Engineers restored power to some reactors at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant over the weekend, although new concerns about food contamination appeared after radiation levels were detected in tap water near the complex.
As The Economist went to press, helicopters were dropping water to douse overheating nuclear fuel stored at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant, where there have been explosions, fires and releases of radiation greater, it seems, than the Japanese authorities had admitted.
Over recent months, the yen's weakening by about 20 percent against the U.S. dollar has helped export manufacturers but also boosted the cost of purchases of LNG and crude oil to make up for electricity shortfalls as all but two of Japan's nuclear power plants are operating following the March 2011 Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant disaster.
Since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant is to be decommissioned, Japan will need new sources of electricity.
Monday marks the two-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that crippled Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
Wednesday a fire was reported in the Fukushima Dai-Ichi power plant that was leaking radioactive material as early as Monday.
In 2011, Dr. Becker was a member of a three-person Assistance Team that was invited to Japan in response to the earthquake-tsunami and accident at Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
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Some 110, 000 people living around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were evacuated after the massive March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami knocked out the plant's power and cooling systems, causing meltdowns in three reactors and spewing radiation into the surrounding air, soil and water.
When one breaks as happened on board the Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico a year ago (see article), or at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Japan last month there is no ameliorative technology on a par with that which has failed.
Meanwhile, the weaker yen means higher costs for rising imports of natural gas, which is priced in dollar terms, to help compensate for the loss of nuclear power generation capacity after most atomic power plants remain closed after the 2011 disaster at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant in northeastern Japan.
The earthquake launched a tsunami, which killed thousands, and knocked out the nuclear power plant at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, about 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, setting off a series of explosions, fires and large radiation leaks at the facility.
Shares of Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco), owner of the troubled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant, soared 18.8% on Friday.
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For a start, Naoto Kan, the prime minister, has maintained relative calm despite the menacing situation at Fukushima Dai-ichi, the crippled nuclear plant.
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