Contaminated Fukushima soil delivered to Japan PM's office
TOKYO: Dozens of bags of mildly radioactive soil collected from near the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant were delivered Saturday (July 19) to the Japanese prime minister's office, in an effort to show it is safe for reuse.
Soon after the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, authorities scraped a layer of contaminated soil from swathes of land in Fukushima to reduce radiation levels.
A vast quantity of soil -- 14 million cubic metres -- has since been stored at facilities near the Fukushima Daiichi plant, with the government setting a 2045 deadline for its transfer elsewhere in the country.
Most of the stored soil contains low levels of radiation equivalent to or less than one X-ray per year for people who directly stand on or work with it, the environment ministry said.
But with few willing to take the contaminated earth, the government took it upon itself to reuse some of the soil to show it is not dangerous.
On Saturday, workers unloaded bags of the dirt from a truck in the front yard of the prime minister's office in central Tokyo, with earlier reports saying it will be used in flower beds.
A layer of ordinary soil around 20 centimetres (eight inches) deep will sit on top of the Fukushima soil, according to the environment ministry.
Opinion polls suggest that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's coalition could lose its majority in upper house elections on Sunday, a result that might push him to resign after less than a year in office. - AFP
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Herald Malaysia
an hour ago
- Herald Malaysia
Pope appeals for end to Gaza ‘barbarity'
Speaking after the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo mourns the three Gazans killed in an attack on the Holy Family Catholic parish in Gaza city, which he says is 'just one' of the 'continuous' attacks on Gaza's people and holy sites. Jul 21, 2025 Smoke billows following an Israeli strike on the Gaza Strip (AFP or licensors) By Joseph TullochPope Leo XIV has expressed his 'deep sorrow' over the recent Israeli attack on the Catholic parish in Gaza, and called for 'an immediate halt to the barbarity' in the Strip. After the Holy Family church was struck on Thursday morning, three of the approximately 600 Gazans sheltering there were killed, and several others, including the parish priest Fr Gabriel Romanelli, were injured. Speaking on Sunday after reciting the Angelus prayer at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope named the three victims – Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, and Najwa Ibrahim Latif Abu Daoud – and said he was 'close' to them and their families. Pope Leo then stressed that the attack 'is just one of the continuous military attacks against the civilian population and places of worship in Gaza'. The Pope appealed for 'an immediate halt to the barbarity of the war' and for 'a peaceful resolution of the conflict'. He urged the international community to observe humanitarian law and respect the obligation to protect civilians, 'as well as the prohibition against collective punishment, indiscriminate use of force and forced displacement of the population'. Pope Leo brought his appeal to a close with a message to 'our beloved' Christian communities in the Middle East, saying he understood they felt they could 'do little, in the face of this tragic situation'. 'You are in the heart of the Pope and of the whole Church,' he said. 'Thank you for your witness of faith.' Phone call with Netanyahu Earlier in the day, speaking to journalists as he returned from celebrating Mass in the nearby town of Albano, Pope Leo stressed the need to 'pray for peace, and try to convince all parties to come to the table, to dialogue and to lay down their weapons'. 'The world can't take it any more', the Pope said. 'There is so much conflict, so many wars'. Pope Leo was then asked about his phone conversation on Friday with Benjamin Netanyahu, during which he urged a "renewed push" for an end to the conflict, and lamented the "agonizing price" being paid by Gaza's civilians. 'We insisted on the need to protect the sacred places of all religions,' Pope Leo said, 'and to respect people and sacred places and try to leave behind all the violence and the hatred'.--Vatican News
Malay Mail
an hour ago
- Malay Mail
Will tariff talks save Ishiba? Japanese PM fights for survival amid election defeat
TOKYO, July 21 — Japanese premier Shigeru Ishiba vowed to stay on after his ruling coalition suffered a bruising defeat in upper house elections on Sunday as some of his own party discussed his future and the opposition weighed a no-confidence motion. In a series of televised remarks as the results came in on Sunday evening, Ishiba told reporters he would remain as prime minister, citing a looming tariff deadline with the United States set to strain the world's fourth largest economy. Ishiba is due to hold a press conference at 2pm (0500 GMT) where he will formally announce those plans, broadcaster NHK reported. Analysts say his days may be numbered, having also lost control of the more powerful lower house in elections last year and shedding votes on Sunday to opposition parties pledging to cut taxes and tighten immigration policies. 'The political situation has become fluid and could lead to a leadership change or the reshuffling of the coalition in coming months, but Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will likely stay to complete the tariff negotiations with the US for now,' said Oxford Economics' lead Japan economist Norihiro Yamaguchi. acing a voter backlash over rising consumer prices, investors fear his administration will now be more beholden to opposition parties advocating for tax cuts and welfare spending that the world's most indebted country can ill afford. Markets in Japan were closed for a holiday on Monday, although the yen strengthened and Nikkei futures rose slightly, as the election results appeared to be priced in. Yields on Japanese government bonds sold off sharply ahead of the ballot as polls showed the ruling coalition – which had been calling for fiscal restraint – was likely to lose its majority in the upper house. Adding to the economic anxiety, Ishiba's lack of progress in averting tariffs set to be imposed by its biggest trading partner, the United States, on August 1 appears to have frustrated some voters. 'Had the ruling party resolved even one of these issues, it (their approval rate) would have gone up, but we didn't feel anything and it seems like the US would continue to push us around,' Hideaki Matsuda, a 60-year-old company manager, said outside Tokyo's bustling Shinjuku station on Monday morning. Populist politics Ishiba's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which has ruled Japan for most of its post-war history, and coalition partner Komeito returned 47 seats, short of the 50 seats it needed to ensure a majority in the 248-seat upper chamber in an election where half the seats were up for grabs. The leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party (CDPJ), Yoshihiko Noda, said on Sunday he is considering submitting a vote of non-confidence in the Ishiba administration as the result showed it did not have voters' trust. The CDPJ returned 22 seats in the ballot, finishing second. Some senior LDP lawmakers were also quietly voicing doubts over whether Ishiba should stay, according to local media reports on Monday. Among them was former prime minister Taro Aso, leader of a powerful faction within the ruling party, who said he 'couldn't accept' Ishiba staying on, Japan's TV Asahi reported. Senior party members including Aso met on Sunday evening to discuss whether Ishiba should resign, Sankei newspaper reported. The far-right Sanseito party clocked the biggest gains of the night, adding 14 seats to one elected previously. Launched on YouTube during the pandemic by spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the party found wider appeal with its 'Japanese First' campaign and warnings about a 'silent invasion' of foreigners. Dragging once-fringe rhetoric into the mainstream, its success could mark the arrival of populist politics in Japan, which until now has failed to take root as it has in the United States and western Europe. Sanseito's party leader Sohei Kamiya, a former supermarket manager and English teacher, has previously pointed to Germany's AfD and Reform UK as a possible blueprint for future success. — Reuters
Barnama
2 hours ago
- Barnama
Japan Ruling Camp Loses Upper House Majority, PM Vows To Stay On
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba speaks to reporters at his office in Tokyo on July 8, 2025. (Photo Credit Kyodo) TOKYO, July 21 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan's ruling coalition lost its majority in the House of Councillors in Sunday's election, an outcome that will add pressure on embattled Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who vowed to stay on despite yet another heavy blow to his party, Kyodo News Agency reported. The cards are stacked against Ishiba, with all major opposition parties ruling out joining the Liberal Democratic Party and its partner Komeito party in an expanded coalition. Despite his intention to remain as prime minister, calls for Ishiba to resign from within the LDP may grow. The ruling camp failed to meet its pre-election goal of winning at least 50 of the 125 contested seats to reach the majority threshold in the upper house. The LDP and Komeito now have 122 seats, down from 141 before the election. bootstrap slideshow The coalition has now been deprived of majority control in both houses of parliament, the upper house and the House of Representatives -- a very rare situation for a government in postwar Japan. The LDP appears to have lost favor among some conservative voters, with the right-leaning populist party Sanseito emerging as an alternative. Despite its "Japanese First" mantra and nationalistic policy agenda targeting foreigners -- seen by critics as xenophobic -- it increased its share of upper house seats from two to 15, a level that enables it to submit bills in the chamber. As early returns and media projections came in, Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that forming a coalition with the ruling camp is "out of the question." His party, which has engaged in policy coordination with the ruling coalition, holds 22 seats, up sharply from nine. The leaders of the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDPJ) and the Japan Innovation Party (JIP) took a similarly negative stance on joining the coalition.
