Japan’s earthquake – day four
We are borrowing Gideon’s blog to cover Japan’s earthquake. We are tapping our correspondents around the world. Please keep your comments coming, and please send us any images you have to japan.quake.ft@gmail.com if you are in Japan. All times are London time, Japan is 9 hours ahead. By Josh Noble in Hong Kong and Orla Ryan in London. 1344 – The FT’s Michiyo Nakamoto has given us a sense of what the mood is like in Tokyo tonight:
Michiyo Nakamoto: On Monday, the first day of business since the disaster struck, the impact was clear to see.1341 – Is it time for Japan to consider other energy sources? Charles D Ferguson, president of the Federation of American Scientists, argues on the Council on Foreign Relations website that renewable energy deserves a second glance. But he says:
In front of Nippon TV’s main broadcasting centre, which is usually packed with tourists and television fans from all over Japan, a lone cleaning man was busy washing a glass pane beside just a handful of passers-by.
‘Politically powerful forces stand in the way of greater development of renewable energy. Japan has 10 major electric utilities that wield tremendous political influence over local and national governments. The utility executives favor large power generators such as nuclear power plants. Wind, solar, and geothermal plants tend to be much smaller in power generation.”Renewable energy associations published a white paper last year, underscoring the lack of government incentives for this kind of energy. The potential for renewable energy in Japan is huge, he writes.
“Geothermal has a huge potential because of Japan’s location in a geologically active zone. In sum, renewable sources could provide about 67 percent of Japan’s electricity by 2050 if the government would implement effective policies. “1324 – The New York Times has published more powerful before and after pictures showing the damage wrought by Friday’s devastating tsunami.
1315 - With more countries reconsidering their nuclear plans, investors are thinking twice about nuclear stocks. In Europe, shares in nuclear power producer EdF eased 3.7 per cent, while French reactor maker Areva saw its shares fall 7.9 per cent. Japan accounted for 7 per cent of Areva’s revenue last year, a spokewoman told news agencies.
“The group could be severely impacted by a shift in momentum in the nuclear industry,” Alex Barnett, an analyst at Jefferies International, wrote in a research note on Monday.1314 – Orla Ryan joins us in London. Josh Noble is still here in Hong Kong.
“The severe nuclear incident in Japan has put a global nuclear renaissance into question.”
1307 – What do events at Fukushima Daiichi mean for China’s nuclear industry? Here’s a take from FT’s Leslie Hook on the FT blog beyondbrics. What about India? Amy Kazmin looked at that on beyondbrics too.
1258 – Yukio Edano has just said that some melting of nuclear rods at all three reactors at Fukushima Daiichi is ‘highly likely’. It’s important to note that this isn’t new – the fact that some melting was possible/probable was already out there, says the FT’s Clive Cookson. The key issue isn’t whether there has been melting, but how much melting there has been, which we still don’t know.
1256 – Nuclear reactors in seismic zones may not seem like a great idea, how common is it? This from the FT’s Orla Ryan:
Orla Ryan: A sobering thought from the World Nuclear Association. It is estimated that worldwide 20 per cent of nuclear reactors operate in areas of significant seismic activity, according to a website briefing updated in January this year. Given the frequency and magnitude of earthquakes in Japan, the briefing added:1234 – Read James Lamont’s full story here.
‘Particular attention is paid to seismic issues in the siting, design and construction of nuclear power plants. The seismic design of such plants is based on criteria far more stringent than those applying to non-nuclear facilities. Power reactors are also built on hard rock foundations (not sediments) to minimise seismic shaking’
1230 – The FT’s James Lamont in New Delhi has been hearing from GE boss Jeff Immelt. GE are a major player in the global nuclear power market. Here’s what he had to say.
James Lamont: GE chairman Jeff Immelt has offered emergency technical help to Tokyo Electric Power, Hitachi and Toshiba, GE had helped supply reactors to the Daiichi Fukushima complex.1138 – Switzerland has become the first country to suspend its nuclear energy plans, according to AP:
But Mr Immelt is more circumspect about whether this could be a turning point for an industry.
“We are still only 72 hours from this earthquake and tsunami. A lot is still being understood”
“These reactors have been in place for almost 50 years. They have a tremendous track record. They are understood by governments and utilities around the world”
AP: The head of the Swiss federal energy department, Doris Leuthard, said Monday’s suspension affects three requests for ‘blanket authorization for nuclear replacement until safety standards have been carefully reviewed and if necessary adapted.’1133 – Paul J Davies, the FT’s insurance correspondent, explains that Friday’s earthquake and tsunami will lead to huge increases in insurance premiums, which over time will actually lead to increased profitability.
Paul J Davies: The reinsurance industry gets to start hiking its prices straightaway – April 1 is the date when all Japanese insurers renew their insurance, expect big rises there; July 1 is another big round of reinsurance renewals across risk types and countries, further big rises likely then.1130 – Josh Noble back in the chair
1118 – The New York Times has an explanation of the difference between a partial and full nuclear meltdown here
1103 – US Ambassador to Japan, John V. Roos tweets: “The United States stands ready to help our greatest friend and ally during this time of great need.”
1058 – Kanupriya Kapoor jumping in again, momentarily.
1053 – A useful collection of earthquake-related graphics here from Reuters.
1040: More on reactor No.2 at Fukushima Daiichi, from the FT’s Jonathan Soble:
Jonathan Soble: Late on Monday afternoon, nuclear safety authorities said Tepco had begun pumping seawater into the No. 2 reactor after its regular fresh-water cooling systems failed. An official at the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the water level inside the reactor’s containment vessel had dropped, but it was unclear whether the radioactive fuel rods inside had been exposed, as they have been at reactors No. 1 and No. 3.1037 – Events in Japan could have profound long-term implications for the global energy industry, says Walt Patterson of Chatham House. Here’s why.
1018 – Kyodo reports that Japan’s minister responsible for energy will speak to the press at 7:30pm Tokyo time (in about 12 minutes)
1015 – Will events in Japan alter the debate over nuclear energy in India? The FT’s Amy Kazmin has this from our emerging markets blog, beyondbrics.
1011 – Here’s what the FT’s auto correspondent told us about what car companies are doing:
John Reed: Mitsubishi Motors on Monday said that it was suspending operations on its plants through Tuesday March 15 to verify safety at its suppliers.0944 - How will events in Japan alter China’s nuclear ambitions? CNBC has this video.
The carmaker said that none of its three production hubs – in Japan’s Aichi, Gifu, and Okayama prefectures – had been affected by the earthquake, but that some of its suppliers had reported damages.
Separately, Japan’s largest automaker Toyota on Monday said it was extending a shutdown announced for today at all of its Japanese plants – including those of its Hino and Daihatsu subsidiaries – through Wednesday, March 16
0942 – If you want to know more on what the Bank of Japan is doing to help, here’s the FT’s Michiyo Nakamoto on the details.
0928 – Here’s an executive summary from Clive’s Q&A:
Clive Cookson: The three operational reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power station shut down automatically as planned when their motion sensors felt tremors from the magnitude 8.9 quake on Friday. But multiple cooling systems, required to remove heat from the core, failed. The tsunami soon knocked out the backup diesel generators that were pumping cooling water around the core. Batteries kept the circulation going for another few hours until they ran flat.0926 – What is a partial meltdown? Clive Cookson explains.
At that point the uranium fuel elements began to overheat, evaporating the water from the system and generating some explosive hydrogen. To relieve pressure, the plant’s operators vented gas from the reactor. This gas seems to have been responsible for the spectacular explosion that demolished part of the Number One building on Saturday. There has also been a pressure build-up and venting of the two other reactors, with the risk of another explosion. The latest step has been to pour seawater into the reactors, to reduce the overheating and exposure to the air.
The Japanese authorities have not communicated clearly – and may not know themselves – what is happening inside the core of the reactors. The fuel rods seem to have melted to some extent, adding to the risk of an explosion inside the reactor’s steel and concrete containment vessel. But western experts say there is almost no chance of the main vessel failing in an explosion and releasing radioactive contamination on anything like the scale of Chernobyl.
0917 – The HuffPo has put together another list of ‘ways to help’ the victims in Japan.
0911 – A small side note on Tepco – the company that runs Fukushima Daiichi. The cost of insuring against its 5-year debt almost tripled on Monday.
0906 – One of our readers – Tony McNicol – has just sent us these great pictures of the scene in Tokyo on Friday night as people struggled to get home.
0855 – Hi, this is Josh Noble back in the chair.
0846 – Tepco has said reactors No. 1 and 2 “pull out of emergency”, according to Kyodo. Just to clarify – that is referring to the Fukushima Daini plant.
0843 – Translations of Japanese tweets about Friday’s earthquake have been made available here by @TimeOutTokyo.
0830 – After suspending its initial plan to conduct rolling power outages in the Greater Tokyo area, Tokyo Electric says two-hour power outages will take place in some of its service areas starting 5pm local time , Kyodo reports.
0830 - This is Kanupriya Kapoor in Hong Kong taking over temporarily from Josh Noble.
0749 – If you’ve read two separate figures for the Bank of Japan’s liquidity injection, here’s why:
- The BoJ has injected 15,000bn yen into markets on Monday
- It will inject a further 3,000bn yen on Tuesday
- It will inject a further 3,800bn yen on Wednesday
0736 – Shares in Tokyo Electric Power – or Tepco – the operator of the Fukushima Daiichi plant fell 24 per cent on Monday, the worst performer on the Nikkei 225.
0719 – For a bit more context on Monday’s 6.2 per cent stock market fall in Japan – during October 2008, the Nikkei 225 fell more than 9 per cent at least 3 times.
0716 – The AP reports that a third reactor at the Daiichi plant – reactor No.2 – is experiencing a failure of its cooling systems. This backs up an earlier report from Japan’s Jiji agency. Tepco began making preparations to pump sea water into reactor No.2 on Sunday in case of such a development.
0641 – The Bank of Japan has doubled its asset-purchase program to 10,000bn yen.
0633 – If you want to read zerohedge’s view on implications for Tokyo Electric as a company, you can here.
0623 – The Nikkei has now closed down 6.2 per cent. As a reference point – it fell 9.4 per cent on one day in October 2008.
0616 – Here’s another graphic video of what Friday’s tsunami looked and sounded like at street level.
0610 – Here’s an informative Q&A on the latest nuclear developments from the AP. H/T @TomokoHosaka
0608 – If you are in Japan and want to know how to help, here’s a useful guide from Time.com.
0602 – Here are Monday’s key financial developments to far:
- The Nikkei 225 has fallen over 6 per cent
- The Topix index has fallen around 7.5 per cent
- Construction companies have risen sharply
- Yen trading has been volatile
- The BoJ has made at least 15,000bn yen of liquidity available
- The BoJ has also said it will expand its asset purchase program
- Markets in the rest of Asia have not reacted strongly – trading appears light
- There was an explosion at Fukushima Daiichi’s No.3 reactor on Monday morning
- The explosion did not result in a major release of radiation
- The explosion was caused by a buildup of gas – the same thing that happened on Saturday at reactor No.1.
- The US 7th Fleet is repositioning further away from Fukushima Daiichi, after helicopter crews flying in the area reported low (i.e. not harmful) levels of radiation
0527 – Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has been speaking in Beijing in a scheduled speech. Here is what he had to say about the situation in Japan, courtesy of Reuters.
Wen Jiabao: I want to use today’s opportunity to extend our deep condolences for the loss of lives in this disaster and to express our sincere sympathy to the Japanese people.0511 – Here’s another picture from the FT’s Lindsay Whipp, who is in Rikuzentakata:
China is also a country that is prone to earthquake disasters and we fully empathise with how the Japanese people feel now.
When the massive Wenchuan earthquake hit the Japanese government sent a rescue team to China and also offered supplies.
The Chinese rescue team arrived in Japan yesterday and we have provided relief supplies to Japan. We will continue to provide further necessary aid to Japan in accordance with their needs.
0429 – Here’s some more information from the US 7th Fleet:
Jeff Davis: Using sensitive instruments, precautionary measurements of three helicopter aircrews returning to USS Ronald Reagan after conducting disaster relief missions near Sendai identified low levels of radioactivity on 17 air crew members. The low level radioactivity was easily removed from affected personnel by washing with soap and water. They were subsequently surveyed, and no further contamination was detected.0427 – The US Navy is moving its forces further away from the Fukushima Daiichi plant. Jeff Davis, spokesman for the US 7th Fleet has sent the FT’s Robert Cookson this statement to explain.
As a precautionary measure, USS Ronald Reagan and other U.S. 7th Fleet ships conducting disaster response operations in the area have moved out of the downwind direction from the site to assess the situation and determine what appropriate mitigating actions are necessary.
Jeff Davis: We have temporarily repositioned our ships and aircraft away from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant after detecting low level contamination in the air and on our aircraft operating in the area. The source of this airborne radioactivity is a radioactive plume released from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant.0413 – Here’s the latest figure for the liquidity injection carried out by the Bank of Japan, from Michiyo Nakamoto from the Tokyo team:
For perspective, the maximum potential radiation dose received by any ship’s force personnel aboard the ship when it passed through the area was less than the radiation exposure received from about one month of exposure to natural background radiation from sources such as rocks, soil, and the sun.
Michiyo Nakamoto: The Bank of Japan has moved quickly to inject liquidity into the market, immediately providing Y12,000bn in funds to financial institutions and saying an additional Y3,000bn was available for future use. The amount is the largest ever injected into the market by Japan’s central bank, which emphasised it was prepared to move aggressively to stabilise markets.0404 – The Nikkei 225 has reopened after its usual lunchtime trading break. The index is now down 6.5 per cent.
0402 – ANN reports that the 7 missing people at Fukushima Daiichi have been found.
0359 – The SDF has released a picture showing the rescue of Hiromitsu Shinkawa – the 60-year old man found floating 15km off the coast, on the roof of his house. Here is is:
0352 – Here’s a video of the earlier explosion at reactor No.3 – taken from Australia’s Channel 9 news, posted on Youtube. H/T @zerohedge.
0349 – The German government has advised against all non-essential travel to Japan. To those around Fukushima, Tokyo and Yokohama, it advises Germans to consider leaving the country unless staying there is essential. Here’s the release, in German and English.
0346 – Edano says there was no indication of a major radiation leak following the explosion early on Monday at reactor No.3 at Fukushima Daiichi.
0344 – For an indication of what the market thinks, take a quick look at the big stock movers.
- Shimizu – construction – up 18.5 per cent
- Daiwa Housing Industries – construction – up 12 per cent
- Kajima – constuction – up 37 per cent
- Taiheiyo – cement – up 27 per cent
0321 – Here’s the current state of Japanese market reaction at noon Tokyo time:
- The Nikkei 225 was down 4.5 per cent at 9,789.55
- The dollar was up 0.4 per cent against the yen at Y82.20.
0257 – Here’s an update on that explosion at reactor No.3 from Jonathan Soble from our Tokyo team:
Jonathan Soble: The explosion, which occurred around 11 am local time, appeared to have been more powerful than the previous blast on Saturday. An orange fireball – not visible in footage of Saturday’s blast – was followed by large plumes of grey smoke or dust. Fragments of the building flew through the air.0251 – This is how Lindsay Whipp and Mure Dickie described the scene at Rikuzentakata, the site of the photo from Lindsay below:
“The possibility that a large amount of radiation has been released is low,” Yukio Edano, chief cabinet secretary, said at a short emergency news conference.
A few skeletons of concrete buildings stand out from a dismal plain of jumbled matchstick shards of what were once the neat wooden homes of this seaside town in north-eastern Japan’s Iwate prefecture. As local people put it, the fabric of the town has been kaimetsu – annihilated.0248 – Yukio Edano – the chief government voice on the nuclear problems – has confirmed that a blast took place at reactor No.3, but that it did not cause any damage to the reactor container.
0247 – Lindsay Whipp from our Tokyo team is in northeastern Japan. She’s just sent us this picture of the scene at Rikuzentakata. You can read her latest report from there here.
Time Remaining: 11
Skip AdAdvertisement<a href="http://adserv.brandaffinity.net/eas?cu=2027;ty=ct"><img src="http://adserv.brandaffinity.net/eas?cu=2027;cre=img" border="0" alt="EmediateAd" width="300" height="250"></a>0235 – Correction – the Japanese Meteorological agency now says tsunami warning was a false alarm. We’ll try to keep you posted.
0232 – Japan has also issued another tsunami warning for the northeast coast. Following Friday’s earthquake, tsunami warnings were in place across the Japanese coast for over 48 hours. They were lifted on Sunday. But now a 3m wave is believed to be heading towards Japan at the moment, and residents have been instructed to seek higher ground.
0231 – There has been a second explosion at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. NHK have broadcast pictures of white smoke rising from reactor No.3. The government had warned early yesterday that there was a possibility of an explosion at that reactor, similar to the gas blast that blew the walls and roof off the reactor building at reactor No.1 on Saturday.
0230 – Hello from Hong Kong. I’m Josh Noble, and the FT’s live blog coverage of the situation in Japan is now back up and running.
Japan’s earthquake – day three
We are borrowing Gideon’s blog to cover Japan’s earthquake. We are tapping our correspondents around the world. Please keep your comments coming, and please send us any images you have to japan.quake.ft@gmail.com if you are in Japan.All times are London time, Japan is 9 hours ahead.
1904 – Orla Ryan is signing off now in London. Josh Noble will pick things up in Hong Kong later.
1833 - Now that Japan has shut down a fifth of its nuclear capacity, world energy markets should be braced for a shock, writes the FT’s Javier Blas. Japan is the world’s third-largest oil importer, so any surge in demand will be keenly felt.
Japan earthquake – day two
We are borrowing Gideon’s blog to cover Japan’s earthquake. We are tapping our correspondents around the world. Please keep your comments coming, and please send us any images you have to japan.quake.ft@gmail.com if you are in Japan.
All times are London time, Japan is 9 hours ahead.
0148 - We are wrapping up live blogging from New York but the Hong Kong team will be picking up the baton shortly with the latest developments.
0135 - The Japanese government is working to avert a nuclear crisis and Kyodo is reporting that a sixth nuclear reactor has lost its cooling capacity. Fifteen people have been hospitalised because of radiation exposure, the Japanese news agency said.
0129 – Tepco has a new update, explaining that they have started discharging air that contained radioactive materials from nuclear reactor 3 to reduce pressure in its containment vessel.
All times are London time, Japan is 9 hours ahead.
0148 - We are wrapping up live blogging from New York but the Hong Kong team will be picking up the baton shortly with the latest developments.
0135 - The Japanese government is working to avert a nuclear crisis and Kyodo is reporting that a sixth nuclear reactor has lost its cooling capacity. Fifteen people have been hospitalised because of radiation exposure, the Japanese news agency said.
0129 – Tepco has a new update, explaining that they have started discharging air that contained radioactive materials from nuclear reactor 3 to reduce pressure in its containment vessel.
Japan’s earthquake
We are borrowing Gideon’s blog to cover Japan’s earthquake. I am Shannon Bond in New York and I have taken over from Alan Rappeport and, earlier, Leyla Boulton in London. We are tapping our correspondents around the world. Please keep your comments coming. All times are London time. 2330 – We’re suspending rolling coverage until our colleagues in Asia are able to join us once again. Stay tuned.
2328 – More from Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo, who has spoken to sources at Tepco: Pressure in units 1,2,3 at Fukushima Nuclear power plant Number 1 has risen in the primary containment vessel but unable to confirm the level. All units almost completely sealed. The government has ordered Tepco to release the pressure and Tepco is preparing to do so. There is no electricity so unable to cool. All units at Fukushima Number 2 power plant shut down but all units apart from those that had been under maintenance are still functioning.
2319 - Reuters quotes a Tepco spokesman saying that pressure is stable inside the reactors but rising in the containment vessels. He said he did not know if there would be a need to release pressure – and radiation – at the plant at this point.
Audio: On the ground in Tokyo
- Audio Japan earthquake
- The FT’s Mure Dickie gives an eye-witness account from Tokyo on the biggest earthquake ever to hit Japan.
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