Will you temporarily stop purchasing Japanese Greens?

[tjsan]

Level of radiation in Shizuoka is 81 nGy/h and seems to be normal. Current level of radiation can be traced on a map which is updated daily here: http://www.targetmap.com/viewer.aspx?reportId=4870

I hope that the disaster that struck Japan does not bounce in a significant impact on this year's harvest. Let only the weather will cooperate and let shincha this year will be better than last year which I wish everyone in Japan, might be a small step on the way in rebuilding the country.

[AdamMY]

I am planning on buying both more Japanese greens and more Japanese Ceramics to help them recover from this disaster.

[skilfautdire]

There are a few comments about politics and not to make a fuss, which is quite understandable. That it is surely not time to stop buying Japanese. That they need their business going as usual. Stopping would penalize.

I presume there can be two sides to this medal. From the cri.cn link given in this thread (I do not know that site at all) :

"Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara on Sunday announced his resignation amid growing calls for him to do so for illegally receiving a donation from a South Korean supporter."

http://english.cri.cn/3126/2011/03/07/Zt2724s624515.htm

Personally I'm a bit puzzled. I buy some food stuffs (like soba for instance, but there are others) which are made in Korea with Japanese writing on them. Obviously destined for the Japanese market. So far I fail to see such hatred between the two countries that would make a minister resign for accepting a (south) Korean donation.

Can someone shed any light on this ?

[skilfautdire]

OK, got more details on a site that actually bothers to give more details

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110306/wl ... 0306140420


"The ambitious Maehara came under pressure last week when he admitted he had accepted the equivalent of several hundred dollars in campaign donations in recent years from a Japanese-born woman of Korean ethnicity.

Under Japanese law, it is illegal for politicians to accept donations from a foreign national and the scandal has been all the more damaging to Maehara, who as foreign minister had taken a hawkish and strongly patriotic stance."

So this is not related to the recent disaster but was an on-going thing. Ah, what details can add to a news item is fabulous.

Oh, the amount he got was approx. $2,400. As in "two thousand four hundred".

Somehow I think this could happen here - that a minister resigns or looses his seat over a mere two thousand dollars - only when pink pigs will be flying all over, forming dense clouds.

As a side note, here is a blog which seems to have 'alternative' news, from a guy residing in Toronto:

Saving Japan

The title has not that much to do with the recent disaster. Also available in Japanese.

OK, a last one, an educative one:

A Nuclear Reactor Explained by Poop and Farts

In Japanese with English subtitles.

[Chesslover]

Have you seen that:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/high-r ... 2011-03-19

That doesn't sound too good...

[puerhking]

Have you seen that:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/high-r ... 2011-03-19

That doesn't sound too good...

Yeah that's concerning...especially because the winds are supposed to change and head south for a few days.

[iheartea]

I know the 'Green Tea Police' will get me for this, but once per week I will take a Yamamotoyama or similar generic tea bag to work with me just for convenience. I will stop that. Just for added safety, I plan to continue to buy Japanese green tea only if I know which specific area or farm it comes from. I'm familiar with the various cities and towns where green tea bushes grow, so I'm going to be extra careful in selecting my tea. I can't stop drinking green tea. It is one of the few pleasures of my busy day.

Japan - My thoughts and prayers are with you as you recover from this catastrophe.

[iheartea]

Just heard on CNN - for the next five days the winds are going to stay within Japan perhaps moving eastward or south.

Let's pray for no more explosions or meltdowns!!!

[entropyembrace]

Japanese Earthquake Update (19 March 2011 12:00 UTC) - Corrected

Contamination in Food Products around Fukushima

(Please note correction posted 19 March at 15:30 UTC in bold in text below. Apologies for the inconvenience.)

The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has confirmed the presence of radioactive iodine contamination in food products measured in the Fukushima Prefecture, the area around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. According to the latest data, the food products were measured from 16-18 March and indicated the presence of radioactive iodine. To date, no other radioactive isotopes have been shown to increase in the analysis of food products around Fukushima.

Though radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about 8 days and decays naturally within a matter of weeks, there is a short-term risk to human health if radioactive iodine in food is absorbed into the human body. If ingested, it can accumulate in and cause damage to the thyroid. Children and young people are particularly at risk of thyroid damage due to the ingestion of radioactive iodine.

Japanese authorities have implemented two critical measures to counter the contamination of food products by radioactive iodine. First, on 16 March, Japan's Nuclear Safety Commission recommended local authorities to instruct evacuees leaving the 20-kilometre area to ingest stable (not radioactive) iodine. As an established method of prevention, the ingestion of stable iodine can help to prevent the accumulation of radioactive iodine in the thyroid. Stable iodine pills and syrup (for children) have been made available at evacuation centres. Second, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has requested an investigation into the possible stop of sales of food products from the Fukushima Prefecture.

The IAEA has passed this information to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) and will continue to report on this development.

According to materials on its website, the FAO is prepared to respond upon request from the Government of Japan in the following areas:

* - assessing radioactive contamination of the agricultural environment, especially foods
* - providing technical advice and determining appropriate medium- and long-term measures for agriculture -- including soil, land, forests, crops, fisheries, animal health and welfare and food safety
* - facilitating international trade of foods, including agricultural produce

The IAEA continues to gather information on this development and will report further as events warrant.

http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/tsu ... ate01.html

[AdamMY]

Half life of 8 days.... So just to put that in perspective from the time of picking to the time most of us (Living outside of Japan and going through conventional vendors) could manage to get our tea the amount on the leaves which likely is already minimal will have reduced to 1/4th of what it was when it was picked, as I doubt any person in the US has ordered tea from Japan and received it in much less than 16 or so days after it is picked, and then that is really only applying to Shincha, as Sencha is stored for quite some time before being released.

[olivierco]

Although iodine 131 has a short half life, ingestion or inhalation of small doses may induce thyroid cancer.

Due to its mode of beta decay, iodine-131 is notable for causing mutation and death in cells which it penetrates, and other cells up to several millimeters away. For this reason, high doses of the isotope are sometimes paradoxically less dangerous than low doses, since they tend to kill thyroid tissues which would otherwise become cancerous as a result of the radiation.

There might be other radioactive elements to take into account but for the time being there isn't any reason not to buy Japanese greens.

[AdamMY]

Although iodine 131 has a short half life, ingestion or inhalation of small doses may induce thyroid cancer.

Due to its mode of beta decay, iodine-131 is notable for causing mutation and death in cells which it penetrates, and other cells up to several millimeters away. For this reason, high doses of the isotope are sometimes paradoxically less dangerous than low doses, since they tend to kill thyroid tissues which would otherwise become cancerous as a result of the radiation.

There might be other radioactive elements to take into account but for the time being there isn't any reason not to buy Japanese greens.

I understand that small doses may cause problems, but what I am saying is unless the situation becomes much worse, I do not see there being doses accumulating on tea leaves of any substantial possibly even measurable amount. Also one thing I forgot to take into account is, Shincha likely won't be picked for at least another month, so anything radioactive iodine that accumulates in the next 4 days will be at roughly 1/16th its initial amount by mid to late April.

[entropyembrace]

That and the radioactive Iodine 131 was detected only in Fukushima, anyone ever bought Fukushima shincha?

[olivierco]

Also one thing I forgot to take into account is, Shincha likely won't be picked for at least another month, so anything radioactive iodine that accumulates in the next 4 days will be at roughly 1/16th its initial amount by mid to late April.

You have to cumulate each day of exposure until the package is sealed or the emission of iodine stops which isn't likely to happen soon I am afraid.

So far the area of tea production is not concerned by radioactive emissions so no problem for tea. I worry much more for people still living within 100km of the nuclear plant.

[entropyembrace]

You have to cumulate each day of exposure until the package is sealed or the emission of iodine stops which isn't likely to happen soon I am afraid.

Care to explain? That doesn´t make any sense at all to me. If you seal iodine-131 in a package it still decays into stable non-radioactive Xenon-131 in a matter of days and the beta and gamma radiation does not sit around.