Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

U.S. task force lays out priorities for post-quake Japan

National Nov. 05, 2011 - 02:38PM JST ( 28 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

28 Comments

3

sillygirlNov. 05, 2011 - 07:28AM JST

well somebody had to say it. the goverment and TEPCO have their thumbs up their butts. Now, if the US could get their own $hit together. maybe the saying ""fresh eyes" is good and someone else can lay out a plan.
-2

noriyosan73Nov. 05, 2011 - 08:10AM JST

"Japan should shore up its nuclear safety credibility and prime its economy to bounce back from the quake-tsunami disaster, a U.S. task force says." Brilliant conclusion, but who paid for these people to be there? Another waste of US taxpayers' funds. Japan is quite capable of reaching these conclusion on its own. Maybe the members got some of those 10,000 free tickets to Japan.
5

UtrackNov. 05, 2011 - 08:20AM JST

A team from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think-tank spent much of the last six months in Japan observing the aftermath of the March 11 natural disaster and subsequent nuclear crisis, then issued a report offering key recommendations on disaster preparedness, economics, health, nuclear energy and civil society.

It's called helping your neighbor sillygirl & noriyosan73 CSIS were in Japan doing their job, they spent 6 months of their lives to help out a country. I for one commend their efforts.
2

paulinusaNov. 05, 2011 - 08:30AM JST

"Japan is quite capable of reaching these conclusion on its own."

Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes it's helpful for outsiders to make recommendations that insiders are resistant to. In that way the Japanese lawmakers can shift the blame. I just hope this would be the case here because the Japanese people are hungry for drastic change.
5

kaminarioyajiNov. 05, 2011 - 08:53AM JST

“We think that there is a serious trust and credibility problem,”

No s**t, Sherlock!
3

sillygirlNov. 05, 2011 - 08:59AM JST

@utrack oh, i agree, i am talking about the good ole usa accepting the same kind of thing for the usa. that is what i meant about fresh eyes - they could use it as well - no sarcasm involved.
4

Terry TibbsNov. 05, 2011 - 09:33AM JST

Unfortunately the Japanese people's downfall will be thier xenophobic reluctance to accept advice and/or critism from outsiders. They will essentially fall on thier own katanas of mistrust and inability to take action due to the cultural traights such as giving desicion making power to the elderly and giving people like Tokyo's Ishihara the power to make all the crucial decisions. The groupthink deliberations in parliament and board meetings which was no problem during the bubble era, has and will in combination with an aging population/declining birthrate, nucleaur crisis/gargantuan recovery effort, reluctance towards TTP etc., will prove to be an utter waste of valuable time and ultimately cause this magnificent country's political and government representatives to Kamakazi thier planes of cultural preservance and protection into a smoulding Fuji sized volcano of "We told you so"
0

John ConstantineNov. 05, 2011 - 10:32AM JST

Hmmm..the U.S. offering advice on an economy...it is rather hard to take that input without a raised eyebrow when the U.S. has serious problems of their own.
4

paulinusaNov. 05, 2011 - 10:45AM JST

John: The CSIS mentioned here isn't the "US", it's a private think-tank based in the US.
1

smithinjapanNov. 05, 2011 - 11:02AM JST

"Among the most urgent was the call for an independent, international study of Japan’s low-dose, long-term radiation problem and how to resolve “outstanding safety issues” sparked by the fuel meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant."

TEPCO and likely the government will likely just shrug and say it's a domestic matter and nothing wrong has been done, and there's simply NO denying the simple reasons for it: to cover up the real extent of the damage in ineptitude in dealing with the crisis and general management of the company, and to ensure that the electric companies move towards restarting the plants currently shut down.

Otherwise there is simply no reason why not to let in a team, including international experts, to investigate and help out. And Japan will still put it's hand out for international aid while rejecting their common-sense suggestions.
4

gaijinTechieNov. 05, 2011 - 11:41AM JST

No. Japan couldn't arrive to the same conclusions. If it could, it would have done so already. I'm glad the CSIS came through where IAEA with it's Japanese president failed.
0

herefornowNov. 05, 2011 - 12:04PM JST

Anxiety about radiation exposure, the report said, “stems from inconsistent safety standards, confusing communications, a lack of adequate preparedness programs, public admissions by the Japanese government that data was withheld at points in the crisis, the discovery of multiple inland ‘hot spots’ far from the coastal nuclear plants, and a revised estimate showing that the radiation released was twice what had originally been acknowledged.”

Gee, pretty much what all us "alarmists"/"fear-mongers" have been saying for months and the Japanophiles have been denying for that long. But other that that, TEPCO and the government have done a bang-up job, right? And, gaijinTechie, you are spot on. Principally because to do so would require Japan to take an honest look at itself and truthfully report the conclusions. And we all know that can never happen.
-7

CrazyJoeNov. 05, 2011 - 12:10PM JST

These bastards just want Japan to join the TPP. Don't interfere in the domestic affairs of Japan.
0

UtrackNov. 05, 2011 - 12:41PM JST

@ sillygirl

There is an Americas Program : The CSIS Americas Program combines long-standing regional expertise on the Western Hemisphere with a strengthened focus on key transnational topics: democracy and governance; trade and development, and regional security to help shape policy debate and formulation in the United States and throughout the region.
0

nigelboyNov. 05, 2011 - 12:52PM JST

Anxiety about radiation exposure, the report said, “stems from inconsistent safety standards, confusing communications, a lack of adequate preparedness programs, public admissions by the Japanese government that data was withheld at points in the crisis, the discovery of multiple inland ‘hot spots’ far from the coastal nuclear plants, and a revised estimate showing that the radiation released was twice what had originally been acknowledged.”

Data withheld=SPEEDI

Reason it was withheld=The measurement within the containment (source) was compromised due to tsunami. SPEEDI's protocol is to use their minimum standard amount when this occurs. The said amount is then disbursed and amount calculated based on weather (wind, rain, topography) which in of itself is a speculation. Hence, SPEEDI's initial results were speculation based on speculation.

"the radiation released was twice what had originally been acknowledged"

Mostly in locations where radiation was minimal (Wakayama, Yamagata, Gunma, Tochigi). This is due to how high the measuring device was located and whether or not the region received rainfall.

LOL. People get paid to right this stuff because there are people who are dumb enough to pay for it.

But then again, there was an incident where a Russian and an American PILOT called in sick because he didn't want to land in Tokyo due to radiation fears. This is no joke. A PILOT.
2

Mentaiko2Nov. 05, 2011 - 01:01PM JST

What worries me is that Japan will see this, dig its heels in and turn in the other direction, ignoring the advice because it doesn't like it when someone tries to tell it what might be the better course of action.... I pray that I am wrong.
0

moomoochooNov. 05, 2011 - 03:17PM JST

An independent assessment would be great, given they had the proper resources and access to do their job properly.
-1

Nicky WashidaNov. 05, 2011 - 03:28PM JST

Oh, well gee Washington, thanks a bunch for the advice. How much were you geniuses paid to tell us what we all already know and have written countless times before on JT?

Yes, you could argue that the government and TEPCO need to be told and I wouldnt disagree with that at all - but this is info they could have gotten from reading JT for the last 6 months and there is about as much chance of them listening to these guys than there is of them listening to all of us!
2

moobbNov. 05, 2011 - 03:59PM JST

please let someone do something! anything! i feel so absolutely powerless and frustrated in this situation. no-one seems to care about the well-being of people living in japan. there is little information in the mainstream media and the information we do get is unreliable and sketchy at best. radiioactive food is being sold and consumed everywher. it's business as usual. if something is not done soon future generations will pay the price. is this really the legacy that we want to leave?
1

warnerbroNov. 05, 2011 - 05:33PM JST

Nigelboy, take a look at the government fallout maps again. Large parts of Gunma and Tochigi are as heavily contaminated as most of Fukushima. The government and press are pretending that Fukushima rice is the major concern when in fact rice is not the most heavily contaminated foodstuff and Fukushima is only a small piece of the contaminated region.
1

johninnahaNov. 05, 2011 - 07:55PM JST

This kind of investigation needs to be done by a body that is as unbiased as possible.

It is good to have this mess of half truths and coverups looked at by a group from another country.

One wonders what would happen if certain fairly recent events in the U.S.A. were investigated by a group from outside that country!
-2

Elbuda MexicanoNov. 05, 2011 - 09:40PM JST

Omg??
0

UtrackNov. 06, 2011 - 06:57AM JST

I am amazed at how a non government entity A Think Tank know less could think the situation in Japan was serious enough to send a Team in to spend 6 months to analize and give a report on how improvements could be made to the situation. Yet the finger pointing crowd says well look at the country your company is based in, well what about them and yet your food, water, soil and people need immediate attention. Occupy your Country.
1

whiskeysourNov. 06, 2011 - 08:22AM JST

MESSAGE TO THE PARANOID PEOPLE - Your right !!!!!

revised estimate showing that the radiation released was twice what had originally been acknowledged.”
1

whiskeysourNov. 06, 2011 - 08:23AM JST

Now, let's run the experiment low dose radation for everybody
0

whiskeysourNov. 06, 2011 - 08:23AM JST

Now, let's run the experiment low dose radation for everybody
0

FadamorNov. 07, 2011 - 03:25AM JST

Oh, well gee Washington, thanks a bunch for the advice. How much were you geniuses paid to tell us what we all already know and have written countless times before on JT?

It wasn't "Washington", Nicky (though it is headquartered there). The CSIS is a bi-partisan , non-profit think-tank. There's a PDF version of their full Nov 3 report at:

http://csis.org/files/publication/111026_Green_PartnershipforRecovery_Web.pdf

And to be honest, those of us who post on JT are rarely - if ever - actually qualified to make recommendations to governments. This report wasn't aimed at you or me, but to the government of Japan.
0

FadamorNov. 07, 2011 - 03:53AM JST

An interesting excerpt from that report:

The Japanese people will chose their own path. No amount of gaiatsu (external pressure) will determine Japan's trajectory at this historic juncture. Despite popular frustration with the political classes in Nagata-cho - hardly unique to Japan - Japan's democracy works. The Japanese people will choose their own path to recovery. As Japan's closest ally, the United States can offer support and expertise based on the American experience, but the U.S. officials, business leaders, and scholars on the CSIS Task Force recognize that leadership for recovery has come and will continue to come from within Japan.

Perhaps a paragraph designed to lessen the "big bad America telling poor Japan what to do" feeling?