Japanese authorities failed to disclose US data on the spread of radiation from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant last year, a cabinet minister says. This left some evacuees fleeing in the same direction as the radioactive emissions, media report. ­The March 11, 2011 tsunami and earthquake partially wrecked the Fukushima nuclear plant north of Tokyo. 160,000 people fled the ensuing worst nuclear... 

TEPCO’s new estimates suggest that its Fukushima reactor has released more than quadruple the amount of radioactive cesium-137 leaked during the Chernobyl disaster. But the method used to measure the damage may undervalue the hazard even further. ­Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s revised report suggests that in total, around 760,000 terabecquerels (TBq) were discharged into the atmosphere since... 

An Iranian oil tanker The South Korean Economy Ministry says Seoul and Tokyo have asked the European Union to extend insurance contracts on tankers carrying Iranian crude after the bloc’s oil embargo comes into effect on July 1. “To the EU members, we explained the problems that could be caused to non-EU members by the EU insurance embargo,” the ministry said in a Monday statement. “In close... 

The Japanese town of Ohi has deemed it necessary to restart its two nuclear reactors, citing imminent power shortages. But Robert Jacobs, a professor of nuclear history, told RT the move is meant to avert investment losses in the nuclear sector. The Ohi town assembly defended the decision to put the reactors back online, citing potential damage to the local economy and the rise in unemployment the... 

A government survey says the Japanese youth are the most likely to think about killing themselves while one quarter of the whole population have considered suicide. According to the report released by the Cabinet Office on May 2, 2012, a large number of the people of Japan, which is one of the most developed countries in the world, have suicidal thoughts, Press TV reports. Recession has influenced... 

Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo The stocks of Japan’s electronics giants Sony and Panasonic have plunged to their lowest in over three decades with companies reporting USD 5.7 billion and USD 9.67 billion annual losses respectively. Sony’s shares dived 6.43 percent to 1,135 yen on Thursday, while Panasonic closed down 1.55 percent at 570 yen on Friday. The firms’ shares stood at their... 

This picture whows a tornado sweeping through Tsukuba city in Ibaraki prefecture, north eastern Tokyo on May 6, 2012 A massive tornado has swept through eastern Japan, killing a teenager and injuring dozens of others. The twister ripped roofs of buildings, smashed windows and toppled heavy billboards. ­The 14-year-old died of injuries received when the roof of a house collapsed. The raging vortex... 

A grim Ministry of Finance report circulating in the Kremlin today states that the shocking record rise this past week of the United States outstanding debt to $15.692 trillion (just $600 billion short of their debt ceiling) has pushed the world’s most powerful economy into a situation of its outstanding obligations now being 101.5% of its entire gross domestic product (GDP), which when coupled... 

TEPCO plans to use a robot today to photograph possible damage inside the suppression pool at the bottom of Fukushima’s damaged number 2 reactor. TEPCO is the operator of the tsunami damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Japan. “We want to check whether there is no deformation or damage in the suppression pool. And, with any luck, we hope to see areas where water (injected into the reactor... 

A new report circulating in the Kremlin today prepared by the Foreign Ministry on the planned re-opening of talks with Japan over the disputed Kuril Islands during the next fortnight states that Russian diplomats were “stunned” after being told by their Japanese counterparts that upwards of 40 million of their peoples were in “extreme danger” of life threatening radiation poisoning and could... 

A view of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan Officials at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), which acts as the operator of the crippled nuclear facility, say there is reason to believe some of the 12 tons of radioactive water has flowed into the Pacific Ocean. ­A leak was found in a pipe attached to a temporary decontamination system. The water, once it has been used... 

Despite the fact that the Japanese government and TEPCO were caught red-handed underplaying the severity of the Fukushima nuclear crisis, a study has found that almost a quarter of Fukushima residents hospitalized in the aftermath of last year’s devastating earthquake and tsunami were treated as having a “psychiatric disorder” because of their concerns over radiation. “Some 24.4 percent of... 

North Korea has announced it will launch a rocket next month, which will put a satellite into orbit. But the U.S. and its allies see the plans as counter to international diplomatic efforts to deal with the reclusive state’s nuclear programme – and are worried the technology could be used to develop long range missiles in the future. It could also potentially violate UN Security Council... 

The U.S. military presence in Japan acquires special relevance recently due to proposals by Washington to reinstall a base on the island of Okinawa and indecision about Tokyo. According to various data, not even the recent visit to this island by prime minister Yoshihiko Noda has achieved consensus between the two parties, despite a bilateral pact that was in effect, signed in 2006. But the strongest... 

The speech-jamming gun Japanese researchers have invented a hand-held speech-jamming gadget that can painlessly force people into silence. Kazutaka Kurihara of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Koji Tsukada of Ochanomizu University developed the portable ‘SpeechJammer’ gun that can silence people more than 30 meters (100 feet) away. In their research...