Noda's declaration on Fukushima met with cynicism

Noda - what are you thinking? no way the japanese people are that stupid! who are the people advising you?

It's actually a good thing that skeptics are questioning this. Lets have the IAEA come in for a real inspection to tell us the truth.

was met with criticism from various quarters.

the Institute for Sustainable Energy Policies, an anti-nuclear body

Greenpeace - an anti-nuclear body

New York Times - an anti-Japan body

AFP - an anti-Japan body

various? all the same

I think that it is unforgivable that the Government is still trying to save face.

You can't deal with the situation properly if you keep pretending it's fixed. It's counter-intuitive.

It is a little like the US declaring that things in Iraq are completely under control... Well perhaps a bit of an apples and oranges comparison - but a project a good 100 years to get the area habitable again...

Noda - what are you thinking? no way the japanese people are that stupid!

Sadly, I think they are. Noda is gambling that they are and based on the government's handling of it all, brushing things under the carpet, still allowing food from the are to be sold, fish from the area being caught and sold, people cutting back on power and then getting excited about Xmas lights... yep, they ARE that stupid.

Why doesn't this article mention Hatoyama's article in Nature? http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T111215005428.htm

They just want to have this all cleaned up neat and tidy in time for O-shogatsu.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvxjZXjz648&feature=relmfu

I still give a huge credit to Japan for what they have accomplished from what it used to be. I have posted a weblink listed above (I listed the same for Nuke protesting issue), so you can refresh your memories where you were 9 months ago. I am just humble to accept what it is today,and I am very thankful. Many more hard tasks ahead for Fukushima, and somehow, we will get there.

JGov has a credibility problem. They created this problem by blatent lies and misinformation at the outset. They were extremely economical with the truth. Having said that, I hope what he says is the truth. Japan could do with some good news as we enter the year of the dragon.

This is Noda's "mission accomplished" moment. Truth that is under his nose if he cares to look at it is that a leaking reactor that is too hot to get at is far from stable. There is nothing new in the government line here. Since the 3/11 disaster the government has constantly downplayed the severity of the damage.

@Oldsanno, when everybody starts to say that you guys (J-gov, Tepco, etc.) are doing almost everything wrong, a reasonable guy WOULD GET THE CLUE!!!

World would gladly support you guys, but not if you yourselves keep heading towards the cliff. There is a proper time for cultural pride. This is not one. Do not push others away if you don't like standing alone.

We should investigate this announcement to confirm the real situation of new clear reactors which remains not completely fixed. To do this, the government needs to outline all data which covers not only radiation level but also robustness on equipments installed outside reactors, e.g. how long equipments can be used... for example.

oldsanno You mentioned that the NY Times was an anti-Japan body. I am curious to know whether this is really true. What are the facts to support this? Just because some organization says things you do not like about Japan does not mean they are anti-Japan. It all depends on whether the truth is said or whether there are subjective facts that are out of touch "with reality".

@zichi, the world has been estimating total cost including Fukushima would exceed Y50 trillion. There are still too many unknown we still have to deal with, but it is better than 3/11 when I first heard about it. Everyone in US was in total shock. My another concern is misplaced people who are still waiting for places to live. As you know the winter is just around the corner.My heart goes out to them. People often say Gambare, but how much Gambare do they have to do?

What happened to the water treatment plant? What happened to the dome they were building? Did all of these fail?

Honestly, what are they thinking. Cold shutdown, not even close.

Governments, corporations and organized religion should never be trusted.

That's what history has taught us. And this is not specific to Japan or to this nuclear accident.

Don't want to go too cold though.

What the experts above are saying about miles of exposed cooling water pipes, well, skipping around saying, is that these pipes might freeze solid.

Or put more simply, "Hey, TEPCO, almost time to start lagging some of those pipes, eh??

Nudge, nudge, wink, WINK!

Is it just me or does nodas nose look a little longer today?

If external cooling is not needed anymore, it is a cold shutdown, period. It is a simple definition. If some commentators here think they have inside information that others dont have, it would be nice if we could see the sources.

Yep. I've got some sources. It's called previous experience of the government and tepco on numerous occasions making statements that were later proved to be at best wrong, at worst compleat life threatening lies.

Cold shutdown of information from the government

Mr. Noda needs to prove this by holding his press conference at the site of the disaster. Then he and every executive of TEPCO both present and past can toast their victory with a glass of decontaminated nuclear waste water.

Net-net, he's unfortunately damaged his credibility abroad and earned a C plus for Kabuki in the homeland.

It is an external ad-hoc, temporary, unorthodox cooling system cooling corium masses, they are NOT reactors. Look up a definition of reactor. Look up a definition of 'cold shutdown' neither on either count. Get real deniers. It ain't what you're being told, sold or fed. Think for yourselves and see the truth. No cold shutdown, no reactors, no all round on all counts. There will be no cold shutdown, only a containment -hopefully- and clean up -hopefully- of this unprecedented mess.

To PM Noda and your cabinet... just be transparent and Japan and the world the real facts about Fukushima Nuke power plants disaster. And your government plans and programs for the people affected and what have been done and needed to be done. Japanese are very good survivors and they will survive but you must be transparent and truthful with your announcement for them to understand and follow.

I view Mr Noda's good news with the same healthy scepticism as Mrs Coughalot employed when I got home at 3 am the other night and declared I wasn't drunk.

It's not impossible that the declaration is a deliberate lie, but if not, it is optimistic to the point of folly.

WilliB, to quote from the article above: ...the backup equipment installed at the plant since the crisis began is makeshift and may break down. He said winter cold could test their strength. “A turning point was to have successfully established a circulation system for cooling water,” said Kazuhiko Kudo, a nuclear reactor expert and professor at Kyushu University in Fukuoka. “But the circulation system is not a proper one for nuclear reactors and is still a stop-gap measure,” Kudo said. “The system in Fukushima, which is placed outside the reactor and connected with long pipes, is quite unstable,” he added. “It is necessary to further improve the system as quickly as possible.”

Does this not say to you that a necessary water-driven cooling system is still in place and functioning , however crude and rickety?

External cooling is still needed, I am afraid, and no-one is denying it.

Parts of Tokyo 11 times over the government set limit with no explanations and a media blackout -yes, I am an unbeliever!

@japanmanj

Lets have the IAEA come in for a real inspection to tell us the truth.

"The IAEA welcomes the announcement by the Government of Japan that the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have achieved a 'cold shutdown condition' and are in a stable state, and that the release of radioactive materials is under control."

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/2011/coldshutdown.html

IAEA = pro-nuke (they promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy)

Did he announce the ending of earthquake activity in Japan too?

It's actually a good thing that skeptics are questioning this. Lets have the IAEA come in for a real inspection to tell us the truth.

@japanmanj, seriously? You're waiting to hear the truth from IAEA's Amano? Just how long are you prepared to wait?

Japan need somebody who doesn't have an amakudari job waiting.

New leaks today, we are hearing.

@gogogo.... I am wondering too why media hasn't follow up further about the progress of the water treatment and the dome they were building. Mmmmm Where are the Paparazzi's of Japan. Maybe JT reporters can investigate and do more ambush interviews from the concerned officials. =)).