Japan

Japan commemorates 2011 great temblor amid slow reconstruction

Published in Tuesday March 12th, 2013 In In the media

Japan on Monday commemorated the second anniversary of 2011 devastated earthquake and tsunami which destroyed the country’s northeast region, while reconstruction programs in the disaster-hit regions are slow and face serious difficulties.
In the National Theatre in central Tokyo, the government held a memorial ceremony Monday afternoon, with attendance of Emperor Akihito, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and people who lost their families in the catastrophe.

Thousands protest in Japan on eve of Fukushima nuclear disaster anniversary

Published in Monday March 11th, 2013 In In the media

Thousands of anti-nuclear protesters have gathered across Japan. The rallies come on the eve of the two-year anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that caused the Fukushima disaster.
Tens of thousands of people converged on central Tokyo’s Hibiya Park Sunday in opposition to nuclear power. Activists and scholars gave talks and musicians performed before sign-carrying crowds that marched through the government district of Kasumigaseki to parliament.

Some Fukushima evacuees won’t go home

Published in Monday March 11th, 2013 In In the media

Two years after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, many of the inhabitants of affected areas are reluctant to return despite expensive decontamination efforts. An earthquake and tsunami triggered a nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, 20 kilometers away. There were explosions in several reactors and a blanket of radioactive particles settled over the region like an invisible cloak. After farming the land here for generations, the inhabitants of the valley were forced to evacuate the region.

Tags ,

Japan marks second anniversary of tsunami

Published in Monday March 11th, 2013 In In the media

Japan has marked the second anniversary of the earthquake and tsunami that claimed some 19,000 lives. Anti-nuclear activists protested to demand an end to atomic power in light of the Fukushima disaster.

Japan puts reconstruction projects not linked to disaster zones on hold

Published in Thursday November 29th, 2012 In In the media

November 28, 2012 Japan’s government has suspended 35 projects included in a budget for reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami after criticism the spending was not directly related to recovery from the disasters. As much as a fourth of the 11.7 trillion yen ($148 billion) budget had been earmarked for unrelated projects, including […]

Tags

Japan’s tsunami reconstruction money spent on unrelated projects as communities struggle

Published in Tuesday October 30th, 2012 In In the media

October 30, 2012 Japan’s government says about a quarter of its budget for reconstruction after the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster has been spent on unrelated projects, including subsidies for a contact lens factory and research whaling. The audit documents released last week buttress complaints over shortcomings in the reconstruction effort. More than half […]

Tags

In Japan, the slow road to reconstruction

Published in Thursday September 20th, 2012 In In the media

September 19, 2012 A little more than 1½ years since the 3/11 disasters devastated the Pacific side of the Tohoku region, more than 340,000 people are still living away from their homes and reconstruction is not making progress as smoothly as disaster sufferers and the local governments concerned had hoped. It is imperative that the […]

Tags

Thousands evacuate in Japanese floods

Published in Monday July 16th, 2012 In In the media

Evacuation orders have been issued to about 260,000 people on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu as torrential rain pounded the area for a third day on Saturday. The orders were issued in four prefectures, with at least 78,000 residents in Fukuoka prefecture alone being told to leave their homes after more rivers burst their banks. Designated shelters have been set up in schools and public facilities.

Tags , , , , ,

50,000 Japanese forced to evacuate by heavy rains

Published in Thursday July 12th, 2012 In News

July 12, 2012 About 50,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes in the island of Kyushu in south-western Japan after heavy rains have caused mudslides, blocked roads and people trapped. Six people have died due to the unprecedented flooding. “Particularly in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures, we are seeing the heaviest rain that (the […]

Tags ,

Exclusion of homeless people in Japan

Published in Wednesday March 21st, 2012 In Social movement news

(Português) March 7th, 2012 Every promise has been broken. The eviction of homeless persons from Tatekawa River Bed Park (Tatekawa-Kasenjiki Park) here in Tokyo’s Koto Ward was grounded in deceit and discrimination. In just the past few months, the park’s 60 residents have had to face a number of brutal evictions for the sake of […]