Japanese government: “There is no revival of Japan without Tohoku revival…Reconstruction is progressing steadily.”
On the 11th, 13 years have passed since the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake occurred. Despite this, local media reported that approximately 30,000 people are still evacuating and that the closure of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is uncertain.
According to the Tokyo Shimbun and Nihon Keizai Shimbun (Nikkei), Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, a government spokesperson, said at a regular press conference this morning that “Japan cannot be revived without Tohoku reconstruction” in response to the 13th anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. He emphasized, “With strong determination, we will reach out to people in disaster-stricken areas and the government will work as one to revive the disaster-stricken areas.”
He said that the situation is very different in areas damaged by earthquakes and tsunami and areas damaged by nuclear disasters, and that “a detailed response is needed depending on the situation in the disaster area.”
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi emphasized, “Reconstruction is progressing steadily thanks to the continuous efforts of everyone in the disaster-stricken area.” “We will consult closely with local governments and promote decontamination and infrastructure maintenance to ensure that the precious needs of (refugees) are realized,” he said.
On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m., a magnitude 9 earthquake occurred off the coast of Tohoku. It’s the Great East Japan Earthquake. A tsunami measuring more than 10 meters hit the Tohoku coast. A large tsunami also struck the Kanto region.
As a result, power to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant was lost, causing a meltdown in which nuclear fuel melted in the reactor. A large amount of radioactive material was released.
According to the National Police Agency, as of the 1st, the number of deaths from the Great East Japan Earthquake reached 15,900. There are 2,520 missing people. The number of disaster-related deaths due to long-term evacuation, etc. was 3,802. There has been an increase of 10 people over the past year.
According to the Reconstruction Agency, the number of people still sheltering in place was 29,328 as of February 1. Of these, Fukushima Prefecture residents account for 90%.
The population of three prefectures, including Iwate, Miyagi, and Fukushima, which suffered heavy damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake, decreased by about 160,000 compared to before the earthquake. The aging population is also progressing and we are facing challenges such as the decline of local governments.
The Japanese government has been discharging contaminated water containing the radioactive material tritium (tritium) from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident into the ocean since August of last year.
The Japanese government is promising to complete the discharge of contaminated water and decommissioning by 2051. However, the Tokyo Shimbun pointed out that this was only a “bluff” in a situation where a path to ‘zero polluted water’ could not be presented.
To stop the increase in contaminated water, the inflow of rainwater and groundwater into the reactor building must be stopped. Tokyo Electric Power Company, the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, is pumping groundwater from wells around the building to stop the inflow, and paving the ground to prevent rainwater from entering the ground. Related construction is also underway, but it is unclear whether the construction will be effective because we do not know how groundwater actually enters the building.
Transporting nuclear fuel debris (debris) for decommissioning is also a problem. Experts view debris removal as “the key to decommissioning.”
Tokyo Electric Power Company has given up on carrying out the export in 2023 and announced that it will begin in October of this year. It was the third act.
It is known that there is a total of 880 tons of debris in units 1 to 3 of the nuclear power plant. Concrete and metal inside the reactor are combined into one, and the radiation dose is extremely high.
If debris is not removed, the building cannot be dismantled and contaminated water will continue to be generated. Although 13 years have passed since the accident, Tokyo Electric Power Company has not been able to understand the situation of Debri in detail.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.