tsunami

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Japan Tries to Lure Back Scared Tourists

Numbers are way down, and hotel discounts are way up

(Newser) - Looking for an inexpensive vacation? Go to Japan. This is the country's unofficial message to a dwindling population of visitors scared away by the recent natural disasters and the threat of radiation exposure, the Global Post reports. To draw tourists back in, hotels are offering bargain-bin specials. Japan needs...

Fukushima Nuclear Plant Stabilized

Workers on track for cold shutdown within six months

(Newser) - Some good news from Japan: The Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant is stabilized and a cold shutdown should be achieved within six months. Even so, Tokyo Electric Power Co. warns that final cleanup—which will involve encasing the plant in concrete—could take more than 10 years. Engineers have recently...

Japan Tsunami Taller Than 10-Story Building

Giant wave was biggest recorded in decades: Experts

(Newser) - The tsunami that struck Japan in March rose to a staggering 132.5 feet at its highest, taller than a 10-story building, according to 150 researchers who have collected data from thousands of locations along the country's east coast. Here's how it stacks up: The killer wave was...

Tepco Knew of Fukushima Design Flaw, Did Nothing

Electric switcher swamped by tsunami, killing plant's cooling system

(Newser) - Senior Tepco engineers were aware of design flaws at five of its Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors for decades, but complacency and cost-consciousness prevented the company from fixing those problems, reports the Wall Street Journal . While newer reactors have backup diesel generators and electrical switchers placed securely in the well-protected reactor building,...

Japan's Big Roadblock: 25M Tons of Debris

Before the nation can fully rebuild, it has years of cleanup ahead

(Newser) - A giant kiln at a cement factory in Japan finally returned to action today and incinerated 10 tons of debris from the March earthquake. Which sounds like a handsome total until you consider that an estimated 25 million tons remain, reports the Wall Street Journal . The nation is now grappling...

Japan Earthquake: 6.7-Magnitude Quake Triggers Tsunami Warning
Another Big Earthquake
Rattles Japan
UPDATED
Jun 22, 2011 5:53 PM CDT

Another Big Earthquake Rattles Japan

6.7-magnitude earthquake hits; tsunami warning canceled

(Newser) - A magnitude-6.7 earthquake rattled northeast Japan Thursday morning. It was the same area of the Pacific where a massive magnitude-9 quake hit on March 11, triggering a deadly tsunami. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a tsunami warning for Iwate Prefecture but canceled it about an hour later. There were...

Tepco Halts Water Filtering at Fukushima

Power company running out of room to store contaminated water

(Newser) - Tokyo Electric launched its much-hyped water filtration system yesterday at its foundering Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant—only to shut it down a mere five hours later. The setback is very serious, notes the New York Times, with Tepco in grave danger of running out of room for the tens of...

Tsunami-Tossed Ships Return to Water, Slowly

Each ship will cost roughly $1M to put back

(Newser) - Remember the shocking pictures of beached boats and ships after Japan’s March tsunami attack? in one fishing town, they’re still there, untouched months after the disaster. More than a dozen ships heaved inland sit with red bellies and propellers exposed among the demolished houses of Kesennuma, a jarring...

Inside Fukushima Cleanup: Willy-Nilly Safety, Training

Many workers lack training, equipment needed

(Newser) - Three months after the crisis at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant began, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at safety measures in interviews with seven of the people they're designed to protect. One contractor had just a 30-minute briefing before stepping onto the grounds in the...

Japan's PM Beats Censure, Hints He'll Resign

Naoto Kan acknowledged 'shortcomings' after earthquake

(Newser) - Prime Minister Naoto Kan defeated a no-confidence motion today over his handling of Japan's triple disasters, but the victory may be short lived—he said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery kicks in. Kan, who has been criticized for delays in the construction of temporary...

Opera Stars Ditch Japan Tour Over Radiation Fears

Experts say there's nothing to worry about

(Newser) - A pair of New York’s top opera stars due to sing in Japan have canceled their performances following the earthquake, the AP reports. Now, the Metropolitan Opera has to “scour the world” to find replacement singers for soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor Joseph Calleja, even though experts said...

Fukushima's Tsunami Plan: One Page

Nuclear plant thought it was immune to waves, thanks to decade-old memo

(Newser) - Nuclear officials in Japan thought the Fukushima reactors were safe from the biggest waves a quake could hurl at them—thanks to a decade-old, one-page memo from the plant operator, reports the AP . Granted, it’s a double-size page, but it gives few details to back its claim that no...

New Photos Show Tsunami Slamming Fukushima

Tokyo Electric Power Co. releases dramatic pictures

(Newser) - As Japanese workers today entered the last of the three Fukushima Dai-ichi reactor buildings suffering from nuclear meltdowns, Tokyo Electric Power Company released dramatic new pictures of the March 11 tsunami hitting the plant. Workers entered the No. 3 reactor building today for the first time since the earthquake and...

What Really Happened When Quake Hit Fukushima

Nuclear crisis was more desperate than the world realized

(Newser) - The first 24 hours of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Dai-ichi were more chaotic and dangerous than the outside world ever dreamed. When the tsunami hit and knocked out the plant’s backup generators, workers turned into scavengers, searching nearby homes for flashlights and ripping the batteries out of...

Japan to Aging Nuke Plant: Shut Down

Hamaoka plant in earthquake-prone region closer to Tokyo than Fukushima Dai-ichi

(Newser) - Nearly two months after an earthquake-tsunami one-two sent Fukushima Dai-ichi into a nuclear crisis that will haunt it for decades, Japan is telling another aging nuclear plant to close its doors until it can muster stronger defenses against Mother Nature. The decision might seem like it took an eternity to...

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...

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...

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