is known as an "adjustment operation" in the final phase of the inspection, there will be effectively no difference in output as it shifts to commercial operation.

The reactor began undergoing a regular inspection in January and started the adjustment operation on March 7, before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami triggered the nuclear crisis in Fukushima.

The checks were supposed to end in early April, but Hokkaido Electric Power Co. applied for the final test of the inspection process only recently because it had to enhance its safety measures in response to the nuclear crisis.

In announcing her approval at a news conference Wednesday, Takahashi called on the central government to "act responsibly in taking all possible safety measures based on the Fukushima accident."

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry issued a certificate for the completion of the reactor's regular inspection following the governor's approval.

Earlier in the day, the prefectural government notified municipalities around the Tomari plant of the governor's intention to approve the restart. The municipal authorities gave their consent to the governor's decision.

The final test on reactor 3 ended Aug. 10, with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, which is under the wing of the industry ministry, confirming that there are no problems with the reactor.

Nuclear reactors that are suspended for regular checkups need to undergo certain stress tests before restarting operations due to the crisis, but the government has said that the case of the Tomari reactor is not considered a "restart" because the reactor is already activated.

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Linkers Dropping Most Since Lehman Show Deflation Deepening: Japan Credit - Bloomberg

Enlarge image Japan’s economy shrank at a 1.3 percent annual pace in the three months through June, the third-straight quarter of contraction, the Cabinet Office said on Aug. 15.

Japan’s economy shrank at a 1.3 percent annual pace in the three months through June, the third-straight quarter of contraction, the Cabinet Office said on Aug. 15. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg

Japan’s inflation-linked bonds are poised for a second monthly decline as the stronger yen exacerbates deflationary pressure on an economy still reeling from a record earthquake and a nuclear crisis.

Securities that reflect the outlook for consumer prices have handed investors a 0.02 percent loss in August, an index compiled by Bank of America Merrill Lynch shows, set for the first two-month slide since November 2008 in the aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse. By comparison, U.S. inflation-linked debt has increased 6.4 percent since the end of June, while Germany’s has risen 3.3 percent.

The yen has recovered all losses against the dollar since Japan sold its currency on Aug. 4 for the third time in a year, re-approaching a postwar record set in March. A gauge of price trends known as the deflator fell in the second quarter by the most in more than a year, data showed this week, adding to evidence the stronger currency is deepening deflationary pressures that have gripped the country for more than a decade.

“I expect linkers to continue to slump,” said Takeshi Minami, chief economist in Tokyo at Norinchukin Research Institute Co., a unit of Norinchukin Bank, which has $920 billion in assets. “The yen’s appreciation counters rising prices on commodities and adds to downward pressure on the domestic economy by hurting exporters’ earnings, so it has negative influence over consumer prices.”

Japan’s economy shrank at a 1.3 percent annual pace in the three months through June, the third-straight quarter of contraction, the Cabinet Office said on Aug. 15. The deflator dropped 2.2 percent in the period from a year earlier, more than the median estimate of economists for a 1.7 percent decrease.

Deflation, or a general drop in prices, boosts the value of fixed payments from debt. The so-called breakeven rate, or the difference between yields on five-year notes and inflation- linked debt, fell to negative 0.48 percentage points on Aug. 9, the least since April 7, and was negative 0.44 percentage points today. That compared with a positive 1.70 percentage points in the U.S.

Japan’s statistics bureau will change the base year to 2010 from 2005 for the computation of consumer prices starting with July data that’s due for release Aug. 26.

Consumer prices excluding fresh food probably fell 0.3 percent last month, according to estimates by Norinchukin’s Minami.

“Expectations for inflation have barely risen in Japan,” said Hiroto Kuwahara, chief quantitative analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. in Tokyo, one of the 25 primary dealers obliged to bid at government debt sales. “Accordingly, demand for linkers is stagnant.”

The yen traded as strong as 76.61 per dollar in Tokyo today, compared with as weak as 80.24 on Aug. 4 when Japan unilaterally sold its currency. It hit a record 76.25 on March 17 amid speculation Japanese companies would repatriate assets to cope with earthquake and tsunami-related damages. The yen returned to those levels this month as investors sought a refuge from debt crises in the U.S. and Europe.

Japan’s bonds climbed today, with 20-year yields sliding three basis points to 1.82 percent as of 3:09 p.m. in Tokyo. Ten-year bonds yielded 1.02 percent, or 0.82 percentage points more than the growth rate of consumer prices. The so-called real yield on similar-maturity U.S. debt was a negative 1.34 percentage points.

“There is a vicious cycle of the yen appreciation and deflation,” said Masafumi Yamamoto, chief currency strategist at Barclays Bank Plc in Tokyo. “A stronger yen definitely could create deflationary pressure. Higher Japanese real yields are supportive for the yen at the same time, which will likely strengthen to 75 per dollar over the next month.”

A re-emergence of deflation and the yen’s strength may prompt the Bank of Japan to ease policy further. The BOJ expanded an asset-purchase fund, which buys securities ranging from government bonds to corporate debt to stock funds, by 5 trillion yen ($65 billion) on Aug. 4 to total 15 trillion yen.

“Depending on foreign-exchange rates, the economic outlook and most of all consumer prices, pressure on the BOJ for additional easing will certainly increase,” said Shuji Tonouchi, a senior fixed-income strategist in Tokyo at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley.

To contact the reporters on this story: Monami Yui in Tokyo at myui1@bloomberg.net; Masaki Kondo in Singapore at mkondo3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rocky Swift at rswift5@bloomberg.net

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U.S. Bonds Converge With Japan in Biggest Rally Since 2008 - San Francisco Chronicle

Article:U.S. Bonds Converge With Japan in Biggest Rally Since 2:/g/a/2011/08/15/bloomberg1376-LPV4G807SXKX01-5G5KHFNT68KD4R952B67AMPAFN.DTL (Updates to show Treasuries fell in European trading in ninth paragraph.)

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. government bond yields are poised to converge with Japan's for the first time in almost two decades, sparking the biggest returns for investors in Treasuries since 2008 while raising concern that America may be stuck in a prolonged period of below-par economic growth.

"We are beginning to resemble Japan from an interest-rate policy standpoint as well as potentially an economic growth standpoint," Bill Gross, who runs the world's biggest bond fund at Pacific Investment Management Co., said in a telephone interview Aug. 10. Investors are "fearful of low growth and are fleeing to high-quality sovereign paper at whatever yield."

Treasuries soared last week after Standard & Poor's cut the U.S. credit rating from AAA, Europe's sovereign-debt crisis deepened and stock markets gyrated, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising or falling an average of 3.85 percent each day. The bond rally drove two-year Treasury yields down to a record low and within three basis points of similar-maturity Japanese debt, the smallest gap since 1992, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

The outlook for the U.S. economy is so weak that the Federal Reserve took the unprecedented step last week of saying it will keep its benchmark interest rate at almost zero through mid-2013. That promises to bolster demand for Treasuries as the government sells bonds to finance a budget deficit that Congress forecasts will exceed $1 trillion for a third straight year.

Estimates Slashed

Global financial strains, government fiscal austerity and a lack of jobs led economists to slash their estimates for growth in gross domestic product in 2012 to 2.4 percent, from 3 percent in July, based on the median of 81 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Japan's government said last week the nation's GDP may expand 0.5 percent in the year started April 1.

Even Gross, who is co-chief investment officer at Newport Beach, California-based Pimco, has been building his holdings of U.S. government debt since eliminating the securities from his $245.5 billion Total Return Fund in February, saying at the time that Treasuries "have little value" because of the nation's growing debt burden and inflation-adjusted yields below zero. The fund had 10 percent of its assets in U.S. debt last month.

Treasuries have returned 6.73 percent this year on average, exceeding the 5.88 percent gain for all of 2010 and the most since they rallied 14 percent in 2008. That was the year the economy shrank 3.5 percent as the subprime-mortgage crisis deepened and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed.

Yields Tumble

The yield on the benchmark two-year Treasury fell last week 10 basis points, or 0.1 percentage point, to 0.19 percent. Ten- year yields tumbled 30 basis points to 2.26 percent, the biggest drop since they tumbled 45 basis points in the period ended Dec. 19, 2008. The yield touched a record low 2.0346 percent.

The 10-year yield climbed two basis points to 2.28 percent today as of 9:29 a.m. in London.

Strategists are having a hard time adjusting their forecasts fast enough to keep up with the declines. A Bloomberg survey of 46 economists and strategists released Aug. 12 showed that they slashed their median 10-year yield estimate for the first quarter to 3.10 percent from 3.75 percent in July's poll.

"We may end up seeing the lows close to 1.5 percent before the cycle is over," said David Rosenberg, the chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates in Toronto and the former chief North American economist at Merrill Lynch & Co. Rosenberg said early last month in a radio interview with Tom Keene on "Bloomberg Surveillance" that 10-year notes would "retest the lows in yields we had in 2008."

Relative Yields

The reward for this Stienstra climb is a view that can give you a sense of rapture and a queasy stomach. 

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