This won't be a very long diary, because there have only been a few reports out for a few hours.
Japanese authorities have detected radioactive cesium in levels considered above acceptable levels in rice grown in Fukushima province, and have decided to issue their first ban on the shipment of rice grown in the region.
Rice is a staple in Japan, and the Japanese are extremely protective of homegrown rice and domestic rice farmers.
The amount of radioactivity found in the rice is just above acceptable limits and so far only affects a relatively small amount of the national rice crop.
Here are a few excerpts of breaking news reports:
http://www.google.com/...
Japan bans Fukushima rice for radiation
By Shingo Ito (AFP) – 5 hours ago
TOKYO — Japan on Thursday announced its first ban on rice produced near the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant after samples showed radioactive contamination well above legal limits.
The findings will further worry nervous consumers, already fretting over the safety of domestic produce, despite its previous solid safety reputation.
Authorities in Fukushima prefecture say rice produced near the stricken atomic power plant contained caesium they measured at 630 becquerels per kilogram (2.2 pounds). The government safety limit is 500 becquerels.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura ordered Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato to restrict shipments of rice from Onami -- from where the samples were sourced -- according to an agricultural ministry official.
From Japan Today:
http://www.japantoday.com/...
Gov't eyes Fukushima rice ban after high level of cesium detected
National Nov. 17, 2011 - 04:40PM JST ( 57 )
TOKYO —
The government is expected to announce its first ban on rice sales in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster after samples of rice grown in Onami town in Fukushima Prefecture showed radioactive contamination above the government-set safety limit, officials said Thursday.
Onami is situated 57 kilometers northwest of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The findings will further worry nervous consumers, already fretting over the safety of domestic produce, despite its previous solid reputation.
Authorities in Fukushima Prefecture say rice grown near the stricken nuclear power plant contained cesium they measured at 630 becquerels per kilogram. The government safety limit is 500 becquerels.
And from Kyodo News:
http://english.kyodonews.jp/...
Japan mulling banning cesium-tainted rice shipments from Fukushima
TOKYO, Nov. 17, Kyodo
The Japanese government is considering banning shipments of cesium-contaminated rice from the Onami area in the city of Fukushima that was affected by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Thursday.
''We're considering restricting shipments of rice harvested in the Onami area in the city of Fukushima...and we'll draw a conclusion swiftly,'' Fujimura, the government's top spokesman, said at a press conference.
Excessive levels of radioactive cesium were found Wednesday in rice harvested in the area, the first time such levels of the isotope have been detected in the national staple since the crisis erupted at the Fukushima nuclear power station, crippled by the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami.