Day: August 26, 2023

FUTABA, Japan —  For the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, managing the ever-growing volume of radioactive wastewater held in more than 1,000 tanks has been a safety risk and a burden since the meltdown in March 2011. Its release marks a milestone for the decommissioning, which is expected to take decades. But it’s just the beginning of the challenges ahead, such as the removal of the fatally radioactive melted fuel debris that remains in the three damaged reactors, a daunting task if ever accomplished. Here’s a look at what’s going…

IWAKI, Japan —  Fish auction prices at a port south of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant were mixed amid uncertainty over how seafood consumers will respond to the release of treated and diluted radioactive wastewater into the ocean. The plant, which was damaged in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, began sending the treated water into the Pacific on Thursday despite protests at home and in nearby countries that are adding political and diplomatic pressures to the economic worries. Hideaki Igari, a middleman at the Numanouchi fishing port, said the…

North Korea has approved the return of its citizens who were abroad after years of strict border restrictions during the COVID pandemic, state media reported on Sunday as the isolated country cracks open its border to passenger travel. In a statement carried by the KCNA news agency, the State Emergency Epidemic Prevention Headquarters said on Saturday the approval was in line with its adjustment of the anti-epidemic degree following “eased worldwide pandemic situation.” “Those returned will be put under proper medical observation at quarantine wards for a week,” the statement…

JACKSON HOLE, Wyoming —  U.S. trade has shifted away from China due to policies enacted by the Biden and Trump administrations, but U.S. reliance on China-linked supply chains has not necessarily been reduced and consumers have faced higher costs, according to new research presented Saturday at a Federal Reserve economic symposium. Despite deglobalization fears after the coronavirus pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, overall trade “has held steady at just under 60% of world (gross domestic product) rather than gone into freefall,” Laura Alfaro, an economist at Harvard Business School,…