Fukushima Daiichi was one of the two nuclear plants in Fukushima.  This plant was located on the coast, and was one of the biggest sources of energy in Japan before the earthquake.  On Friday march 11 2011 the Great East Japan earthquake of magnitude 9.0 destroyed many parts of the region, but the most important that it caused Tsunami that destroyed much more.  The epicenter of the earthquake was 130 km from the city of Sendai, and was lasted for 3 minutes.

All eleven reactors that were operated at that time were shut down automatically when the earthquake hit.  Inspection showed that earthquake did not damage any of the reactors, but then tsunami caused a lot of problems on Daiichi plant (units 1-3, and then unit 4 on fifth day).  Because of the tsunami 12 out of 13 back-up generators and the heat exchanger for dumping reactor waste were disabled.  Therefore, a lot of nuclear waste went to the ocean.

click here to view video http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/international/2011/05/05/eco.solutions.fukushima.bk.a.cnn#/video/international/2011/05/05/eco.solutions.fukushima.bk.a.cnn

This disaster had bad affect not only on Japan but also on many other countries in that region.  Here are some of the effects that are caused by Fukushima Daiichi;

• More 1000 people get the radiation
• Possibility of 130 death from cancer
• Many animals died because of the radiation
• Huge economical effect on Japan and other countries in the region, especially fish industry
• 36 % of Japanese children reported abnormal growth of thyroid

Therefore, because of this accident Japan started to develop new energy strategies.  Goshi Hosono, Japanese environment minister, recently announced that Japan will rely more on renewable sources of energy, and he also said plan how they would achieve it.   This plan focuses on achieving nuclear free society.  These are some main points that English language press discuss mostly.

• Strictly limit the operation of nuclear plants to 40 years age
• Restart those nuclear plants where safety has been reassured by Nuclear Safety Commission
•  No new construction or expansion of nuclear power station

Press mentioned that if these principles were obeyed, Japan would not have any nuclear plants soon, and last would be turned off around 2052.  However, this is not all their new strategies.  They have a lot more of strategies that do not mention nuclear power.

• Reducing electricity and energy consumption
• Promoting investments in renewable energy
• Electricity power system reform
• A planned transition from passive paying electricity bill to active interaction

Source

“Fukushima Accident 2011.” Fukushima Accident 2011. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Feb. 2013.

“Constant Contact : File Not Found.” Constant Contact : File Not Found. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.

“Riyadh Reveals Strategy for Renewable Energy Programme.” Middle East Business News, Projects, Data and Analysis. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.