Initial reports say a 5.5 quake hit Nagano Prefecture.
Also, the Japanese Meteorological Agency warned that more aftershocks of 7.0 or greater could hit Japan. Keiji Doi, earthquake prediction division chief, said the chance of aftershocks of 7.0 could continue for at least a year.
So far, more than 400 aftershocks of magnitude 5.0 or larger […] Continue Reading…
The Japanese government just raised the level of the disaster at Fukushima Daiichi to 7. That is the same level as Chernobyl.
The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency made the decision to raise it to the worst condition, under the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, because of the extremely high levels of radiation that […] Continue Reading…
Tokyo Electric Power Company has received about $24 billion USD in loans from several major banks.
TEPCo officials say they need to money to continue working to deal with the crisis at Fukushima Daiichi. This is proof that corporations are not prepared for disasters.
At least 11 people are dead, and as many as 103 wounded, after an explosion in a Minsk subway, in the country of Belarus. The explosion caused Russian police in Moscow to search their subways.
Witnesses say there is a large crater where the ‘bomb’ went off. Belarus police say it is an act of […] Continue Reading…
“Dad chose to go because of his sense of responsibility toward his job. Now he’s working for everyone.”-worried wife to her daughter
They’re desperate, but determined to support their husbands, working in deadly conditions at the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
“My Dad’s great. He’s a hero.”-proud daughter
Many wives know their husbands might suffer deadly contamination working at […] Continue Reading…
“Output reduction in Japan and overseas will most likely continue until September.”-Kohei Takahasi, JPMorgan Chase & Co. in Tokyo
Toyota expects to lose 35,000 vehicles from the North American shut down, and that’s spread over five days. The problem is that, because of continued nuclear power issues, it looks like parts supply is not going […] Continue Reading…
Before the March 11 disasters, JAL had come out of bankruptcy. Now the huge drop in people coming to Japan (some sources say at least 75% drop) is threatening to do JAL in.
Last week JAL announced they will ask employees to take time off without pay. Now JAL says it needs to cut costs […] Continue Reading…
Professor Susumu Yasuda of Tokyo Denki University conducted a survey of the effects of liquefaction, caused by the 11 March 2011, 9.0 quake.
He looked at the Tokyo Bay area and found at least 4,200 hectares (10,378 acres) of land had suffered liquefaction. Tokyo is 370km (230 miles) from the quake’s epicenter.
Liquefaction also destroyed residential […] Continue Reading…
Senior agency official Nishiyama Hidehiko, apologized for his agency’s slow response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis.
Nishiyama admitted the agency failed to address problems at the plant, as one emergency followed another.
Even the Nuclear Safety Commission, which advises the elected government of Japan, says the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency is unreliable.
The Japanese media […] Continue Reading…
This is the time of the year for grade school graduations in Japan. Because of the March 11 quake and tsunami, graduation ceremonies are painfully emotional for many.
At one kindergarten, they lost six children (three dead, three missing). Today the mother of two missing girls accepted their kindergarten graduation certificates.