Current Nuclear Situation

It`s been a while since I`ve written anything that relates to the 3.11 earthquake but I felt like now is a good time. I`m currently stuck inside with a mild case of bronchitis, so this will at least give me something to do.

What`s the current nuclear situation?

There is considerable and understandable resistance to further nuclear power in Japan. Despite this, the Oi reactors have  achieved criticality and are back online. The government is pushing for the restart of further reactors. The reason for this is that without these reactors, Japan would have a severe power shortage. This would lead to unexpected blackouts as Japan nears its hottest days of the year. With a large elderly population, this can`t be allowed to happen or there will be high losses due to heatstroke in homes.

What area has the most severe power shortage?

Right now, that is the Kansai area (Osaka, Kyoto, etc.) Thanks to the Oi reactors, the threat of widespread blackouts has decreased, but people are still being asked to decrease about 10-15% of energy consumption. Tokyo is relatively okay, but companies have become warmer to around 28 degrees Celsius. That`s about 82 degrees Fahrenheit. Plants are still shutting down to conserve energy on days. You`ll see signs everywhere in Japan for energy conservation (setsuden). The lights have been dimmed and certain gates may be closed.

What happened to TEPCO, the company that caused it all?

TEPCO has had most of its shares bought by the government. That means that it is now a government-controlled entity. Although the idea of letting TEPCO fail was tempting, and many people supported the idea, it was not seen as feasible. It could have seriously reduced power to many homes, so the government took over. Nevertheless, TEPCO is now embroiled an a controversial deal to raise rates on all of its consumers to fund reconstruction efforts and recoup losses. It tried to raise rates to 15% for consumers, and I want to say 30% for businesses, but the government said the increase in consumer rates was not permissible. TEPCO has been ordered to cut pay for all of its workers by 30%. It has been approved to raise rates on consumers by 8.47%. It will take effect this month I believe.

How are reconstruction efforts going? 

Reconstruction is going well. Businesses are reopening and allowing tourists to come in. There are still many people living in temporary housing though, and people in the worst hit areas may not be able to return home for another decade or more. People still think about the affected areas and donate money though the donations have slowed as time has passed.

What about the Olympics?

 The Japanese Olympic team has dedicated their performances to the disaster-hit region in an effort to show that Japan can rise from such a terrible tradegy back to the world stage. Around 10 percent of the athletes are from or related to the area through education, etc. I know of at least one story where an athlete was training in the area when the tsunami hit. People are very supportive of the Olympics so far.