Tokyo News

Nuclear workers at the crippled Fukushima power plant raced to inject boric acid into the plant’s No. 2 reactor early Wednesday after telltale radioactive elements were detected there, and the plant’s owner admitted for the first time that fuel deep inside three stricken plants was probably continuing to experience bursts of fission.

Japan’s Tokyo Electric Power Co (9501.T), operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, is likely to announce its earnings for April-September on November 14, the Yomiuri newspaper reported on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the utility, known as Tepco, denied it has set a date for the announcement, however.

The firm is preparing a business plan that must win government approval by early November so that a bailout body, funded by public money and contributions from nuclear operators, will provide unlimited funds to help compensate those affected by the ongoing radiation crisis in Fukushima.

STRONTIUM 90, a highly dangerous radioactive isotope, has reportedly been found atop an apartment building in Yokohama, fuelling fears that fallout from the Fukushima disaster has affected the greater Tokyo area. Yokohama, a city of 3.6 million people, effectively adjoins the Japanese capital, and sits about 250km from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant.

City officials announced private tests done by an agency hired by a resident had found a concentration of 195 becquerels per kilogram of strontium in sediment on top of the apartment building. Both the Yokohama government and the Japanese government are conducting their own tests to verify the findings.

Tokyo stocks dropped 0.86 per cent on Wednesday, giving up early gains that stemmed from hopes EU leaders would act to aid weak banks, with dealers saying buyers lacked conviction.

The Nikkei index at the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 73.14 points to 8,382.98, but rebounded from a midday low of 8,343.01. The Topix index of all first section shares lost 1.35 per cent, or 9.93 points, to 726.25.

Kaia Kanepi upset top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Pan Pacific Open.

The 43rd-ranked Kanepi rallied from three games down in the third set and won the match when she broke the defending champion with a forehand down the line.

After a sluggish start, Wozniacki dominated the second set but was unable to keep the momentum in the third when she was broken three times by the Estonian player.

A powerful typhoon roared up Japan’s main island, severing power lines, overturning trucks, halting train lines and creating a rush-hour commuter crush as it twisted through the capital and then headed north. More >

Tokyo stocks recouped early losses and closed marginally higher on late bargain-hunting Wednesday amid caution ahead of release of key US economic data later in the week, brokers said.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 1.30 points or 0.01 per cent to 8,955.20, while the Topix index of all first-section issues of the Tokyo Stock Exchange gained 3.30 points or 0.43 per cent to 770.60.

“Moderate bargain-hunting emerged in late trading, but the buying sentiment was not strong,” said Hirokazu Fujiki, analyst at Okasan Securities. “Many market players are on the sidelines ahead of key indicators.”

Radioactive contamination may keep some areas around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex off limits for years, Japan’s government said Monday.

In its first detailed survey of the evacuation zone around the plant, the education ministry said it found spots—mostly within three kilometers (nearly two miles) of the plant—where annual radiation exposure could reach 200 to 500 millisieverts. The government requires people to evacuate if the cumulative dosage is likely to exceed 20 millisieverts per year. The annual limit for nuclear-plant workers in normal circumstances is 50 millisieverts (250 millisieverts in emergency conditions).

The euro steadied against major currencies in Asia on Wednesday after falling in the wake of talks between the leaders of France and Germany on the eurozone debt crisis. The single currency dipped at one point to $1.4352 in early Tokyo trade, compared with $1.4406 in New York overnight, before rebounding to $1.4405 in the afternoon. The euro fetched 110.49 yen against 110.67 yen in New York late Tuesday and 110.41 yen in Tokyo the previous day. The Swiss unit eased in afternoon trade, moving to 1.1522 per euro from 1.1434 in New York and 0.7998 francs per dollar against 0.7935. The dollar changed hands at 76.68 yen early Wednesday against 76.75 yen in New York and 76.74 yen in Tokyo Tuesday.

Samples of rice grown in a town near Tokyo showed no radioactive materials when tested, officials said on Wednesday, a relief for farmers preparing to ship Japan’s traditional food staple.

Concerns over food safety have grown after radiation from the smashed Fukushima Daiichi power plant has leaked across northern and eastern Japan since March, the world’s worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

Some local authorities are testing their rice to see if it contains too much cesium.