Earthquake has hit Japan

[austere]

Google "Japan Left Behind Father" and get ready to face palm.

That's pretty awful. In Australia, there's been cases where the fathers aren't even allowed near the kids, but this sounds much more systematic. I'm guessing the custodial parent is the mother almost without exception.

This is bad too, but the US is guilty of it at select airports (which is why I've declined to visit some conferences):
http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/07/14/vi ... oreigners/

I'd have to dig out the figures but Japan's general recommended safety figures on contimants (esp Iodine) were WAY under what the World Health Organisation recommended

You should note that the WHO doesn't actually set those limits but practically defers them to the IAEA under a really old agreement which gives them "consultation rights". I'd say those limits are a joke anyway, even ignoring how little credibility the IAEA or the WHO have. You set radiation limits based on the amount of people that will get negative effects not on some untestable (for all intents and purposes, homeopathic, lol) theory, as per the BEIR report.

So if i'd ran back to England, i'd have -absolutely- been getting more radiation than here in Japan (especially as the mSv per year is almost double)

Given how many nuclear mishaps have happened in England you might be right for now, lol. This is what happens where there's zero transparency on the part of the regulators/operators and general complacency on the part of the comatose public. That said, there's a difference between knowledgeable discussion and ignorant activism:



I mean seriously...

[GaijinPunch]

That's pretty awful. In Australia, there's been cases where the fathers aren't even allowed near the kids, but this sounds much more systematic. I'm guessing the custodial parent is the mother almost without exception.

Yep, pretty much. There's no such thing as "joint custody" for anyone (even Japanese). When your divorce goes through I believe you have 30 days to sort out your visa if you're on a spousal.

This is bad too, but the US is guilty of it at select airports (which is why I've declined to visit some conferences):
http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/07/14/vi ... oreigners/

Well, this takes it so many steps further... there's a lot of resources on it. Truly painful. Too bad Japan won't join the rest of the free world and pull their heads out of their asses.

[BulletMagnet]

The world hated us when Bush was in office. Now, only most of the world hates us. That's a better foreign policy.

Sorely tempted to sig this.

Off to the side, got an email today that NIS America has jumped on the bandwagon, so if you need another way to donate there it is.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

Last night I managed to catch the last half of a special one off program where a camera crew followed the UK International search and rescue team that went to Japan, It really brought home just how bad it really is over there. Sadly due to the total effects of earthquake, tsunami and then the snow the team didnt manage to find anybody alive and were only there for 5 days, but as members of the team said themselves even finding bodies and taking pressure off the unskilled Japanese emergency services made it all worthwhile. They also said that the thing that stuck with them the most was the level of gratitude and respect they recieved from the locals

[Domino]

Oh shit:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... ljadqj.php

[rancor]

Oh shit:

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/ ... ljadqj.php

yeah - it sucked. This was another one of those deep rumbly ones that goes on for minutes at at time. Watching TV now - Of course its on every channel. Poor Miyagi is getting hit with another tsunami.

[austere]

Apparently the tsunami shouldn't be more than 1m this time, thankfully. When it rains, it pours...

[spadgy]

Hell. Another one. Hopefully the impact is far less disasterous.

As it happens, I got two emails from Cave today. Press releases basically. They both touch on raising money for Japan's recovery. This quote from one of them covers all the ways they are to raise some funds to help earthquake victims:

CAVE offers our
deepest condolences to the people affected by the Tohoku Earthquake disaster. CAVE wants to do its part to help
rebuild areas affected by the disaster, and has made a donation to the Japanese Red Cross this March 14th.

As additional assistance, we have set in motion the “Games Supporting Disaster Victims” Project to help people in the
affected areas.

Details on the project are provided below.

SOCIAL APPLICATION/MEDIA DIVISION
All sales of the iPhone®/iPod touch® game “Mushihimesama BUG PANIC” from April 9th through 17th at a special
sale price of $0.99 (US/CA) £0.59 (UK) €0.79 (EU) $1.19 (AU) will be donated to charity.

GAME DIVISION
1. All sales from release until the end of June for Xbox 360® (Xbox LIVE Arcade) title “NIN2-JUMP” (400 Microsoft
Points) will be donated to charity.

<Game Overview>
Game Title : NIN2-JUMP (Nin Nin Jump)
Compatible Devices : Xbox 360®（Xbox LIVE Arcade）
Genre : Ukiyo-e Ninja Action
Planned Release Date : April, 2011
Price : 400 Microsoft Points
Age Rating (ESRB) : Teen
(PEGI) : 12
(ACB) : PG
(USK) : 12-1
(GRB) : 15+

2. The CAVE GOODS Online Shop will be selling “Charity Sets” (2,000 yen including tax) from April 15th Afternoon
(FRI) to April 30th (SAT) for both domestic and international customers.

<Product Overview>
Product Name : Charity Set
Contents : CAVE Merchandise Sets

<International Shop>

Planned Release Date : April 20th (WED) afternoon through April 30th (SAT) 18:00*
*Japan Time
Price : 2,000 yen (Includes tax) *Shipping not included
International Shop URL: : http://www.jp-stores.com/rc/we70614/

CAVE hopes for the safety of people in the area affected by the earthquake tragedy and a rapid restoration of
services.

[GaijinPunch]

taking pressure off the unskilled Japanese emergency services

Whose claim is it that they're unskilled? Most of the body recovery and rescue was done by the Self Defense Force, and this is their forte.

[TrevHead (TVR)]

My bad, I was just been lazy with my phrasing. What I ment is the S&R team helped take some of the pressure off the locals, As in the one ot 2 places I saw on TV the SDF had only had the time to do quick basic searches which the S+R team made a more thorough search of the area. Also going into dangerously unstable buildings which is what the team is trained and equipt for.

I know bugger all about the SDF, arnt they the regular army? Or is it a irregular force that is also trained to deal with national disasters like earthquakes?

[Blackbird]

Thanks for that announcement, Spadgy. This seems like a really good way to contribute. I didn't even realize Cave had an international store... lots of cool stuff in here. I'd totally shell out for a copy of the DFK BL soundtrack =D.

[GaijinPunch]

I know bugger all about the SDF, arnt they the regular army? Or is it a irregular force that is also trained to deal with national disasters like earthquakes?

Well... they aren't allowed to invade, so they practice on defending (hence, the title). The one thing they train for all the time is disaster recovery. They even have specials on it on TV. The Oedo line (one of the newest subways in Japan) houses their trains which bring them in from the sticks in case something bad happens in Tokyo. The line is like 8 miles under ground, it feels like.

[cul]

Journalists reached get 1,5km near fukushima plant, no checkpoint, nothing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp9iJ3pPuL8

[TrevHead (TVR)]

I know bugger all about the SDF, arnt they the regular army? Or is it a irregular force that is also trained to deal with national disasters like earthquakes?

Well... they aren't allowed to invade, so they practice on defending (hence, the title). The one thing they train for all the time is disaster recovery. They even have specials on it on TV. The Oedo line (one of the newest subways in Japan) houses their trains which bring them in from the sticks in case something bad happens in Tokyo. The line is like 8 miles under ground, it feels like.

Ahh thx for enlightening me, I suppose that due to post WWII treaties and the frequent natural disasters that the KDF would be trained in those kind of things
EDIT I ment the JSDF not the Ketsui Defence Force

[GaijinPunch]

Ahh thx for enlightening me, I suppose that due to post WWII treaties and the frequent natural disasters that the KDF would be trained in those kind of things
EDIT I ment the JSDF not the Ketsui Defence Force

Haha.. gotcha.
Them going to Afghanistan to support the allied forces was a BIG deal. Even some Japanese opposed it. There are talks now and again about restoring power, but they're quickly defused of course.

[Skykid]

News says this was the most expensive natural disaster in history at $300bn. I dunno how Japan will bounce back from that (economically speaking.)

[GaijinPunch]

News says this was the most expensive natural disaster in history at $300bn. I dunno how Japan will bounce back from that (economically speaking.)

It's certain to climb. That estimate also does not take into account money lost from:
-Shortage of products
-Hours truncated by local businesses (this is still going, and likely will for a while)
-Business lost due to customers leaving permanently (this is a very small piece of the big picture, but many gaijin-based businesses are fucking hurting right now)

While all disasters have to deal with a lot of that, this is a special case now that the Fukushima reactors are out of commission, as the others simply cannot keep up w/ Kantou's demands. Blackouts are expected to continue through the summer.

As for whether they can bounce back or not... someone has to get paid to clean up. So, there is some market stimulation which is a good thing. I've said for a while now the best thing that could happen after a big Earthquake is an influx of western influence, but Touhoku is simply too far out in the sticks. Rebuilding Tokyo could be another story. Third time's a charm, right? Let's hope that doesn't happen though.

[brentsg]

What the hell is going on with the reactors? The media here has forgotten about it, and the last time I tried Google I just picked up all the nutjobs.

(well not all the nutjobs, but a lot of them)

[austere]

There's two independent reports you can read about the situation:

(supposedly leaked, dated) http://www.fairewinds.com/sites/default ... ushima.pdf
(leaked, dated) http://www.tagesspiegel.de/downloads/40 ... Assessment

Though I've read them carefully, I won't comment, you can draw your own conclusions if you are interested and knowledgeable enough.

Units 1/2/3 Dry well and suppression chamber measurements.
http://atmc.jp/plant/rad/?n=1
http://atmc.jp/plant/rad/?n=2
http://atmc.jp/plant/rad/?n=3

My best guess is that the Nitrogen injection has put pressure on some weakened point in the RPV which has lead to a leak resulting in this insane level of radiation. We'll only know what happened in there when the D/W radiation level comes down a bit, or at least becomes measurable.

In other news, the USA loaded a large pump into the largest cargo plane in the world from Russia, which should have landed in Japan by now. The level of international cooperation is heartening at least, Japan is not really accepting external advice though.

That's the final update from me, good luck.

[Skykid]

News says this was the most expensive natural disaster in history at $300bn. I dunno how Japan will bounce back from that (economically speaking.)

It's certain to climb. That estimate also does not take into account money lost from:
-Shortage of products
-Hours truncated by local businesses (this is still going, and likely will for a while)
-Business lost due to customers leaving permanently (this is a very small piece of the big picture, but many gaijin-based businesses are fucking hurting right now)

While all disasters have to deal with a lot of that, this is a special case now that the Fukushima reactors are out of commission, as the others simply cannot keep up w/ Kantou's demands. Blackouts are expected to continue through the summer.

As for whether they can bounce back or not... someone has to get paid to clean up. So, there is some market stimulation which is a good thing. I've said for a while now the best thing that could happen after a big Earthquake is an influx of western influence, but Touhoku is simply too far out in the sticks. Rebuilding Tokyo could be another story. Third time's a charm, right? Let's hope that doesn't happen though.

Yeah not much in Tohoku (not when I was there anyway.)

I imagine that the death toll will also affect the economy in terms of lost workforces and independent businesses all of which generate tax flow. What is it now, 20,000 people either confirmed dead or missing?

I feel sorry for Japan if they need more western influence to re-build. Even though the economy was on a tightrope for the last ten years, I was under the impression there was growing nationalistic sentiment that wanted less in the way of western support/control or whatever.

They'll never get the US to fuck off of their coastline, but if there's one thing they don't need it's another Denny's.

[nZero]

if there's one thing they don't need it's another Denny's.

Fortunately you'd never see anything like this at the Japanese family restaurant Denny's

[brentsg]

That's the final update from me, good luck.

Thanks. Curious why you lost interest in updates, just not worth the trouble? I did appreciate them, as even with a couple engineering degrees, my knowledge in this area is very rudimentary. I think most people would only study radiation as a heat transfer mode (at best) unless really going out of their way.

[Skykid]

if there's one thing they don't need it's another Denny's.

Fortunately you'd never see anything like this at the Japanese family restaurant Denny's

Yuck.

[austere]

Thanks. Curious why you lost interest in updates, just not worth the trouble? I did appreciate them, as even with a couple engineering degrees, my knowledge in this area is very rudimentary.

Thanks, I'm glad a few people found them useful at least. The primary reason is it's a bit too depressing and I hate being the bearer of bad news everyday. Even though it's the first thing I check on every morning, I've said all I can about the situation and don't wish to speculate any further because the state of the reactors have entered unfamiliar territory. There's a few people still updating the situation but you're right in that the press has completely ignored it now, pretending it'll go away if they stick their head in the sand and dig up another inane story on Tiger Woods or something.

Secondary reason is there's scant information coming out, even though the situation is actually as dire as it was previously (if not more if you wish to speculate a little bit). TEPCO has also been playing dirty, giving out isotope data indicating that there's been inadvertent and intermittent recriticality in Unit-1 and then withdrawing it as inaccurate. They don't exactly have a clean track record on honesty, that's something to note.

We'll see how it unfolds, most people think "no news is good news", but I guess you know well as an engineer that this isn't always the case. In a few months time (assuming quite a few details are true) the fuel rods would have decayed quite a bit which will make cooling easier, the trouble is it's likely most of the equipment is completely trashed so they can't form a closed cycle. They're basically going to generate a lot of highly contaminated water as a result of this effort -- the water has to go somewhere. They're quite lucky Russia sent them that expensive filter... but whether it is enough remains to be seen.

[Skykid]

austere, keep it going buddy. Bad news maybe, but you're the most informative of all the information streams. I'd certainly appreciate if you continued to post with any significant updates.

The BBC ran a translation of a speech given by head of the rad containment op who said they're now tentatively considering widening the evacuation zone. It's also said that the official line is that soil 30k from the reactors will be contaminated for years to come and they are expecting the fallout to have some affect on the health of the local population. It was the most transparent update I've seen given by the commission so far.

[brentsg]

We'll see how it unfolds, most people think "no news is good news", but I guess you know well as an engineer that this isn't always the case.

Yeah man, if my incoming e-mail spam slows a bit I run to a nearby window to see if the world's blown itself up.

[Blackbird]

austere, keep it going buddy. Bad news maybe, but you're the most informative of all the information streams. I'd certainly appreciate if you continued to post with any significant updates.

I agree.

I'm still keeping up with this every day, as best I can. CNN still writes generalized updates about the status of the Fukushima repair efforts every couple of days, but you have to pick through other articles to get it... and it's CNN =P.

I feel so badly for the workers. Every time something new comes up, it seems like it's 2 steps back for every step forward.

[dcharlie]

Parents are in town - father has worked with reactors for 40 years. Now i can get real time answers (and i can ask the questions whilst the house rattles!)

[GaijinPunch]

I feel sorry for Japan if they need more western influence to re-build. Even though the economy was on a tightrope for the last ten years, I was under the impression there was growing nationalistic sentiment that wanted less in the way of western support/control or whatever.

My point wasn't that they need help to rebuild. They need the help regardless, b/c their economy has been on a tight rope (and it's the last 20, not 10). You'd think after 20 years they'd say, "okay, we did it wrong" but of course, that's not going to happen.

Parents are in town - father has worked with reactors for 40 years. Now i can get real time answers (and i can ask the questions whilst the house rattles!)

Party at your house tonight?

[dcharlie]

Party at your house tonight?

my dad is 60 years old and as energetic as i was at 30.
My parents were the ones who got me into video games so it's been a few days of checking out games. Dad checked out my Scramble PCB , mother has been hitting up the DS library. Inbetween that we've put kinect through it's paces, and parents checked out X360 version of Crysis 2.

Party fucking time