After the March 11th disaster, many countries banned agricultural imports from Fukushima. Thailand is the first country to accept them again.

The peaches are grown in Date, about 60 kilometers from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Tests found them to be free of radioactive contamination.

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At a tent in Miyagi prefecture, tsunami survivors come to examine thousands of photos that were found in the area. Many of them are still living in temporary housing, having lost their homes in the tsunami.

Manually flipping through the photo albums would take a lot of time. Luckily, technology has come to the rescue. Visitors to the tent have their photo taken, and facial recognition software is used to search for matches from a database of 57,000 recovered photographs.

They show 78-year-old Ume Suzuki, who is delighted to discover that a photo of herself and her family standing in front of their former home. She takes them to the location of the home, which is now an empty field. That photo now serves as an important record, a memory of place that is now gone. It is very sad to think about the loss of her home, but her family survived and they are looking forward to living together happily in the future.

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The protesters noticed that Fuji TV was flying a tattered Japanese flag in front of its offices. The flag was in a disgraceful condition, and seemed to show that Fuji TV cared little about patriotism.

Protesters demanded that the flag be taken down and replaced with a clean flag. They offered free flags to Fuji TV. Representatives of the network supposedly agreed to replace the flag, but were slow to act on their words, so protesters went ahead and did it themselves. Several videos on YouTube chronicle the entire event.

It took a year, but they are now facing the legal consequences of hauling down the tattered flag. ANN News reports that three nationalists are facing charges for “tearing” Fuji TV’s flag:

The three men told police that they had no intention of tearing or damaging Fuji TV’s flag.

Some Japanese netizens have commented on the ridiculousness of the charges. Why punish these men for damaging a flag that was already damaged by Fuji TV’s negligence? Why are such mainstream media reports of the charges failing to provide pictures or footage showing the tattered flag?

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Well folks, it happened!

As Pan-kun was being walked off the stage after a performance yesterday afternoon, he suddenly dashed towards a student trainee staff member and attacked her. He didn’t eat her face off, but he did do some pretty bad damage. There were cuts on her forehead, ears, ankles, and back. She was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she required stitches and will probably not be getting out for a couple weeks.

Pan-kun was scheduled to retire from performances in April. For obvious reasons, he’s been forced into an earlier retirement. He won’t be doing any more shows, but will still be living at the zoo.

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According to the police, a local man spotted a swarm of spiders at about 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture and reported it to police.

Police officers rushed to the scene and found more than 100 spiders inside a drainage pipe in a river wall about five meters high located along a walkway.

They were redbacks, a type of spider that is on the Japanese government’s official list of invasive and foreign species.

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I have an interesting update about the airplane. It has been removed from the lake!

Yesterday, a crew used a crane to remove the wreckage from the bottom of the lake. Although the airplane was heavily damaged in the crash, it is are still a valuable piece of history. Members of the recovery team say that the wreckage is remarkably well-preserved. After being cleaned, it will be put on display at the Misawa Aviation & Science Museum.

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The Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, comprise five islets–Uotsurijima, Kita-kojima, Minami-kojima, Kubashima and Taishoto–and three rocks.

The government will purchase the three islands of Uotsurijima, Kita-kojima and Minami-kojima from their owner in Saitama Prefecture, the sources said Tuesday evening.

The government likely will approve an allocation for the purchase from the fiscal 2012 budget’s reserve fund at a Cabinet meeting by mid-September.

At a press conference Wednesday morning, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the government would announce the deal after all necessary procedures have been completed.

By placing the islands under state control, the government is apparently carrying out its plan to “maintain the island chain peacefully and stably.”

The national government plans to build nothing on the islands and do nothing that might anger China. If reports of an agreement with the owner are true, it would be a major disappointment for Tokyo Gov. Ishihara and his nationalist supporters. Ishihara wanted to tighten Japanese control over the islands by building a small port that could provide shelter to fishing boats during stormy weather.

In a news report that aired yesterday afternoon, the Ishihara side claimed that no final contract had been signed between the government and the owner. Although a lot of reports make it sound like the deal is going to go ahead, some seem to be holding out hope that the deal could fall through:

The Tokyo metropolitan government had previously raised ¥1.4 billion in donations to pay for its plan to purchase the islands. Last week, Ishihara offered to give the money to the national government if it agreed to his plan to build a port there. Now he’s saying that he’d give all the money to the government, but only if its purchase deal is finalized.

Although the purchase would basically keep things the way they are now, the Chinese government is throwing a tantrum:

“In disregard of China’s solemn representations and firm opposition, Japan single-mindedly pushes forward the island purchase process which severely harmed China’s territorial sovereignty and hurt the feelings of the Chinese people,” said a spokesman for the Foreign ministry.

The Global Times, a Chinese state-controlled media outlet, has twisted the story to make it look like Japan is provoking China. It quotes Chinese academics who spout militantly nationalist views:

Japan’s central government has been trying to justify its purchase by saying it would be much harder to manage if the Tokyo metropolitan government eventually acquired the ownership of the islands.

“The logic is absurd. The restive Japanese right-wing activists led by Ishihara won’t stop causing trouble for bilateral ties even if its central government controls the islands,” Liu Jiangyong, deputy director of the Institute of International Studies at Tsinghua University, told the Global Times.

“The purchase, no matter who conducts it, is illegal because the Diaoyu Islands belong to China, not a Japanese family,” Liu said. “Diplomacy is the only way to solve the dispute. But if Japan stubbornly sticks to military measures to occupy and defend the islands, it should take responsibility for any escalation of tensions.”

Zhou Yongsheng, a professor with the China Foreign Affairs University, said, “China should send more civilian fishermen, backed by the Chinese navy, to the waters of the Diaoyu Islands … We will never fire first but must be well prepared militarily in case of any friction.”

“The overall precondition is that the Chinese government has determined to take over control of Diaoyu Islands. It’s very hard to make such a decision,” Zhou added.

One of the Global Times’ recent editorials voiced a similarly militaristic message, stating that Japan would “pay a huge price if it continues this insanity:”

Japan’s increasingly radical approach over the island disputes is pushing the Diaoyu issue toward a military confrontation. The Japanese government is dangerously fanning the flames in East Asia.

Both China and Japan should be cautious in mentioning military clashes. Creating a war scenario should be a taboo for officials. Japan has to be clear that the hatred of Japan’s invasion is still buried in the Chinese consciousness. A rising China will by no means allow military humiliation by Japan to happen again.

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This month’s offering is the “Aussie Deli” sandwich, featuring Australian beef pastrami with yellow mustard and herb sauce.

Here is the commercial they are running for it. As you can see, they’ve got a wacky Aussie who is proud of this “wild” sandwich (“G’day, mate”):

The commercial for the previous “French” burger had a serious looking French chef introducing the burger:

And their “Indian” chicken burger was introduced by a friendly Indian chef standing in an outdoor market:

[hat tip to Eido]

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Using Google searches, the video demonstrates how Doraemon’s futuristic technological abilities have already been realized. We don’t yet have a “dokodemo door” that can transport us to any place on earth, but Google’s Street View is almost as good.

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The survey started early Sunday morning and finished shortly before 4 p.m.

All activities were conducted from a boat, as the central government had turned down the metropolitan government’s request, filed on Aug. 22, for permission to land on the islets for the purpose.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara has expressed his intention to visit the East China Sea islands himself in October when he sends another survey mission.

Sunday’s surveying team had 25 members, including Tokyo government officials, real-estate appraisers and ocean policy experts. Their activities were primarily targeted at determining the asset values of three of the rocky, uninhabited islets: Uotsurijima, Kita-kojima and Minami-kojima, said Seiichiro Sakamaki, chief of the Tokyo government’s department in charge of Senkaku affairs, who headed the survey team.

The survey is a step forward in Tokyo’s plan to purchase the islands. The national government may try to purchase the islands instead. The islands are currently privately owned by an elderly businessman who lives in Saitama prefecture.

Here are some excerpts from a video filmed by Professor Yoshihiko Yamada of Tokai University, an expert who was a member of the survey team:

The video reveals some interesting information about Uotsurijima.

• A lot of trash appears to have washed ashore, littering the lower areas of the island.
• There is a small stream of water coming down the side of a hill. If it is fresh water, it could mean that the islands could support human habitation.
• Goats, which were introduced to the island in 1978, are eating too much of the local vegetation. Hillsides have been stripped bare and are eroding.
• A large cave on the southern tip of the island is impressive enough to become a sightseeing attraction.

The survey team also visited the smaller islands of Minami Kojima and Kita Kojima, where they observed large numbers of birds.

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Luckily, the student was tech savvy and the thief was not. The iPad’s GPS feature was on, so the student was able to track its physical location. He called the police, who entered the home, found the stolen iPad, and arrested the 64-year-old man who had taken it.

The man acknowledged his guilt, saying that he had “wanted to look at the insides” of the electronic device. For a short period, he was also able to use the iPad, but was apparently blocked from using it further after locks were enabled.

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Chinese authorities have identified several individuals who they believe were involved in the recent attack on the Japanese ambassador’s car:

Beijing security authorities have been questioning the suspects, including the man who snatched the Japanese national flag from the ambassador’s car and damaged the flagpole it was on.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau has not arrested the suspects, an embassy official said.

A final decision on punishment of the suspects and the manner in which it will be announced will likely be made after careful consideration at the Communist Party leadership level. The Chinese government will likely gauge public opinion in both Japan and China before making a decision.

A harsh punishment is unlikely. Those involved will probably be required to pay a simple fine. Since they were in a luxury automobile, they can probably afford to pay it.

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Although the Osprey has a serious mishap rate that is lower than the overall rate for other aircraft currently flown by the USMC, activists insist that it is dangerous and accident-prone. The Japanese media has given a lot of attention to the complains of anti-base activists.

Here is a report that aired a couple days ago on ANN:

The Ospreys may soon be flying out of bases in Japan and performing training missions over Okinawa. Anti-base activists are claiming that the Osprey is a threat the natural environment of the island.

For decades, the US Marine Corps has carried out helicopter training missions at Camp Gonsalves‘ Jungle Warfare Training Center. The Okinawan Yanbaru jungle used for training is apparently a very beautiful place, and home to the rare Okinawan Rail. Activists insist the presence of a few helipads among the thousands of acres of jungle are destroying the environment. They also play up the fear of an Osprey crashing in the jungle, or in an inhabited area near the jungle.

The people of Okinawa have been pushing for the natural beauty of their islands to be recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Activists claim that the presence of the Osprey will make it very difficult to achieve this.

The end of the news report features footage of an Osprey knocking over tree branches and a vague mention of how the aircraft can start forest fires.

As with many such television news reports, there is little information introduced from the American side. The audience is left to assume that the Osprey is indeed dangerous, and needs to be stopped.

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An unidentified man ripped the flag from a car carrying the Japanese ambassador to China in Beijing on Monday.

Ambassador Uichiro Niwa was being driven along the East 4th Ring Road at around 4pm when two vehicles forced him to a stop and a man stepped out of one and snatched the flag, according to the Japanese embassy. Niwa was not hurt in the incident, according to media reports.

The Japanese embassy has filed a complaint to the Chinese Foreign Ministry, demanding such an incident is never to be repeated, the embassy said.

It may have only been the theft of a flag, but shows that it’s not even safe for Japan’s ambassador to drive down the street in Beijing. Insane.

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According to John Hersey’s book Hiroshima, Lewis was drunk when they filmed the segment:

“Years later, Marvin Green told a young journalist named Rodney Barker…that Lewis had panicked the show people by failing to turn up that afternoon for the rehearsal of all participants except Tanimoto. It seemed that he had expected to be given a fat check for appearing on the show, and when he learned that he would not, he had gone out bar crawling. Green said he had found the copilot in time to get a cup of coffee in him before the show.“

More recently, a Japanese documentary attempted to do something similar. One of the surviving American aircrew was introduced to a few a-bomb survivors. The survivors seem extremely annoyed that he does not apologize and condemn nuclear weapons. At about 2:20, you can see his remember-pearl-harbor reaction to the idea of apologizing:

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Fifty children and adults gathered so they could run around in muddy water and play an epic game of tag.

A similar event was featured in Episode 56 of Sparkuus‘ “I Live in Japan” YouTube vlog:

And here are various Japanese videos of various mud olympic events. As in the other clips, it looks like they’ve used an empty rice patty for the awesomely muddy games:

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As this video shows, one friendship event has already been suspended:

A performance by famous rakugo comedian Hayashiya Sanpei was supposed to be held in Tianjin yesterday, but it was called off. They might try to reschedule the event, but no date has been set.

Bigger events are scheduled for September. No cancellation has been announced.

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An nationalist idiot in Korea tried to kill himself because he was angry about Japan’s claim to the Liancourt Rocks:

The man, only identified by his surname Choi, was rushed to a nearby hospital after he was found lying unconscious in front of the National Cemetery in southern Seoul around noon after reportedly consuming a bottle of weed killer to take his own life, according to police officials.

A suicide note was found in a notebook inside Choi’s car that was parked in front of the cemetery, which reads, “The Japanese government, which had once colonized this country, is now trying to take away the Dokdo islets from us as well. We must not succumb to their claims but must stand up against them.”

Choi had written several letters in the notebook containing similar contents that were addressed to the president of Korea and members of the National Assembly, and he was also found to have been carrying a flag with the slogan “Dokdo belongs to us (South Korea),” police said.

It is hard to understand how exactly Korea is not “standing up” to Japan regarding the dispute. The last month of stupidity was started by provocative actions and statements made by Koreans. Japan’s response – calling for international arbitration of the dispute – was rejected by Korea. So Korea faces no realistic threat of losing the rocks.

Maybe Mr. Choi thought that Korea should stand up and defend its territorial claim in a place that actually matters: the International Court of Justice.

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The combo is being compared to the famous wild boar & monkey that made national news in 2010. Unfortunately, the chick will soon grow into a full-grown chicken, so the cuteness will not last very long.

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Police raided his home in Chiba city and found about 85 counterfeit figures. You can see them displayed in the above video.

The figures were from the popular animseries “One Piece.” He purchased them from a manufacturer in China for a few dollars each and sold them on Japanese auction websites. Some of the figures sold for over 20,000 yen ($250). It is estimated that he sold about 1,300 figures, earning as much as 5 million yen ($63,000).

This is not the first time that cops have busted counterfeit anime figure sellers. A Japanese man was arrested in Tokyo earlier this year for running the exact same scam, importing fake “One Piece” figures and earning big bucks through online auctions.

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“She was seriously wounded Monday while covering the clashes at Suleiman al-Halabi which have been going on since yesterday. We took her to hospital where she succumbed to her injuries,” Rami Abdel Rahmane, the Observatory’s president, told AFP, citing medical officials from the hospital.

“She was very likely hit by a projectile,” added Rahmane, who was unable to give further details about the missing journalists.

Syrian freedom fighters have claimed that Yamamoto was “murdered” by government forces. They have uploaded a graphic, uncensored video of Yamamoto’s bloody corpse has been uploaded to internet video sites. Needless to say, the footage is not being shown on Japanese television.

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A Korean Internet user discovered this poster on the door of his local net cafe. The owner of the net cafe, who apparently does not speak Japanese, is attempting to exclude Japanese people from using his cafe due to his deep personal feelings about the ownership dispute over the Liancourt Rocks (called Takeshima in Japanese and Dokdo in Korean). Korean forum users were reportedly disappointed by the ethnic discrimination displayed in the poster, but it is not the first time this has happened: in 2005, the Lake Hills Jeju Country Club adopted a similar policy, as can be seen below.

The net cafe owner adds the absurd disclaimer that Japanese customers may be deserved if they proclaim “Dokdo is Korean territory” three times. A Japanese blogger compared this to the Tokugawa shogun’s system of discovering secret Christians by making them trample on pictures of Christ and the Virgin Mary.

—

Contributor Bio: Avery teaches English somewhere near Takeo. When he is not translating things, he is probably visiting haikyo or researching weird footnotes in Japanese history. He can be reached on Twitter at @ahm.

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The 10, including local assembly members from Tokyo’s Arakawa and Suginami wards, reached Uotsuri Island, the largest of the five main islands in the Senkaku group, by swimming from the vessels, and swam back to them about two hours later. No Diet members were among those who landed on the island.

The group of lawmakers attending the commemorative ceremony had sought the government’s permission to land on the Senkakus. But the request was rejected in line with the government’s policy to prohibit landings except for Japanese government officials or the landowners, with the aim of maintaining and managing them in a peaceful and stable manner.

The Japan Coast Guard questioned those who landed on the island, according to the authorities. Okinawa prefectural police plan to question them on a misdemeanor charge.

Meanwhile, in China, anti-Japanese protests were taking place in several major cities. The protesters were angry about Japan’s deportation of Chinese ultra-nationalists who illegally entered Japanese waters and landed on one of the Senkaku islands. The Japanese visit to the Senkakus made the protesters even angrier.

Here are some videos of the violence that broken out at the protests:

“Defend the Diaoyu Islands to the death,” one banner said. Another said, “Even if China is covered with graves, we must kill all Japanese.”

Another photograph showed a handwritten sign taped to the entrance of Suning, a popular electronics store, telling customers it was no longer selling Japanese products.

Some protests appear to have turned violent. According to several postings, demonstrators on Sunday attacked sushi restaurants or other businesses perceived to have a Japanese connection. Several photographs said to be from Shenzhen, across the border from Hong Kong, showed what appeared to be damaged or overturned cars — most of them Japanese models — as well as several police vehicles.

The demonstrations appeared to be sanctioned and chaperoned by the police, who generally prohibit public protests unless they suit the needs of the Communist Party.

Apparently no Japanese citizens have been hurt. As in past anti-Japanese protests, the mob of violent Chinese commit acts of vandalism against “Japanese” things that belong to Chinese people. The “Japanese” restaurants that get destroyed are usually owned and operated by Chinese, and the Japanese cars that get smashed are Chinese-owned.

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“Aiming to resolve the issue calmly, fairly and peacefully, we will propose to take this issue to the International Court of Justice,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference.

“If South Korea believes its claim to Takeshima is justifiable, we strongly hope it would accept our government’s proposals,” he said.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba later delivered the proposal to South Korean ambassador to Japan Shin Kak-Soo during a meeting in Tokyo.

It is the third time that Japan has taken this step. The other two times were in 1954 and 1962, not long after South Korean troops occupied the rocks. South Korea refused to cooperate with the ICJ, so the proposals hit a dead end.

Somebody at the Yomiuri went through the trouble of making this handy graphic that shows how an ICJ trial would work:

Unfortunately, the process will go to the “Trial cannot start” box. Despite its continual insistence that historical evidence shows the rocks are clearly Korean territory, South Korea will never let the International Court of Justice consider the value of that evidence.

As this video shows, Korean nationalists go all over the world trying to convince people that the Liancourt Rocks belong to Korea, but they avoid making their case where it would actually count:

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[hat tip to Joe]

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China has demanded that the “activists” be released, and it looks like Japan might cave into the demands to avoid an escalation of the incident. Arrangements are under way to deport them.

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When Lee Myung-bak was elected President of South Korea in 2008, he pledged that he stop asking Japan to make additional historical apologies:

“For a new, mature Seoul-Tokyo relationship, I don’t want to ask them to apologize for, or examine themselves.”

It only took a few months for Lee to break that pledge and pander to Korean nationalists by making new demands for Japanese apologies.

Now, after a corruption scandal wrecked public support for his administration, Lee has taken the pandering to new levels. On August 10th, he became the first Korean president to visit the disputed Liancourt Rocks, prompting official protests from the Japanese government. Japan has not recently made any significant change to its policy regarding the territorial dispute, but Lee nonetheless felt the need to visit the islands and make provocative speeches. A poll has shown that his behavior has helped hurt the image of South Korea among Japanese people.

Yesterday, Lee went even further with the pandering. He told a group of teachers that Emperor Akihito might visit South Korea, but to be allowed into the country, the Emperor would have to make an apology to Koreans. The Emperor, who was a child at the end of World War II and had no authority over what happened in Korea, apologized to Koreans in 1990:

“I think of the sufferings your people underwent during this unfortunate period, which was brought about by my country, and cannot but feel the deepest regret.”

That wasn’t enough, said President Lee:

“He need not come (to South Korea) if he (only) brings words of ‘deepest regret.’”

He said landing on Takeshima and ratcheting up anti-Japanese rhetoric were justified because “Japan does not understand the difference between offenders and victims,” he said. “I am doing this so it can.”

Lee also wants the Emperor to visit the graves of Korean independence fighters who were killed by the Japanese.

Japan’s Foreign Minister denied that an imperial visit to Korea was even in the works, and expressed confusion over Lee’s remarks:

“The demand is extremely regrettable,” Genba told reporters. “The Japanese government has never sounded out the South Korean government about a visit by the emperor to South Korea. We cannot understand why President Lee made such a remark.”

Making an independence day speech today in Seoul, President Lee made yet another demand for Japanese apologies. Ignoring Japan’s past apologies and compensation payments to South Korea, he once again called on Japan apologize and pay compensation to former Korean comfort women.

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Here is an excerpt from Noda’s speech:

During the war, more than three million people, thinking of their homeland and concerned about their families, fell on the battlefields, suffered the ravages of war, or lost their lives during the aftermath of the war in remote foreign countries. I sincerely pray once more that they rest in peace.

I also express my deep respect for the bereaved family members who have endured the sorrow brought on by the loss of their beloved blood relatives and overcome many hardships.

During the last war, Japan caused tremendous damage and suffering to the people of many countries, particularly to those of Asian nations. I hereby express my feelings of profound remorse and sincere mourning for the victims of the war and their bereaved family members.

Noda had instructed his cabinet ministers to not make official visits to the Yasukuni Shrine today. However, two went ahead and made “unofficial” visits:

Jun Matsubara, chairman of the National Public Safety Commission, and transport minister Yuichiro Hata insisted their visits were not official.

“This is a private visit,” Matsubara, well-known for his conservative views, told reporters afterward.

“I followed my heart and took action as a Japanese national.”

Jin Matsubara, whose name is misspelled in the Japan Times, is well-known for his right wing views. He is a member of the Diet Member’s Committee to Examine the Comfort Women / Nanking Incident, a group that promotes nationalist interpretations of history.

Hata and Matsubara are both members of the Let’s Visit Yasukuni Diet Member’s Group and had visited before, so their visit was not exactly a shock. They were just two of the 55 members of the group who visited today.

( On the 2011 anniversary, Naoto Kan asked his cabinet ministers not to visit Yasukuni and none of them did. )

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As mentioned in an earlier blog post, South Korean soccer player Park Jong-woo was denied a bronze medal on Saturday after blatantly violating the Olympic charter’s prohibition of political statements by athletes. Immediately following his team’s victory over Japan, Park grabbed an ultra-nationalist fan’s sign and ran onto the field, waving it around and advertising South Korea’s territorial claim to the Liancourt Rocks.

Instead of condemning Park’s actions, the Korean Olympic Committee and the Korea Football Association have actively tried to distort the truth and absolve Park of any responsibility for his actions:

The Korean Olympic Committee said Park’s act was a mistake that occurred in the heat of the moment as players celebrated their victory over Japan in Cardiff.

“We understand this wasn’t an intentional act on the player’s part,” the committee said in a statement cited by Yonhap News Agency. “We are trying the best we can to resolve this issue.”

Yonhap also quoted an unnamed official at the Korea Football Association as saying that Park picked up the sign thrown from the stands and officials immediately moved to stop him holding it aloft.

The sign was not “thrown” from the stands. The photographic evidence shows Park making the effort to lean into the stands so he can take the sign from the fan. There are no officials jumping in to stop the action. The other members of the South Korean team greet his action with smiles. The words on the sign were visible, and since Park is supposedly literate in his native language, he knew exactly what he was doing.

It is ridiculous to argue that Park should not be punished because the act was not intentional. Whether it was planned in advance or caused by a sudden burst of emotion, the result is the same: it was a clear and undeniable violation of Olympic and FIFA rules.

It would also seem that the South Korean people are supporting Park. Many of them fail to see anything wrong with Park’s actions:

In the above clip from ANN, we are shown how South Korean newspapers are emphasizing that it was not a planned event. A random pedestrian in Seoul tells the news cameras that Park was just telling the “truth” about the rocks, so there is no problem. It is also mentioned that the Korean Olympic Committee claims that it held sessions explaining the rules to athletes, but the soccer team was too busy to attend.

The AFP has also reported on Korean internet reactions:

The South’s Internet users Sunday said he had nothing to apologise for.

“What inquiry? IOC investigating into the matter itself is siding with Japan. That (inquiry) is political actions,” said a user identified as Jongsiki on major portal Daum.net.

“We are saying it (Dokdo) is our territory simply because it is, and why are they making such a fuss about it? We have your back!” said another user named Hardy.

“There’s nothing wrong with stating the fact that Dokdo is our territory,” said another post.

Only a few criticised Park’s action.

“Is it so hard to understand the (Olympic) rules not to mix sports and politics?” said a posting by cromeheart.

The inquiry is supposed to release its final report by August 16. Given the overwhelming evidence available, the report will probably confirm the decision to withhold the bronze medal.

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Japan is the “land of the rising sun” and so both its national flag and its naval ensign currently use sun symbols. The same symbol is also used as a corporate logo by the Asahi Shimbun, a left-leaning Japanese newspaper. Even though Japanese usage of the sun/rising sun symbols predates Japanese colonialism/fascism, Korean nationalists have attempted to equate it with Nazi Germany’s use of the swastika.

As a Marmot’s Hole reader has pointed out, nobody was complaining about the “controversial” uniforms until after a Korean athlete got in trouble for breaking the rules:

“no one really seemed to care about the design prior to the soccer match but apparently, now it’s an unbelievable offense. If this was a huge incident when the gymnastic games was going on, then it would make more sense. Let’s face it – it wasn’t. As stated before, I only see this as being a lousy attempt at either deflecting attention away from the original incident – or an attempt to “strike back” at Japan.“

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This fusion of human and machine, of Kabukicho and Akihabara, the electronics mecca across town, may come across like something from a carnival sideshow.

Customers are happily shelling out 3,000 yen ($38) — a relative bargain — for a one-hour dinner performance that includes drumming; dancing; mock tanks and B-29 bombers; slow-moving robots; and a modest bento (boxed meal) dinner. Check out a highlight in the vid below.

Along with a few other tenants, Robot Restaurant opened in a new complex with a similarly uninspiring name, the Robot Building. The entire setup is said to have cost upward of 10 billion yen ($127 million), according to Web magazine Cyzo.

Here are several videos of the restaurant’s performances. The “robots” look to be nothing more than giant wheelchairs with lame-looking bikini girl statues attached to them:

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According to the consulate office’s CCTV footage, the person, who is believed to be a man, threw the brick through the glass door while operating a motorcycle around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday.

Although the man initially fled the scene, he was later turned himself into the police. He is described as a 44-year-old unemployed man who was angered by South Korean President’s Lee Myung-bak’s recent visit to the Liancourt Rocks.

Lee’s provocative visit may have helped improve his status among his country’s ultra-nationalist voters, but it did not help the image of his country in Japan. According to a poll conducted by the Mainichi, almost half of Japanese said that the visit hardened their attitudes toward South Korea. A Mainichi editorial has denounced Lee’s actions as useless trouble-making that only damages the relationship between the two nations.

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South Korea defeated Japan 2-0 to win an Olympic bronze medal for its soccer team. The attention of Japanese netizens and considerable international media attention has been given to the disgraceful conduct of one Korean player, who violated Olympic rules with a display of petty nationalism:

The player, Park Jong-soo, held up a sign after South Korea’s 2-0 victory over Japan, claiming South Korean sovereignty over a set of barely inhabitable islands that are also claimed by Japan.

Mr. Park, a midfielder, played all 90 minutes of the game on Friday in Cardiff, Wales, then was photographed carrying a sign that read, “Dokdo is our territory.” The islands, called Dokdo in Korea and Takeshima in Japan, lie in an area of rich fishing grounds and natural gas deposits.

Mr. Park faces investigations by both the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, soccer’s governing body, both of which strictly enforce rules forbidding athletes from making political statements on the field.

Park was not allowed to attend the medal ceremony on Saturday.

It’s bad when crazy nationalist fans wave these kinds of banners at international sporting events. And it’s even more terrible when an athlete does it on the field at the Olympic games.

There doesn’t seem to be much to “investigate” here. Park is presumably literate in Korean, so he knew exactly what the sign said. Nonetheless, the Korean Olympic Committee is supporting Park’s absurd claim that it was “accident” and was not intentional.

Park is the first medalist at these Olympic games to face punishment for a violation of the rules regarding political statements by athletes.

[hat tip to Matt and Kobzster]

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The press is now reporting that Zippei has died. Here is the announcement made on the Zip! morning show:

According to the Yomiuri, the two dogs that took turns playing the role of Zippei died of heat stroke after being left in a hot automobile. The owner claims to have parked the vehicle in the shade and left the air conditioner running. A total of nine dogs were inside it. After returning to the car about an hour later, the air conditioner had apparently stopped working, and all the dogs had collapsed from the heat. Seven of the nine dogs died.

The YouTube video of NTV’s announcement has already received over 300 comments from Japanese netizens, many of whom doubt the story they are being told. In their eyes, both the owner and NTV already have a proven record of mistreating the dogs, so why should they be trusted?

It is truly saddening to think of those poor dogs, dying inside a hot vehicle, deprived of the ability to cry for help because their owner had them surgically de-barked.

[hat tip to Aceface]

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When Japan defeated America to win the 2011 Women’s Soccer World Cup, American fans flooded social media sites with racist comments, making “Japs” and “Pearl Harbor” trending topics on Twitter.

If you thought that kind of behavior was limited to the frustration of defeat, think again. America beat Japan 2-1 last night at the Olympics, and some fans were as racist and hateful in victory as they were in defeat. As noted by Fox News, International Business Times, and SB Nation, the same trends emerged. There were many tweets celebrating the defeat of the “Japs” as payback for “Pearl Habor.” Numerous users also gloated about the victory by comparing it to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Here is just a tiny sample of what could be found on Twitter:

And some facebook status updates, via the search on statusfeed.net:

These are obviously not representative of all American fans, but it does take hundreds (if not thousands) of tweets to make a phrase reach the trending topics on Twitter.

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Following confirmation from German authorities that Paul Watson had failed to satisfy the bail conditions established by the German courts and had fled the country, Costa Rican authorities renewed their request to the INTERPOL General Secretariat headquarters to issue a Red Notice seeking his detention or arrest with a view to extradition.

The Red Notice request is based on a national arrest warrant issued by Costa Rican authorities for Mr Watson, who is wanted for prosecution in relation to a charge of ‘causing a danger of drowning or of an air disaster’ in connection with an incident in April 2002.

Based on Mr Watson’s failure to satisfy the bail conditions set by the German court, and the additional information provided by Costa Rica concerning the underlying charges, it was concluded that a Red Notice could be issued in compliance with INTERPOL’s Constitution and rules. The Red Notice was published on Tuesday 7 August.

A Red Notice is not an international arrest warrant. It is a request by INTERPOL for member countries to determine whether they can detain or arrest an individual in order for the requesting country to seek their extradition.

Sea Shepherd has claimed that the Costa Rican requests for Watson’s arrest are bogus, and that it is all part of an international conspiracy led by Japan.

But are the charges really false? Costa Rica has insisted that Watson ordered an attack on a Costa Rican fishing boat in 2002 that caused “danger of drowning” for the fishermen.

For those who are interested, here is a video of the incident:

Despite the fact that the clip was filmed and edited by Sea Shepherd, it is still pretty obvious that they were acting in a manner that endangered the lives of the Costa Rican fishermen. Sea Shepherd steers their much larger vessel dangerously close to the small fishing boat, ramming it and forcing the fishermen to give up.

Although Sea Shepherd claims that the action was taken with blessing of Guatemalan authorities, the events that occur at the end of the video clip strongly suggest that this was not the case. Sea Shepherd ended up cutting loose the fishing boat and fleeing the area because a Guatemalan coast guard ship had been dispatched to arrest the SS crew, not the Costa Rican fishermen!

Learn more about Paul Watson by checking some of these other posts:

• Paul Watson: Tsunami That Killed Hundreds of Japanese Was Divine Punishment
• Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson – Interview With an Eco-Terrorist
• Paul Watson Responds to Japanese Arrest Warrant (and Publicly Admits His Guilt)
• Remember World War II: Sea Shepherd Depicts Japanese As Uniquely Cruel & Dishonest

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The marten, a wild animal similar to a weasel, was separated from its mother when it was still a baby. Luckily, it was found and raised by Nana the dog, who began nursing it. They now behave like a natural mother and child.

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Here a wacky portrayal of the the situation, via Taiwan’s Next Media Animation:

Like past Japan-Korea encounters in international sports, it will be sure to generate lots of nationalist hatred. Regardless of the outcome, netizens from both countries will surely be recording the match so they can find video clips to upload to YouTube as evidence of the foul play or lack of sportsmanship of the opposing team.

Japanese readers of 2channel have already noted a JoongAng Ilbo article in which striker Baek Sung-Dong is quoted as saying that the South Korean team will use “any means necessary” to win the match.

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A 48-year-old coast guard officer was arrested yesterday after exposing himself in public. According to police, he was walking down a street at 11:00AM, wearing only a bra and a lady’s wig. He was wearing some makeup on his face, but had not taken other measures to look more feminine, such as shaving his legs. (Of course, as Sankei Sports notes, exposing his genitals pretty much defeated the purpose of trying to make himself look like a woman.)

When found by police, the coast guard officer allegedly confessed that he found walking around nude to be exciting. It is believed that it was not the first time he has done this kind of thing.

The man was an officer on the Shikishima, and his shipmates were apparently surprised to hear the news about his arrest. He also had a wife and kid(s). His perverted hobby has probably cost him his career and his family.

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NHK also had some shots of British Ambassador David Warren and French Ambassador Christian Masset, both of whom were representing their countries for the first time in an official capacity at an Hiroshima ceremony.

The grandsons of two people involved in the bombing were also present. One was Ari Beser, grandson of Enola Gay radar specialist Jacob Beser. The other was Clifton Daniel, grandson of President Harry Truman. Like Ambassador Roos, Daniel was not there to issue any apologies.

After the ceremony, Truman’s grandson, Clifton Daniel, told a press conference when asked about his view on his late grandfather’s decision to drop the bomb that he “cannot make that judgment now.”

He also said, “I’m two generations down the line, it’s now my responsibility to do all I can to make sure we never use nuclear weapons again.“

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On Sunday, Japan won its first-ever Olympic medal in women’s archery. The bronze medal-winning team included Ren Hayakawa, a naturalized Japanese citizen who was born in South Korea.

Unlike other Olympic athletes who have changed their citizenship, Hayakawa did not naturalize just so she could play for the Japanese team:

With her mother having moved to Japan after remarrying, Hayakawa eventually decided that she would follow and in 2007 took up Japanese citizenship.

While many athletes have changed citizenship in search of sporting success, Hayakawa said her reasons for the decision were due to finance and family.

“I didn’t change my nationality solely for the archery career,” the 24-year-old said during the Games. “I needed to go to university in Japan to be with my sister and my mum.

“Nippon Sport Science University let me go there for my archery talent so I continued to do archery in Japan.”

According to Wikipedia, she works at a high school in Sasebo, where she helps coach the school archery club.

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Those are some very intentional fouls. It is pretty damn ridiculous. But, as you can see from the scoreboard in the video, the Korean teams’ tactics were obviously not helping them win.

The video has over 1,500 comments on YouTube, many of them from Japanese users who are disgusted by the Korean team’s lack of sportsmanship. There are also many comments that bash Koreans in general.

Over in Britain, a Japanese team in a another sport has come under scrutiny for something very different. Martin Rogers of Goal.com thinks that the Japanese women’s soccer team deliberately avoided winning against South Africa:

The Olympics’ match-fixing controversy spread to the soccer tournament on Wednesday after revelations that women’s world champion Japan deliberately drew its final group game. Japan’s head coach Norio Sasaki ordered his players to adopt a game plan focused entirely on defense against South Africa on Tuesday, despite its opponent being one of the weakest in the competition.

Sure enough, an entirely predictable 0-0 draw was the outcome, meaning the Asian side finished second in Group F.

The draw means that the Japanese team would not have to travel 300 miles to another stadium for their next match. However, it also means that Japan would face Brazil, one of the strongest teams in the tournament. Rogers disapproves of the “Japanese plot” to avoid travelling.

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As workers removed sections of the antenna, they found an old baseball! It was inside the antenna, so it must have been placed there during the original construction of the tower.

It had been inside the top of Tokyo Tower for over 50 years. Nobody knows how it got there. It is suggested that a worker may have been placed it inside the antenna as a joke, or maybe a child lost a ball near the construction site and it ended up inside the antenna tube? They interviewed a former Tokyo Tower construction worker, who says he has no knowledge of such a baseball.

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Since the release of last year’s white paper, Japan has seen four different Defense Ministers. To reflect this confused state of affairs, ANN made an animation featuring all four men peforming Exile’s famous “Choo Choo Train” dance.

On one page of the white paper, three separate photos of important meetings show three different Defense Ministers. Although the high turnover rate doesn’t necessarily reflect any major chances in policy, it is nonetheless somewhat troubling. The latest appointee, Satoshi Morimoto, actually has some expertise on defense issues, so he will presumably last a bit longer than the two amateurs who held the office before him.

The white paper also mentioned the Japanese territorial claim to the Liancourt Rocks. Although Japan has never abandoned its claim since Korea seized the rocks in the 1950′s, South Korean nationalists have once again depicted a routine bureaucratic publication as a “fresh” and “renewed” claim to the rocks. The South Korean government strongly protested the publication.

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In his latest propaganda statement, released through the Sea Shepherd website, Watson blames everything on a vast Japanese conspiracy:

“I am very disappointed with the German government. For me it is obvious that the German government conspired with Japan and Costa Rica to detain me so that I could be handed over to the Japanese. For me it is clear that they made the political decision to turn me over to the Japanese even before a court decision was made.”

Japan has been requesting Interpol assistance in the arrest of Paul Watson since 2010. They say that Watson was illegally obstructing business and “ordering his crew to harass whaling ships in clashes in which Japanese crew were allegedly injured.” Watson freely admits that he and his organization work to obstruct Japanese whaling. Because he personally thinks that Japanese whaling is “illegal,” he feels he has the right to commit violent acts against the Japanese. In his twisted world view, Sea Shepherd can do no wrong. Any country that requests that Watson be held legally accountable for his actions is merely seeking “revenge” and requesting extradition is “conspiring.”

Meanwhile in the United States, former Sea Shepherd member Peter Bethune began a court case against Sea Shepherd. Bethune, who has actually done jail time in Japan as a result of following Paul Watson’s orders to board a Japanese whaling ship, had the following to say:

I sacrificed a year of my life to Paul and the [Sea Shepherd Conservation Society], including five months locked up in a maximum security prison in Japan resulting from actions I took under the captaincy of Paul. He then expelled me from SSCS whilst I was in jail and their treatment of me publicly and privately since then has been a disgrace. The Japanese at least treated me with dignity and respect. Sea Shepherd in contrast has treated me like a used condom, throwing me away once I’d served its purpose.

Bethune is seeking $500,000 in damages, some of which he hopes will go towards paying the cost of his ship, the Ady Gil. Sea Shepherd claimed that the Ady Gil was “rammed” and “sunk” by a Japanese whaling ship in 2010. However, Bethune later revealed that the damaged whip was still afloat after the collision. Paul Watson ordered that it be scuttled, so Sea Shepherd could blame the Japanese for its sinking. Sea Shepherd has, of course, denied everything that Bethune has said.

Bethune believes that Watson may be hiding in the United States:

“The U.S. is a very difficult country to extradite people from,” Bethune said.

Still, Bethune said Watson will also be looking to weasel out of his predicament because Sea Shepherd isn’t nearly as effective without its figurehead.

With up to $10 million per year in donations, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society can throw money at keeping Watson hidden.

“At the moment, I imagine they’re earmarking a fair chunk of that to protect Paul,” Bethune said.

Bethune said Watson also has an almost fanatical following willing to run the risk of criminal charges to help the man known for attacking whaling crews with acid and crashing tuna farms.

“I wouldn’t say (Sea Shepherd) is a cult, but certainly there’s an extremely loyal group of people who are very staunch in their support of Paul Watson,” Bethune said. “It’s got a very strong support base amongst the vegan and vegetarian communities, and a lot of those people are animal rights (activists).”

Learn more about Paul Watson by checking some of these other posts:

• Paul Watson: Tsunami That Killed Hundreds of Japanese Was Divine Punishment
• Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson – Interview With an Eco-Terrorist
• Paul Watson Responds to Japanese Arrest Warrant (and Publicly Admits His Guilt)
• Remember World War II: Sea Shepherd Depicts Japanese As Uniquely Cruel & Dishonest

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The judges on the mat awarded the decision to Cho — but then they were called over by sideline officials. After a brief consultation, Ebinuma was awarded the victory.

Of that reversal, The Japan Times wrote, “In what looked like a parody of The Three Stooges, the three judges then overturned their initial ruling after a short conference.” And keep in mind, the Japanese fighter won the bout.

Agence France-Presse used the word “farcical” in its headline; a writer at the iconoclastic sports site Deadspin began a story with the admission, “I am not going to act like I know what the hell it is I am writing about here, but this sounds pretty ridiculous.”

According to Reuters, the original decision in Cho’s favor was so unexpected that it caused the audience to boo:

The arena at London’s ExCel Centre erupted in derision with the disgusted Japanese coach looking utterly flabbergasted.

Although it is the first time that instant replay technology has been used to overturn a judo judgement at the Olympics, NPR notes that rules allow for such an action.

Here is a YouTube video that shows Fuji TV’s coverage of the decision:

Both Ebinuma and Cho went on to win bronze medals. But outrage remains on the internet.

South Korean media and netizens apparently thought that the decision was unfair. Newspapers such as the Chosun Ilbo claimed that the “majority” of the people in the stands were “Japanese fans.”

Although it ended in a victory for Japan, some Japanese netizens have cited the incident as proof of Korea’s bad sportsmanship and possible bribery of judges. They have also accused Fuji TV of “biased” anti-Japanese reporting, since the network seemed to have not taken sides on whether the decision was actually fair. The YouTube video embedded in this post, which has an anti-Fuji TV title, has received over 92,000 views and dozens of anti-Fuji TV and anti-Korean comments.

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Other Bloggers mention the conversion, but not a joining the resistance movement:

“GOD IS GREAT!!!! The Free Syrian Army has achieved a strategic victory when a Japanese journalist who covers its activities converted to Islam “on the hands of Mamdouh Jolha Battalion activating in Al-Turkman Mountain”

As I do not speak Arabic, I am not sure what the man in the video is saying. His camera is certainly Japanese, and he could be Japanese himself. It appears that he is just repeating what one of the Syrians tells him to say. It is possible that the “Japanese journalist” doesn’t speak enough Arabic to even understand what he is repeating.

Can any Arabic-speaking readers tell us more about this video?

[hat tip to Jose]

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The people of Yamaguchi prefecture went to the polls yesterday to elect a new governor. In the days leading up to the election, the Western media made a big deal out of the candidacy of Testunari Iida, a anti-nuclear activist who campaigned on a platform that called for the cancellation of plans to build a nuclear power plant in Yamaguchi. The other main candidate, Shigetaro Yamamoto, campaigned on the more moderate position of putting the plans on hold.

The New York Times called the election an “informal referendum on nuclear power’s place in the country’s future.” The Wall Street Journal described it as an event that would “test the political influence” of the anti-nuclear movement. And Reuters reported that Prime Minister Noda’s support of nuclear energy would be put “on trial” in the Yamaguchi election.

The result? A resounding victory for Shigetaro Yamamoto.

According to the final returns, Yamamoto garnered 252,461 votes, Iida 185,654, Takamura 55,418, and Miwa 37,150.

Voter turnout stood at 45.32 percent, up 8.11 percentage points from the previous gubernatorial election, which had marked a record low, according to the prefectural election board.

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The incident occurred around 7:00AM on Sunday, near Matsusaka station in Mie prefecture. Police say that a 32-year-old Filipino man was having some kind of argument/quarrel with the employees of a restaurant. A relative showed up to help him out, and ended up stabbing the employees. Four people were hurt: three employees and one friend of the employees. Three of the victims were seriously wounded. The nationalities of the victims were not reported in the media.

The attacker fled the scene of the crime, but turned himself in to police in the afternoon. It is likely that he will be charged with attempted murder.

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A group of Japanese people walked through London yesterday, carrying umbrellas that showed the smiling faces of children who survived the 2011 Tohoku earthquake/tsunami:

The group was made up of about 40 volunteers, all of them from Tohoku. They wanted people attending the Olympic games to know that Tohoku was grateful for all the help it had received. The umbrellas were also meant to remind everyone that Tohoku still needs help to recover from the disaster.

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Earlier this summer, Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson was detained in Germany on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by Costa Rica. Believing Watson to be trustworthy person, a German court granted him bail on the condition that he would remain under house arrest and report to German police on a daily basis.

About 70 days passed, with courts not yet ruling on Watson’s extradition to Costa Rica. The media is now reporting that Watson decided to skip bail and flee to another country. To justify the decision, Sea Shepherd has claimed that Watson had access to anonymous sources who told him that the Costa Rican arrest warrant was all part of an evil Japanese conspiracy:

Susan Hartland, Sea Shepherd’s administrative director, today confirmed he had fled, but said she did not know where.

“We have reason to believe from a reliable source that, once in Costa Rica, the Japanese government may have sought extradition of Captain Watson to Japan to answer charges related to obstructing their illegal whaling activities,” she said.

“We have no further information and are not in touch with him. We will do our best to provide more details as we learn more.”

Taking into account Watson’s actions, the higher regional court in Frankfurt is now calling for his re-arrest and extradition:

“Since by fleeing, Watson has shown that he can not justify the trust placed in him, the extradition process has been restarted,” the court said.

Watson’s actions are not particularly surprising, as Sea Shepherd has a long history of ignoring inconvenient laws. Hopefully, police will soon arrest this scumbag and put him on the next plane to Costa Rica.

Update: It is now being reported Japan also made a request to Germany for Watson’s extradition. Japan has been seeking Watson’s arrest since 2010. Judging from what Sea Shepherd spokespeople said after Watson’s escape from Germany, it would seem that Watson made his decision because he was afraid of being extradited to Japan after his arrival in Costa Rica. He may have not known about the Japanese request to Germany.

Learn more about Paul Watson by checking some of these other posts:

• Paul Watson: Tsunami That Killed Hundreds of Japanese Was Divine Punishment
• Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson – Interview With an Eco-Terrorist
• Paul Watson Responds to Japanese Arrest Warrant (and Publicly Admits His Guilt)
• Remember World War II: Sea Shepherd Depicts Japanese As Uniquely Cruel & Dishonest

[hat tip to Jason]

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Here is a video of Yume, the female Akita puppy that will be sent to Russia later this week:

This is not the first time that Putin has received a dog from a foreign leader. In 2010, the president of Bulgaria gave him Buffy, a Bulgarian Shepherd dog. Putin also has Koni, a black Labrador Retriever he received in 2010 from a Russian army general.

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A man murdered a lot of people at a midnight showing the new Batman movie in America, so Warner Bros. is reacting by cancelling star-studded red carpet premiere events across the world. That includes the Tokyo premiere, which has been downgraded to a special screening:

Special screenings of the movie will go ahead in the Japanese and Mexican capitals but will not be attended by its stars.

Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway and Morgan Freeman were all due to attend the premieres.

‘Due to the tragic events in Aurora, Colorado, Warner Bros Pictures has cancelled the previously scheduled personal appearances by the cast and filmmakers in Mexico and Japan on behalf of The Dark Knight Rises,’ a statement released to E! Online said.

‘However, in an effort not to disappoint the dedicated fans of the film, we will proceed with our previously scheduled special screenings for invited guests and promotional winners.’

I am sure many Japanese fans were hoping for a chance to see their favorite Hollywood stars in person. It is very sad that one criminal’s ugly actions can prevent fans and actors from celebrating the movie’s international release.

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There are major problems with the story being told by Kelley and the conspiracy theorist bloggers.

• We do not have data about the number of thyroid growths found in years before the Fukushima accident.
• The 36 percent result is compared to data from a 2001 study that found thyroid growths in less than 1% of children in Nagasaki. However, comparisons between the two are very difficult to make because the Nagasaki study used entirely different methods and only reported on nodules/cysts larger than 5.0 mm. The most recent Fukushima data reports on growths of all sizes, with nodules smaller than 5.0 mm accounting for much of the infamous 36 percent.



• It is too early for this to happen in Fukushima. It took years for thyroid cancer to develop in Children who lived near Chernobyl, where radiation exposure levels were considerably higher. Scientific Reports, a journal operated by the prestigious Nature Publishing Group, recently published a study on thyroid exposure in Fukushima. A group of Japanese scientists concluded that Fukushima evacuees were exposed to radiation, but it wasn’t even remotely close to the levels of exposure suffered by people who lived near Chernobyl:

Here we report for the first time extensive measurements of the exposure to I-131 revealing I-131 activity in the thyroid of 46 out of the 62 residents and evacuees measured. The median thyroid equivalent dose was estimated to be 4.2 mSv and 3.5 mSv for children and adults, respectively, much smaller than the mean thyroid dose in the Chernobyl accident (490 mSv in evacuees). Maximum thyroid doses for children and adults were 23 mSv and 33 mSv, respectively.

• Kelley treats professional anti-nuclear fearmongers and conspiracy theorist blogs as credible sources of analysis.
• Kelley’s article claims that the “New York Academy of Sciences estimates that nearly one million people around the world have died from exposure to radiation released by the 1986 nuclear disaster at the Chernobyl reactor.” Back in 2011, environmentalist George Monbiot found that the publication in question was a translation of a Russian book, and was not in any sense an official estimate from the New York Academy of Sciences:

The academy has given me this statement: “In no sense did Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences or the New York Academy of Sciences commission this work; nor by its publication do we intend to independently validate the claims made in the translation or in the original publications cited in the work. The translated volume has not been peer-reviewed by the New York Academy of Sciences, or by anyone else.”

Failing to provide sources, refuting data with anecdote, cherry-picking studies, scorning the scientific consensus, invoking a cover-up to explain it: all this is horribly familiar. These are the habits of climate change deniers, against which the green movement has struggled valiantly, calling science to its aid. It is distressing to discover that when the facts don’t suit them, members of this movement resort to the follies they have denounced.

Just like so many of the other scare stories we have heard about in the last year, this one is rubbish.

—
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