I was looking to see if anyone had posted any of today's news about Fukushima, then remembered this forum. Do all threads get sent here now, or is it just an accepted thing that after a certain amount of time threads that are no longer popular (is that the reason you all are posting here now and not on GD?)
If that is the case, I will put this story about the UN now contributing to the "rehabilitation," of the Japanese economy by putting out this story in today's news over there:
No ill effects seen from radiation so far: U.N. panel
Kyodo
VIENNA — The U.N. committee on atomic radiation said Monday it has seen no ill effects on health because of radiation released from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
"So far, what we have seen in the population, what we have seen in children, what we have seen in workers . . . we would not expect to see health effects," Wolfgang Weiss, chairman of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, said at a news conference.
"We cannot identify and attribute health effects to these doses," he said, adding that further and detailed data on the radiation doses is needed to say more about the probability of longer-term health effects. In early April, Weiss said the committee would look into impacts of the nuclear accident and compile a report within two years. On Monday, he said work on the report can probably start this summer. A preliminary assessment will be presented next May and the final report should then be published in 2013.
"Our mandate is to look at the source and the effects," Weiss said. More assessments will be made over several decades, according to the committee. Details will be decided during the committee's regular annual session in Vienna this week.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110525a6.htmlGood to know the UN is looking out for peoples' safety, eh?
But the Japanese aren't so sure about all that nice talk, per this article:
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Effort to ease radiation fears in Asia may have limited effect
By MAYA KANEKO
Kyodo
The nation's desperate efforts to ease widespread concerns over its products caused by the nuclear crisis in Fukushima Prefecture have borne some fruit, as important trade partners China and South Korea agreed to take a scientific-based approach for Japanese imports at a trilateral summit through Sunday...
...Since March 11, the number of Japan-bound visitors has dropped sharply. In April, the figures logged year-on-year declines of 66.4 percent and 49.5 percent in South Korea and mainland China, respectively, according to an estimate by the Japan National Tourism Organization.
As for Japanese food and farm products, China is effectively blocking imports of almost all items, with authorities not satisfied with certificates currently issued by Japan to indicate radiation levels and place of origin. Officially, Beijing bans imports from 12 prefectures, including Fukushima and Tokyo, but Wen told Kan on Sunday that China will lift the embargo on Yamanashi and Yamagata prefectures, reducing the number to 10, Foreign Ministry officials said...
..."Instead of trying to appeal to the emotions of (Chinese and South Korean) people with the visual image, Japan should take a logical and reasonable approach and present scientific data on radiation doses in accordance with international standards," he said. Shirai said the government has lost trust globally due to its poor handling of information on the Fukushima crisis, saying it is "totally absurd" that it took two months for Tokyo Electric Power Co. to say that a fuel meltdown may have occurred in reactors at the crisis-hit plant...
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110525f2.html