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July 16, 2024
 

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Kanako Takahara

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Kanako Takahara
Kanako Takahara is a staff writer who has covered national politics, diplomacy, business and the economy at The Japan Times. A graduate of Sophia University, she is currently a national news editor.
JAPAN
May 3, 2011
Diet budgets ¥4 trillion for rebuilding
The Diet enacted a ¥4.15 trillion supplementary budget Monday aimed at funding immediate efforts to rebuild from the March 11 disasters after the House of Councilors unanimously passed it at a plenary session.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2011
Evacuation zone to be widened
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government on Friday instructed parts of Fukushima Prefecture outside the 20-km no-go zone around the crippled No. 1 nuclear plant to evacuate by the end of May, saying that cumulative radiation levels may pose a health risk to residents.
JAPAN
Apr 23, 2011
Waterproof camera set to probe pool in No. 4
Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Friday it will use a waterproof camera to see if the fuel rods in its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant reactor 4's spent-fuel storage pool are damaged.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 20, 2011
Tepco starts to pump out turbine 2 unit
Tokyo Electric Power Co. started Tuesday pumping highly radioactive water at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's reactor 2 turbine building into a nearby storage facility, a crucial step toward restoring the reactor's dedicated cooling system, the government nuclear watchdog said.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2011
Robots detect dangerous spike in reactor 3 radiation
Robots sent in to explore the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant have found high radiation levels in three reactor buildings that may seriously hinder efforts to bring the plant under control, Japan's nuclear watchdog said Monday.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 2011
Fuel rod fragments at bottom of vessels
Melted fuel rod fragments have sunk to the bottoms of three reactors at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant and could theoretically burn through the pressure vessels if emergency water-pumping operations are seriously disrupted, the Atomic Energy Society of Japan said Friday.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2011
East Fukushima shiitake banned
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday banned the shipment of shiitake raised outdoors in eastern Fukushima Prefecture near the crippled nuclear power plant after radioactive substances exceeding government standard were detected.
JAPAN
Apr 14, 2011
Radiation surges above 4's fuel pool
Radiation has risen to high levels above the spent-fuel pool at reactor No. 4 and its temperature is rising, the nuclear safety agency said Wednesday, indicating the fuel rods have been further damaged and are emitting radioactive substances.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 12, 2011
Disaster toll still incalculable
Although a month has passed since the magnitude 9 earthquake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on March 11, no one yet has a clear idea of when or how the radiation disaster will end.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2011
Seawater radiation shoots far past limit
Radioactive iodine-131 readings taken from seawater near the water intake of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant's No. 2 reactor reached 7.5 million times the legal limit, Tokyo Electric Power Co. admitted Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2011
Tepco dumps toxic water into sea
Tokyo Electric Power Co. on Monday began releasing 10,000 tons of low-level radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant into the Pacific Ocean on Monday evening to help accelerate the process of bringing the crippled complex under control.
BUSINESS
Apr 5, 2011
GE chief Immelt says nuclear power plants safe, gas turbines on way
Visiting General Electric Co. CEO Jeffrey Immelt said Monday that the nuclear power plants it sells worldwide are safe despite the crisis the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant GE built more than 40 years ago is going through.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2011
Two missing Tepco workers found dead
Two workers reported missing after the Tohoku quake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima No. 1 power plant were found dead Wednesday in the basement of the No. 4 reactor's turbine building, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Sunday.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2011
Kaieda orders nuke safety rethink
Industry minister Banri Kaieda instructed nuclear plant operators Wednesday to compile emergency safety measures to prevent radiation leaks in the event that their power and cooling systems fail, as happened in the Fukushima crisis.
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2011
DPJ withdraws child allowance bill as opposition digs its heels in
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government withdrew a bill Wednesday to provide monthly child allowances for the fiscal year that starts Friday, including increasing payments for children under 3, amid criticism from opposition parties that the money should be used to reconstruct the March 11 disaster...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2011
Kan defends helicopter trip to nuke site, denies it delayed key venting
Prime Minister Naoto Kan denied Tuesday that his visit to the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on March 12, the day after the killer earthquake and tsunami hit the Tohoku region, delayed a crucial step to avert an atomic crisis.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2011
Mabuchi, axed from Cabinet, to be Kan adviser
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Saturday appointed former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi, replaced in a Cabinet reshuffle in January after he was targeted with an Upper House censure motion, as his adviser on the nuclear crisis and disaster relief operations.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2011
Tohoku disaster buys Kan time
It was only two weeks ago that Prime Minister Naoto Kan seemed on the verge of stepping down — his foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, had resigned, his popularity was at a historic low and a divided Diet had given him little hope of passing bills needed to enact the 2011 budget.
JAPAN
Mar 22, 2011
First food ban issued in nuke crisis
Prime Minister Naoto Kan placed an indefinite ban on spinach and another local vegetable produced by Fukushima and neighboring prefectures Monday after samples were found to be abnormally radioactive. He also suspended Fukushima milk.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 18, 2011
Copters, trucks try to cool fuel rod pool
Ground Self-Defense Force choppers dumped water bags, a Tokyo police water cannon unsuccessfully tried to spray water and five enclosed GSDF firetrucks later took on the desperate attempt to cool spent nuclear fuel rods in a storage pool suspected of drying up at the Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant's No....
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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