Japan Defense Ministry rejected Prime Minister's attempt to double "allowable" doses for emergency workers

The Mainichi Daily News has reported that an attempt by Prime Minister Kan and his Fukushima Daiichi czar Hosono to raise emergency workers' "permissible" radiation dose to 50 rem per year was rejected outright by the Japan Defense Ministry, whose Self-Defense Forces were serving on the front line of battling to contain the nuclear catastrophe. One Defense Ministry official observed that cancer rates would increase after 50 rem exposures, and reportedly said "There's no way we're going through with such a stupid plan." The article also reported that at 50 rems of exposure, "lymphocyte counts in the bloodstream drop significantly, weakening the immune system." The Defense Ministry stood firm that unless another explosion was imminent, no further increase to "allowable" doses should be permitted. The standard had already been raised from 10 rem to 25 rem per year due to the emergency. Under normal circumstances, U.S. nuclear workers are "only" allowed to receive 5 rems of exposure per year; German nuclear workers, only 2 rems of exposure annually. The Prime Minister's team backed down.