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Last year's nuclear disaster in Japan has caused a lot of controversy within the country about whether to continue using nuclear energy or not. There seems to be some miscommunication between government officials and the common citizens too. I personally think nuclear energy should be studied and used more than it is already, but with last years events I can understand why some people would be wary of this technology.

Hopefully, for the sake of the future of nuclear power, they do not abandon their nuclear plants but I agree with the idea that it's a political move made by the current office to avoid the loss of votes. I wonder what their ultimate alternative to nuclear energy would be if they did abandon the plants? Maybe they would resort to more solar power use as is becoming popular in Southeast Asia according to an above article.

I agree that Japanese officials are being conservative when it comes to the issue of nuclear energy or any type of energy. I think going away from nuclear energy is not a great idea. I remember we talked about France in class about how they have nuclear energy and there wasn't much nuclear waste or pollution. I know France was ranked 15 but I assume Japan would be ranked higher since they said "Japan has to import most - around 96 percent - of its energy, primarily in the form of fossil fuels. That is expensive as well as harmful to the environment." in the article. In addition going away from nuclear energy will leave Japan behind in energy programs. Like we talked about in class the planets natural resources are becoming scarce. So if Japan thinks about the future I believe they would try to improve their nuclear energy programs.

An computer at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency was infected with a virus, and it might have had information about their new rocket taken from it. If data about the rocket, Epsilon, and the other rockets being developed along with it was taken, the mission to launch them next year has been compromised. Japan is hoping to compete against the space programs of the U.S., China, and Russia, so this would be a major setback for them.

There was relatively little damage as a result of this earthquake, and one major reason is the system Japan has been implementing since 2004 for early warning; in the analysis given by Jason Palmer, he mentions that many citizens received warnings on their mobile phones several seconds before the quake reached them, allowing them a few seconds to move toward a safer location.

Tensions are rising as we approach the rocket launch window given by North Korea; the United States has moved ships into the area, and Japan has already ordered its military to shoot at any debris or rocket passing their air space. Even China, one of North Korea's only allies, has called on them to cancel their rocket test.

It is interesting and somewhat frightening that the North Korean government would launch rockets without the permission of not only America but China and even Japan as well. It seems that even through globalization and the development of a multipolar world, opposition to the majority is still plentiful.

Two major corporations in Japan has just formed a partnership. Stratus Technologies and Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology Corporation announced on October 2nd that they will be merging and working together ftServers. Now they they are combined and sharing information the new servers it is easier to access information needed from the host system. ftServers is run on Linux, which is a sort of open source software for development and distribution. They will also use ftservers in their products.

This is an article detailing the debates over fishery quotas in Japan and other countries. It reminds me about the issues of over-fishing that were brought up in "Seasick". This has been a serious issue for awhile, but it appears as if fishing organizations are ready to listen to science and set reasonable limits. Hopefully all nations affected will be able to reach an agreement.

Not only can over-fishing create bigger issues such as the overall condition of marine life, but it seems as if a lot of resources would need to be used in order to regulate illegal fishing. For instance, in order to regulate the industry, given the vast size of the ocean, numerous personnel and boats would be required. The boats would also require fuel (carbon emissions) to function. This does not even include the likely aerial surveillance and training requirements for personnel etc..