Japan has also asked Russia for radiation treatment ship, the “Suzuran”, which treats radioactive liquids, Kyodo and Jiji news agencies said. (the vessel has not arrived by June 10, probably because its capacity was too low for the amount of water – Ed)
Japan seeks Russian help to end nuclear crisis
Mon, Apr 04 22:39 PM IST
By Chizu Nomiyama and Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan has asked nuclear superpower Russia to send a special radiation treatment ship used to decommission nuclear submarines to help in its fight to contain the world’s worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl, Japanese media said late on Monday.
Japanese engineers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant have been forced to release radioactive waste water into the sea. At the same time they are resorting to desperate measures to contain the damage, such as using bath salts to try to locate the source of leaks –snip–
“We have instructed strict monitoring of the ocean to firmly grasp the impact on the environment,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said…–snip–
Japan has also asked Russia for radiation treatment ship, the “Suzuran”, which treats radioactive liquids, Kyodo and Jiji news agencies said.
The ship, a joint venture between Japan and Russia, was designed to help decommission nuclear submarines in Russia’s Pacific fleet in Vladivostock, ensuring radioactive waste was not dumped into the Sea of Japan, Kyodo said.
But it could take months to stem the leaks and even longer to regain control of the power station, damaged by last month’s quake and tsunami.
DISASTER MAY SEE YEN WEAKEN
Japan, the world’s third largest economy but also one of its most indebted nations, has estimated the damages bill may top $300 billion.
“The damage from the nuclear crisis and the subsequent power shortage will last for several years,” said Eiji Hirano, former assistant governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ).
“There’s a strong chance Japan’s economy will contract in the current fiscal year,” he told Reuters in an interview.
A former senior BOJ official, Eisuke Sakakibara, said the yen would weaken in the coming months, possibly beyond 90 to the dollar, underlining expectations a near four-year rally in the currency may be over.
The yen traded at 84.05 per dollar on Monday.
The disaster initially saw the yen soar on speculation Japanese would repatriate funds for reconstruction, prompting the G7 intervention to knock it back.
“This atomic power issue is an incident which would result in depreciation of the exchange rate,” Sakakibara told reporters in Tokyo.
–snip–
http://in.mobile.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-56111020110404
Fukushima watching 