Radiation leak from Japan is low risk to US, says Obama

Radiation from Japan’s damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is expected to reach California by Friday. However, President Obama said the levels of radiation are not expected to be high enough to be cause for concern.

"We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it's the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska or U.S. territories," Obama said at a press conference on Thursday.

Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi power plant was damaged after a 9.0 magnitude earthquake stuck off shore on March 11, 2011. Massive damage from the tsunami that follow has left more than 6,000 reported dead and more than 15,000 remain missing.

There are six nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant. Two were off line when a 9.0 magnitude earthquake hit Japan last Friday, but are at risk of releasing radiation through spent fuel rods. Explosions have occurred at the other reactors, and  the core in reactor number 3 has “begun to meltdown,” according to the Denver Post.

Six party talks: Economics prompts China promote peace on Korean Peninsula

China has a vested financial interest in preserving peace between North and South Korea and it is rooted in economics. Trade interests in the region reach farther than China and the Korea’s; Japan, Russia and the United States also rely on their Asian partners to keep imports and exports moving. At a time when world economies are still struggling through recession, disruption of trade through war or United Nations imposed sanctions on North and South Korea can only worsen fragile recoveries.

As one of America’s most important trading partners, China has stepping in to propose an emergency meeting among six nations, who’s economies rely on uninterrupted trade with the Korea’s. The six-party talks will include; Japan, Russia, North and South Korea, China, and the United States.

In addition to stabilizing tensions between North and South Korea, the six-party talks will address, “advancing denuclearization on the peninsula and safeguarding peace and stability on the peninsula and in northeast Asia,” according to a CNN report.

Economically, China cannot survive without the United States, Russia, Japan and the Korea’s. The same holds true in the reverse. We are living in a time when international trade is so intertwined, more than one nation can be severely hurt by the disruption of another. And if one falls, the others know they will follow.