Via Reuters

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/06/us-nuclear-japan-idUSBRE84405820120506

From the report it seems that the shutdowns may be temporary (but they gave no indication directly in the piece).   Its sad in that Japan Inc. is getting its ass handed by faster moving companies in Korea, China, even Britian with ARM holdings.  This shutdown, and the subsequent power issues that Japan may face is just another slap in the face of a society whose better days are pretty much behind them.

That's sad that Japan is going through these hardships. :/
But they are a strong country, hopefully they will pull through.

They're a hardworking country, so I'm sure they will pull out of these situations.

Dumb, dumb move. Either they'll pay through the nose in oil and coal or face massive summer brownouts. Likely both

One of the factions of the environmentalist movement (one that i mostly am very much in support of) that i have never been able to reconcile with is anti-nuclear, which does seem to be one of the more controversial groups within the environmentalist scene (that is, controversial amongst environmentalists)

It does seem that the Japanese consumer electronics sector is wavering badly, but their fundamentals are powerful, with R&D knowhow and educational strength being some of the best on the planet. They've got the knowledge in a knowledge economy, they just need to better-leverage it.