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| Polls: Most Japan voters OK on tax hike, want new PM Posted: 17 Apr 2011 06:30 PM PDT  Prime Minister Naoto Kan may have a friend in US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in Tokyo to pledge US support April 17, 2011, but the Japanese people want him out. — Reuters pic Nearly 70 per cent also said unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan should be replaced, and 70 per cent said the government's response to the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, crippled by the disaster, was not acceptable. The government hopes to avoid issuing new bonds to fund an initial emergency budget, expected to be worth about ¥4 trillion (RM145 billion), due to be compiled this month. But bond issuance is likely for subsequent extra budgets and markets are worried that rebuilding after the quake may hamper Japan's efforts to rein in its debt at twice the size of the US$5 trillion (RM15.1 trillion) economy. In the Nikkei survey, 38 per cent said a tax rise was necessary to finance reconstruction, while 31 per cent said both a tax hike and issue of bonds were needed. Thirteen per cent said more only bonds were needed. A Mainichi newspaper poll similarly found that 58 per cent of respondents approved of raising taxes to fund reconstruction, with 33 per cent opposed. Katsuya Okada, secretary-general of the ruling Democrats, said yesterday that the country must increase taxes to repay government bonds issued for reconstruction. The cost of material damages alone from the March 11 quake and tsunami has been estimated at US$300 billion, making it the world's most costly natural disaster, and Kan had sought a grand coalition to help enact bills to pay for reconstruction. Support for Kan's government stood at 27 per cent, up five points from February, in the Nikkei poll. Sixty per cent in the Nikkei survey supported the idea of Kan's Democratic Party of Japan teaming with the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), while 27 per cent opposed this. The Mainichi poll showed a similar result. The LDP has rejected the idea of a coalition, and called for Kan to resign. The DPJ controls parliament's lower house but needs opposition help to pass bills because it lacks a majority in the upper chamber, which can block legislation. Analysts say that Kan, who last June took office as Japan's fifth leader since 2006, is unlikely to resign readily, while opposition parties could be criticised if they try to take disaster budgets hostage in a political battle. The LDP led the Democrats with voter support. In the Nikkei poll, 34 per cent supported the LDP against 24 per cent that backed the Democratic Party. Most voters said Kan had failed to show leadership in dealing with the crisis. In the Mainichi survey, 58 per cent said they did not trust government information on the atomic accident, while about a third said they believed what the government says. Tokyo Electric Power Co said yesterday it aimed to stabilise the damaged reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in six to nine months, setting a time frame to bring the crisis under control. — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Japan’s nuclear owner aims for shutdown of reactors Posted: 17 Apr 2011 05:43 PM PDT  Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano (second right), in protective gear, inspects a devastated area hit by the earthquake and tsunami in Minamisoma, about 20km from Tepco's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, April 17, 2011. — Reuters pic The following summarises what Tepco aims for, and some of the challenges facing the operator as Japanese engineers scramble to deal with the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown. What is a cold shutdown? A cold shutdown is a state in which the water cooling the fuel rods is below 100 degrees Celsius and the reactors are considered stable. It means that the water used to cool the fuel rods is below boiling point. Of the Daiichi plant's six reactors hit by the earthquake and tsunami, two are seen as safe, but the other four are still volatile. Workers succeeded in halting the reactors after the quake hit, but they were unable to cool them in time before some of the fuel melted inside the reactor cores after the water cooling them evaporated. Why is Tepco's announcement significant?  Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano heads for the inspection. — Reuters pic Within the first three months, the operator said, it planned to cool the reactors and the spent fuel stored in some of them to a stable level and reduce the leakage of radiation. Tepco then hopes to bring the reactors to the cold shutdown in another three to six months. How does Tepco intend to achieve a cold shutdown? The operator said it wanted to fill the reactors with enough water so the fuel rods could be cooled for a cold shutdown. At the same time, it will work to restore the reactors' cooling system, which functions like a radiator in a car. For reactors such as the No. 2 reactor suspected of damage to the vessel housing its fuel rods, Tepco said it hoped to seal damaged sections with a type of cement to prevent water being pumped in from leaking out. What are the challenges facing Tepco? Until the cooling systems are fixed or other alternatives are online to continually cool the reactors, workers will be forced to keep injecting new water to cool the fuel and create a steady flow of contaminated water. Within its self-imposed time frame, Tepco said it would build storage tanks to store the contaminated water and attempt to treat some of it. It also aims to cover the reactors with large covers to prevent the spread of radioactive material into the atmosphere. Tepco said constant aftershocks, high levels of radiation and the threat of hydrogen explosions were also some of the factors that could hamper its work. What are some of the officials saying? Banri Kaieda, Japan's economics minister, told reporters yesterday: "The first juncture towards safety would be when the fuel rods are fully submerged in water and a cold shutdown is achieved. "But true safety will not come until the fuel rods are removed from the reactors," he said, adding that he would like to assess six to nine months later whether residents evacuated from near the Daiichi plant's premises can return home. Hidehiko Nishiyama, a deputy director general at Japan's nuclear safety agency, said: "Unlike a normal shutdown when large quantities of sea water can be used to cool down a reactor, the options are limited, so it may take a significant amount of time until a cold shutdown is reached." — Reuters Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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