Tōhoku region on Notably News

Tōhoku region

Portion of Honshu island

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We include updates on Fukushima nuclear accident, Iwate Prefecture, Miyagi Prefecture, Fukushima Prefecture, Aomori Prefecture, Akita Prefecture, Yamagata Prefecture, Zashiki-warashi, Kokeshi, Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Wind phone, Okawa Elementary School, Ryou-Un Maru, Northern Fujiwara, 2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, Oshira-sama ... and more.

March 2024	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The discharge of treated radioactive water was temporarily suspended following a 5.8-magnitude earthquake in the Fukushima coastal region. No abnormalities were detected with the wastewater treatment during this interruption.
March 2024	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Fourth round of water discharge completed, with no abnormal tritium levels detected in nearby waters.
February 2024	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant A leak was detected by a contractor at the power plant, with 5.5 tonnes of potentially radioactive water escaping due to 10 out of 16 valves being left open, seeping into the surrounding soil within the plant compound.
2023	Fukushima nuclear accident A docudrama series called 'The Days' was released, depicting the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident over a period of 7 days, based in part on Masao Yoshida's testimony from The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Report.
2023	Fukushima nuclear accident A dose-response relationship study was published, suggesting potential underreporting of thyroid cancer incidence due to societal and political pressures.
August 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Fisheries minister Tetsuro Nomura called the treated radioactive water 'contaminated', but later apologized and retracted the statement after receiving instruction from Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
August 25 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant TEPCO reported that tritium levels in seawater around Fukushima remained below the detection limit of 10 Bq/L. The Japanese Fishery Agency confirmed no detectable amounts of tritium in fish caught 4 km from the discharge pipe.
August 24 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Protests against the water discharge erupt in South Korea, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, with approximately 50,000 people gathering in Seoul and some attempting to storm the Japanese embassy.
August 24 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan began discharging treated waste water into the Pacific Ocean, which triggered protests in the region and prompted China to expand its ban on aquatic imports from Japan.
August 23 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka expresses support for the IAEA report, stating the plan meets international safety standards.
August 22 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan announced plans to release treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the Pacific Ocean within 48 hours, despite regional opposition. The water was treated using the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) to remove radiation, with tritium remaining as the primary radioactive element.
July 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant IAEA releases a conclusion that Japan's discharge plan is in accordance with international safety standards, but does not fully endorse the decision.
June 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant South Korean shoppers rush to buy salt and other items before the expected water discharge, with the government banning seafood from near Fukushima.
May 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant An interlaboratory comparison was conducted with 3 IAEA laboratories and 4 national laboratories to verify TEPCO's testing of ALPS-treated water.
April 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japan's NRA announced a Comprehensive Radiation Monitoring Plan to continually monitor radionuclide concentrations across Japan.
April 2023	Fukushima nuclear accident Fishers and activists protested in front of the Japanese embassy in the Philippines against the planned release of 1.3 million tons of treated water into the Pacific Ocean.
January 2023	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant U.S. National Association of Marine Laboratories opposes the discharge plan, citing lack of adequate scientific data supporting safety claims.
2022	Akita Prefecture Akita Prefecture reaches a critical demographic milestone with only 9.3% of population under 15 and 38.6% aged 65 or older, the highest percentage in Japan.
August 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan began discharging treated waste water into the Pacific Ocean, sparking international protests and China's retaliatory ban on Japanese seafood imports.
July 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority approved discharging treated water into the sea.
July 13 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Four former TEPCO executives were ordered to pay $95 billion in damages to the operator of the power plant in a civil case brought by TEPCO shareholders.
June 17 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Supreme Court acquitted the government of any wrongdoing regarding potential compensation to over 3,700 people affected by the accident.
March 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan's Supreme Court upheld an order for TEPCO to pay damages of $12 million to about 3,700 people whose lives were harmed by the accident, covering three class-action lawsuits.
February 2022	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant An IAEA task force released their first report after being dispatched to Japan in 2021, verifying TEPCO's water management processes.
February 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan suspended the sale of black rockfish from Fukushima after discovering one fish from Soma had 180 times more radioactive Cesium-137 than legally permitted, with 44 other fish showing similar high radiation levels.
January 2022	Fukushima nuclear accident Six former child residents who developed thyroid cancer sued TEPCO for 616 million yen, seeking compensation for health impacts from the Fukushima nuclear accident.
2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japanese cabinet approves the release of ALPS-treated water containing tritium into the ocean.
2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant United States Food and Drug Administration stated there was no evidence of unsafe radionuclide levels from the Fukushima incident in the U.S. food supply.
2021	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan's Nuclear Regulation Authority warned that some of the 3,373 radioactive slurry waste storage containers were degrading faster than expected, posing an urgent containment problem.
June 2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant At least 70 U.S. civic groups condemn Japan's wastewater discharge plan, with 17 civic organizations holding protests in Berlin.
April 13 2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant The Cabinet of Prime Minister Suga unanimously approved TEPCO's plan to dump the stored water into the Pacific Ocean over a course of 30 years.
April 13 2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly thanks Japan for its transparent efforts in deciding to dispose of treated water.
March 23 2021	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Rafael Grossi, IAEA director-general, reaches a consensus with the Japanese government about water release, three weeks before the official announcement.
February 2021	Fukushima nuclear accident TEPCO successfully removed 566 fuel assemblies from the Unit 3 spent fuel pool, continuing the complex decommissioning process.
2020	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant UNSCEAR report detailed the radioactive release, indicating total atmospheric releases of Iodine-131 ranging between 100 to 500 PBq and Caesium-137 between 6 to 20 PBq, representing 2-8% of Iodine-131 and 1-3% of Caesium-137 inventories from the three operating units.
2020	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant UNSCEAR report noted continuing indirect releases of 5 to 10 TBq of Caesium-137 per year via rivers draining catchment areas near the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.
2020	Fukushima nuclear accident A Japanese Government committee concluded that the purified water should be released to the sea or evaporated to the atmosphere, calculating minimal radiation exposure for local people.
December 2020	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Asahi Shimbun conducted a survey revealing that 55% of 2,126 Japanese respondents opposed dumping radioactive water, and 86% were concerned about international reception.
September 2020	Fukushima nuclear accident The Great East Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Disaster Memorial Museum was opened in Futaba town near the power plant, providing multilingual exhibits about the earthquake and nuclear accident to educate both local and international visitors.
September 30 2020	Fukushima nuclear accident Sendai High Court ruled that the Japanese government and TEPCO are responsible for the accident, ordering payment of $9.5 million in damages to residents for lost livelihoods.
June 2020	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant UN Special Rapporteur Baskut Tuncak critiques Japan's plan, stating Fukushima communities have the right not to be deliberately exposed to additional radioactive contamination.
January 2020	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Japanese expert panel 'ALPS subcommittee', led by nuclear scientist Ichiro Yamamoto, released a report assessing the radiation impact of discharging treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The report concluded that discharging the water would cause a negligible radiation dose of 0.81 microsieverts to locals, compared to the natural radiation exposure of 2,100 microsieverts per year.
2019	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant South Korean government expresses concern about potential non-compliance with the London Protocol regarding Japan's planned radioactive water release from Fukushima.
September 2019	Fukushima nuclear accident The court agreed to proceed with the trial of the three former TEPCO executives, who had pleaded not guilty to charges of negligence.
February 2019	Fukushima nuclear accident Video footage was captured from Unit 2 containment area below the reactor, documenting the ongoing cleanup and investigation efforts.
2018	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant La Hague nuclear processing site in France released 11,400 terabecquerels (TBq) of tritium in this year.
2018	Fukushima nuclear accident Tours began to visit the Fukushima nuclear accident area, allowing people to see the site and understand its impact firsthand.
October 1 2018	Iwate Prefecture Start of a demographic reporting period showing significant population decline, with only 7,220 births recorded between October 2018 and September 2019.
September 2018	Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant TEPCO reported that 20% of the water had been treated to the required level.
February 2018	Fukushima nuclear accident Japan renewed the export of fish caught off Fukushima's nearshore zone, with Thailand becoming the first country to receive a shipment of fresh fish from Fukushima prefecture.
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This contents of the box above is based on material from the Wikipedia articles Akita Prefecture, Discharge of radioactive water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, Iwate Prefecture & Fukushima nuclear accident, which are released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

See Also

Honshu

Akita Prefecture

Aomori Prefecture