Japan's quake defenses not enough, official reports warn

[bananas]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/01/us-japan-earthquake-idUSBRE82U05920120401

Japan's quake defenses not enough, official reports warn

By Antoni Slodkowski

TOKYO | Sun Apr 1, 2012 6:54am EDT

(Reuters) - Japan's defenses against a major tsunami and the safety of its nuclear plants were thrown into further doubt after two official studies predicted much higher waves could hit and that Tokyo quake damage could be bigger than it was prepared for.

The reports, carried in the media over the weekend, are likely to intensify the debate about whether to restart Japan's 54 nuclear reactors, all but one of which are shut amid public fears about nuclear safety sparked by the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.

One report said a quake as big as the one that rocked Japan in 2011 could trigger waves topping 34 meters (112 feet), almost double its previous estimate made in 2003 when its worst scenario forecast tsunami of no more than 20 meters (66 feet).

The Cabinet Office panel which authored the report, revised its predictions after one of the biggest tremors on record struck Japan last year, setting off a tsunami that topped 20 meters in the worst-affected areas and triggering the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years.

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