Japan Nuclear Meltdown Thread

[edededed]

Oops, forgot comic-related words ("manga" as a Japanese loanword to English suffers from the same disease as English loanwords to Japanese, i.e. no new meaning, or else artificially added meaning (it just means "comics" in Japanese)) and non-martial-arts cultural words (like shogi or bonsai or Zen).

"Hentai" is one of those x-rated words that sort of masks the meaning in English by being a bit obscure - again, there is some artificially added meaning by English-speakers. "Bukkake" falls into this category, too (this is unfortunately RSF's best-known Japanese loanword I think).

Bonsai is a pretty good loanword, though - a pretty new idea, so it's all good.

Sashimi/sushi is also good, too, as it sort of means "edible raw fish" as opposed to "just raw fish"

Anyway, loanwords seem to become prevalent when a certain uber-culture appears, and the other cultures seem to feel prestigious when imitating it... Various cultures have been this uber-culture before, like France, China, and the US...

I am in firm denial of wabisabi I think that actually, there is no definition, it is just a nebulous concept of something intrinsically Japanese and unexplainable, yet all Japanese understand it (bah!). Zen is one of those unfortunate Chinese words' Japanese versions which were found by the West first, and thus "won" (kind of like "ki" vs. "qi," but the latter is winning these days).

Interloper, I suspect that your boyfriend had lots of Japanese friends/coworkers while living in the States? Seems strange that his pronunciation didn't change at all (especially since he had you to provide him with a model voice ). It does seem that women are better at assimilating phonemes better than men in general, though.

One girl in China I met who seemed to speak perfect American English - she had never been to the US, though, and said that she learned from movies

[edededed]

Also, I would like to add - actually, Japanese is a very interesting language, with many unique expressions and structures... it is rather sad that the huge influx of Chinese and English loanwords basically smushes this, and then degrades itself because Japanese phonemes are not capable of sufficiently distinguishing the more complex sounds of Chinese and English, leaving speakers with a mishmash of homonyms that can only be distinguished on paper (with footnotes).

The unique parts of Japanese are found in the older parts of the language, for sure.

[Michael]

Channelnewsasia
April 7, 2011
Low-level radiation settles on China spinach

BEIJING: Chinese authorities have detected extremely low levels of radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear power plant on spinach grown in parts of China, but the amount of contamination posed no health hazard, the government said.

The health ministry issued a statement late Wednesday saying tests on the vegetable grown outdoors in Beijing, the northern city of Tianjin and in the central province of Henan had revealed traces of radioactive iodine-131.

Recent rainfall caused radioactive particles in the air to accumulate on the spinach leaves, the ministry said.

"It has been proven that washing the spinach with water can effectively remove radioactive materials," it said.

The amount was one to three thousandths of the legal limit stipulated in China's national radiation safety standard, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing the National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee.

It is the first report of domestic grown produce being contaminated with radiation since Beijing ordered tests on food and water last month in the wake of the disaster at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi plant, the China Daily said.

China has detected 10 cases of radioactive contamination among passengers, aircraft, ships and containers arriving from Japan since March 16, quarantine authorities said on Saturday

[Michael]

Daily Mail
April 7, 2011
The vast field of debris from Japan earthquake and tsunami that's floating towards U.S. West Coast

A vast field of debris, swept out to sea following the Japan earthquake and tsunami, is floating towards the U.S. West Coast, it emerged today.

More than 200,000 buildings were washed out by the enormous waves that followed the 9.0 quake on March 11.

There have been reports of cars, tractor-trailers, capsized ships and even whole houses bobbing around in open water.

But even more grizzly are the predictions of U.S. oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer, who is expecting human feet, still in their shoes, to wash up on the West Coast within three years.

'I'm expecting parts of houses, whole boats and feet in sneakers to wash up,' Mr Ebbesmeyer, a Seattle oceanographer who has spent decades tracking flotsam, told MailOnline.

Members of the U.S. Navy's 7th fleet, who spotted the extraordinary floating rubbish, say they have never seen anything like it and are warning the debris now poses a threat to shipping traffic.

'It's very challenging to move through these to consider these boats run on propellers and that these fishing nets or other debris can be dangerous to the vessels that are actually trying to do the work,' Ensign Vernon Dennis told ABC News.

Scientists say the first bits of debris from Japan are due to reach the West Coast in a year's time after being carried by currents toward Washington, Oregon and California.

They will then turn toward Hawaii and back again toward Asia, circulating in what is known as the North Pacific gyre, said Mr Ebbesmeyer,

Mr Ebbesmeyer, who has traced Nike sneakers, plastic bath toys and hockey gloves accidentally spilled from Asia cargo ships, is now tracking the massive debris field moving across the Pacific Ocean from Japan.

He relies heavily on a network of thousands of beachcombers to report the location and details of their finds.

[Michael]

Those Pacific Ocean currents will also be carrying radioactive waste and irradiated fish, debris, etc.

[Michael]

Yas Idei, Forbes blog
April 7, 2011
New Japan Quake Cuts Power To Nuclear Plants

At 12:10 a.m., Tokyo Electric Power Co, operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, announced that the latest quake has had no influence on the facility. Elsewhere the news is more worrisome. NHK says power cuts are occurring at the Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi Pref., north of Fukushima, although radiation levels around the plant remain unchanged so far.

At 12:23 a.m. the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, an arm of the Japanese government, began holding an emergency press conference. An official said external sources of electricity have been cut to both the Higashi-Dori nuclear power plant in Aomori Pref and the Rokkasho nuclear recycling plant, which I wrote about in the latest issue of Forbes magazine . Both facilities are in Aomori Prefecture, near the tip of Japan’s main island, and are reportedly operating normally via on-site emergency generators.

A tsunami warning is still in effect along the coast of Miyagi Pref. Despite Tokyo Electric’s assurances, the Fukushima plant warrants close attention, said an expert appearing on NHK.

[Michael]

Xinhua News (China state news), English edition
April 8, 2011
Radioactive water leaks found at Onagawa nuke plant after Thursday's quake

TOKYO, April 8 (Xinhua) -- Radioactive water leaks were found Friday at Onagawa nuclear power plant in Miyagi prefecture after the 7.4-magnitude aftershock shook northeastern Japan Thursday night, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Radioactive water spilled from pools holding spent nuclear fuel rods at the power plant. It was observed inside the buildings at all three reactors at the Onagawa plant, which has suspended operations since the mega earthquake and tsunami on March 11, according to the nuclear safety agency.

As much as 3.8 liters of water leaked at one of them, with the highest level of a radioactive isotope -- 5,410 bequerels per kilogram -- found in the spilled water on the floor beside a spent fuel pool in the building housing the No. 1 reactor, Kyodo said.

The powerful aftershock knocked out three out of four external power supply units in Onagawa, operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co., leaving only one power source to cool the spent fuel.

The cooling operations at the plant stopped once, but then resumed quickly.

One of the crippled external power supply was restored on Friday morning, the operator said.

Onagawa was the nearest nuclear power plant from the focus of the March 11 earthquake and the aftershock on Thursday. It still has its emergency backup generator to fall back on.

The strong aftershock didn't cause any problem to the troubled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant. No changes in radiation readings have been observed at any of the nuclear facilities in Japan's northeastern Pacific coast after the temblor.




Xinhua News (China state news), English edition
April 8, 2011
Radiation in China (updated)

BEIJING, April 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Public concerns are growing as higher levels of radiation from Japan's quake-damaged nuclear power plant have been detected in more Chinese areas.

Addressing public concerns on the radioactive leakage from the quake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan, China's Ministry of Environmental Protection began to issue its statements on China's radioactive level on March 12 and updates its assessment twice a day on its website until now.

Low levels of iodine-131 in the air

On April 7, "Extremely low levels" of radioactive iodine-131 were detected in the air over some areas of all provincial-level regions except Guizhou.

Low levels of iodine-131 on the surface of plants

Extremely small amounts of radioactive isotope iodine-131 had been found on the surface of spinach plants in Beijing, nearby Tianjin and central China's Henan province .

The radioactive isotope iodine-131 has also been found in the lettuce in Jiangsu Province, and in the spinach beet in Guangdong Province.

Trace levels of radioactive isotope cesium-137 and -134

On April 7, trace levels of radioactive isotope cesium-137 and -134 were detected in the air of at least 22 of the Chinese mainland's 31 provincial-level regions.

Influence

The current trace amounts of radioactive materials will not pose any threat to public health or to the environment, and there is no need to take protective measures against the contamination, said the China's National Nuclear Emergency Coordination Committee on Thursday.

[Michael]

Daily Mail
By Richard Shears
Last updated at 5:48 PM on 7th April 2011

Scores of schools in South Korea closed over fears of radioactive rain from Japan's crippled nuclear plant

Scores of schools in South Korea were closed today as teachers and parents panicked over fears that falling rain could be carrying radiation from Japan's crippled nuclear plant.

As rain swept across the Korean capital, Seoul, and the surrounding Gyeonggi province, classes were cancelled or cut back and children were hurried to their homes.

Seoul is around 750 miles from the damaged nuclear plant at Fukushima and since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami radiation has been leaking into the atmosphere and the sea, contaminating vegetables, meat and fish nearby.

Concerns grew when the capital's weather agency said that radioactive material from the Fukushima plant might be carried to South Korea by south-easterly winds.

When the rain began to fall, the provincial education office in Gyeonggi province ordered the closure of schools as part of 'pre-emptive measures for the safety of students'.

A spokesman said schools had been ordered to cancel or shorten classes because of 'growing anxiety among students and parents over conflicting claims on the safety of radiation exposure'.

Schools particularly affected by the closures were in rural areas where students have to walk long distances to their classes, exposing them to prolonged periods in the rain.

Schools which have remained open have been told to suspend all outdoor activities.

At first, education officials refused to take any action, but as reports continued to flow about the leakage of radiation into the sea at Fukushima the pressure on the authorities mounted.

One parent wrote: 'Please order class cancellation. I'm worried to death about my kid and can't sleep.'

Finally authorities gave in, ordering scores of schools to be closed and telling others to postpone baseball, outdoor basketball, football and other sports.

Government officials have tried to calm the population by insisting that the amount of radioactive material in rainfall is too small to pose any health threat.

Education offices have been urged to do all they can to 'stop making parents nervous'.



Deserted: A kindergarten in Goyang, north of Seoul, is empty after it was closed over fears that rain could contain radioactive particles from Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan

[Brady]

Wow, Michael you are the best RSS feed I know of. Thanks for the updates man.

[Michael]

It's an important story and it's easier to discuss if we have lots of good information.

[Michael]

Inside report from Fukushima nuclear reactor evacuation zone
12 minute video, Japanese with English subtitles
Uploaded by videonewscom on Apr 6, 2011

Fukushima, Japan - The Japanese government has issued the evacuation order on March 12 for the residents living within the 20 kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Since then, residents have left their homes, and the "no man land" has been out of touch with the rest of the world.

A Japanese journalist, Tetsuo Jimbo, ventured through the evacuation zone last Sunday, and filed the following video report.

He says that, inside the evacuation zone, homes,building, roads and bridges, which were torn down by Tsunami, are left completely untouched, and the herd of cattle and pet dogs, left behind by the owners, wonders around the town while the radiation level remains far beyond legal limits.

Watch the video report.

[internalenthusiast]

yes, thanks michael, for your updates.

my prayers go out in support of the japanese.

[Interloper]

It's so hard to imagine entire ghost towns like that, in a developed and sophisticated country like Japan. To be so utterly unprepared for this kind of disaster... it's just unbelievable. The ancestors who put up markers 600 and more years ago could never have imagined the additional devastation of nuclear radiation; tsunami alone are bad enough.

Even more than prayer, Japanese aid organizations could probably use more cash to help those displaced and devastated by this chain of catastrophes.

[internalenthusiast]

It's so hard to imagine entire ghost towns like that, in a developed and sophisticated country like Japan. To be so utterly unprepared for this kind of disaster... it's just unbelievable. The ancestors who put up markers 600 and more years ago could never have imagined the additional devastation of nuclear radiation; tsunami alone are bad enough.

Even more than prayer, Japanese aid organizations could probably use more cash to help those displaced and devastated by this chain of catastrophes.

To be so utterly unprepared for this kind of disaster... it's just unbelievable.


i suspect we might potentially be in the same boat.

Even more than prayer, Japanese aid organizations could probably use more cash to help those displaced and devastated by this chain of catastrophes.

i agree.

[Interloper]

Yup, I fear that we'd be just as unprepared here. Hurricane Katrina was a good indication of our degree of readiness and our level of priorities.