Disaster aid puts new face on US military in Japan

[JBeukema]

Roughly 20,000 U.S. troops have been mobilized in "Operation Tomodachi," or "Friend." It is the biggest bilateral humanitarian mission the U.S. has conducted in Japan, its most important ally in Asia. As logistics gradually improve, U.S. troops have been moving farther into hard-hit zones and providing tons of relief supplies and badly needed manpower to help the hundreds of thousands of Japanese whose lives were shattered in the March 11 disaster.
In a part of Japan that hosts few U.S. bases, the Americans in uniform are a high-profile presence.
"To be honest, I didn't think much about the U.S. troops until now," said Arika Ota, 29, who works at an amusement center in the coastal city of Sendai. "But when I see them working at the airport every day, I'm really thankful. They are working really hard. I never imagined they could help us so much."

US military gets new respect with Japan aid - World news - Asia-Pacific - msnbc.com

 

[waltky]

Japanese see light at the end of the tunnel...

Japan nuclear crisis 'over in nine months'
17 April 2011 - The BBC's Roland Buerk says that people are pleased that they have been given some idea of how long the crisis could last

The operator of Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has said it expects to bring the crisis under control by the end of the year. Tokyo Electric Power Co (Tepco) aims to reduce radiation leaks in three months and to cool the reactors within nine months. The utility said it also plans to cover the reactor building, which was hit by a huge quake and tsunami on 11 March. Nearly 14,000 people died and another 14,000 are still unaccounted for. Tepco unveiled its roadmap as Hillary Clinton briefly visited Tokyo to pledge America's "steadfast support" for Japan's reconstruction.

'Cold shutdown'

Radiation levels in the sea near reactor 2 rose to 6,500 times the legal limit on Friday, up from 1,100 times a day earlier, Tepco has said, raising fears of fresh radiation leaks. Tsunehisa Katsumata, the chairman of Tepco, Asia's largest utility, told a news conference in Tokyo on Sunday they would need up to nine months to bring the power plant to ''cold shutdown''. He said the plan would allow the tens of thousands of families evacuated from the area around the facility to return home as soon as possible. "We sincerely apologise for causing troubles," Mr Katsumata said. "We are doing our utmost to prevent the crisis from further worsening."

Tepco said after cold shutdown it would focus on encasing the reactor buildings, cleaning up contaminated soil and removing nuclear fuel. Japan's government had ordered Tepco to come up with a timetable to end the crisis, now rated on a par with the world's worst nuclear accident, the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. But the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo says it is still not certain that the nine-month deadline can be achieved. He says the immediate priority for Tepco is to stop radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean.

The utility said it was sending remote-controlled robots into one of the reactors on Sunday to gauge radiation and temperature levels. UK defence contractor QinetiQ said it had provided the machines, which are controlled using a standard games console. The robots can carry out tasks such as rubble clearance, demolition and radiation testing. Japan is a world leader in such technology, but its robots are not adapted for dirty work such as meltdowns at nuclear plants, experts say.

US thanked

See also:

Japan earthquake: Clinton announces reconstruction plan
17 April 2011 - Before last month's quake, Japan-US ties had been strained by a dispute over an American military base

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is in Japan on an official visit to show solidarity five weeks after the devastating quake and tsunami. She announced in Tokyo that the US and Japan had agreed on a "public-private partnership for reconstruction" under the guidance of Japan's government.Japan unveils nuclear crisis plan Japan, she said, was "indispensable to global problem-solving". America has won Japanese admiration for lending its navy to help in relief efforts and offering nuclear expertise.

Before the quake, ties had been strained by a US military base dispute. But, in a view shared by many survivors of the disaster, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily said in an editorial last week that Japanese people had "nothing but the highest praise for the assistance provided by US personnel". US assistance would, it predicted, "be an important contribution toward strengthening the alliance" between the two countries.

Emperor's tea party

"It is a great honour to be here and to demonstrate our very strong bonds of friendship that go very deep into the hearts of both our people," Mrs Clinton told Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto on arrival. "There has been an outpouring of concern, sympathy and admiration for the great resilience and spirit the Japanese people have shown." She is expected to spend half a day in the Japanese capital Tokyo, during which she will also meet Prime Minister Naoto Kan and attend a tea party hosted by Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko.

US assistance to Japan has included the dispatch of nuclear experts to tackle the crisis at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. It has supplied fire engines, pumps and radiation protective suits, as well as barges to carry fresh water to cool the reactors. As part of its Operation Tomodachi, named after the Japanese word for friend, the US has mobilised more than 20,000 personnel, about 160 aircraft and 20 ships.

Kan under pressure

 

[waltky]

Then again, mebbe not...

Robots throw doubt on 'road map' to control Fukushima crisis
April 18, 2011 - Robots found high radiation levels in reactor buildings 1 and 3 Monday, which could make it impossible for workers to enter the Fukushima plant to carry out crucial fixes.

Robots prowling inside debris-strewn reactor buildings at the heavily damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant detected levels of radiation that throw doubt on whether workers will be able to enter the plant for any extended period of time. The announcement came Monday, just one day after officials unveiled a six-month "road map" for bringing radioactivity under control. Many experts call the road map a necessary step, but optimistic.

Exploring the first floor of the No.1 reactor building for about an hour, a robot provided by a Massachusetts-based company rolled through doors it opened with its manipulator arms, detecting radiation leaking at a rate of 49 millisieverts per hour. That means a worker could stay in the building for no more than five hours before reaching the lawful annual limit for nuclear workers of 250 millisierverts.

Later, in a two-hour prowl through the No. 3 reactor, one of the robots ran into debris roadblocks and recorded readings of 57 millisieverts per hour, Japanese broadcaster NHK World reported. While the readings were not completely unexpected, they confirm the difficulty of the task ahead if the plant's operator is going to bring the damaged reactors, their spent fuel pools, and radioactive releases under control within six months.

Two-pronged plan