Japan lifts evacuation order from Naraha, the first town crippled by the Fukushima disaster

The government of Japan has withdrawn the evacuation order for Naraha, the first town near the crippled nuclear reactors of Fukushima more than four years after it had ordered a mass relocations near the tsunami-wrecked nuclear plant.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 5 September 2015.

There were many communities from which the entire population was forced to evacuate after the nuclear crisis started in March 2011 and they of Naraha is the first town that is lifting the ban and opening the doors and allow all of its residents to return home permanently. The decontamination work involved removal of the topsoil, washing exposed road surfaces and wiping down buildings.
In the opinion of the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, this would be a pilot case for nearby areas, because efforts ae on to lift a raft of evacuation orders by March 2017.
However, only about 10 percent of 7,368 registered residents of Naraha were expected to return home because of fears over continued nuclear contamination and uncertainty over whether enough locals -- particularly young people -- would return to restart the community.
Former residents of Naraha held a candlelight vigil overnight to herald in the rebirth of their town but, the future remains uncertain since many young people have already migrated to other cities, found new jobs and have started lives far away from the crippled reactors.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Japan restarts its nuclear reactors – one unit switched on at Sendai

Japan has given the all clear for its nuclear reactors in Fukushima that had been damaged in the Tsunami-cum-earthquake disasters of 2011. It was the worst atomic disaster in a generation.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 11 August 2015.

The Utility Kyushu Electric Power, which operates the reactor at Sendai about 1,000-Km southwest of Tokyo, said it was turned on at 10:30 am (0130 GMT). This 31-year-old reactor is now operating under tougher post-Fukushima safety rules and is expected to reach full capacity around 11:00 pm Tuesday. It would, subsequently, begin generating power by Friday. However, commercial operations are scheduled to begin early next month.
The restart is happening more than four years after the quake-generated tsunami triggered meltdowns at the Fukushima plant. As a result, it led to a shutdown of Japan`s stable of reactors. It also set off a pitched battle over the future use of atomic power.
Even now, anti-nuclear sentiment runs high in Japan and there were reports of protesters scuffling with police in front of the Sendai plant. The plant is located on the southernmost main island of Kyushu and, as per local media, a crowd of about 200 protesters had gathered in front of the plant.
Resource is scarce in Japan and it relied on nuclear power for a quarter of its electricity. The restart of two reactors on a temporary basis is to feed its needs.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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South Korea reveals its robotic skills – wins $2-million DARPA awards

South Koreans have proved heir robotic skills when a South Korean robotics team went on to win the Darpa Robotics Challenge of the US department of Defense. The contest was about a battle of robots on an obstacle course that was intended to simulate conditions similar to the 2011 Fukushima nuclear plant disaster.
This has been reported in bbc.com dated 7 June 2015.
The South Korean Team Kaist's DRC-Hubo humanoid robot won the challenge by defeating 22 others and took home the grand prize of $2m prize from the DARPA research Unit of the US Department of Defense. The contest was held in Pomona, California.

The robots were given an hour to complete a number of tasks like driving a car and walking up steps and the challenge involved a series of tasks for the robots to complete. Their works was more or less autonomous and they had intermittent connectivity with their operators to simulate real disaster conditions.
It was the first time where the robots had the freedom to perform without being tethered.
Team Kaist turned out to be the fastest – it completed all the assigned tasks within 44 minutes and 28 seconds. Second was Team IHMC Robotics – they won $1m. Behind them, at 3d, was Tartan Rescue's Chimp robot – it won $500,000.
Teams from China and Japan could not turn up because while the former did not get their visas in time, the latter faced some technical problems due to an electronics accident during training.
(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org)

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Nature gifts Japan with a new strip of land that rose from the ocean floor

#Rausu #Japan #HokkaidoIsland Japan has been gifted with a 300m-long strip of coastline by Nature – this strip of land has apparently risen from the seabed and that stands 10m-high in some places. This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 27 April 2015.
This incident has taken place near the town of Rausu on Hokkaido Island situated at the country's northern tip.
This new stretch of shoreline, which resembles what used to be the sea floor, had initially sparked fears that a major earthquake was imminent. It may be recalled that in 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake had struck Japan and devastated large stretches of land and left thousands dead.

The quake of 2011 coupled with a Tsunami had led to meltdowns and radioactive leaks at the Fukushima nuclear plant. However, as far as Rausu is concerned, geologists have assured that the phenomenon was probably a result of a nearby landslide, caused by melting ice and snow that displaced a portion of the seabed that rose and came in sight.
Of course, Japan has also seen the creation of a new island – it emerged from the sea 620 miles south of Tokyo and continues to grow because of the volcano at its center that spews out magma. In the month of February, it measured around a square mile. Therefore, Rausu is not the only place where Japan is expanding.

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