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Gov't unveils 'Grand Design' for Fukushima reconstruction

27 Comments

The Reconstruction Agency on Tuesday unveiled its "Grand Design" for the recovery of 12 municipalities in Fukushima which have been designated no-go zones due to last year's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Reconstruction Agency chief Tatsuo Hirano outlined the plan at a news conference. He said the "Grand Design" -- which will involve three stages -- will focus on the reconstruction of roads, water supply and sewerage systems, infrastructure, as well as relief for long-term-refugees in the 12 areas, TBS reported.

Hirano said the first stage will involve decontaminating towns within the 12 zones over a two-year period. The next three years will aim at rebuilding communities and living infrastructure. The third phase will focus on restoring industry, agriculture and employment by attracting new enterprises to the region.

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27 Comments
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There's our answer as to why the Govt. didn't want to contain the waste in Fukushima.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Inefficient Government + "Grand Design" = Trouble

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Pork barrel construction projects to garner votes and provide some nice retirement jobs for the bureaucrats who approve them.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

For the last 30 years the government has been 'planning' to move government offices out of Tokyo and into other areas. I see a great symbiosis here: the 'new' enterprises could be the government. Especially the government offices responsible for nuclear regulation.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

It's time for someone to send them a message. And I dont mean a letter either. The people's voice is not being heard! The government keeps lying and falsifying data to fill their pockets with our money.

2 ( +9 / -7 )

I've got a grand idea for the 'no-go' zones as well. Don't go there because they are no-go zones.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Line up for the money yakuza companies

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Zichi, absolutely right!

I find it disgraceful that these Japanese residents have been treated this way in such a modern, rich country.

These people have lost everything, and the Govt. thinks a classroom and some free food(not free now, apparently) is good compensation?

I don't care what anyone says, but I will not give money to the Tohoku disaster knowing that people are being neglected like this. Direct donations only.

Fukushima will be off-limits for years to come, and the Govt. is just giving false hope.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

The Reconstruction Agency on Tuesday unveiled its "Grand Design" for the recovery of 12 municipalities in Fukushima which have been designated no-go zones due to last year's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident.

Why not give the compensation money to the people put out, and let them make their own "grand design".

That no-go area is not going to become safe, anytime soon enough, for some of the elderly. Let them have their money!

7 ( +7 / -0 )

The nuclear village refuses to classify this as a permanent no-go zone because of the strong message of hazard it would send to municipalities around all nuclear plants. They need to show, no matter what happens, nuclear energy is "safe" and even in the event of a "natural disaster", everything can go back to "normal". WAKE UP! It's a dead zone to human life. Stop wasting our taxes.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

The areas being dicussed sound like highly radioactive ones

SO! wud you even consider infrastructure work there

Once again it seems we have utter imbeciles at the ready to waste our taxes & likely have already spent the additional 5% consumption tax that isnt even being collect yet, bottom line is this is really fracked!

5 ( +5 / -0 )

The government should keep away from "Grand Designs" and reconstruction work. It seems that 30 years of Keynesian stimulus have not been enough. They still believe in that fantasy that government intervention is necessary, while it the the root of the problem (with crony capitalism, collusion between government and friendly "private" businesses).

If they want to help, create special economic areas in Fukushima with no tax and special laws (no red tape, business friendly regulations, etc...). Then businesses will come and everything will follow. Remove the regional monopoly of utilities (TEPCO, etc...) and create a real free market of energy.

In addition, it seem dubious that some of these areas will be fit for living soon (I heard that decontamination is well behind schedule). I presume they believe it is better to give some hopes to evacuees (I imagine that compensation would be higher if evacuations were to be permanent).

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The government should keep away from "Grand Designs" and reconstruction work. It seems that 30 years of Keynesian stimulus have not been enough. They still believe in that fantasy that government intervention is necessary, while it the the root of the problem (with crony capitalism, collusion between government and friendly "private" businesses).

We're not talking about stimulus or the economy, and Japan has never really tried Keynesian stimulus in the first place, only a little bit. Japan is too conservative to try Keynesian policies.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

"Grand design" by government translates to "grand pork" with taxpayer money. Have they the checked how many people want to live in the current no-go zones? I bet not.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

zichi:

" The current no-go zone and special no-go zone should be made permanent and used to build storage depots for the nuclear that will come out of the atomic plant, plus contaiminated soils, sludge, debris etc "

Exactly. Plus, the area could be a very welcome nature reserve. However, I suppose there is not enough construction company pork money in such an unambitious scheme. Governments by their nature prefer "grand designs".

2 ( +2 / -0 )

10 points for breathtaking stupidity, forward planning dictated by corruption and cronyism. A complete lack of care for innocent victims. And a blatant denial of the true state of affairs in the region. Really building infrastructure in a desolate region that will remain uninhabital for a long time, that is not grand design.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Way too many disasters for poor ole Fukushima, first the earth quake, then tsunami, then nuke disaster, then economic disaster & AND NOW THE GOVT INFLICTED STUPID BEYOND BELIEF DISASTER!!!!

Grand design my a$$, GRAND STUPIDITY!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

warispeace:

" WAKE UP! It's a dead zone to human life. "

It is not a "dead zone" by any means. Even the highests contaminated areas around Chernobyl are teeming with wild life (and a could of old people who moved back).

It is a zone where for humans should not live for a long time, just to be on the safe side. At the same time, the area would be a great nature reserve, and there is no reason that humans could not go there on short visits. That is of course different from living there (and especially having kids grow up there, who are way more sensitive to radiation than adults.)

But "dead zone"? Come on.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It took 18 months to come up with a "Grand Design" which basically amounts to clean up and rebuild??? The Reconstruction Agency is sure filled with some geniuses. And does anyone actually want to go back there? By the time they restore everything and people can move back I would think that they will have settled down and laid roots somewhere else. I don't want my taxes used so corrupt politicians and bureaucrats can dish out contracts to their friends and families.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

What they need to do is stop kicking up radioactive dust and spreading the radiation in and from these places. It would be far more efficient and safe to permanently integrate the refugees into other places in a country where the population is shrinking anyway.

But greed has usurped common sense and altruism.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

mashed_potatoesSep. 05, 2012 - 05:35PM JST

What they need to do is stop kicking up radioactive dust and spreading the radiation in and from these places.

The fact that there is no such thing. Most of the radiation is in the outermost layer of foliage, followed by topsoil. If the topsoil turns to dust, you would have much larger issues than slightly radioactive and mostly harmless dust, mainly the infertility of the soil for far longer than the contamination. Like most dust, dried topsoil is fine particulates, but large enough that almost all gets trapped within your mucous or sent back out. The only real issue with the current contamination is ingestion, so watching what you drink and eat is far more of an issue than dust.

It would be far more efficient and safe to permanently integrate the refugees into other places in a country where the population is shrinking anyway.

Unfortunately that doesn't win votes, the people who have to move don't like it, and the people who receive "refugees" don't like it.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

GWSep. 05, 2012 - 09:57AM JST

The areas being dicussed sound like highly radioactive ones

No, the places being discussed have no more than 1microSv/hr, which is half the limit, and most are under 0.3, which is statistically not differentiable from the possible background rates). Hardly highly radioactive sites.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

People, including reporters, are confusing exclusion zones with no-go zones. No-go zones are those that will be dangerous in a short time frame, like the reactor buildings, while the exclusion zones are those that unauthorized persons are not allowed to be in. This distinction is VERY important, as most parts of the exclusion zone are entirely safe for indefinite periods of time, and only a few hundred square meters can be considered actual "no-go" zones. Nobody should ever be allowed into a no-go zone until the radiation subsides, but the exclusion zone can be be reduced as more information is available (which it has been for ages now, of the 1250 sq km of exclusion zone only a small portion is above 1mSv above assumed background level, which is lower than expected from the granite rich rock in the area.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Surely, the reactors should be made safe before there is talk of reconstruction?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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