Ukraine Donates Japan Dosimeters, Masks As Radiation Fears Persist

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine is donating radiation measuring devices and gas masks to Japan as it battles the world’s worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl explosion in the former Soviet territory 25 years ago.

Ukraine’s government will supply 2,000 personal dosimeters and radiometers and 1,000 gas masks on Aug. 4 “at the request of the Japanese leadership,” the Ukrainian embassy in Tokyo said today in an e-mailed statement.

A ceremony for the handover will be held on Aug. 9 in Fukushima city.

Nearly five months after an earthquake and tsunami wrecked the Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear station, public anxiety over radiation is rising as cases of food contamination increase.

The concerns are compounded by a shortage of Geiger counters, also known as dosimeters.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. yesterday reported a reading of 10 sieverts per hour at the damaged plant, which is the maximum reading on the Geiger counter used at the site and the highest since the disaster began.

A single dose of 10 sieverts would kill a person “within a few weeks,” according to the World Nuclear Association website.

Tepco, as the utility is also known, has been criticized by the government for withholding radiation data and undermining public trust.

Radiation leaks from the Fukushima reactors have spread over 600 square kilometers and 160,000 people have been evacuated from near the plant.

Land of rising investments

A flurry of energy deals have been signed during Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's visit to Japan this week in a sign that Russia needs greater cooperation in developing its enormous energy resources and increasing its exports.
Irkutsk Oil and the state-owned Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (Jogmec) signed a deal on Tuesday to form a joint venture to develop two fields in Eastern Siberia. So far Japan has lagged behind other Asian investors, particularly China, in developing the natural resources geographically close to it.
Japan imports 80 per cent of its oil from Saudi Arabia, but investing in Russian fields could help lower costs as well as expanding its own energy industry.
"Japan needs to take a more active role, particularly in Eastern Siberia," said Valery Nesterov, oil and gas analyst at Troika Dialog.
Although production this year has increased slightly, some of Russia's smaller oil and gas fields are becoming depleted and to develop new ones they are appealing to Japan for investment.
"Russia is trying to attract more technologically advanced companies to develop the smaller ones to maintain a stable gross output level," said Pavel Sorokin, oil and gas analyst at Unicredit Aton.
Output from some of Russia's largest fields is also falling and companies are now looking to Japan for more investment as it has both the technical expertise and funding to develop some of the larger reserves.
"Japan, a country in sharp need of hydrocarbons, has both the intention and finance to develop the fields, giving us the required combination which the Russian government is rightly trying to put to use," said Sorokin.
Despite the necessity of securing increased foreign investment, Russia is in an awkward position as the government wants to keep hold of key assets. Jogmec was limited by law to only purchasing 49 per cent of the joint venture with Irkutsk Oil as the fields are considered to be strategically important.
"The understanding from Japanese companies is that Russia wants to limit foreign participation so they only invest in small projects," said Nesterov.
Gazprom also signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan about exploring gas projects in Eastern Russia. The company's CEO, Alexei Miller, told reporters that they would explore ways to process the gas near Vladivostok to supply Asia-Pacific countries.
The recent gas dispute with Ukraine and the fact that the Western European market is saturated has made the Russian monopolist look for other customers.
"Gazprom has been seeking to diversify its export routes for many years," said Natalya Milchakova, senior oil and gas analyst at financial company Otkritie. "On the one hand, transit problems are forcing Gazprom to look for a new market, but we believe that they are only a trigger for such a decision."
A pipeline between Sakhalin and Vladivostok scheduled to be built by 2011 will increase potential supplies to both Japan and China on the Asia-Pacific coast. Russia is also looking to expand its liquid natural gas (LNG) exports and Japan is expected to become one of the main consumers.
The "export of Russian LNG to Japan is currently in the project stage. Nevertheless, it is a very promising project, as global LNG demand, according to IEA estimates, could triple by 2015," said Milchakova.
Gazprom also announced that they are starting to develop the Sakhalin-3 field and will be looking for partners. Priority will be given to Royal Dutch Shell and two Japanese companies, Mitsui and Mitsubishi, because of their participation in the Sakhalin-2 project.
Talks will also be held on the future of the Kuril Islands near Sakhalin, which have been disputed territory since World War II, although it is unlikely that these tensions will affect business negotiations.
"In our opinion, these tensions could hinder some transactions; however, if Japan has an urgent requirement for LNG, the pragmatism in Russian-Japanese relations should prevail over old offences and emotions," said Milchakova.

Ukraine Asks Japan For $5 Billion Dollar Loan

KIEV, Ukraine -- Japan is considering the possibility of granting 5-billion-dollar loan to Ukraine. According to Bogdan Danilishin, the Minister of Economics of Ukraine, this issue was discussed during the talks between Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Japan’s Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano and Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso.
He also said Tymoshenko told Kaoru Yosano that Kiev hopes to deepen economic ties with Japan, which has a competitive edge over high-tech industries and energy conservation areas.This week Japan is likely to send its experts to Ukraine to define the terms of the loan."We have an agreement that this credit can be given on even more favorable conditions than IMF’s conditions," Bogdan Danilishin said.At the same time Yulia Tymoshenko dismissed reports that the country had taken on a begging role in negotiations with other countries and international organizations amid the current financial crisis."I would like to refute statements that Ukraine has taken on the role of a beggar," the premier told journalists on return from a visit to Japan, adding "Ukraine and Japan are building cooperation. There is no begging here."Ukraine has been hit hard by the global economic crisis with its currency, the hryvnia, depreciating 50% since September.Kiev received the first installment of $4.5 billion as part of a $16.43 billion IMF loan in November 2008, however, further payments have been delayed over the country's inability to prove to the IMF that Kiev is capable of reducing its budget deficit.Earlier it was reported that Ukraine had applied to Russia for a $5 billion loan to pay for natural gas deliveries.