ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture–Heading out to sea, Junichi Sato takes medicine to control his motion sickness, a problem he never had until the 2011 tsunami killed his mother and young daughter and son. “I used to have resistance to sea sickness before my family’s boat was swept away by the tsunami,” he said. Although his family … Read more
When the Japanese refer to “the war,” they mean World War II. When they talk about “the bomb,” they mean the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Aug. 6 and 9, 1945. The event is so familiar, the contours of its tragedy are painfully etched into our collective memory. On the other hand, … Read more
NGO calls for boosting Japan-U.S. alliance to respond to Asia disasters | GlobalPost Follow us: <!– PRIMARY NAVIGATION –> Enlarge A U.S.-based nongovernmental organization called on Thursday for Japan and the United States to strengthen their security alliance by improving their humanitarian assistance capabilities so they can serve the Asia-Pacific region through disaster relief. Peace … Read more
Japan joined the talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade arrangement on Tuesday by attending a meeting in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Japan is the 12th country to join the talks. Along with agriculture, fisheries is expected to be greatly affected if Japan takes part in the TPP. Japan needs to make adequate preparations so that … Read more
SENDAI – Aiko Kin, a 59-year-old nurse in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, has been awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal by the International Committee of the Red Cross for her dedication to the victims of the 2011 quake and tsunami. Kin, deputy director and head nurse at the Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital, was among 32 nurses from … Read more
Tragedy brings two strangers together in So Kuramoto’s “Nocturne,” a play about the Great East Japan Earthquake. As Kuramoto, 78, wrote the script, his thoughts were on the people who lost family members in the tsunami. “It is a requiem for the forgotten people of Fukushima and Tohoku,” he said. Set in Minami-Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, … Read more
To preserve the memory of the March 2011 calamity for future generations, universities are collecting three-dimensional data on tsunami-ravaged buildings and other structures before they are torn down. Tohoku University and the University of Tokyo are using lasers to make precise measurements, the same method being used to document the Angkor Wat temple complex in … Read more
Japanese residents of Isobe in Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture now have a new community centre and shelter. The centre is one of four major rebuilding projects undertaken with donations from the people of Singapore, following the 2011 disaster. PHOTOS VIDEOS SINGAPORE: Japanese residents of Isobe in Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture now have a new … Read more
A front-page headline in The Chicago Sun-Times provoked debate after Saturday’s Asiana airline tragedy in San Francisco. Some who saw the tabloid’s cover took offense, contending that the headline –“Fright 214” — perpetuated the oft-used stereotype of an Asian accent. “While we at the Asian American Journalists Association are willing to give The Sun-Times the … Read more
When the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami damaged Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power site in 2011, there was too much radiation for people to enter the premises, cool the reactors and prevent subsequent explosions. But there was a way to get the job done, scientists say. Robots. “During the first 24 hours, if it had been possible … Read more