Monty Dickson, 26, teaching in Japan as part of the JET program, was swept away the March 11 tsunami.
His family in Alaska recently received an email, then a phone call, notifying them that his body has been found.
According to reports, Dickson was on the third floor of a building when the huge tsunami washed over the building. He was in Japan on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
An Alaskan businessman gave the family a days proceeds to help them go to Japan.
Tourism numbers are looking really bad for japan, thanks to the ongoing nuclear disaster. Don’t let that stop you from taking a trip to Japan.
In fact, because of the huge drop in tourist money coming in, you’ll probably get some really good deals in the near future. Even the Japanese airlines will start making unbelievable deals. JAL just got out of bankruptcy and now they’re in trouble, again, because of the ongoing nuke crisis.
The nuke disaster is taking place in northern Honshu. The prevailing winds blow east of there, offshore to the Pacific. Think about visiting southern Honshu (south of Tokyo), and Shikoku & Kyushu. Their locations mean they will avoid most or all airborne (waterborne contamination might be an issue) radiation contamination from northern Honshu.
Also, they are least affected by power outages.
Not only could you get a good deal on a vacation to Japan, but your tourist money will really help Japan to recover.
The Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau says foreign tourist to Japan has dropped 75% compared to the same time last year. Blame the ongoing nuclear disaster.
A trend that is picking up steam with Japanese companies, after the March 11 disasters, is to ask employees to take time off without pay. JAL is doing just that.
JAL wants employees to take time off without pay, in May and June. The reason is a huge drop in passengers since March 11. JAL hopes at least 100 employees will take time off during each month.
I know an employee of the Ontario, California, Toyota North American Parts Center distribution warehouse.
He says they have been ‘requested’ to take “leave without pay”, due to the parts shortage in Japan.
While they are enjoying time with their families they are concerned about how long their time off without pay will last, they can’t go too long without getting paid. Toyota is not certain about when parts will start flowing into the U.S. again.
Stores are running out of beer.
Sapporo Breweries Ltd. and Asahi Breweries Ltd. each had two beer factories damaged by the March 11 disasters. Kirin Brewery Co. had its Sendai factory in hardest-hit Miyagi Prefecture damaged.
A manufacturer of materials for beer cans is affected as well. Sapporo switched to using bottles only, but then ran out of ingredients for beer.
A couple of weeks ago the governments of North and South Korea met over the resurrection of a dormant volcano, Mount Paekdu (Baekdu). The Korean volcano stirred to life after the 9.0 quake off the Pacific Coast of Japan on March 11. The last time it erupted was in 1903.
Korean officials have decided the situation is urgent enough to have another meeting about it. The volcano sits on the border of North Korea, and China.
South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research said that an eruption now could drop temperatures by two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for two months, devastating agriculture.
Haiti was hit by a 7.0 quake in January 2010, which devastated several cities. Donations came in, officially anyway, but according to the UN (United Nations) only a fraction has gotten through.
Donations to Japan, after their catastrophic disasters on March 11, still lag behind the official donation numbers reported for Haiti. Japanese media is already reporting problems getting aid to their people.
“Tanks, armored vehicles and soldiers should have given way to bulldozers, engineers, more police instructors, experts in support to justice and to the penitentiary system.”-President René Préval
Outgoing Haitian President René Préval has pleaded with countries, and charities, to hurry up and get the aid out. President Préval is the only Haitian president to complete two terms without being jailed or exiled.
“Now that we’ve had this election, and the international community has accepted the results and verified and participated in the oversight of it, I think greater donor disbursements are important.”-Bill Clinton, UN Secretary General’s special envoy for Haiti
This is not a good sign for the people of Japan. Haiti got more aid money than Japan, so far, and yet, more than a year later, Haiti is still waiting to see it. I don’t think Japan, with its catastrophic disasters, can rely on any help from the world community.
Honda will cut back production in the United Kingdom. Due to lack of parts Honda will reduce production at its Swindon, England, plant by 50%.
The Geospatial Information Authority of Japan said their survey of the sea floor, between 40km to 130km off Miyagi Prefecture, moved 5.6 meters to 15 meters towards the east-southeast.
The Japanese Coast Guard says they confirmed sea floor movement with their seabed observation points. They say the sea floor moved 23 meters (75 feet) east-southeast, and it rose by 3 meters (9.8 feet).