I have a passion for Japanese culture
What really happened on March 11? How have the lives of the victims changed since the tragedy? What are their futures? NHK is to broadcast a “NHK Special” documentary series on NHK General TV for nine days beginning on March 3 to mark the first anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake. It will use the extensive footage and stories it has gathered since the disaster in the search for answers and to look toward a more optimistic future. The lineup is as follows: ◆3rd March (Sat) “FUKUSHIMA - Witnesses to a Nuclear Disaster” The interim report into the Fukushima nuclear disaster by a government-commissioned panel spared neither Tokyo Electric Power Company nor the Japanese government from blame. The program will investigate the causes of the accident and the failures that contributed to the worst nuclear accident in 25 years through the accounts of government officials, TEPCO workers and local residents. ◆4th March (Sun) “The Great East Japan Earthquake – A Chronicle “ This program will use footage taken on March 11 from across Japan to analyze the triggers of the huge earthquake and the powerful tsunami that followed. It will also examine what might have been done to reduce the number of lives that were lost. ◆5th March (Mon) “Minamisoma - Living on the frontline of a nuclear disaster” Southern side of the community of Minamisoma lies within the 20-km evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, but the government has decided that residents of other parts of the town can return to their homes. As residents ask themselves whether they should leave or stay, the program examines the wavering emotions of people living on the frontline of the disaster. ◆6th March (Tue) “The 38 minutes - Testament of a Mega-Tsunami” An NHK reporter based in Kamaishi filmed the tsunami as it engulfed the seaside town over a period of 38 minutes. The program follows the 174 survivors captured in that footage, gathering witnesses’ accounts of moments that decided life and death as well as their subsequent experiences, making it an unparalleled account of the mega-tsunami. ◆7th March (Wed) “Winter in Otsuchi – Life on the Edge” The town of Otsuchi lost 1,400 of its residents in the disaster. Those whose homes were destroyed are enduring the bitter winter of Iwate in modest temporary housing. Life is tough. Many are taken ill and others suffer from depression, with some losing all hope for the future. Through the activities of volunteers, the program records the new crisis that threatens Otsuchi. ◆8th March (Thurs) Program on Nuclear Crisis (Title to be confirmed) ◆9th March (Fri) “ Never Give Up - Revival of Kesennuma’s High Street” The high street in the seaside town of Kesennuma, which was devastated by the powerful tsunami, is still partly under water where the land subsided. Reconstruction seemed a forlorn hope, but determined local residents have rallied. The program follows the struggles of local shopkeepers in the run-up to the day they reopened their shops in a temporary housing area. ◆10th March (Sat) “Battle of a Beleaguered City Hall – Minamisanriku’s long road to recovery” Reconstruction is a difficult business; finding the right place for a relocated community, creating employment, helping the elderly and rehabilitating children who have been traumatized. The program follows the disaster-stricken area for a year and considers the challenges facing the town of Miamisanriku. ◆11th March (Sun) “Live Broadcast From Tohoku - On the Night of that very Day” Just hours after the devastation of the afternoon of March 11, the stars shone in the sky, recall survivors of the earthquake. By sharing the victims’ experiences at the same locations they stood on that very day, the program aims to convey their thoughts and emotions, connecting them with viewers throughout Japan.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-16064002 - see the full article here
Japan cut short its whaling season last year because of harassment by anti-whaling activists
Japan has used funds from its tsunami recovery budget to subsidise its controversial annual whaling programme, environmental activists say.
Greenpeace says 2.3bn yen ($30m; £19m) from a budget of 12.1 trillion yen is being used to fund extra security.
Japanese officials argued when they applied for extra funding that whaling helped coastal communities.
The whaling fleet reportedly headed for Antarctic waters this week, though Tokyo has not confirmed the reports.
There has been a ban on commercial whaling for 25 years, but Japan catches about 1,000 whales each year in what it says is a scientific research programme.
Critics say those claims are just a cover for a commercial operation, and accuse the Japanese of hunting the animals to the brink of extinction only for food.
Activists from the Sea Shepherd group have attacked the fleet as part of their campaign against whaling.
Last year Japanese abandoned its programme before it was completed, citing "harassment" from the group.
Earlier this year, the Japanese Fisheries Agency applied to the government for extra funding for its programme from the emergency budget aimed at helping communities recover from the devastating tsunami and earthquake.
The agency argued that some of the towns and villages affected relied on whaling for their livelihoods.
Activists say the agency's funding request was approved and it has spent the money on extra security and covering its debts.
Junichi Sato, from Greenpeace Japan, told Australia's ABC that there was no link between the whaling programme and the tsunami recovery.
"It is simply used to cover the debts of the whaling programme, because the whaling programme itself has been suffering from big financial problems," he said.
The Australian and New Zealand governments have both criticised Japan's decision to continue whaling.
They are both considering sending vessels to monitor the whaling fleet.
Sea Shepherd activists have promised to carry on their campaign against the whaling fleet.
Onlookers get a panoramic view of the city of Tokyo from the first observatory deck during a media preview of the Tokyo Sky Tree tower this week. Some Japanese lawmakers have proposed constructing a "backup city" that could take on the capital's functions in the event of a catastrophe.
It sounds like a story ripped from the parody-filled pages of The Onion, but some Japanese lawmakers really do want to build a "backup city" that would take over the functions of Tokyo, including tourism, in the event of a catastrophe.
The idea was floated last month at a Tokyo luncheon, with a follow-up in The Telegraph last week. "The idea of being able to have a backup, a spare battery for the functions of the nation ... isn't this really a good idea?" Hajime Ishii, a parliamentarian representing the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, was quoted as saying.
Support for creating an urban Plan B has grown in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March and led to the Fukushima nuclear crisis. "Preparations are already under way at various levels at various levels to find ways of mitigating possible far-reaching consequences of a much-expected earthquake striking Tokyo," the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan said.
The lawmakers' plan calls for building an urban center known as IRTBBC (Integrated Resort, Tourism, Business and Backup City) or NEMIC (National Emergency Management International City) on the 1,236-acre site currently occupied by Osaka International Airport at Itami. Today, Itami is used only as a secondary hub for domestic flights, operating in the shadow of the newer Kansai airport.
The new city would take on all the functions of the capital city in the event of an emergency. It would boast office complexes, resort facilities, parks and even casinos. The city's centerpiece would be a tower that would rank among the tallest in the world, coming in at just over 650 meters (2,133 feet). It'd be built to house 50,000 residents and accommodate a workday population of around 200,000 people from the Osaka region, The Telegraph reported.
If the plan goes forward, it would rank among history's most ambitious backup plans. The backers haven't calculated the cost of building the city. For now, Ishii and his fellow lawmakers — including the Democratic Party's Banri Kaieda, Shizuka Kamei of the People's New Party and Ichiro Aisawa of the Liberal Democrats — are merely seeking 14 million yen ($180,000) for a feasibility study.
So far, the reaction has been mixed: Osaka's governor, Toru Hashimoto, has been quoted as saying that his region is willing to accept the capital backup role, while Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara has voiced opposition. And he may not be the only one: It just seems to me that most emergency-management officials, if not most politicians, would prefer to fortify what they have rather than building a whole new complex someplace else.
Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding me to your Google+ circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
TOKYO — The neediest victims of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami have yet to receive much of the record $2.2 billion aid two months later, mainly because the authorities have yet to identify them, the country's Red Cross said Wednesday.
The March 11 quake and tsunami and nuclear crisis that followed at the Fukushima Daiichi plant left nearly 25,000 dead or missing, sent more than 117,000 people away from their homes and destroyed infrastructure in the north of Japan.
The Japanese Red Cross Society has so far collected 174 billion yen ($2.2 billion) in relief money, the most it has ever been given for any relief campaign.
The charity distributed about 65 billion yen in April to regional governments in the disaster-hit area, but says that this fund has yet to reach those most in need.
"The biggest problem is that those who should be receiving the money cannot be identified, as more than 10,000 people are still missing, resident registrations are gone and the administrative functions at the periphery are not working," said Tadateru Konoe, president of the Japanese Red Cross.
"The money has reached the prefectural level, but I recently saw a report that much of the actual distribution (to quake victims) has yet to take place," he told a news conference.
All of the organization's relief money is meant to be handed to victims, in cash, and the group has been criticized for the delay in distribution. In 1995, when a huge quake struck Kobe in western Japan, the initial round of cash handouts was made within about two weeks of the disaster.
The Japanese Red Cross still has more than 100 billion yen in relief money, and Konoe, also president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, said there was no clear plan yet on how to distribute this. He said the money could also be given to businesses as well as individuals.
Japan has started to clean up and rebuild the damaged region but the job is daunting and the area is still a ruin.
A no-entry zone is still in place 20 km (12 mile) around the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant, though residents of one town were allowed to return Tuesday for two hours for the first time since the disaster.
In a poll by Yomiuri newspaper that surveyed mayors and leaders of 41 towns and cities in the disaster-struck areas, most said they felt there was no clear vision for rebuilding their lives.
Seventeen mayors said they did not have a clear idea of when the clearing of rubble would finish in their areas, while nine said they did not know when the electricity and water systems would function properly again.
Konoe said that many medical services in disaster-struck areas remained shut and that stress-related illnesses were among the biggest health risks to the displaced.
The total cost of the damage has been estimated at $300 billion, making it the world's most costly natural disaster. ($1 = 80.835 Japanese Yen)
Still wearing blue emergency overalls, Hideki Matsuzaki, the outspoken mayor of Urayasu, a seaside city near Tokyo, is still steering his community’s battle with the mammoth March 11 earthquake and ensuing damage. More than a month after the disaster, residents in this town, the location of the Tokyo Disneyland theme park, are trying to come to grips with the vivid scars across the city, including warped roads, popped-up manholes and tilted houses caused by soil liquefaction. What it was like when the earthquake struck on March 11? Was your home also damaged? My house lost electricity, gas, water and plumbing – what I would call a quadruple whammy. My wife and daughter were out in Tokyo so they couldn’t immediately get back home. When I arrived at my house, all the dishes in the kitchen were destroyed so it took until past 3 a.m. to pick up the broken pieces. Then my wife finally came home. What was the biggest challenge you faced? I’d say it was the destruction of our lifelines caused by the bigger-than-expected liquefaction. We’ve done emergency repairs for now, but a full recovery of the sewage system will take more than three years. We’re like a primitive society not to be able to use the bathroom in this day and age. (As of Wednesday, nearly 300 households do not have functioning plumbing.) Urayasu has long been known for soft grounds since it sits 75% on reclaimed land. Why did it take so long to restore water? We knew our city was vulnerable to natural disasters. The name of our city, Urayasu (Ura means border between the waterfront and shore), is already telling. It’s a city that prays for the coastlines to remain tranquil. That is why we had put so much energy into disaster prevention measures. The weak grounds and some extent of liquefaction were within our expectations. But our preparations were based on a magnitude-7.5 earthquake (not magnitude-9.0). We don’t know why a quake with an epicenter in northeastern Japan had wrought so much damage to our city. This is all completely unexpected. How do you feel about the government’s response? Has this affected the long delays in restoring the lifelines? Both the national and prefectural governments have dragged their feet. We have been hit with rolling blackouts three times despite the fact that our area was affected by the disaster. They don’t see or feel our pain, but I guess in that sense I had a free hand without having to be bullied (by the government). Are you concerned that the popularity of the city will decline? I think land prices will fall over the next one or two years. But our condominiums were undamaged despite such a widespread liquefaction. If you think about it, it’s actually a “buy.” And this doesn’t change the fact that we are close to central Tokyo. We’re going to do our utmost to restore our city and make it stronger.
By Kana Inagaki
Please join us......
We will have an event to raise money for the relief effort in Japan following the devastating Earthquake and Tsunami.
-This event will be an art show and sale where donated work from Houston area artists will be sold and 100% percent of the profits will go to the relief efforts.
The show will be at Winter St. Studios, located at 2101 Winter St., Houston, TX, 77007. The show will be on 4-2-11 and last from 3-10 pm.
I've attached a flier for the Japanese Earthquake Charity Art Exhibition.
If you could post this to your friends and help spread the word, that would be great.
(download)
