Rain in Akihabara District...
District of Ueno and its JR Station
TEPCO's Barriers (TEPCO obstacles)
The U.S. exports to China in 2010 were $91.9 billion.
The U.S. imports from China in 2010 were $364.9 billion.
Japan's exports to China in 2010 were $149.96 billion.
Japan's imports from China in 2010 were $152.76 billion.
Japan exports to China 50% more than the U.S. does, while Japan imports from China 50% less than the U.S. does. Accordingly the Japanese trade with China is somewhat balanced unlike the case of the U.S.
Or, Japanese technology is imported to China where it is used for Chinese export to the U.S.
Therefore, it is no wander that the Chinese elite all got so anxious about the 3/11 Disaster in Japan as the Chinese premier recently visited Japan for periodical meeting with the Japanese prime minister and the Korean president.
SECTION I: Tokyo Electric Power Company, Only 5 Barriers?
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and other nuclear power plants run by TEPCO had not so bad records in keeping safety, at least according to its official reports to the Government, till March 11, 2011.
(4) Problem Occurrence
Problems to be reported in accordance with the Electricity Utilities Industry Law and the Law on the Regulation of Nuclear Source Material, Nuclear Fuel Material, and Reactors
Note 1. The cumulative total indicates the number of problems that have occurred since each unit entered the service.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/challenge/index-e.html
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Five Barriers Enclosing Radioactive Substances
The Points in a nuclear power plant where radioactive substances are produced are thoroughly enclosed in multiple barriers to ensure that no radioactivity can leak to the outside.
http://www.tepco.co.jp/en/challenge/energy/nuclear/safety-e.html
The point at issue is that TEPCO's measures for safety were found to be insufficient in the wake of the 3/11 Disaster. Its five barriers are not enough to cope with a disaster beyond expectations, though they worked somewhat successfully until March 11, 2011. In order to advance for absolute perfection, which is a must for nuclear matters, it needs the following additional but essential barriers:
The 6th Barrier: Environmental strength with a focus on a historically maximum-level of earthquakes, tsunamis, sever weather, and other hazardous natural phenomena.
The 7th Barrier: Organizational and social system strength in operation, management, and supervision, including TEPCO itself, subcontractors, local communities, academic communities, and the Government.
The 8th Barrier: Awareness and philosophy enhanced for ultimate safety in the nation.
The conventional barriers TEPCO has adopted are based on its current technical ability and engineering level. It simply states what TEPCO would like to do while saving costs for safety as much as possible. It is centered around TEPCO's convenience.
But, the Barriers 6th, 7th and 8th proposed here are centered around external threats thinkable. It is hard to satisfy these conditions, so that TEPCO is requested to make efforts its nuclear-plant safety level without a limit and forever. On the contrary, TEPCO's current safety paradigm with its five barrier theory would allow TEPCO stop its efforts when it fulfills the conditions it specified based on its convenience and cost-effect^profit calculation.
Efforts to secure safety in a nuclear power plant must be endlessly and limitlessly pursued without a halt. But, TEPCO's current specifications about safety allow the company to stop its efforts to enhance safety but to pursue profits by saving any unnecessary and redundant measures it deems.
For this reason, the Japanese Government has the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission which have, however, proved to be almost useless in the current 3/11 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident.
This defect in national-level safety management of the Japanese Government looks deeply rooted in the Japanese culture that has been nourished and fostered in the Japanese Archipelago isolated from the Asian Continent and the world while being allowed to enjoy rich and genial nature and climates. The environment of Japan has created remarkably modest and moderate personality among the Japanese people. But, it has not trained the people to be always well prepared for acute and pressing condition.
It is also concerned with religions and spiritualism of the Japanese at the deepest level.
SECTION II: IMF Sponsors
There are many Americans who do not know that Japan has been the second largest fund provider for IMF in these decades.
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In the wake of the Fuksuhima Daiichi nuclear accidents in the middle of March, many foreign students, especially Chinese students, left Japan.
But, now two months after the occurrence of the hydrogen explosion and fire in Fukushima Daichi, most of them have come back to Japan.
It is understood. Since four nuclear reactor units were partly broken 220 km northeast of Tokyo (it was only one reactor in the Chernobyl case), everybody would like to leave Tokyo. Even the American Government recommended American citizens to leave a 80-km zone from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Yet, 40 million Japanese are living around Tokyo as usual, and hundreds of workers are tackling the crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima Daiichi. It is because radiation is not at a dangerous level around Tokyo, though it is still unusually high around Fukushima Daiichi.
There was a possibility that millions of people around Fukushima Prefecture were forced to evacuate their home towns, but the situation was not aggravated so much.
The most serious issue now is whether children in Fukushima Prefecture are allowed to go to school where they are expected to receive radiation of 20 milli sieverts per year. The Kan Cabinet has indicated that it can be accepted, though it might be a big mistake.
(A song that ought to have been written and actually was...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=um4pnvJr07A)
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee;
Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.