Month: September 2011

Tokyo, 10 sep (EFE).-the Minister of economy, trade and industry, Yoshio Hachiro, resigned today, after eight days in Office, between criticism by some controversial comments about the situation in the region of Fukushima, epicenter of the crisis nuclear.

According to the NHK public television after a visit Thursday to the ailing central nuclear Fukushima Daiichi, the Minister joked to journalists when he told them: “Beware, am radioactive”, which earned him an avalanche of criticism.

In addition, responsible for industry crossed areas close to the nuclear power plant of “ghost town”, a definition that was considered “inappropriate” by the members of his training, the ruling Democratic Party, said for his part the local agency Kyodo.

Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, received today Hachiro so that it would give explanations on their statements at a meeting in which the Minister decided to submit his resignation, which was accepted.

His resignation occurred despite the fact that this afternoon, between a growing controversy, publicly presented his apologies for having “bothered the Japanese people and the population of Fukushima” and said it would continue at the forefront of industry, Ministry dealing with nuclear energy.

63-Year-old Hachiro, considered an expert in labour and agricultural issues, swore his post last Friday along with the rest of the new Japanese Cabinet headed by Noda, who came to power replacing Naoto Kan.

The latter last week unveiled a resignation long-awaited by criticism of his handling of the crisis unleashed by the devastating earthquake of 9 degrees Richter which struck Japan is six months.

Tokyo, 10 sep (EFE).-Japan remember tomorrow to more than 20,000 victims of the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 serving six months of the tragedy, who caused a nuclear crisis and left a daunting reconstruction task that the Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, committed today to boost.

Events to remember the deceased will be repeated on Sunday across the country to the 14.46 (05.46 GMT) local time, when six months ago that a strong earthquake of 9 on the Richter shook Northeastern Japan and triggered the worst crisis Japan recalls since World War II.

Today, eve of the disaster, was the day chosen by Noda to make his first visit as head of Government to the areas destroyed, after having taken power formally does little more than one week to replace Naoto Kan.

In the province of Miyagi, where there were more than half of the victims of the disaster, Noda promised to reinforce the reconstruction of the ravaged, areas where accumulate even more than 23,000 tons of rubble.

Tens of thousands of people remain homeless permanent pending on whether the Government decides where their new homes will be built and will be required.

The Prime Minister said that the requests of authorities of Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, the three provinces most affected will be reflected in the third budget extraordinary Executive prepares to confront the astronomical costs of reconstruction.

Have so far been approved two budgets extras for a total of 6 trillion yen (about 56.700 million euros), and the third braced between 7 and 8 trillion yen more to rehabilitate the northeast (between 66.150 and 75.600 million euros).

Job creation was another of the commitments which today adopted Noda, after the natural disaster forced to close many factories in the region and the nuclear crisis has seriously hit the agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry of Fukushima.

This province is home to the dilapidated central of Daiichi, where operators of Tokyo Electric Power (TEPCO), technical and members of emergency teams are working day and night to try to control the temperature of their reactors.

Six months after the tsunami caused the cooling system of the plant, on 11 March had three of its six reactors in operation, the Government and TEPCO view completed the first phase of the “road map” to solve the crisis.

This means that the units have a cooling stable thanks to a system that recycles the contaminated water that accumulates in the central, and the radioactivity decreases steadily “”, according to TEPCO.

Recently the electric announced that reactors 1 and 3 were below 100 degrees Celsius and efforts are now focused on getting that this temperature remains stable, would lead to “cold stop”.

In addition, the operator of Fukushima reported today that has completed the frame that will be a covered giant reactor 1, which will seek to avoid to spread radioactive material, and at the same time rain to flood this unit.

Is expected to cover, with sheets of steel and polyester sheets, completion in October and later will get up similar units 3 and 4, structures damaged in turn by the explosions recorded in the days after the tsunami.

2 Reactor and the pool of used fuel from the reactor 4 concentrated also still the work of operators, whose value has been applauded widely and has earned awards such as the Spanish Prince of Asturias of Concord, this week, the so-called “heroes of Fukushima”.

Despite advances in the containment of the crisis for now remains the exclusion zone decreed in a 20 km radius of the plant, which forced them to evacuate nearly 80,000 families.

Them is compounded by an undetermined number of residents of the same province that went for fear of radioactivity and, half a year later, unaware when they will return.

It is estimated that only the clean-up of residential areas will cost 220 billion yen (2.080 million euros), said yesterday the Government, which not said, however, how long will take that enormous work.

Tokyo, 10 sep (EFE).-the Prime Minister of Japan, Yoshihiko Noda, today pledged to redouble our efforts for the reconstruction of the country’s Northeast during a visit to Miyagi, one of the provinces most devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of March, that morning met six months.

Noda, which began its management earlier this month, met with the provincial authorities who promised to strengthen the support to accelerate the costly reconstruction of the areas stricken by the disaster, which left more than 20,000 killed or missing, more than half of them in Miyagi.

For it committed itself to reflect the demands of the province at the third extraordinary budget which is being drafted for this fiscal year, which could reach 10 trillion yen (about 94.500 million euros).

Of them, between 7 and 8 trillion yen (between 66.100 and 75.600 million euros) they would be directed to finance reconstruction and to create a fund to combat the strength of the yen, as it is today the economic daily Nikkei.

The head of the Government, supporter of financing the reconstruction with increases in tax instead of issuing more debt, also insisted in Miyagi on the need to retrieve the job to revive the economy of the areas destroyed.

“There will be no reconstruction of the areas affected job creation”, he assured Noda, quoted by the local agency Kyodo, while visiting an old fishing market which was submerged by the tsunami in the city of Kesennuma.

The new Prime Minister came to the Government on September 2, replacing Naoto Kan, who resigned a few days earlier to criticism for his handling of the crisis unleashed by the disaster in March.

Upon taking office, Noda, in Khan’s Cabinet was Minister of finance, promised to give new impetus to the reconstruction and the struggle to put an end to the nuclear plant crisis of Fukushima Daiichi.

The ailing nuclear power plant was his first official visit as Prime Minister last Thursday, when traveled Fukushima and met with officials of the central and the workers.

Six months after the catastrophe, the nuclear crisis has evacuated some 80,000 families within a radius of 20 km of the plant, declared a zone of exclusion, while many others in surrounding areas have left the area voluntarily for fear of radioactivity.

The Government and the company TEPCO, operator of the nuclear power plant, expect bring reactors to “cold stop” and be closed the crisis by January 2012.

The until now Japanese Minister of trade and industry, Yoshio Hachiro. EFE/file

A combo facilitated yesterday, showing the cleanup and reconstruction efforts made by the population in the northeast of Japan areas devastated by the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, at Rikuzentakada, Japan. EFE