Operators of a quake-crippled nuclear plant in Japan are trying again on Thursday to use military helicopters to douse overheating reactors, as U.S. officials warned of a rising risk of a catastrophic radiation leak from spent fuel rods. Meanwhile, health experts said panic over radiation leaks from the Daiichi plant was also diverting attention from other threats to survivors of Friday's 9.0 magnitude quake and tsunami, such as the cold or access to fresh water. Refresh this page for latest updates.
6:02 pm: Japan's National Police Agency reported that 5,457 people are dead; 9,508 missing; and 2,409 were injured in last week's earthquake and subsequent tsunami.
5:26 pm: Japan's Self-Defense Forces launched an unprecedented mission of pouring water onto a crisis-hit nuclear reactor from above in an effort to cool down its apparently overheating spent fuel pool that could emit highly contaminated radioactive materials: Kyodo reports
5:00 pm: Radiation level rises after water shot at troubled reactor: Kyodo News reports
4:45 pm: At least 20 people have fallen ill due to possible radiation contamination: IAEA reports
3:00 pm: United States expressed growing alarm about leaking radiation and said it was sending aircraft to help Americans leave the country.
2:39pm: The secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, says he believes the cost of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami to the country's economy will be 2% of the country's GDP. But he told BBC Radio that he believed reconstruction could provide a boost to the economy and that it would be funded by the Japanese people - not the international community.
2: 20pm: Initial attempts to drop tons of water at the quake-ravaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant appear to have done little to lower potentially perilous radiation levels close to the facility, says CNN.
Helicopters made four passes in about a 20-minute span Thursday morning, dropping 7.5 tons of seawater each time on the facility's No. 3 reactor in order to cool its overheated fuel pool.
2:17pm: The really scary part of the events at the Fukushima nuclear reactor is the stories coming through of mismanagement, faulty communications (see update of 11.15 am) and such. Reading them makes you wonder: If that is how things are in highly disciplined, organized Japan, what hope for chaotic, institutionally corrupt India?
Quote: "Behind Japan's escalating nuclear crisis sits a scandal-ridden energy industry in a comfy relationship with government regulators often willing to overlook safety lapses. Leaks of radioactive steam and workers contaminated with radiation are just part of the disturbing catalog of accidents that have occurred over the years and been belatedly reported to the public, if at all. In one case, workers hand-mixed uranium in stainless steel buckets, instead of processing by machine, so the fuel could be reused, exposing hundreds of workers to radiation. Two later died. "Everything is a secret," said Kei Sugaoka, a former nuclear power plant engineer in Japan who now lives in California. "There's not enough transparency in the industry."
1:45pm: The number of dead from the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Japan has risen to 5,321, authorities said.
1:15pm: What next for the Japanese economy and tangentially, for the world economy? Quote: "The prospect of quick economic recovery will be little consolation for the millions whose lives have been turned upside down by the disaster, but will offer some solace for those across the globe who are already worried by high unemployment and rising prices. But as the crisis rumbles on, there are increasing warnings about how spillovers could be felt by consumers and economies across the globe, even without a catastrophic nuclear meltdown. The most immediate problems are being felt in the manufacturing sector. Japan has long ceased to be the world's factory -- surpassed by China, Indonesia and a host of other emerging countries -- but it is still a crucial part of the global supply chain for everything from cars and computer parts. With 11 nuclear plants shuttered and blackouts predicted until the end of April, a slowdown in Japanese production could quickly turn into a manufacturing bottleneck. "People will be surprised by how fast prices will rise," Jesse Toprak, an auto analyst with TrueCar.com told AFP. Toprak predicted that shuttered production could push up the cost of Japanese cars by around $1,000 dollars for some US-sold models by next week, as dealers cut discounts in the face dwindling supply."
1:05pm: In any disaster natural or manmade, lack of news/information is the single biggest problem, and Tokyo in the wake of the tsunami is finding that out the hard way. CNN reports that phone lines remain down, and people are reporting inability to contact their loved ones through cell phones either. The silver lining in that cloud, says an NHK report, is that leading telecom firms are sending mobile receivers and phone chargers into the affected areas, both to help rescue workers in their efforts and also to help survivors get in touch with loved ones.
12:50pm: A French nuclear safety official has warned that Japan runs the risk of experiencing a catastrophe that could be worse than the 1986 nuclear disaster at Chernobyl in the former Soviet Union.
Describing the evolving situation as very risky, Thierry Charles, a safety official at France's Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), said: "The next 48 hours will be decisive. I am pessimistic because, since Sunday, I have seen that almost none of the solutions have worked.
12:45pm: Japan is seeking to allay concerns over problems with the reactors of a nuclear plant in Fukushima Prefecture, as its ally the United States advised its nationals living within an 80-kilometer radius of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to evacuate as a precaution. Top government spokesman Yukio Edano at a news conference expressed ''understanding'' over the advisory, noting that the U.S. government made a ''more conservative decision from the standpoint of protecting its citizens.''
12:40pm: Japan expressed confusion Thursday over an alarming finding by the U.S. nuclear regulatory body on the ongoing crisis at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture and said Tokyo was somewhat slow in passing information along to Washington.
''There was a slight delay conveying to the U.S. side the information about whether or not there is water'' in a pool holding spent nuclear fuel rods at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference. Full story on Kyodo News
12:22pm: The New York Times has released an interactive graphic that shows how weather patterns this week might disperse radiation from a continuous source in Fukushima, Japan. The forecast does not show actual levels of radiation, but it does allow the organization to estimate when different monitoring stations, marked with small dots, might be able to detect extremely low levels of radiation.
12:20pm: About 10,000 people headed to evacuation centers and health offices in Fukushima Prefecture on Wednesday to take screening tests for exposure to radiation in the wake of troubles at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant following the massive earthquake, prefectural officials said.
12:05pm: Quake moved Japan coast 8 feet, shifted Earth's axis:CNN reports that the powerful earthquake that unleashed a devastating tsunami has moved the main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4 meters) and shifted the Earth on its axis.
"At this point, we know that one GPS station moved (8 feet), and we have seen a map from GSI (Geospatial Information Authority) in Japan showing the pattern of shift over a large area is consistent with about that much shift of the land mass," said Kenneth Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Reports from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4 inches (10 centimeters).
11:45am: The New York Times offers a good oversight of the six quake stricken reactors at Japan's Fukushima nuclear plant.
11:30am: Useful to Know: As the Fukushima story continues to develop in ways often unpredictable and always scary, we are bombarded with a fusillade of terms most of us have never heard before. CNN steps into the breach, providing a glossary of words and phrases in common currency during this crisis. Here is the list.
11:15am: Journalists attending what was supposed to be another media briefing on the Fukushima reactor crisis were startled when Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan burst out with 'What in the world is going on?' -- an outburst aimed at officials of Tokyo Electric Power, the company that runs the Fukushima reactors among others. Kan was upset with company officials for not informing the government of two explosions at the plant early Tuesday, the New York Times reports, adding that the prime minister complained that he saw television reports of the explosions before he heard about them from the company itself. All of this, Times says, has exacerbated the feeling that the government, facing its most serious test, is totally without control. Quote: "Never has postwar Japan needed strong, assertive leadership more — and never has its weak, rudderless system of governing been so clearly exposed. With earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis striking in rapid, bewildering succession, Japan’s leaders need skills they are not trained to have: rallying the public, improvising solutions and cooperating with powerful bureaucracies."
11:00am: Against the backdrop of the Fukushima catastrophe, it was inevitable that the searchlight would turn on India's own plans to harness nuclear energy. Brahma Chellaney, Professor of Strategic Studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi, does just that in an op-ed in Mint, arguing that India's nuclear thrust is a giant scandal in the making -- an argument that is doubly resonant since headlines over the last year or so have largely been about various scams during the tenure of the United Progressive Alliance government. Quote: "These multibillion-dollar imports constitute a giant scandal in the making, with long-term safety implications. Take the plan to install 9,900 MW of nuclear-generated capacity at Jaitapur: Not only was the environmental impact assessment hurriedly approved, coercive efforts are also being made to acquire land to allow France’s Areva to build six reactors—none of these of a type operational anywhere. It is only after the serial incidents at Japan’s six-reactor Fukushima Daiichi plant that India’s nuclear chief has acknowledged the need for an earthquake- and tsunami-related safety evaluation of Areva’s reactor model. Why wasn’t this done before reserving Jaitapur for Areva?"
10:45am: Japanese shares reversed earlier losses to turn positive today, as foreign investors bought battered blue chips and as the yen pulled back from all-time highs, Reuters reports. The broad Topix was up 0.3% as of 0530 GMT, after falling as much as 4.3% earlier.
10:30am: Public Service Announcement: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has asked the public to beware of Japan quake relief scams, WKYC reports. The report provides ten tips to help identify fake 'charity' efforts, as under:
Helicopters scoop water on their way to the Fukushima N plant
1. Don't respond to unsolicited/spam emails -- including clicking links in those messages. Those links could contain a computer virus.
2. Be skeptical of anyone claiming to be from a charity asking for donations via email or social networking sites.
3. Beware of organizations with "copy cat" names, which are names similar to reputable charities.
4. Don't just follow a link to a supposedly reputable website. Instead, use any number of online resources -- like the Better Business Bureau -- that can help confirm a charity's legitimacy and nonprofit status.
5. Watch out for emails that claim to have pictures of the disaster areas in attached files. These may easily contain viruses. Only open attachments from senders you are truly familiar with.
6. Make contributions directly to a known organization rather than relying on others to make the donation on your behalf. This ensures that the contributions are received and used for the purposes you intended.
7. Do not be pressured into making contributions. Reputable charities do not pressure you into donating.
8. Providing personal and financial information can leave you vulnerable to identity theft. Make sure you know who you're dealing with when providing this kind of information.
9. Avoid cash donations. Pay by credit card or write a check directly to the charity. Do not make checks payable to individuals.
10. Legitimate charities don't normally use money transfer services for donations. Most legitimate charities have websites that end in ".org" rather than ".com" domains.
9:50am: Despite the crisis in Japan, the yen has risen close to its highest value against the US dollar since World War II. According to BBC business reporter, the yen is being driven by market belief that Japan will need to repatriate some of its huge foreign holdings to pay for reconstruction
9:40am: A Singaporean woman has put her government to shame with the size of her donation towards Japanese quake relief efforts. Ms Elaine Low, 24, has generously donated S$1 million to help the Japan quake victims. Full story
9:35am: The New York Times has reported that a United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it churning across the Pacific, and touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday.
9:30am: The official death toll of the earthquake and tsunami has risen to 5,198, Al Jazeera quoted Japanese police as saying. Thousands are still missing.
9:20am: The search for victims of Japan's mega earthquake has gradually expanded across wider areas, with access improved by the removal of debris left by tsunamis, the seventh day since the quake.
Meanwhile, fuel shortages have hampered the delivery of relief supplies to shelters where survivors are staying, while also limiting the use of heavy machinery and heating appliances, they said.
The number of those who died or were unaccounted for came to 12,920 -- 4,314 deaths and 8,606 missing, while some 380,000 are still staying in shelters, the National Police Agency said, based on its 8 a.m. tally. Read more
9:10am:Self-Defense Forces helicopters dropped water Thursday morning on the troubled No. 3 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in an attempt to cool down its apparently overheating fuel pool to prevent it from emitting highly contaminated radioactive materials.
The unprecedented operation is expected to gain force on the ground later in the day as Tokyo police prepare to spray water with a water cannon truck, with the focus of the nuclear crisis shifting to the pools storing spent fuel rods at each of the quake-hit plant's six reactors, located outside the steel containment vessels for enclosing toxic radioactive substances. Read full story on Kyodo News
9:00am: A top US nuclear official said attempts to cool reactors with sea water to prevent a meltdown appeared to be failing and workers could be exposed to "potentially lethal" radiation doses.
8:45am: The chairman of the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission gave a far bleaker appraisal on Wednesday of the threat posed by Japan’s nuclear crisis than the Japanese government had offered. He said American officials believed that the damage to at least one crippled reactor was much more serious than Tokyo had acknowledged, and he advised Americans to stay much farther away from the plant than the perimeter established by Japanese authorities. Full story on NYT
8:15am: All Indian nationals in Japan are safe as some 30-40 Indians, mostly from the worst-affected Sendai area in northeastern part of the country, on Wednesday left for India due to the devastation in the aftermath of Tsunami caused by the massive earthquake last week.
The Indians, who were safely brought to a hotel in Tokyo from various rehabilitation centres in Sendai, have left for India with the help from the Embassy, Indian Ambassador to Japan Alok Prasad said. He said some 30-40 Indians left on Wednesday.
8:00am: With the radiation leak from the Fukushima nuclear power plant continuing, Indians have started to leave quake-hit Japan. However, officials said on Wednesday that no evacuation plan has been required so far. Over 30 Indian nationals who were trapped in Sendai, one of the worst-hit east coast cities, were able to travel and are said to be on their way home.
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