More critical attention appears to be focusing within Japan on new revelations about the damage and impact of the Fukushima-1 disaster:

"Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant confirmed the meltdown of a 'large part' of the fuel in reactor number one. Their suspicions were aroused after a post-adjustment reading on water level gauges came back lower than expected. Fortunately, water in a reservoir at the bottom of the pressure vessel seems to have halted the meltdown. The situation remains precarious though, as the further meltdown of the fuel—past the pressure vessel and through the concrete base—remains highly possible.

What's perhaps surprising is that this information was even released in the first place. Considering the delay between this official announcement and what people have purportedly known for weeks, the release of this information won't help TEPCO's public image at all."

Here's a direct link to this thoughtful update by Japanese commentator Hiroki Ogawa: click here for update!

Charley Noble