Below are some rough translations of online Japanese news articles about the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants.
To date government reports about the crisis have been vague and have sought to downplay the gravity of the situation. As these news reports show, the situation is worsening. I won't give much commentary about the articles because I don't know much about nuclear reactors, but if would be great if any of you readers out there can explain the implications of what the articles are saying.
From the Wall Street Journal, Japan Edition
The situation at the Fukushima Reactor gets more serious on the 14th
March 15, 2011 6:44 Japan Standard Time
The situation at the Fukushima nuclear plant worsened on the 14th, with the melting of fuel rods at one of the reactors and impediments to efforts to cool two other reactors.
Officials at the Fukushima plant announced late on the 14th that there has been at least some melting in the reactor cores at reactors 1-3 at the plant and that if the situation worsens there is a high likelihood that radiation will leak. They indicated that despite many efforts to cool the reactors the temperature inside the cores s still dangerously high.
The condition at the number two reactor, which had been stabilized, worsened on the 14th, and the same problems cooling the reactor that developed in reactors one and three. Late on the night of the 14th the fuel rods at the number two reactor were completely exposed.
Reporter: Yuka Hayashi
From Jiji dot com
Risk of a Chernobyl incident low:
No human errors at the Fukushima Nuclear plant--Director General of the IAEA
(Berlin) The International Atomic Energy Agency
Yukiya Amano, director general of the IAEA told reporters on Monday that it is unlikely that the accident would develop into another Chernobyl.
(snip)
Maybe it's just me, but this sounds like one part wishful thinking and two parts misdirection. Maybe it won't be another Chernobyl, but it will be the world's first "Fukushima."
Another one from Jiji dot com
Worse than Three Mile Island, may be a level 6 problem according to French Nuclear Safety Authority
(Paris) Director LaCoste of the The French Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) told reporters on the 14th that the seriousness of the problem at the Fukushima Daiichi plant is not as high as the worst nuclear accident in history at Chernobyl (1986) but it is worse than the accident at Three Mile Island (1979).
(snip)
From the Asahi News
Number 2 reactor at Fukushima "is not stable," according to Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano at press conference
March 15, 6:48 (JST)
At a press conference at 5:30 on the 15th Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano reported about the number 2 reactor at the Fukushima plant that "the effort to cool (the reactor core) and to add water (to the core) have had a limited effect, but it (the reactor) is by no means in a stable condition."
(snip)
There are more articles online, but the general idea is the same. The situation is getting worse, and increasingly the best sources of information are foreign. There are many articles that I did not mention or bother to translate because they are simply translations from foreign language sources.
One other comment is that the commentary in Japanese newspapers seems to be trending heavily toward the terrible blow this incident will give to Japan's image as a technological power and a safe country. This change in attitude is likely to put intense pressure on the government to be more forthcoming with information.
Update
Here is information (in Japanese) from the Asahi Shinbun on the explosion at the number 2 reactor at Fukushima.
Sound of explosion at Fukushima Daiichi number 2 reactor, radiation in area suddenly increases
March 15, 2011 8:51 JST
According to the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry Nuclear Power Safety board (hoan'in), TEPCO has reported that at 6:10 a.m. on the 15th at the number 2 reactor at Fukushima Daiichi there was a loud explosion. There is concern that the suppression pool of the the reactor core has been damaged.
TEPCO reported that all personnel not directly involved in supplying cooling water to the reactor have been evacuated.
According the the Safety board, at the entrance to the Fukushima Daiichi compound radiation levels were measued at 965 microsievert at 7 in the morning. At 8:31 a.m. measurements of radiation had increased to 8,217 microsievert
A couple of quick observations. This is the first announcement I have seen from the Ministry of Economy and Trade and Industry. Until now, they have been coming from the Meteorological Agency. Not sure what that means, but I suspect that the METI is in charge of plant safety, and the Meteorological Agency is the one that keeps an idea of spread of radiation.
Second, until now the highest level of radiation they reported was around 1000 microsievert, and that was near the reactor core. The fifture of 8,217 was made at the gate. All the measurements at the gate were under 100, so this is a huge increase in measured radiation.