Indian Embassy denies Fukushima survivor a visa
A Japanese anti-nuclear activist has been denied visa by Indian authorities after a "mismatch" was detected in her travel document and purpose of visit. Maya Kobayashi, a survivor of Fukushima nuclear tragedy in Japan last year, was due to visit India on the invitation of Greenpeace Foundation to share her experience with the communities living close to the proposed nuclear power plants.
The Indian embassy in Japan had granted a business visa to Ms Maya on February 15 with the information that she has been invited here to attend events and people here, a Greenpeace India release said. When asked about the reasons for denial of visa to Ms Maya, official sources here said there was a "mismatch" between the visa type and the stated purpose of visit. "It is normal not to grant visas if there is a mismatch between the purpose of the visit and the kind of entry travel document one tries to obtain," a source said.
Ms Maya, a resident of Fukushima in Japan, is one of the five survivors of the nuclear tragedy who visited around a dozen countries to share their experience, but "India is the only country to revoke the visa," Greenpeace's nuclear campaigner Karuna Raina said in a release. The fact that government is going to the extent of cancelling legitimately granted visas clearly shows that they don't want people from Japan to come to India and share their experience, she added. Meanwhile Ms Maya in a statement said, "I was looking forward to coming to India and sharing my experience with people who are fighting against the dangers of nuclear energy.". Read more at
The Indian embassy in Japan had granted a business visa to Ms Maya on February 15 with the information that she has been invited here to attend events and people here, a Greenpeace India release said. When asked about the reasons for denial of visa to Ms Maya, official sources here said there was a "mismatch" between the visa type and the stated purpose of visit. "It is normal not to grant visas if there is a mismatch between the purpose of the visit and the kind of entry travel document one tries to obtain," a source said.
Ms Maya, a resident of Fukushima in Japan, is one of the five survivors of the nuclear tragedy who visited around a dozen countries to share their experience, but "India is the only country to revoke the visa," Greenpeace's nuclear campaigner Karuna Raina said in a release. The fact that government is going to the extent of cancelling legitimately granted visas clearly shows that they don't want people from Japan to come to India and share their experience, she added. Meanwhile Ms Maya in a statement said, "I was looking forward to coming to India and sharing my experience with people who are fighting against the dangers of nuclear energy.". Read more at
http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/indian-embassy-denies-fukushima-survivor-a-visa-183815?pfrom=home-otherstories&cp
Japan encourages a wider evacuation from reactor area
Japan encourages a wider evacuation from reactor area
Japanese officials began encouraging people to evacuate a larger swath of territory around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant on Friday as new signs emerged that parts of the crippled facility are so damaged and contaminated that it will be hard to bring the plant under control soon. The authorities said that they would now assist people who want to leave the area from 12 to 19 miles outside the plant and that they were now encouraging "voluntary evacuation" from the area. Those people had been advised March 15 to remain indoors, while those within a 12-mile radius of the plant had been ordered to evacuate. The United States has recommended that its citizens stay at least 50 miles away.
Speaking to a national audience at a news conference Friday night two weeks after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed it, Prime Minister Naoto Kan dodged a reporter's question about whether the government was ordering a full evacuation, saying officials were simply following the recommendation of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. "The situation still requires caution," Mr. Kan, grave and tired-looking, told the nation. "Our measures are aimed at preventing the circumstances from getting worse." "The state of the plant is still quite precarious," he said. "We're working hard to make sure it doesn't get worse. We have to ensure there's no further deterioration."
In the latest setback in the effort to contain the nuclear crisis evidence emerged that the reactor vessel of the No. 3 unit may have been damaged, an official said Friday. The development, described at a news conference by Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, raises the possibility that radiation from the mixed oxides or mox fuel in the reactor -- a combination of uranium and plutonium -- could be released. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/japan-encourages-a-wider-evacuation-from-reactor-area-94229&cp
Speaking to a national audience at a news conference Friday night two weeks after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and the devastating tsunami that followed it, Prime Minister Naoto Kan dodged a reporter's question about whether the government was ordering a full evacuation, saying officials were simply following the recommendation of the Japan Nuclear Safety Commission. "The situation still requires caution," Mr. Kan, grave and tired-looking, told the nation. "Our measures are aimed at preventing the circumstances from getting worse." "The state of the plant is still quite precarious," he said. "We're working hard to make sure it doesn't get worse. We have to ensure there's no further deterioration."
In the latest setback in the effort to contain the nuclear crisis evidence emerged that the reactor vessel of the No. 3 unit may have been damaged, an official said Friday. The development, described at a news conference by Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director-general of the Japan Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, raises the possibility that radiation from the mixed oxides or mox fuel in the reactor -- a combination of uranium and plutonium -- could be released. Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/japan-encourages-a-wider-evacuation-from-reactor-area-94229&cp
Japan hid dangers of nuclear disaster, finds probe
The Japanese government withheld information about the full danger of last year's nuclear disaster from its own people and from the United States, putting US-Japan relations at risk in the first days after the accident, according to an independent report released on Tuesday. The report, compiled from interviews with more than 300 people, delivers a scathing view of how leaders played down the risks of the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant that followed a massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The report by the private Rebuild Japan Initiative Foundation also paints a picture of confusion during the days immediately after the accident. It says the US government was frustrated by the scattered information provided by Japan and was skeptical whether it was true.
The US advised Americans to leave an area within 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the plant, far bigger than the 12-mile (20-kilometer) Japanese evacuation area, because of concerns that the accident was worse than Japan was reporting. The misunderstandings were gradually cleared up after a bilateral committee was set up on March 22 and began regular meetings, according to the 400-page report.
The report, compiled by scholars, lawyers and other experts, credits then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan for ordering Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility running the plant, not to withdraw its staff and to keep fighting to bring it under control. Read more at:
The US advised Americans to leave an area within 50 miles (80 kilometers) from the plant, far bigger than the 12-mile (20-kilometer) Japanese evacuation area, because of concerns that the accident was worse than Japan was reporting. The misunderstandings were gradually cleared up after a bilateral committee was set up on March 22 and began regular meetings, according to the 400-page report.
The report, compiled by scholars, lawyers and other experts, credits then-Prime Minister Naoto Kan for ordering Tokyo Electric Power Co., the utility running the plant, not to withdraw its staff and to keep fighting to bring it under control. Read more at:
