This report presents scientific and technical aspects of human health issues related to the damage to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) caused by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 2011. It includes an appendix of useful links.

The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. This report discusses concerns about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources.

This report briefly discusses the March 11, 2001 earthquake off the east coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. The earthquake caused an automatic shutdown of eleven of Japan's fifty-five operating nuclear power plants, though the plants closest to the earthquake's epicenter, Fukushima and Onagawa, were damaged by the earthquake and resulting tsunami. This report also discusses efforts by the United States and other countries to provide assistance to Japan to deal with the nuclear crisis.

This report presents background information and discusses potential issues for Congress relating to U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) efforts in the Asia-Pacific region. These efforts pose several potential policy, funding, and oversight issues for Congress. Decisions that Congress makes on these issues could affect U.S. defense funding requirements and military capabilities, and U.S. relations with countries in the Asia Pacific region, including China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, and Australia.

This report discusses the effects of the possible entry of Japan to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. The TPP issue presents both risks and opportunities for the United States and Japan. On the one hand, it could reinvigorate an economic relationship that has remained steady but stagnant, by forcing the two countries to address long-standing, difficult issues, and allowing them to raise their relationship to a higher level. On the other hand, failure to do so could indicate that the underlying problems are too fundamental to overcome and could set back the relationship.

The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. Concerns arose about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources.

The massive Tohoku earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011, caused extensive damage in northeastern Japan, including damage to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power installation, which resulted in the release of radiation. This report discusses concerns which have arisen about the potential effects of this released radiation on the U.S. marine environment and resources.

This report presents data regarding the persons killed, missing, and buildings totally or partially damaged after the disaster in Japan. The report discusses the economic impact the disaster had on Japan and the impact on U.S. imports from and exports to Japan.

From Abstract: "The approach to the problem has been as fundamental as possible with emphasis on quantitative measurements and calculations of the energy, angular, and spatial distributions of weapons radiations in an air-over-ground geometry. Spatial distributions of dose in various shields, including Japanese dwellings, have been measured. Techniques have been developed in Japan for verifying the location of survivors and accurately describing their shielding environments."

This report discusses the U.S.-Japan alliance, which has evolved in response to changes in Japanese defense policies and the regional security environment in East Asia.

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American companies are facing increased competitive pressures from foreign firms. Many observers feel that U.S. firms lag behind their foreign competitors in the development, application, and marketing of new technologies and techniques. The Japanese industrial enterprise is characterized by a large proportion of private sector financing and many other factors, which this report analyzes at length. The question being debated by Congress is whether or not U.S. government programs and policies are an acceptable and effective means of supporting the efforts of American industries to operate in a manner consistent with success in world markets.

The Clinton Administration and the 103rd Congress are in the early stages of a major review of U.S. trade, international and security relations with Japan, the principal U.S. ally and trading partner in Asia. A number of recent developments have raised tensions in this mutually beneficial relationship, which is still characterized by deepening economic interdependence and close political and security cooperation. These include the end of the Cold War, which has eliminated a common military threat; the recent renewed rise in Japan's trade surplus after several years of decline; and increasing international assertiveness by Japan, sometimes in conflict with U.S. policy.

Congressional policymaking with respect to trade with Japan is driven by strong domestic interests, appeals to broad political principles, and numerous horror stories. The $43 billion U.S. trade deficit with Japan continues to be a focus of attention, but the deficit is an issue because it reflects aggressive competition between Japanese companies and U.S. industries.

This report discusses issues regarding U.S.-Japan economic relations, since the economic condition of each nation can affect the world economy and a U.S.-Japan bilateral economic relationship could influence economic conditions in other countries. U.S. and Japanese leaders have several options on how to manage their relationship.

This report presents data regarding the persons killed, missing, and buildings totally or partially damaged after the disaster in Japan. The report discusses the economic impact the disaster had on Japan and the impact on U.S. imports from and exports to Japan.

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