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We present the atmospheric anomalies instigated through seismogenic sources by a multichannel observation using ground- and satellite-based systems. This study emphasizes the seismic event which happened on the east coast of Japan, near the Fukushima Prefecture on November 21, 2016 (in UTC), with a magnitude of 6.9 and a depth of 11.4 km. We mainly focus on the atmospheric and ionospheric irregularities via acoustic and electromagnetic channels originating from earthquakes in the process of the lithosphere, atmosphere, and ionospheric coupling (LAIC) mechanism. In the acoustic channel, we study the seismogenic atmospheric gravity wave (AGW) which perturbs the local lower atmosphere. The observation of nighttime fluctuations in the very low frequency (VLF) signals and total electron content (TEC) is used to investigate the atmospheric perturbation through the electromagnetic channel. For the ground-based observations, a VLF signal network consisting of 5 receivers in Japan is used to study by recording the VLF amplitude transmitted from the Japanese transmitter JJI (22.2 kHz). VLF nighttime fluctuation is used to check the unusualities due to the earthquake. Preseismic wavelike structures having periods of AGW are observed in the nighttime signal. Direct investigation of such AGWs is done by computing the potential energy related to AGW from the sounding of the atmosphere using broadband emission radiometry (SABER) temperature profiles mounted on the Thermosphere Ionosphere Mesosphere Energetics and Dynamics (TIMED) satellite. Ionospheric TEC inspection is done by using a ground-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver from the International GNSS Survey (IGS) station MIZU in Japan and observing anomalies in diurnal TEC around 6 and 10 days prior to the earthquake. We also obtain the wavelike structure of AGW from the small-scale fluctuation of TEC using wavelet analysis. All the parameters are found to be preseismic for this earthquake; the acoustics channel gives more consistent outcomes than the electromagnetic channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rupture directions and directivity effects of moderate‐sized intraslab and interplate earthquakes off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture were estimated using seafloor S‐net records and onshore K‐NET and KiK‐net records. The azimuthal dependance of the source spectral ratio of each earthquake relative to a reference earthquake observed at the same station was modeled based on a ω−2 model assuming unilateral rupture. The azimuthal dependance of the source spectral ratio observed for most earthquakes reached a maximum at 2–3 Hz and weakened at higher and lower frequencies. The rupture directivity effect contributes to stations located up to the maximum hypocentral distance of 150 km used in this study. All four down‐dip compressional intraslab earthquakes were estimated to rupture toward the up‐dip, i.e., the land. In addition, the six interplate earthquakes were estimated to rupture either up‐dip or in the opposite direction of the strikes, i.e., between south and southeast directions. Only one interplate earthquake was estimated to rupture down‐dip, i.e., toward the land. In the case of intraslab earthquakes, the regions of large radiation patterns and large rupture directivity overlap in the onshore coastal area. Therefore, when only onshore records were used, the estimates of short‐period spectral levels were biased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 induced massive temporary relocation of the people in the Maldives, from the small atolls they lived in to nearby larger atolls. Once they were permitted to return home, some evacuees proved reluctant to leave temporary housing due to a better livelihood. On the occasion of the accident at the nuclear power plant caused by the tsunami brought by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, all the residents of Hirono Town in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, were forced to evacuate over a long period. Many of them lived in temporary housing built in Iwaki City in the same prefecture. Some of the evacuees, as was the case in the Maldives, showed reluctance to return home, on the ground that livelihood in the temporary housing was both convenient and enjoyable. It was a surprise for national and local governments because they assumed that those in temporary housing were uncomfortable and that the evacuees were keen to leave to return home. Differences in information existed between the evacuees and the government. This study aims to determine why such a disparity emerged and was left unrevealed. It also tries to reveal what the observed differences led to after the evacuees returned home. Furthermore, it examines the impact of mass media on the minds of the general public. It finds that the evacuees' minds changed over time as they initially found themselves away from home, living in temporary housing and unhappy. Mass media conveyed unupdated and confusing messages to society, as if evacuees were actually unhappy. Society thus tended to regard the displaced as unhappy forever, while the evacuees found their livelihood in temporary housing comfortable or even enjoyable to the extent that some decided not to return home by becoming residents of Iwaki City. Society should be aware that evacuees' idea and behavior may drastically change over time – even beyond their imagination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radiocesium (137Cs) distribution between dissolved and particulate phases was examined in river water and coastal seawater as a function of the 137Cs sorption behavior on suspended particles. Dissolved 137Cs activity concentrations in the Tomioka River (salinity <0.1), about 10 km south of Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant, and in coastal seawater at Tomioka fishery port (salinity >30), Fukushima Prefecture, from June 2019 to October 2021 were 3.6–20 Bq/m3 (geometric mean 11 Bq/m3) and 2.4–86 Bq/m3 (13 Bq/m3), respectively. Although the suspended particle concentration was lower in the river than in seawater, the mean 137Cs activity on suspended particles was 11,000 Bq/kg-dry in the river versus 3200 Bq/kg-dry in seawater. Proportions of ion-exchangeable, organically bound, and refractory fractions of 137Cs on suspended particles were determined by sequential extraction. The ion-exchangeable fraction accounted for 0.3–2.0% (average: 1.2%) and 0.4–1.3% (0.8%) at the river and port sites, respectively. The organically bound fraction accounted for 0.3–4.8% (1.8%) and 0.1–5.5% (2.1%) at the river and port sites, respectively. In both areas, the refractory fraction accounted for >90% of 137Cs. Therefore, the small labile 137Cs fraction on suspended particles in coastal seawater indicates that the mobility of 137Cs to marine biota is quite low. This study is the first to examine radiocesium sorption forms on suspended particles in coastal seawater near the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant. It suggests immobility of 137Cs in suspended particles being incorporated to marine biota. [Display omitted] • Cs-137 distribution between dissolved and particulate phases in river water and seawater. • Sorption behavior of Cs in suspended particle in seawater was evaluated. • Ion-exchangeable fraction accounted for only 1%. • Refractory fraction accounted for >90% of 137Cs. • Small labile fraction implies immobility of 137Cs to incorporation by marine biota. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport network in eastern Japan was severely damaged by the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011. In order to understand the road recovery conditions after the widespread disaster, a lot of time is needed to collect information on the extent of damage and road usage. In this study, we analyzed the data of vehicles driving in Fukushima Prefecture to classify the road recovery conditions among municipalities in the first six months after the disaster. The results of the cluster analysis show that the road recovery conditions are similar according to geographical location, topography and population density. In addition, according to its geographical shape and proximity to the recovery, we divided each cluster into four zones and used road closure information to verify the results of the road use recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatiotemporal evolution of seismic activity is presented for a broad region surrounding the focal areas of the 2021 M 7.3 and 2022 M 7.4 Fukushima-Oki earthquakes, which occurred within the subducting slab off the Pacific coast of Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. This study investigates the spatiotemporal variations in seismic activity during the periods before the 2021 M 7.3 earthquake, between the 2021 M 7.3 and 2022 M 7.4 earthquakes, and after the 2022 M 7.4 earthquake using the b -value of the Gutenberg–Richter relation, the aftershock decay rate (p -value), and changes in the seismicity rate (Z -value). The study area is also divided into two depth sections to investigate the depth variations in these seismicity parameters relative to the plate interface. The b -values in the deeper section (intraslab) are generally lower than those in the shallower section (around the plate interface) throughout the entire analysis period, including the hypocentral areas of the M 7.3 and M 7.4 earthquakes. The aftershock decay rates for the M 7.3 and M 7.4 earthquakes also show depth-dependent characteristics, with a slower decay rate (p < 1.0) at many grid nodes in the deeper section than in the shallower section. Furthermore, seismic quiescence was noted in the hypocentral area of the M 7.3 earthquake about two years before the occurrence of this mainshock. The locations of the M 7.3 and M 7.4 earthquakes around the down-dip edge of the slip area of the 2011 M 9.0 Tohoku earthquake suggests that the variations in seismic activity detected in this study mainly reflect stress increases due to the coseismic slip and postseismic deformation of this great earthquake. The present study suggests that the effect of viscoelastic relaxation is a dominant factor in the deeper section. Furthermore, the variations in seismicity may also reflect heterogeneous structures within the slab. • b -values in the subducting slab are mostly lower than those at the plate interface. • p -values in the subducting slab are mostly lower than those at the plate interface. • Seismic quiescence was noted in the hypocentral area of the M 7.3 earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study examining the responses of librarians to the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Topics address include a poster created by a librarian from Fukushima, Japan that documented librarians efforts to provide reading and information services despite damages to library buildings, as well as the use of libraries as shelters.

We found seven event deposits during the past 3800 years in a total of 16 geological core samples from a coastal lowland in Fukushima Prefecture, about 12 km north of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The event deposits consisted of well-sorted and rounded fine to coarse sand with single normal grading structures, parallel laminae, mud drapes, rip-up clasts, and erosional basal contacts. They were distributed about 2 km inland from the current shoreline and commonly became thinner landward. The third and fifth sand layers were characterized by many climbing ripples and parallel and trough-cross bedding that were probably caused by storm surges or some other events during the period of absent beach ridges. The other deposits were characterized by sedimentological features common to tsunami deposits. The top layer appeared to have been deposited by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami, and the second layer might have been resulted from the AD 869 Jogan Tohoku tsunami. The other three tsunami deposits corresponded to tsunami events between the second and fourth centuries AD, the sixth and fourth centuries BC, and the twelfth and ninth centuries BC. The average recurrence interval of the paleo-tsunamis was estimated to be 560–950 years. These dates are mostly consistent with previous studies of the Sendai plain, suggesting that paleo-tsunamis that reached the Sendai plain also reached the coast of Fukushima Prefecture. However, no trace was found from an earthquake around the 15th century, which had been considered as a predecessor of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9.0) in the tsunami deposit surveys in Sendai plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iitate, a village in Fukushima Prefecture, suffered little damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on 11 March 2011. However, all village residents were belatedly ordered to evacuate 1 month after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. My family and I had to evacuate to the city of Fukushima, located 40 km from our home in Iitate. This came at a time when my husband and I were planning to start research on Natsuhaze (a type of blueberry grown in Japan) after his retirement. There were conflicting reports. On one hand, the media reported that it was not possible to live in Fukushima. The village of Iitate organised a lecture by an expert to assuage the fear of the residents. The evacuation order 1 month after the disaster contradicted what the expert was saying, and appeared to amplify distrust among the residents. I tried to arrive at my own judgement by measuring the ambient radiation dose in and around my house. Participating in the International Commission on Radiological Protection dialogue seminars provided accurate understanding of the situation. Measurement of radiation doses of wild plants that my husband's father had been cultivating for over 30 years has given me many insights, and I had no concerns about returning to Iitate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I have learned a great deal by participating in the ICRP dialogue seminars. I will summarise what I have observed and felt regarding the thoughts of the inhabitants of Fukushima over the last four and a half years, and what the ICRP dialogue seminars meant to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accident of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in March 2011 released a large amount of radiocesium into the North Pacific Ocean. Vertical distributions of Fukushima-derived radiocesium were measured at stations along the 149°E meridian in the western North Pacific during the winter of 2012. In the subtropical region, to the south of the Kuroshio Extension, we found a subsurface radiocesium maximum at a depth of about 300 m. It is concluded that atmospheric-deposited radiocesium south of the Kuroshio Extension just after the accident had been transported not only eastward along with surface currents but also southward due to formation/subduction of subtropical mode waters within about 10 months after the accident. The total amount of decay-corrected 134Cs in the mode water was an estimated about 6 PBq corresponding to 10-60% of the total inventory of Fukushima-derived 134Cs in the North Pacific Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great East Japan Earthquake and the successive accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station are stark reminders of the importance of energy, which is the basis of economic activity and national governance. Urgent responses have been conducted since March 11, 2011, including controlling the consequences of the nuclear accident, dealing with the short-term power shortages, and a comprehensive review of Japan's long-term national energy policy. Nationwide discussions and reviews of these issues are still continuing. Even today, more than 2 years after March 11, many problems remain unsolved and Japanese society has to face uncertainty and challenges about its energy future. In the current difficult situation, Japan needs to achieve '3 Es ( energy security, environmental protection, and economic efficiency)' plus ' S' ( safety) and ' M' ( macro economy protection) simultaneously, taking account of the new realities following the Fukushima accident. This paper tries to identify the energy-related challenges that Japan has to face and tries to recommend the concept of the 'energy best mix policy' for Japan, by describing the present status of energy issues in Japan and the national debate on energy policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Blood pressure (BP) transiently increases after major earthquakes. Although home BP increased in hypertensive patients after the Great East Japan Earthquake (measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale) on March 11th, 2011, such profiles in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have not been investigated. Methods: This retrospective single-center observational study included 38 patients with CKD at the predialysis stage [male, n = 27 (71 %); mean age 66.0 years; mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 46.0 mL/min/1.73 m²] who lived in Fukushima City. We compared their morning BP between two and four weeks after the quake with that of a control group of 39 non-CKD patients with hypertension. Results: Systolic BP (SBP) remained elevated for one week after the quake in the CKD and non-CKD groups [before vs. after the quake 133.7 ± 15.6 vs. 136.9 ± 16.9 ( p = 0.017) and 129.9 ± 7.8 vs. 133.3 ± 9.3 mmHg ( p = 0.009), respectively]. Increases in SBP in the morning after the quake were statistically significant in the group with but not in that without CKD (7.1 and 3.4 mmHg; p = 0.038 and 0.221, respectively). Multivariate analysis revealed that a low eGFR was an independent risk factor for elevated SBP after the quake. Conclusions: The quake caused acute changes in the home BP and the fact that BP elevation correlated with renal function suggests a possible mechanism of CKD, such as enhanced activity of the sympathetic nervous system in such patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great East Japan Earthquake that struck in March 2011 directly damaged Fukushima Prefecture. Due to the ensuing nuclear accident of Fukushima Daiichi plant, the Prefecture's power output decreased by 9GW. However, Fukushima Prefecture has more than just nuclear power. Prior to the earthquake, the prefecture was Japan's biggest power-supplying prefecture because of its abundant hydro and thermal power. After the nuclear power plant accident, aversion to nuclear power naturally intensified in Fukushima Prefecture. Despite this, in the future, the prefecture will continue to be a power-supplying prefecture primarily via thermal and hydro power. The author, living in Fukushima, argues that the revival and bolstering of thermal and hydro power will help to dispel concerns about Japan's power supply and may also facilitate local economic recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosol collections were initiated at several locations by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) shortly after the Great East Japan earthquake of May 2011. Aerosol samples were transferred to laboratory high-resolution gamma spectrometers for analysis. Similar to treaty monitoring stations operating across the Northern hemisphere, iodine and other isotopes which could be volatilized at high temperature were detected. Though these locations are not far apart, they have significant variations with respect to water, mountain-range placement, and local topography. Variation in computed source terms will be shown to bound the variability of this approach to source estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, scour depth measurements are compared with theoretical and empirical estimates obtained at four sites in Chiba and Fukushima Prefectures impacted by the 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. At sites where scour was caused by either floodwall overtopping or acceleration of flow around building foundation footings, results of published scour experiments are compared with measured scour depths. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: There was a missed opportunity for implementing important disaster preparedness measures following an earthquake prediction that was announced as an alarm in mid-2001. This intermediate-term middle-range prediction was the initiation of a chain of alarms that successfully detected the time, region, and magnitude range for the magnitude 9.0 March 11, 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. The prediction chains were made using an algorithm called M8 and is the latest of many predictions tested worldwide for more than 25 years, the results of which show at least a 70% success rate. The earthquake detection could have been utilized to implement measures and improve earthquake preparedness in advance; unfortunately this was not done, in part due to the predictions'' limited distribution and the lack of applying existing methods for using intermediate-term predictions to make decisions for taking action. The resulting earthquake and induced tsunami caused tremendous devastation to north-east Japan. Methods that were known in advance of the predication and further advanced during the prediction timeframe are presented in a scenario describing some possibilities on how the 2001 prediction may have been utilized to reduce significant damage, including damage to the Fukushima nuclear power plant, and to show prudent cost-effective actions can be taken if the prediction certainty is known, but not necessarily high. The purpose of this paper is to show how the prediction information can be strategically used to enhance disaster preparedness and reduce future impacts from the world''s largest earthquakes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The 11 April 2011 Hamadoori, Fukushima prefecture, northeast Japan, earthquake occurred in a seismically active area, one month after the 11 March 2011 Off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku earthquake. The Hamadoori earthquake resulted in a 14-km-long down-to-the-west normal-slip rupture on the north-northwest-south-southeast-striking Itozawa fault, as well as a 16-km-long down-to-the-south normal-slip rupture on the west-northwest-east-southeast-striking Yunodake fault. The slip along the Itozawa fault increases abruptly from the southern end to the central part of the fault, where the measured maximum displacement is close to 2 m; the slip decreases gradually from the central section to the northwestern end of the fault. The Yunodake fault also has an asymmetric slip distribution, with a peak of about 0.9 m near the northwestern section of the fault. Considering the direction of rupture propagation along the two faults, it is apparent that the measured surface offset is asymmetric along the strike, with the largest offsets observed nearer the end of the fault where the rupture began, and showing a gradual decrease in the direction of rupture termination. The surface observations of the slip distribution and the epi-center location are consistent with the general features of earthquake ruptures derived from slip-inversion models. On more than 60% of the rupture length of the Hamadoori earthquake faults, as well as on other historic normal-fault earthquakes, slip displace-ments are less than or equal to 30% of the maximum slip. The moment magnitude (Mw) of the earthquake, estimated from ruptures length, maximum and average displacements, is between 6.5 and 6.8, in accordance with the seismologically determined value of 6.6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A catastrophic undersea megathrust earthquake of magnitude 9.0 off the coast of Japan occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011. The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves, and the tsunami precipitated Fukushima nuclear accidents. After the terrible earthquake, many people fled from the nuclear accident and arrived at places far from the nuclear power plant. In this article, I present a story of one measure devised to deal with the problem of the Fukushima nuclear accident at a regional hospital of Fukushima prefecture, Aizu General Hospital, which is located far from the Fukushima nuclear plant. In addition, I briefly report the current situation of Fukushima prefecture after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake. In our hospital, the countermeasure headquarters was established to supply medical care for those who had been injured by tsunami waves and the Fukushima nuclear accident. Especially, the screening for radioactive exposure using a dosimeter to take decontamination measures for cases of external exposure was extremely important task. Nevertheless, because the accurate knowledge related to radioactive contamination didn't provide, most medical staff fell into confusion. Fukushima prefecture has been 'shrinking' since the nuclear accident. However, today, although some hot spots remain in residential areas, the radioactive contamination is decreasing little by little. Many people in Fukushima Prefecture advance as one, facing forward. Recently, decontamination projects started. Efforts must be continued over a long period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article recounts the events during the Fukushima nuclear power plant accidents caused by the Great Eastern Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011 and the tsunami thereafter and describes the health and medical assistance provided by the Japan Medical Association (JMA). In cooperation with the Fukushima Medical Association and local medical associations, assistance were provided to evacuees. The possible radiation exposure and residual contamination is also considered.

Abstract: We report on the first measurements of short-lived gaseous fission products detected outside of Japan following the Fukushima nuclear releases, which occurred after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The measurements were conducted at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), (46°16′47″N, 119°16′53″W) located more than 7000 km from the emission point in Fukushima Japan (37°25′17″N, 141°1′57″E). First detections of 133Xe were made starting early March 16, only four days following the earthquake. Maximum concentrations of 133Xe were in excess of 40 Bq/m3, which is more than ×40,000 the average concentration of this isotope is this part of the United States. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The earthquake in Japan on March 11, 2011 has had tragic consequences for that country: the enormous tsunami it generated inundated the coastal regions of northeastern Honshu: more than 26,000 people perished or vanished without a trace: and houses, public buildings, and whole factories were destroyed. In addition, the tsunami disabled the cooling system of the Fukushima-I nuclear power plant, leading to an unparalleled environmental disaster. This article assesses some of the tragic events that unfolded in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a study which investigated excess mortality among relocated institutionalized elderly following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan on March 11, 2011. It was found that 70% of deaths following the nuclear disaster occurred among women and 93% of deaths occurred in people past the age of 75. The need to improve the disaster guidelines at elderly institutions is cited.

The article discusses items related to European Society for Environmental History (ESEH) and reflects on environmental and man-made disasters in history, particularly the 2011 earthquake in Japan and the nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. It examines the sinking of Venice, Italy and notes that the Second ESEH Summer School will take place there from June 20 to June 26, 2011. The author explores the creation of a European online resource for environmental history called the Arcadia Project, sponsored by the ESEH and the Rachel Carson Center for Environment and Society in Munich, Germany.

The article discusses the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan which was wrecked on March 11, 2011 after an earthquake and tsunami. It cites reports from the mainstream media on the complaints of overseas experts regarding the gaping holes in the Fukushima information given to them. It states that nuclear uncertainty and doubts about the steps to be taken to solve it lead to insecurity, risk and stress among the people who are affected.

We have updated our work regarding climate extremes in Japan and the consequences of the huge earthquake in the Fukushima Prefecture in year 2011. We have interchangeably used the term sex ratio at birth, sex ratio of births. This ratio describes the secondary sex ratio, whereas the primary sex ratio designates the male/female ratio at fertilization. The underlying mechanisms of declines in sex ratios at birth may be related to decreased fertilization of XY embryos by reduced motility of Y spermatozoa from male factor approach and increased cortisol secretion prior to conception from a female factor approach. We have shown that the declines in sex ratio at birth were observed 9 months after the Kobe earthquake but 10 months after the Tohoku and Kumamoto earthquakes. The temperature difference may be associated positively with sex ratio of fetal deaths and negatively with sex ratio of births and with singleton male and female birth weights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article on 1 year of the Great East Japan Earthquake by Justin McCurry in the March 10, 2012 issue.

The article focuses on the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. It mentions that six months after the earthquake, important data necessary for understanding the crisis are still missing, and obstacles in funding as well as in bureaucracy hamper their collection. According to Shinji Tokonami, radiation health expert at Hirosaki University, gathering the necessary data for assessment of the crisis is hard and that local officials are not cooperative to the researchers.

This article assesses the political economy risk of the return of Japan's nuclear village. The December 16 general election campaign and its aftermath may see the nuclear village and its allies seize even greater momentum in key central-government agencies. With a welter of parties and their confusing positions on energy policy, an election seems hardly likely to lead to coherence. The general political and policymaking chaos of the present indeed invites comparison with Japan's early postwar years. The upshot could lead to a gradual return to the concentration on nuclear power that was written into the June 2010 basic energy policy and remains the de jure energy policy, notwithstanding the March 11, 2011 Fukushima Shock and all that has happened since. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author explores the realities of living in the Fukushima Prefecture a year after the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake, the tsunami that followed, and the resulting Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant disaster. She reports that the municipal government of Minami-soma city, Fukushima Prefecture began implementing a blueprint, which includes lifting the no-entry regulations and changed evacuation zone designations that had stood since March 12, 2011. She further reports that this decision allowed people to return to the district of Odaka and some parts of the Haramachi district.

The author explores the lessons learned from the nuclear disaster in Japan. He cites several reasons why a nuclear disaster is a possibility in Japan, including the 1960s design of five Fukushima-I reactors and the a crowded earthquake and tsunami prone zone populated by 127 million people and containing 54 reactors. He explains the costs and time required to build nuclear plants which he claims negate their climate protection purpose. He calls on the U.S. to consider the safety of new reactors and why it should build more and keep operating unsafe units.

The author opines regarding risks associated with power production, focusing on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident precipitated by the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Lessons learned are articulated including the misconception of believing that worst case scenarios can be imagined, the perils of adopting technologies that can melt down or go critical, and the errors of presuming something is safe because it has been in the past.

The article features Mayor Sakurai Katsunobo of Minami-Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture, Japan whose 11-minute video on YouTube pleading for help after his city's coast was pulverised in the quake and tsunami of March 11, 2011 scored 200,000 hits and sparked a worldwide relief effort. It mentions that Takaki Issei, an official of the Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco), was seconded to the city to report daily the efforts to stop radiation leaks from the nuclear reactors. The article also reports about the updates on the city one month after the disaster.