Japan

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Quake Sent Japan Back Into Recession

Exports, domestic spending hit hard by disasters

(Newser) - More misery for Japan: The triple disasters that struck the country in March sent the country's economy sliding into its second recession in three years, according to the latest government figures. The earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis disrupted production and caused a collapse in consumer spending, reports the BBC...

Climber Dies 835 Feet From Everest's Peak

Takashi Ozaki became ill during climb

(Newser) - A Japanese mountaineer has died tragically close to Mount Everest’s peak. While attempt to reach the 29,035-foot summit, Takashi Ozaki, 59, became ill; he was headed down the slopes when he collapsed at a height of 28,200 feet, the AP reports. Ozaki, who’d been scaling the...

Workers Venture Back Into Exploded Reactor

They're attempting to use ventilation system to clear radioactive air

(Newser) - Workers entered one of the damaged reactor buildings at Japan's stricken nuclear power plant today for the first time since it was rocked by an explosion in the days after a devastating earthquake, the country's nuclear safety agency said. They'll attempt to connect ventilation equipment in Unit...

Japanese Gadget Allows Long-Distance Smooching

Tech students design boxes for online kissing

(Newser) - In a long-distance relationship? Now you don’t need an airplane to kiss your partner: Japanese students have created a gadget for online snogging. The device looks like a box with a straw attached. One kisser turns the straw with his tongue, prompting the straw on the other end of...

Livid Parents Give Officials Bag of Radioactive Dirt

Fukushima parents angered by decision to raise radiation exposure levels

(Newser) - Parents outraged by the Japanese government's decision to raise the acceptable radiation exposure for children 20-fold presented government ministers in Tokyo with a bag of radioactive dirt from a school playground. The government says the move to increase the safety level from one to 20 millisieverts per year is...

Japan's Auto Sales Plummet 51%

Quake-prompted parts shortage leads to largest plunge in history

(Newser) - Japan saw auto sales drop 51% in April compared to sales a year earlier, the biggest plunge since record-keeping began in 1968. The earthquake- and tsunami-prompted parts shortage squeezed production and dealers’ supplies; just 108,824 vehicles sold last month. Toyota was the hardest-hit, with sales sinking 68.7% to...

S&amp;P Downgrades Japan, Too
 S&P Downgrades Japan, Too 
Apr 27, 2011 8:24 AM CDT

S&P Downgrades Japan, Too

Rating agency fears cost of rebuilding will damage country's finances

(Newser) - Looks like the US has some company: Standard & Poor’s has downgraded Japan’s credit outlook to negative, much as it did for the US last week. In Japan’s case the culprit is, of course, the earthquake and tsunami, which S&P believes could cost the government as...

Japan Launching Massive Recovery Mission

Soldiers aim to retrieve bodies from land and sea

(Newser) - Japan will begin an extensive recovery mission tomorrow, sending almost 25,000 soldiers into the disaster zone to look for the bodies of last month’s earthquake and tsunami victims. About 14,300 people are confirmed dead, but another 12,000 are still missing and presumed killed, the AP reports....

Pope Talks Japan, Iraq in Rare TV Chat

First time Benedict has used television to speak directly with public

(Newser) - Pope Benedict XVI marked Good Friday by holding his first-ever televised question-and-answer session. “In His Image” aimed to update the Catholic Church’s image as the pope offered prerecorded responses to questions from around the world. Among the seven questioners was a 7-year-old in Japan, who asked why her...

Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies
 Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies 
Apr 16, 2011 6:20 AM CDT

Japan: Here, Eat Some Veggies

They're good for you, not oozing radiation

(Newser) - Japan has become the latest ardent convert of the locavore movement, reports the Washington Post, launching a public relations blitz intent on convincing its citizenry that produce fresh from the nuclear-contaminated Fukushima prefecture is safe, even yummy. The government even opened a restaurant yesterday, making a show of high-ranking politicians...

TEPCO Must Pay Fukushima Evacuees

Families will receive about $12K each as compensation

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric Power Co. has been ordered to pay evacuees a little something for their troubles—"little" being the operative word, complain many. Starting April 28, each family will receive about $12,000; individuals will get about $9,000, the AP reports. While some say it's a good...

Japanese Suffering 'Earthquake Sickness'

Aftershocks expected to continue for up to 10 years

(Newser) - As aftershocks from the devastating March 11 earthquake continue to rock Japan, doctors say they been treating large numbers of people suffering from "earthquake sickness." Sufferers sometimes think the ground is shaking even when it isn't; other symptoms include dizziness and anxiety. Doctors liken the feeling of "...

Japan Nuke Crisis Raised to Chernobyl Level

Fukushima Dai-ichi may have spilled more radiation than thought

(Newser) - Japan has decided to raise the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear disaster from 5 to 7, according to government sources, a severity level only previously seen in Chernobyl, reports Kyodo News. The country's Nuclear Safety Commission today found that at times after the breach, the plant was emitting some 10,000 terabecquerels...

New Radiation High Found in Milk ... in Arkansas

Iodine-131 in Little Rock is 3 times higher than EPA 'max containment level'

(Newser) - The levels of radiation detected in milk tested in Little Rock, Ark., are the highest yet, according to data released by the EPA on Saturday. The level of iodine-131 in the milk was three times higher than the EPA's "maximum containment level" set for safe exposure. But the milk...

Tsunami Warning Follows New 7.1 Quake in Japan
 Another 7.1 Quake Hits Japan 
UPDATED
Apr 11, 2011 4:02 AM CDT

Another 7.1 Quake Hits Japan

On one-month anniversary of massive shaker

(Newser) - A fresh tsunami warning has been issued in Japan following a powerful 7.1-magnitude aftershock off the northeast coast today. Tokyo's international airport was shut briefly and shoppers at an electronics store in central Sendai screamed and raced outside, but returned after a short time when windows stopped rattling, reports...

Japan Earthquake Sends 'Island' of Debris to Hawaii, US West Coast
 'Island' of Earthquake 
 Debris Headed for US 
in case you missed it
Apr 10, 2011 6:09 AM CDT

'Island' of Earthquake Debris Headed for US

Tires, cars, and human remains to wash up in Hawaii, west coast

(Newser) - If oceanographers are right, a veritable island of cars, houses, human remains, and other debris from Japan’s earthquake will soon wash ashore in Hawaii, and from there travel to the west coast of the US. Using computer models developed by tracking buoys across the ocean, researchers at the University...

Fukushima Endgame: Years, a Fortune Away

Will likely take decades to decommission nuke plant

(Newser) - The day when radiation stops spilling out of Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi is still unknown, but it'll be at least a decade and millions of dollars beyond that by the time the nuclear plant is decommissioned, reports the AP. That's the timeline from Toshiba, which built four of the six reactors,...

Team Weighs Mammoth Task: Dismantling Reactors

Planning begins as stabilizing efforts continue at Fukushima

(Newser) - It could be months or years before authorities have simply stabilized Japan’s nuclear crisis, but Japanese and American engineers are already teaming up to figure out how to dismantle the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant’s reactors. Toshiba and Westinghouse are among the firms planning the gargantuan task: Never before have...

Little Damage Reported After New Japan Quake
 2 Killed in Japan Aftershock 
UPDATED
Apr 7, 2011 11:54 PM CDT

2 Killed in Japan Aftershock

All appears normal at Fukushima plant after 7.1-magnitude quake

(Newser) - Thursday's 7.1-magnitude aftershock killed at least two people in Japan and injured dozens more as it shook Japan's battered northeast but the Fukushima nuclear plant was spared, reports AP. The aftershock knocked out power at three other nuclear plants, but backup systems kicked in, notes the New York Times...

How Japan Quake Liquefied a Town 200 Miles Away

Urayasu dealing with warped streets, tilted buildings

(Newser) - Urayasu lies 200 miles south of the Japan earthquake epicenter, far from the danger zone—so why are residents relieving themselves in plastic bags while waiting for their sewage, water, and gas services to be restored? Though no buildings fell and no tsunami hit in this seaside town on March...

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