地震考驗日本對於核能電廠的安全之信心
政治方面日本難消受 所以開放國際核能檢驗
而產業對於及時供應制度仍信心滿滿
【共同社7月19日電】號稱世界最大功率的日本東京電力公司柏崎刈羽核電站在新潟縣中越近海地震後被迫全面停止運轉。核電站還發生了放射性物質洩漏等事故，恢復運轉遙遙無期，嚴重動搖了“安全神話”。
【共同社7月26日電】有關柏崎刈羽核電站在新潟中越近海 地震中受損一事，日本東京電力公司副社長武黑一郎25日在位於東京的駐日外國記者協會出席了記者會，他就一系列事故的經過和今後的應對措施進行了解釋。武 黑重申“洩漏的放射性物質屬微量”，但在場記者接二連三地提出了尖銳的問題。
當主持人介紹到武黑曾於2001年～04年期間擔任該核電站所長時，記者們的提問紛紛集中在東京電力就放射性物質洩漏情況向政府遞交的報告以及向當地居民公開事故信息等都出現延誤的問題上。武黑表示，“信息收集工作滯後導致當地各位憂心忡忡，對此我們深表歉意。”
日本核能專家東京大學教授班目春樹指出，受到新潟縣中越外海大地震的影響，發生許多問題的東京電力公司柏崎刈羽核電廠如果要恢復運轉的話，最快也需等到明年秋天以後。該核電廠若遲遲無法恢復運轉的話，日本不只是今年夏天，明年夏天也勢必面臨供電不足的窘況。
Asia.view
就在選舉即將舉行之際﹐安倍內閣的民眾支持率卻只有30%左右。分析師預測﹐安倍領導的自民黨及其聯盟黨派難保參議院多數席位。
如果自民黨在此次國會選舉中嚴重失利﹐安倍則可能要引咎辭職。但日本參議院的權力有限﹐如果僅丟掉少量席位和多數派地位﹐可能並不意味著安倍會下台。多數分析師認為﹐安倍將能夠繼續其首相生涯。
不過﹐即使安倍沒有下台﹐他也會失去很大一部分權力。由於參議院可以封殺大多數法案﹐安倍政府通過新法案將遭遇更多困難。政府在放鬆監管、執行自由貿易協定和制定其他政策方面的努力都會因此受阻﹐而這些都是經濟學家認為在人口減少的環境下讓日本經濟繁榮起來的必要措施。
瑞士銀行(UBS)經濟學家Takashi Omori表示﹐如果自民黨領導的執政聯盟丟掉參議院多數派地位﹐很長時間之後才會重新出現一個強勢政府。今後一段時間內﹐政府很有可能無法作出重大決策。
如 果安倍執政聯盟如預期中那樣失去參議院多數派地位﹐那麼為挫敗自民黨而聯合起來的反對派將實力大增。日本參議院242席中的121席此次將進行改選﹐自民 黨可能要贏得其中51席才能保住多數派地位。如果自民黨僅丟掉很少的席位﹐則仍可以通過招攬其他黨派議員來保住多數派地位。
如果選舉結果非常糟糕﹐或者說自民黨贏得的席位還不到40個﹐安倍很可能被迫辭職。接替他的人選中﹐對現任外務大臣麻生太郎(Taro Aso)的呼聲最高。麻生太郎同樣支持放鬆監管和降低稅率﹐但他是一位經驗更加豐富的政客﹐在開展工作方面可能會更有效率。
Sebastian Moffett (wsj)
After the quake, the fallout
Jul 25th 2007
From Economist.com
Could Japan’s earthquake spur reform?
THE earthquake that struck northern Japan on July 16th destroyed hundreds of buildings, injured 1,000 people and killed a dozen. The physical damage of the quake, in the Niigata prefecture and measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale, is easy to assess. But the quake’s biggest impact in the long term may be if it helps shake up Japan’s traditional culture of business and politics.
It was not the finest week for Japanese business. Following the quake, carmakers such as Toyota, Honda and Nissan found that their system of “lean”, just-in-time manufacturing, called kanban, made them over-reliant on a single parts supplier. They and many others were forced to stop production for a few days for want of a $1.50 piston ring and other small but highly specialised parts made by Riken, a big parts supplier whose factory in the region was damaged. Toyota, for instance, saw all 12 of its domestic car factories closed for days because it was dependent on Riken. The delivery of more than 50,000 cars will be delayed, although Toyota said its sales target of 9.3m cars for 2007 remains unchanged. Japan’s post-war model of close relationships between manufacturers and their partners, so useful in good times, was exposed as impractical in the face of a problem.
The earthquake also exposed a troublesome political culture: loose oversight of certain sectors, in this case, that most sensitive industry, nuclear power. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) disclosed that the quake shook a huge storage tank at their Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear-power facility with such force that it released over 1,000 litres of radioactive contaminated water into the Sea of Japan. Immediately following the quake, however, TEPCO said nothing—even as Japanese television programmes broadcast smoke billowing from part of a reactor, for what later turned out to be a minor electrical fire.
The country’s meteorological agency recently came out and said that TEPCO’s facility may have been built atop an active fault line. And contrary to expectations, it was not constructed to withstand a major quake. Company officials say the level of radioactivity that was released is small and not harmful. Yet TEPCO’s handling of the spill sowed distrust among the public, already jittery from a spate of nuclear-power safety scandals in recent years.
All shook upConcern over the breakdown of Japan’s carmakers and the radioactive spill has pushed forward troubling, broader questions about the economy and official accountability, already controversial issues ahead of elections for the upper house on July 29th. Though the economy boasts around 2.5% GDP growth and big companies are profitable after years of lacklustre performance, the achievements have not been shared widely. Small- and medium-sized companies—which account for more than two-thirds of the country’s employment—have felt an economic pinch. For the average Japanese, there has been little improvement in his standard of living. Little wonder that consumer spending remains meagre.
At the same time, distrust of officials is high. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, has had to fight off accusations that members of his cabinet fiddled their expenses. And his government was shaken by the recent disclosure that pension records for as many as 50m citizens are flawed due to computer problems dating back more than a decade—a situation hushed by successive bureaucrats until it was exposed. With Mr Abe’s approval ratings below 30%, analysts are predicting a harsh defeat for his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which would put pressure on the prime minister to resign.
With the quake further fuelling a general mood of distrust, Mr Abe adopted a voice of moral authority, chastising TEPCO and noting that it is “vital” that the company provide “accurate and timely accounts”. This marked a refreshing break from the past—when nuclear accidents were kept quiet by industry and government—and suggests that Japanese leaders have learned from their mistakes. Indeed, Japan initially rejected an offer from the International Atomic Energy Agency to inspect the recent damage, but this week agreed to accept its services for what one official called “international co-operation and information sharing”. In a country that lacks natural resources and frets it is losing the race for energy security, confidence in the safety of nuclear power, which supplies around one-third of Japan’s electricity, is crucial. The question of safety is fresh in the public mind: in 2003 TEPCO was required temporarily to close all its reactors after it submitted false safety data.
Less than one week after the earthquake, things appear to be returning to normal. Car production lines are humming again and the government has shut the reactor until its safety can be assured. But whether the deeper issues that surfaced will be addressed by Japan’s business and political elites is far less clear. Earthquakes are regular occurrences in Japan. Reform, however, is not.
Towels used to mop up nuke spill
07/26/2007
KASHIWAZAKI, Niigata Prefecture--When reporters entered the quake-damaged Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) nuclear reactor building here Wednesday, the scene was rather primitive.
 Workers wipe up radioactive water with paper towels Wednesday in the No. 6 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant in Niigata Prefecture. At right is the spent nuclear fuel storage pool. At left, the reactor containment vessel is covered by a sheet. Bags filled with used paper towels are in the foreground.(TAKAHARU YAGI/ THE ASAHI SHIMBUN) |
Armed with paper towels, workers wearing protective clothing were wiping up radioactive water that had overflowed from a spent nuclear fuel storage pool when the magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Niigata Prefecture on July 16.
Radioactive water spilled from a pool inside the No. 6 reactor building at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Plant. It then leaked into the Sea of Japan through drainage ditches.
The overflow was in the operating floor area, where workers offload the nuclear fuel.
The used paper towels--containing radioactive water--were placed in clear plastic bags and stacked nearby. More than 100 full bags were already piled there.
Near the spent nuclear fuel pool was a second, outer concrete lid used to cover the reactor containment vessel, which is already sealed with another lid. The outer lid is 2 meters thick and weighs 700 tons.
On the ceiling directly above the reactor containment vessel, a 310-ton crane dangled. It is used to maneuver the outer lid into place. The crane broke during the earthquake.
When the temblor hit, the No. 6 reactor was being readied for inspections prior to its scheduled restart at the end of July.
The jolt occurred just before the outer lid was to be lifted onto the reactor housing. The reactor had already been loaded with nuclear fuel. The reactor containment vessel is now covered with a temporary dust sheet.
The crane measures 35 meters by 12 meters, and is 6 meters thick. Its rotating axis broke just as the crane was positioned above the container. TEPCO officials said repairs on the crane cannot begin as long as aftershocks continue.
Another strong aftershock hit Wednesday at 6:52 a.m., just before reporters were to enter the building. That temblor registered an intensity of 4 in Nagaoka and 3 in Kashiwazaki.
There is no way to confirm the condition of the sealed reactor, but TEPCO officials said they believe the fuel rods are undamaged. "The amount of radioactivity in the water circulating around the fuel rods is not at abnormal levels, our tests show," TEPCO said.(IHT/Asahi: July 26,2007)
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