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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Japan asks Russia for more energy after quake: government

Japan govt warns of electricity shortage
Tokyo (AFP) March 13, 2011 - The shutdown of several nuclear reactors after a massive earthquake struck Japan Friday may lead to a shortfall in electricity supply and will make power outages necessary, the government warned Sunday. The east of the country is likely to face substantial shortages after the massive quake hit on Friday, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Banri Kaieda said at a news conference. The region is covered by Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) and Tohoku Electric Power. In Tepco's case, its service region will be divided into five blocks and each area will have rolling blackouts for three hours a day by rotation, the Agency for Natural Resources and Energy said.

Such scheduled blackouts are expected to continue for several weeks, Tetsuhiro Hosono, chief of the agency, told a press conference. He added Tepco was expected to be about 25 percent short of its normal power supply for the time of year. For Tohoku-Electric Power Co., which covers the northern region of Japan's main island, the scale of its expected power shortage would depend on how quickly the region and its industries can be rebuilt. The immediate prospects for Japan's atomic power industry are a key concern following a radioactive leak and explosion at a plant on Saturday. The Japanese nuclear industry provides around 30 percent of Japan's power needs. In total, 11 of the roughly 50 nuclear reactors in Japan, located in the worst affected areas, shut down following the earthquake.
by Staff Writers
Moscow (AFP) March 13, 2011
Japan has asked Russia for more energy supplies as the earthquake-ravaged country is bracing for electricity shortages following the disaster, the Russian government said.

At a special meeting dedicated to the aftermath of Friday's massive 8.9-magnitude quake in Japan, Russia's powerful Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Moscow should do everything to help its neighbour which his energy deputy said had requested more gas.

"Our neighbours are faced with huge grief and tragedy," Putin told the meeting Saturday evening, saying all necessary assistance should be rendered despite "the problems which we have inherited from the past."

"This is our reliable partner of many years. We need to do everything to help Japan in this situation," he said in comments released by the government.

Bilateral ties have been strained by a row over a disputed island chain that has been unresolved since World War II.

That dispute has flared up since November when President Dmitry Medvedev paid an unexpected visit to one of the four Kuril islands which are claimed by Tokyo and collectively known in Japan as the Northern Territories.

Putin's deputy in charge of energy, Igor Sechin, said Japan had asked state-controlled gas giant Gazprom for additional liquefied natural gas supplies, adding the company was now looking how to divert two tankers, currently under other contracts, towards Japan.

"It will be two 100,000 tonne vessels," Sechin said.

Russia can send up to 500,000 tonnes of LNG to Japan this year if Japanese companies file a request and talks are held, he said.

In partnership with Japanese companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi, Gazprom operates Russia's only LNG plant on Sakhalin Island, a project known as Sakhalin-2.

Sechin also said Russia was ready to increase supplies of coal and representatives of the Siberian Coal Energy Company would go to Japan next week.

"We can ramp up supplies by three million to four million tonnes fairly quickly," he said, adding that Russia could also supply Japan with power as it has extra capacities generated in the Far East.

The Japanese government said Sunday the shutdown of several nuclear reactors after the earthquake may lead to a shortfall in electricity supply and would make power outages necessary.

In total, 11 of the roughly 50 nuclear reactors in Japan, located in the worst affected areas, were shut down following the quake.



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DISASTER MANAGEMENT
Japan to deploy 100,000 troops on quake aid
Tokyo (AFP) March 13, 2011
Japan will double to 100,000 the number of troops on rescue and relief missions after a massive earthquake and tsunami hit the northeast coast, the government said Sunday. Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa told a meeting of his ministry's emergency headquarters that he had received the order from Prime Minister Naoto Kan, a government official told AFP on condition of anonymity. Police ... read more







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