Japan close to halting release of radioactivity into Pacific

Published on Sunday 10 April 2011 18:07

Japanese nuclear power plant operator Tepco expects to stop pumping radioactive water into the Pacific ocean today, days later than planned, in a step that would help ease international concern about the spread of radiation from the smashed Fukushima nuclear plant.

Prime minister Naoto Kan's Democratic Party was set to be punished at yesterday's local polls for his handling of the massive earthquake and tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeastern coast on 11 March, killing 13,000 and triggering the world's worst nuclear accident since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.

China and South Korea have also criticised Japan's handling of the nuclear crisis, with Seoul calling it incompetent, reflecting growing international unease over the month-long atomic disaster and the spread of radiation.

Japan is struggling to regain control of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that was damaged by the magnitude-9 quake and 15-metre tsunami.

The nuclear plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), has been pumping sea water into the reactors to cool the nuclear core, and then discharging the water, after it has become contaminated, back into the Pacific Ocean.

Tepco had planned to stop the discharge on Saturday, but work was interrupted by a powerful aftershock late on Thursday. The firm then pushed the target back to yesterday - a goal it failed to meet.

"We are making checks on remaining water, and the final check is scheduled for tomorrow," a company spokesman told a press briefing.

Tepco was forced to start pumping sea water into the power plant after failing to restart the reactors' cooling systems after the quake. It has been pumping in nitrogen to cool the core, but officials say they are unsure of what to do next.

"We cannot say what the outlook is for the next stage," Hidehiko Nishiyama, a deputy director-general of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) said. "As soon as possible we would like to achieve stable cooling and set a course towards controlling radiation."

Japan is also grappling with a major humanitarian and economic crisis and facing a damages bill as high as $300 billion - the world's biggest for any natural disaster.

Japanese who voted in local elections yesterday were expected to shun Kan's ruling party, further weakening him and bolstering opponents who will try to force his resignation once the crisis ends. Results of the vote are expected today.

Unpopular prime minister Kan was already under pressure to step down before the disaster, but analysts say he is unlikely to be dumped during the nuclear crisis, which is set to drag on for months.

In Tokyo, around 5,000 people took to the streets in two separate anti-nuclear protests yesterday.Some carried placards reading "No More Fukushima" and "No Nukes"; others danced and played musical instruments.

One group of demonstrators marched to the offices of the operator of the stricken plant, which has apologised to Japan, and neighbouring countries, for the crisis.

Radiation from Japan spread around the entire northern hemisphere in the first two weeks of the nuclear crisis.

Efforts to regain control of six reactors hit by the tsunami, which caused partial meltdowns to some reactor cores after fuel rods were overheated, has been hindered by 60,000 tonnes of radioactive water.

Mayor calls for change

Tokyo's governor won re-election yesterday - despite a gaffe in which he suggested the earthquake and tsunami were "divine punishment" for Japan.

Shintaro Ishihara, 78, had been expected to secure his fourth four-year-term in the race.

Just days after the earthquake and tsunami swept over the country's north-east, Ishihara caused a stir with his comments.

"We need to wash away our egoism with this tsunami. Really, I believe this is divine punishment," he told reporters on 14 March.

After a public outcry, he retracted the remarks and apologised a day later.

Yesterday, though, he appeared unrepentant, calling on Japanese to live more humble lives

"Japanese beauty remains in Japanese people, but unless we suppress our egoism, Japan will not revive," Ishihara told a televised news conference as he accepted victory.