Yoshiko Ota keeps her windows shut. She never hangs her laundry outdoors. Fearful of birth defects, she warns her daughters: Never have children.
This is life with radiation, nearly one year after a tsunami-hit nuclear power plant began spewing it into Ota's neighborhood, 60 km away. She's so worried that she has broken out in hives.
"The government spokesman keeps saying there are no 'immediate' health effects," the 48-year-old nursery school worker says. "He's not talking about 10 years or 20 years later. He must think the people of Fukushima are fools. (Japan Times)
'Invisible enemy' stalks Fukushima
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Tepco president renews apology
On the first anniversary of the start of the nuclear crisis, Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Toshio Nishizawa once again offered an apology and vowed every effort to keep the Fukushima No. 1 plant stable and "appropriately" compensate those affected by the accident.
"Because of the accident at our Fukushima No. 1 plant, we have caused trouble, pain and concern to residents around the plant, people in Fukushima Prefecture and all the other people in society," Nishizawa said Sunday.
He and Tepco employees observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the time the killer earthquake struck off Miyagi Prefecture a year ago and set off the events triggering the crisis.
(Japan Times)
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Antinuke protests erupt nationwide
Thousands of antinuclear protesters took to the streets of Tokyo and other cities Sunday, the first anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that triggered the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
Near the head office of Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the crippled complex, demonstrators called for the country to abandon nuclear power and restore the prefecture, where more than 100,000 residents were forced to relocate.
(Japan Times)
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An uphill struggle for food exporters
For many people around the world, food from Japan used to have an image of being among the healthiest around, let alone safe to consume.
That changed after March 11, 2011, when the massive earthquake and tsunami triggered the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, the world's worst nuclear crisis in a quarter of a century.
The spread of radioactive materials and revelations that some beef cattle and crops grown in its vicinity were contaminated with higher than normal levels of radiation prompted more than 40 countries and territories to restrict imports of food and other agricultural products from Japan, where Fukushima Prefecture was an agricultural powerhouse. (Japan Times)
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U.K., Aussie leaders offer praise, encouragement
The leaders of Britain and Australia offered words of praise and encouragement to Japan as the country on Sunday marked the one-year anniversary of the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck its northeast last March 11.
In many parts of the world, memorial ceremonies and charity concerts were held to express sympathy and support for those affected by the disaster that killed more than 15,800 people and left more than 3,100 others missing. (Japan Times)
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Japan property tycoon Minoru Mori dies at 77
Property tycoon Minoru Mori, who was one of Japan's most influential developers and built China's tallest building, has died.
Company officials said Monday that Mori, chairman of Mori Building Co., died last Thursday of heart failure. He was 77.
The company said Mori had been receiving medical treatment for some time but gave no further details.
Mori, from Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto, co-founded Mori Building with his father Taikichiro in 1959 and became president in 1993, when Japan's land prices were surging amid its "bubble" economy. (foxnews.com)
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Japanese school baseball team a symbol of recovery
One year after their lives were torn apart by the devastating earthquake and tsunami, players from Ishinomaki Technical High School are ready to compete on one of the biggest stages in Japanese baseball.
When the magnitude-9.0 earthquake hit on March 11, 2011, manager Yoshitsugu Matsumoto was leading his team through practice on the school's baseball field. Earthquakes are all too common in Japan, but like everyone who experienced that terrible day, Matsumoto knew this one was different. Within minutes, the school was transformed into an evacuation center, and it wasn't long before the same field the team was practicing on was under 4.5 feet of water. The players and Matsumoto would spend the next three days in the school before moving to a safer evacuation facility. (seattlepi.com)
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Japan, Mongolia to launch FTA talks
Japan and Mongolia are expected to agree to launch negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement when their leaders meet Monday, as the two countries mark this year the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Mongolian counterpart Sukhbaatar Batbold, who is on a six-day visit to Japan from Saturday, are also expected to agree that the two countries will boost cooperation in the development of natural resources and the peaceful use of nuclear power. (Mainichi)
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Rethinking, not just rebuilding, Japan's northeast
Harsh winds and waves lash Minamisanriku's sparsely settled coastline. Far from Tokyo's neon-lit cityscapes and Kyoto's serene gardens, this is a part of Japan you seldom hear about. It has an older population, fewer jobs, more suicides, and more tsunamis than the rest of the country.
Out of a population of more than 18,000 in Minamisanriku, the tsunami killed about a thousand; 2,000 were given temporary shelter elsewhere, and another thousand simply packed up left for good. It took the central government eight months to come up with a reconstruction budget and eleven months to create an agency to administer it. (NPR)
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One man stays to tend animals left in the radioactive zone
There is only one human left living in the silent radioactive zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant: a 53-year-old farmer who stayed to care for the animals abandoned there.
Naoto Matsumura has spent the last year in an eerie ghost town, making do without electricity, running water or human company.
"I don't get bored," he tells the space-suited reporters who seek him out. "There are lots of animals here, so I'm never really alone." A modern day Robinson Crusoe, Matsumura has become something of a folk hero to animal lovers around the world. He spends his days feeding 400 cows, 60 pigs, more than hundred cats and dogs, and one vivacious female ostrich named "Boss." (New York Daily News)
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Japan PCs may be linked to crime / Illegally exported computers possibly used in N. Korean cyber-attacks
A Tokyo-based secondhand computer dealer illegally exported 1,800 personal computers and liquid-crystal displays to a Pyongyang organization which may have been involved in cyber-attacks against South Korean and U.S. websites, according to investigation sources.
The Metropolitan Police Department's Public Safety Department suspects the 1,800 units, exported in June 2009, were used in attacks against governmental organizations and banks' websites in both countries, in events that occurred the following month. (Yomiuri)
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Turns out Siri isn't fluent in Japanese
Apple has the personal assistant Siri. DoCoMo, a major mobile service provider in Japan, has the Syabette Concier. With the Japanese version of Siri being recently introduced, one man on YouTube tested the two voice controlled assistants to see how they differ.
The man speaks out in Japanese to both Smarthphones at the same to see the reactions for each devices. Aside from Siri's inabilities to interpret certain vague phrases or comprehend uncommon Japanese phrases, its loading time is far longer than the Syabette Concier.
(Kotaku)
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Japan's stocks in favour thanks to weaker currency
One year after the earthquake and the subsequent tsunami and disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant, it seems investors are taking a liking to Japanese shares, pushing the benchmark Nikkei 225 Index up as much as 16 per cent so far this year.
In contrast, the US S&P 500 has risen by only just over 8 per cent this year, while Australia's S&P 200 Index is slightly down.
The factor driving Japan's stockmarket is the weakness in the yen, according to Sam Ferraro, a senior strategist with Goldman Sachs. Importantly for investors, Goldman predicts that further windfalls are possible from Japanese stocks. (The Australian)
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3 Japanese automakers and the aftermath of the earthquake
A year ago, the world was just realizing the devastation that the March 11 earthquake had caused along the east coast of Japan. After weeks and months unfolded, it became starkly clear that the Japanese auto industry had taken a devastating blow.
As the cleanup continues, Japan's auto industry - and its three biggest carmakers - are still suffering from the aftermath. Japanese automakers have yet to fully recover the American market share that they lost when production was disrupted by the crisis. March, 2011, actually was one of the strongest months in recent times for Japanese carmakers in the United States, according to figures compiled for Forbes.com by Autodata. (Forbes)
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Japanese prime minister apologizes for snub of Taiwan
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Monday he was sorry when asked why a Taiwanese representative was not called to present flowers at a ceremony a day earlier marking the first anniversary of last year's horrific earthquake and tsunami.
Noda said Taiwan warmly extended assistance in the wake of the calamity and if Japan had hurt Taiwan, he felt truly sorry and promised to reflect on his actions for not being more considerate.
(focustaiwan.tw)
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Ozawa portrait hung at Diet with other old-timers
A portrait of former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, who is on trial for allegedly breaking the political funds law, was displayed in the Diet on Monday.
According to the Lower House, lawmakers who have been in office for over 25 years are permitted to have their portrait displayed in the Diet.
First elected in 1969, Ozawa has been a lawmaker for 43 years. (Japan Times)
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Sumo: Baruto dismisses Yoshikaze with ease
The only thing Baruto's would-be opponent was missing was a pacifier and some strap-on diapers.
Estonia-born ozeki Baruto heaved out Yoshikaze in what amounted to child's play Monday, continuing his bid for yokozuna with a powerful display on the second day of the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament.
The pintsized Yoshikaze (0-2) never had a prayer against the goliath, who got both hands on the back of his opponent's belt and lifted him over with seeming ease from the center of the ring at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. (Japan Times)
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Man arrested after bodies of wife, son found in car trunk
Police in Tomakomai, Hokkaido, have arrested a man on suspicion of killing his wife and son and dumping their bodies in the trunk of a car.
According to police, the man, who has been named as 55-year-old Shinichi Nakamura, is accused of dumping the bodies of his 42-year-old wife, Rie, and his 10-year-old son, Hibiki, in the trunk of a car on Sunday at around 10 a.m., Fuji TV reported.
Police say the discovery was made after the man's mother filed a missing person's report. Nakamura's mother has been unable to contact any member of the family since March 4.
(Japan Today)
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Mom who starved her kids faces life
Prosecutors demanded a life prison sentence Monday for a 24-year-old woman accused of killing her children by leaving them unattended at her apartment in Osaka in 2010.
In their closing argument at the Osaka District Court lay judge trial, the prosecutors said that because the 3-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son starved to death, the defendant, Sanae Shimomura, committed "unprecedentedly cruel child abuse."
Shimomura, for her part, told the court she would live for the rest of her life without being able to atone for the deaths of her children.
(Japan Times)
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Prosecutors seek noose for alleged triple boyfriend killer
Prosecutors demanded the death penalty Monday for a woman charged with killing three ex-boyfriends in 2009 and disguising their deaths as carbon monoxide poisonings.
In their closing arguments at the lay judge trial presided over by Kazuyuki Okuma at the Saitama District Court, prosecutors said Kanae Kijima, 37, has shown no remorse over the deaths.
Kijima pleaded not guilty. She said the men either committed suicide after arguing with her over their breakups, or died by accident. (Japan Times)
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