clinton vows full support for disasterhit japan
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today
Egypt Today, egypt today
Last Updated : GMT 09:07:40
Egypt Today, egypt today

Clinton vows full support for disaster-hit Japan

Egypt Today, egypt today

Egypt Today, egypt today Clinton vows full support for disaster-hit Japan

Tokyo - AFP

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged full support for quake-hit Japan on Sunday as the operator of its stricken nuclear plant said it expects to achieve "cold shutdown" in six to nine months. Japan's embattled Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) offered the timeline more than five weeks after a giant quake and tsunami hit the Fukushima Daiichi plant, which has since leaked radiation into the air, soil and sea. Clinton on a brief, largely symbolic stop in Tokyo, voiced solidarity and vowed that the United States would "do everything we can to support you as you come through this time of trial". "And we know you will emerge even stronger than before," she said after meeting Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto. Since the March 11 disaster, US forces stationed in Japan and beyond have launched a round-the-clock relief effort bringing supplies to the battered coast -- dubbed Operation Tomodachi, which means "friend" in Japanese. Prime Minister Naoto Kan later told Clinton: "We will never forget, and we will keep an enduring memory of the very robust support the United States has provided."  Clinton also highlighted the support of American business leaders and had tea with Emperor Akihito at the Imperial palace -- an unusual invitation from the monarch to a non-head of state. "I'm so, so sorry for everything your country is going through," said Clinton, who shook hands with Akihito and kissed Empress Michiko on the cheek. Clinton and Matsumoto said that they were launching a business partnership to support Japan's reconstruction on its northeastern coast, where 13,778 people have been confirmed dead and more than 14,000 are still missing. While details were vague, the heads of the US Chamber of Commerce and Japan's business lobby Nippon Keidanren said they would meet on ways that foreign companies can take part in the massive rebuilding. Washington hopes that the large-scale response can help reshape attitudes in Japan, which has been a staunch US ally for decades, but where many citizens bristle at what they see as American domination. The United States stations some 47,000 troops in Japan under a post-World War II security treaty, often leading to friction with host communities for the military bases, especially on the southern island of Okinawa. Matsumoto said America's help had enabled Japanese people to "feel secure with the Japan-US alliance, including the US military in Japan". US helicopters have flown aid missions from an aircraft carrier, marines helped clear the tsunami-ravaged Sendai airport which reopened last week, and thousands joined a search of the coastline for bodies. American nuclear experts have also helped with advice on stabilising the tsunami-hit Fukushima plant, where the US military has flown in coolants and deployed freshwater barges and fire engines to help douse hot reactors. TEPCO's chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata said at a press conference that the utility aims to cool reactors and start reducing radiation from the explosion-charred facilities within three months. Within six to nine months, TEPCO said in a statement, it expects to achieve "cold shutdowns" of all the six reactors, a stable condition in which temperatures drop and radiation leaks fall dramatically. TEPCO also said that an initial focus would be on preventing new hydrogen explosions in reactors by injecting nitrogen, and on avoiding further releases of radioactive water into the environment. Trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda said that the roadmap would help move the nuclear crisis from the emergency phase into a stabilisation phase, but he also prodded TEPCO to move faster than the roadmap suggests. In the short term, TEPCO said earlier, it would send two US-made remote controlled robots into a reactor building damaged by a hydrogen explosion to gauge radiation and temperature levels. Further north, in the tsunami-shattered town of Rikuzentakata, survivors celebrated a rite of spring as they seek to move on from the catastrophe that shattered so many lives. About 200 residents cracked open the sake, held barbecues and sang songs at a traditional "hanami" party held under blossoming cherry trees, a symbol in Japan of the fleeting beauty and fragility of life.

egypttoday
egypttoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

clinton vows full support for disasterhit japan clinton vows full support for disasterhit japan



GMT 21:06 2017 Monday ,01 May

Will Smith at all-star Jazz Day in Cuba

GMT 06:25 2017 Monday ,27 November

Bali raises volcano alert to highest level

GMT 12:45 2018 Monday ,26 November

Israeli forces close entrance of village in Ramallah

GMT 12:14 2018 Monday ,08 October

HM King congratulates Ugandan President

GMT 13:49 2017 Thursday ,17 August

Alibaba posts 94% surge in quarterly profit

GMT 08:47 2017 Saturday ,10 June

CDD responds to 236 various incidents

GMT 00:31 2015 Saturday ,16 May

Canada plans 30% CO2 emissions cut by 2030

GMT 03:31 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

‘Man-made’ climate change a major woman’s problem

GMT 10:42 2017 Thursday ,16 November

Algeria FM leaves Cairo following tripartite meeting

GMT 11:08 2017 Tuesday ,03 October

Moscow, Riyadh willing to boost cooperation
 
 Egypt Today Facebook,egypt today facebook  Egypt Today Twitter,egypt today twitter Egypt Today Rss,egypt today rss  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube  Egypt Today Youtube,egypt today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday egypttoday egypttoday
egypttoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
egypttoday, Egypttoday, Egypttoday