Japan Nuclear Crisis Resources

Media Feature, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School

March 21, 2011

Author: Arnold Bogis, Former Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Belfer Center Programs or Projects: Managing the Atom

Arnold Bogis has prepared the following list of  resources for news and analysis of developments at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Updating news sites:

• NHK World (English):
  http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/
• Kyodo News (English):
  http://english.kyodonews.jp/
• Japan Times Online (English):
  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/
• Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (daily updated blog authored by Tatsujiro Suzuki):
  http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/tatsujiro-suzuki/daily-update-japan
• World Nuclear News (continuously providing updates as well as a general overview of the situation):
  http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/

Updated technical information:

• Japan’s Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency:
  http://www.nisa.meti.go.jp/english/index.html
• Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc.:
  http://www.jaif.or.jp/english/index.php
• International Atomic Energy Agency updates:
  http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsunamiupdate01.html

Radiation measurements:

• Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Reading of environmental radioactivity level by prefecture:
  http://www.mext.go.jp/english/radioactivity_level/detail/1303986.htm
• Science Magazine's Radiation Map Roundup
  http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2011/03/japan-radiation-map-resource.html?rss=1

Summary of events:

• The Washington Post (interactive page summarizing developments):
  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/world/japan-nuclear-reactors-and-seismic-activity/?hpid=z3

General resources:

• The Google Crisis Response website provides a running news aggregator (toward the bottom of the page) in addition to providing a wide range of other resources (including a map where you can see the location of nuclear plants as well as the current evacuation zones):
  http://www.google.com/crisisresponse/japanquake2011.html

Analysis of Japanese nuclear news and underlying issues:

• MIT nuclear engineering students have a blog that updates news and provides background information:
  http://mitnse.com/
• Union of Concerned Scientists also has a blog that updates news and provides background information:
  http://allthingsnuclear.org/

Online radiation conversion tool:

• Online tool that allows conversion between various units of radiation measurement:
  http://online.unitconverterpro.com/unit-conversion/radiation.html

For more information about this publication please contact the MTA Project Coordinator at 617-495-4219.

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