FUKUSHIMA NEWS_Japan will not abandon tsunami victims

Japan will not abandon tsunami victims
2011-04-10 18:07
- AFP


Ishinomaki - Prime Minister Naoto Kan promised on Sunday he would "never abandon" survivors of Japan's tsunami as he tried to focus attention on the future, despite a high-stakes battle at a nuclear plant.

Kan, on only his second trip to the disaster zone in the month since the March 11 tragedy, said the government would "work as fast as possible" to house 150 000 people living in emergency shelters since the disaster struck.

Speaking to survivors in Ishinomaki city, a major fishing hub in the worst-hit northeast of the country, the prime minister said the government would do all it could to ensure fishing "can be resumed as soon as possible".

"The government will give all its strength to work with you. We will never abandon you," Kan told listeners to a radio station in the city after witnessing the devastation wreaked by the 9.0-magnitude quake and the massive tsunami it spawned.

The fishing industry, vital to many small communities in this island nation, has been seriously damaged by fears over radioactive contamination in the air and sea from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi plant.

On Sunday a worker battling to cool overheating reactors there was taken to hospital after complaining of feeling sick, the plant's operator said.

"A subcontractor, a man in his 30s, complained that he was feeling unwell at around 11:10," said a spokesperson for Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco). "He was conscious but somewhat wobbly. He could walk if assisted.

"He was transferred to a hospital. The cause of his sickness is not yet known."

Highly toxic liquid
Engineers trying to halt the spread of radiation near the plant after sealing a leak spewing highly contaminated water into the sea began installing a "silt curtain" to try to prevent radioactive mud from spreading around the ocean.

But at the same time, Tepco is deliberately dumping more than 10 000 tons of mildly radioactive water into the sea to free up urgently needed storage for highly toxic liquid.

A report on Sunday said a high level of caesium had been found in the sand lance, or konago, fish caught in Fukushima prefecture, where the stricken nuclear plant is located.

Officials found radiation measuring 570 becquerels per kilogram in a sample caught Thursday, higher than the legal limit of 500.

Previously, higher than permitted levels of radioactive iodine had been found in the fish, but caesium has a much longer half-life.

However, a voluntary halt to commercial fishing of the species in the area means the fish would not have made it to market.

Kan's visit came as 22 000 troops engaged in an intensive search for bodies along Japan's northern Pacific coast.

Around 15 000 people are still unaccounted for, with 13 000 confirmed dead in Japan's worst disaster since World War II.

Excessive self-restraint
"In onshore areas, we are searching under debris and in flooded areas," a spokesperson for the Ground Self Defence Forces said.

"We have [helicopters and planes] flying above the coastal areas, river mouths and large flood zones."

The prime minister also visited an emergency shelter, and chief government spokesperson Yukio Edano told reporters the trip was vital for the administration to understand the plight of those affected.

He was also expected to urge Japanese to avoid "excessive self-restraint", Jiji Press reported, amid repeated calls for seasonal "hanami" - alcohol-fuelled cherry blossom viewing - parties to be toned down.

Kan is worried that "stagnation in consumer spending caused by excessive self-restraint would be detrimental to the Japanese economy and reconstruction efforts in disaster-hit areas," Jiji reported, citing an unnamed official.

In Tokyo's Koenji area, around 15 000 people took part in a demonstration against nuclear power on Sunday evening, Kyodo reported.

"I learned of the event on [microblogging site] Twitter. Now is the time to stop nuclear plants," the agency quoted participant Takashi Kamiyama as saying.

"I want to do what I can do for these kids," he added, referring to his two children.

Organiser Hajime Matsumoto said: "It's epoch-making that so many people gathered without being mobilised by a large organisation. It's become big power as we joined hands over the Internet," according to the agency.

- AFP