Unearthed ancient sword bears manufacture date

Archaeologists say an ancient sword recently unearthed in western Japan bears the date of manufacture.

Fukuoka City's board of education says the artifact was found on September 7th in an old stone tomb amongst ruins in the city.

The tomb is believed to have belonged to a powerful local clan. The 75-centimeter-long, steel-made sword is believed to be a grave furnishing.

An X-ray scan has found 19 Chinese characters inscribed on the back of the sword.

The characters say the sword was manufactured on the 6th day of the first month of A.D. 570, in the old Chinese calendar.

3 findings of swords from the Tumulus period bearing the year of their manufacture have been reported in Japan, but none with the exact date.

Kyushu University Professor Yasutoshi Sakaue called the latest finding a milestone as it is the first example of an archaeological find showing the full use of the calendar at that time in Japan.

He says historical records show the traditional calendar was brought to the country from the Korean Peninsula in A.D. 554, 16 years before the date recorded on the Fukuoka sword.

TEPCO releases new images of Fukushima plant

Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has released new video footage of its Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

The video footage is 3 minutes and 40 seconds long and consists of various clips taken between late June and mid-September.

Footage shot at the No. 1 reactor showed work to cover the reactor building to reduce the release of radioactive substances. A panel of 20 square meters was being lifted with a crane. TEPCO says 8 of the 18 panels needed to cover the entire building had been installed as of Tuesday.

Footage taken at the No. 3 reactor showed workers manually adjusting the volume of water to be injected in order to cool the reactor. Earlier this month, TEPCO began boosting water injection to lower the temperature of the reactor to below 100 degrees Celsius.

The video also showed workers learning how to use dosimeters and how to put on full face masks at a training session.

The company said it is becoming more important to train workers as operations to bring the plant under control proceed. It added that it hopes the images will convey the atmosphere at the site.

A new plan set to reduce radiation emissions

The Japanese government and the operator of the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant say they will install new devices to reduce the amount of radioactive substances released into the air. The government and Tokyo Electric Power Company, TEPCO, originally planned to achieve a cold shutdown, in which temperatures of the reactors reach below 100 degrees Celsius by January next year. They now say that they will aim to reach that status within this year, as their work is making steady progress. The government and TEPCO revealed the plan in their monthly review of the timetable for containing the nuclear crisis. They will install new devices at the NO.1, No.2 and No.3 reactors to take contaminated gases out of the reactors using filters. They plan to start installing the devices next week. TEPCO also plans to complete the construction of a giant polyester shield over the No.1 reactor by mid-October. The operator also plans to improve its cooling systems so that the temperatures of all 3 reactors will drop below 100 degrees Celsius. They say the amount of radioactive substances released from the plant was about 200-million becquerels per hour in the first half of September. They say that's about one-four millionths of the level of the initial stages of the accident in March.

Typhoon makes landfall in central Japan

Typhoon Roke has made landfall on the Pacific coast of central Japan. Japan's Meteorological Agency says the typhoon landed near Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, at around 2:00 PM on Wednesday. The storm is believed to be heading northeast at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour. It has an atmospheric pressure of 950 hecto-pascals and is packing winds of up to 160 kilometers per hour. Wide areas of central Japan are now in the storm zone. Gusts of more than 125 kilometers per hour were observed in Omaezaki, Shizuoka Prefecture, about half an hour before the typhoon made landfall. Roke is bringing heavy rains to central, northern and eastern Japan. Between 1:00 and 2:00 PM, more than 54 millimeters of rain fell in Hamamatsu. Downpours have also been recorded in Yamanashi, Aichi and Kanagawa prefectures.

Hosono: Cooling down to be achieved this year

Japan's minister in charge of the nuclear disaster says reactors at the troubled Fukushima Daiichi plant will be cooled to below 100 degrees Celsius within this year. Goshi Hosono spoke at the International Atomic Energy Agency's annual ministerial meeting on Monday. He thanked the international community for assisting Japan in dealing with the accident at Fukushima. Hosono said that decontaminated water has been successfully used to cool down the troubled nuclear reactors, bringing the temperature close to 100 degrees Celsius. He also said spent nuclear fuel pools have been cooled in a stable manner. Hosono also said the spent nuclear fuel has been steadily cooled and will fall below 100 degrees by the end of this year, instead of early next year as initially predicted. When the reactors and spent fuel have been cooled below 100 degrees, radiation emissions can be kept very low. The minister also said Japan will work with the IAEA to remove radioactive materials from areas near Fukushima Daiichi. He explained the plan to separate the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency from the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry, saying it will be merged with the Cabinet Office's Nuclear Safety Commission to create a nuclear safety agency under the Environment Ministry by next April.

Cesium detected in 4% of tested rice

Radioactive tests on rice have been completed in more than half of the Tohoku and Kanto regions, and radioactive cesium has been detected in 4 percent of the samples. But the highest level detected so far is about a quarter of the government's safety limit. Based on the interim results, shipments of rice have started in municipalities in 15 prefectures. A preliminary examination is conducted while the rice is still growing and another test is carried out after the harvest. Rice can only be shipped if the amounts of cesium in the post-harvest test are below the government-set safety limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram in all the locations within a municipality. Preliminary tests have been completed in 7 prefectures, but not in Fukushima or Miyagi. Radioactive cesium has been detected in 72 places so far, including 64 locations in Fukushima Prefecture, where the Fukushima Daiichi power plant is located. But the highest level detected was 136 becquerels per kilogram, which is about a quarter of the government's safety limit. The main test is being conducted in 17 prefectures, and has been completed in more than half of them. Radioactive materials were detected in rice harvested in 22 locations. But the highest level detected so far is 101.6 becquerels per kilogram, or one fifth of the government's safety limit. With the preliminary and main tests combined, the results are known for more than 60 percent of the test locations. Radioactive materials have been detected in 94 locations, or 4.3 percent of the total. Shipments of rice have started in municipalities in 15 prefectures, including all 52 municipalities in Chiba Prefecture. In Fukushima Prefecture, shipments of ordinary rice have started in 2 municipalities, and those of early-harvested rice in 20 municipalities.

Muroto designated as UNESCO Geopark

Muroto City in Kochi Prefecture, western Japan, has become the 5th site in the country to be designated as an international geological heritage area, or Geopark. UNESCO's Global Network of National Geoparks recognizes sites whose geology or landscape would help people understand the Earth's evolution and bring educational and economic benefits to the local community. The entire city of Muroto on the island of Shikoku was added to the list of global Geoparks at the international organization's meeting in Norway on Saturday. Mayor Kenji Komatsu and other delegates attending the meeting reported the news on the Internet to the city office, where about 160 residents and municipal officials were waiting. They greeted the city's certification with applause and cheers. The area has traces of crustal movements dating back about 100 million years, allowing people to observe the former seabed elevated in past earthquakes. Four sites previously listed as Geoparks include an area of Hokkaido's Lake Toya and nearly Mount Usu in northern Japan.

Radiation checks on wild plants, animals urged

A Japanese expert is urging detailed checks on wild plants and animals for radioactive contamination after the recent discovery of high levels of radioactivity in a kind of mushroom and a wild boar. Following the Fukushima nuclear accident, the central government set safety limits on radioactive substances in food. As of Saturday it has screened nearly 20,000 food products. The number includes items analyzed by prefectural authorities. In March and April, vegetables and raw milk were found to contain unsafe levels of radiation. But recently, radiation levels, if detected, have not exceeded the safety standards. Meanwhile, on September 3rd, a species of mushroom found in a forest in Fukushima Prefecture was discovered to contain 28,000 becquerels of radioactive cesium per kilogram, an amount far above the safety limit. A wild boar was also found to have radiation amounts about 6 times the safety limit. Gakushuin University Professor Yasuyuki Muramatsu says radioactive cesium on soil and fallen leaves in forests is easily absorbed by mushrooms and edible plants. He says wild animals like boars accumulate high levels of radiation by eating contaminated mushrooms and plants. The professor adds that detailed studies should be carried out on wild plants and animals to examine the impact of the nuclear accident on them as wild fauna and flora across Europe have been affected by radiation from the Chernobyl accident.