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November 22, 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
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....
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2011
Reactor fuel rods fully exposed
The radioactive fuel rods at the No. 2 reactor of the Fukushima No. 1 power station were fully exposed at one point Monday, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said, raising the possibility that it suffered a partial core meltdown.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2011
Rather than hoof it, stranded rush to buy bicycles
Bicycles sold like hotcakes at supermarkets and bike shops after Friday's megaquake shut down train services in the Tokyo metropolitan area, attracting local residents — and people from farther afield — who wanted to cycle home instead of facing the prospect of walking for several hours.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 12, 2011
Kan pledges full rescue response
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the government is doing its utmost to ensure the public's safety and minimize the damage, including dispatching the Self-Defense Forces for rescue operations, following the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the Tohoku region Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2011
DPJ veteran signed petition to drop Takeshima claim
A senior Democratic Party of Japan member close to Prime Minister Naoto Kan signed a declaration last month that Tokyo should immediately give up its claim to sovereignty over the two South Korea-controlled islets, it was learned Thursday.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2011
LDP putting recovery at risk, Kan says
Prime Minister Naoto Kan called again Wednesday for the opposition camp to support the budget and related bills in the Diet, saying failure to do so will put the economic recovery at risk.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2011
Kan vows to repatriate all dead soldiers from Battle of Iwojima
Prime Minister Naoto Kan pledged Tuesday to recover the remains of Japanese soldiers who died in the Battle of Iwojima, the majority of which remain unretrieved after more than 65 years.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Feb 15, 2011
Secret funds shadowed by abuse
Paying ransom to win the release of kidnapped Japanese, buying off foreign dignitaries to reach backdoor deals and giving cash in exchange for secrets.
Two of America’s biggest debt holders are dumping Treasurys
The U.S. Treasury building in Washington. Investors in Japan and China sold a pile of U.S. debt in the last quarter, just before the U.S. presidential election.
Ishiba aggravates his own political failures with diplomatic faux pas
Prime Minster Shigeru Ishiba is greeted at the APEC summit in Lima by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday. The Japanese leader was criticized for remaining seated while meeting several world leaders at the event.
Japan's 3.31 million visitors in October set monthly record
Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in December 2023. Famous autumn leaf colors contributed to increased tourism demand last month from many markets across Asia, Europe and North America, the Japan National Tourism Organization has said.
Japan ranks last in romance satisfaction for second straight year
In a survey of 31 countries, Japan ranked last in terms of those who felt loved, with just 51% of respondents saying so.
Ruling coalition and DPP strike last-minute deal over economic policy
DPP policy chief Makoto Mahaguchi speaks at the party's policy gathering in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Japan, U.K. and Italy discuss inviting more countries to joint fighter project
A new concept model of a next-generation fighter jet to be jointly developed by Japan, Britain and Italy is on display in Farnborough, Hampshire, in July.
Haruki Murakami's 'The City and Its Uncertain Walls' gives deep deja vu
For “The City and Its Uncertain Walls,” translated into English by Philip Gabriel, Haruki Murakami confronts the ghosts who won't leave him alone.
Japanese expats in Asia find community through rugby
The Taiwan Fivewoods celebrate their victory at the 2023 Asian Japanese Rugby Cup in December of last year.
In Fukushima, a weekend of prose, poetry and translation
Aomori-based writer JJ Carter presented on tabletop gaming as creative inspiration for building characters and narratives.
For Dr. Nakamats, aging is just experience in action
Though he didn't win the recent gubernatorial election in Tokyo, the 96-year-old Dr. Nakamats' run was seen as inspirational in Japan's aging society.

Podcast

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