The end could come sooner rather than later for Japan
- A crack, rather than the collapse of the pool itself, can be the end of Tokyo
- The quake that could put a crack in the pool and be the end of Tokyo does not have to be a large one
- The sense of shock when people in Japan are made aware of this information for the first time
Partial Transcript
You may think it's "already one year" [since the accident] but it's actually "still only one year."
True cause of the Fukushima Daiichi accident still hasn't been identified.
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Still, they are talking about resuming the operation of nuclear plants.
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But is the accident over? Is it really over? For example, Unit 4. In fact, Dr. Koide of Kyoto University is worried about it most.
The present conditions of Unit 4 are like this. You see, almost no walls. They were blown off, and honestly speaking, the Unit 4 is a wreck. A wreck.
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Now, what if an earthquake occurred right now and the water in the pool started to leak?
I asked this question to Dr. Koide. Please watch this video.
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If a large aftershock occurred and the wall here collapsed, the water in the pool would leak out and the spent fuel would not be cooled any more. Then, they would start to melt, probably completely. And huge amount of radiation contained in the spend fuel would be released outside, with no walls to block it.
We'll never know when an earthquake comes.
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the fuel rods, which are probably damaged to some degree
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What if a destructive earthquake occurred during those years?
That would be the end. The end? Yes.
You see, that would be the end.
Unbelievable...unbelievable.
This is a serious problem.
TEPCO knows dealing with this problem is most important for now.
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So if a large earthquake should occur from now until that January...
No, it doesn't have to be large. Unit 4 has been shaken many times already.
If the pool got cracks after another earthquake and the water started to leak out, Dr. Koide said that would be the end.
The end for a wide area including Tokyo.
Oh my, and they are talking about resuming nuclear plant operation.
I think resuming the operation is out of the question at least until the results from the investigation by NAIIC come out.
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I want them to let us vote again.
They talk about resuming the operation after gaining understanding from local communities. But for this issue, I think the whole country of Japan, or the whole area including the neighboring countries, is a "local community" that would be affected. We should keep in mind that it's not only the sites of the plants that should be considered as "local communities."
We should recognize the accident is far from over and the crisis is still ongoing.
Yes. And excuse me, I have a correction to make. Retrieving the fuel rods is planned to start not from January, but from...when? December next year? (Yes.)
December next year? No kidding!
Sorry, I took a too-favorable view.
The members of the Diet who want to resume, I want them to resign.
We need to reconsider this issue.
I want to know the exact names of the members of the Diet who want to resume, and ask them for their opinions.
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But I do think Japan needs to take a new accounting of the whole situation. We don't need more "honorable" suicides. We need some people who were delegated responsibility willing to take that responsibility seriously and get honest and straight so they can move forward with a handling that has a good chance of working.
Someone needs to be busting balls installing solar and wind, and maybe mini-hydropower.
And someone else needs to sweat bullets until they have found a way to secure the exposed fuel and the spent fuel at the damaged reactor.
I get the sense that some Japanese leaders are dragging their feet on this. But from what I've read and heard, that is putting the whole planet in danger of a major contamination event.
I think Japan has the resources to handle this. It just needs the will.