With all the excitement about Japan's soaring stock market (if plunging wages), crashing non-digital currency (leading to soaring energy prices), recent passage of an arbitrary secrecy bill ("Designed by Kafka & Inspired By Hitler"), and ongoing territorial spat with China, it is almost as if the Abe administration is desperately doing everything in its power, including some of the most ridiculous decisions taken by a government in recent history, to hide some key development behind the scenes. Such as this one perhaps: NHK reported today that TEPCO said radiation levels are extremely high in an area near a ventilation pipe at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. TEPCO found radiation of 25 sieverts an hour on a duct, which connects reactor buildings and the 120-meter-tall ventilation pipe.

Putting this number in context the estimated radiation level is the highest ever detected outside reactor buildings. People exposed to this level of radiation would die within 20 minutes.



The exhaust pipe in question was used to release radioactive gases following the outbreak of the accident 2 years ago.



TEPCO says radioactive substances could remain inside the pipes. Given TEPCO's safety record, they could also leak outside of the pipes. And given the company's "credibility" the world would be sure to learn about this... anywhere between 2 and 3 years after the fact.

In the meantime, we urge Japan to follow the bouncing, and so pleasantly distracting, Topix and Nikkei 225 balls, while sticking its head in the glow in the dark sand and completely ignore the radioactive monster in the closet.

From NHK:

... Which reminds us: on Thursday the following headline hit the Bloomberg tape:

FUKUSHIMA RADIATION TO REACH U.S. COAST AT SAFE LEVEL: NRC

We are sure it is nothing, and the NRC is telling the truth.