Masami Ito - The Japan Times

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Masami Ito

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Masami Ito

Masami is a staff writer for the Life and Culture Division at The Japan Times. She is in charge of the weekly Sunday Timeout, covering various issues related to Japan, from alcohol/drug addiction and juvenile crime to female sushi chefs and kendama. Over her 15-year career, she has written extensively on Japanese politics, foreign policy and social issues.

JAPAN

Apr 12, 2011

Edano denies flying family abroad

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano flatly denied rumors Monday that he sent his family abroad to protect them from radiation exposure when workers began to battle the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant crisis.

JAPAN

Apr 9, 2011

Latest jolt tests other nuclear plants, but no leaks

Tohoku late Thursday suffered its largest aftershock since the March 11 killer temblor, but no abnormalities were found in radiation levels around nuclear reactors along the region's Pacific coast, including the crippled Fukushima No. 1 power plant, government officials said Friday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 8, 2011

Tepco pumps nitrogen into reactor 1

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it started injecting nitrogen early Thursday into reactor 1 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to purge the hydrogen inside and prevent an explosion, and the process went smoothly in the afternoon.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 8, 2011

On relief duty after Okinawa slur, chided U.S. diplomat Maher quits

A U.S. diplomat who allegedly made disparaging comments about Okinawa that caused him to be sacked last month as the head of Japanese affairs resigned Wednesday from the State Department.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 7, 2011

Tepco succeeds in plugging leak

Tokyo Electric Power Co. finally succeeded in stopping the main leak of highly radioactive water from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant into the ocean Wednesday morning and workers were preparing to inject nitrogen into at least one reactor in a bid to prevent another hydrogen explosion.

JAPAN

Apr 5, 2011

Over half of embassies reopen doors in Tokyo

After the March 11 quake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, many embassies rushed to temporarily close or relocate out of Tokyo. More than half of them were back in business Monday.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 3, 2011

Tepco dumps concrete to plug radiation leak at No. 2

Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Saturday that a cracked storage pit at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant was the source of a radioactive water leak contaminating the ocean and that it is attempting to fill it with concrete.

JAPAN

Apr 2, 2011

Kan names quake at pep talk

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday that preparations for restoration and reconstruction work have begun in disaster-hit areas and Japan will prevail over the hardships caused by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

JAPAN

Apr 2, 2011

Kan, Edano suit up for normalcy

Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano shed their light blue worker uniforms Friday to assure the public the eastern half of the country is recovering from the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 2, 2011

Iodine-131 found in groundwater

Tokyo Electric Co. came under further fire Friday after it was revealed that many of its employees at the damaged Fukushima No. 1 power plant have been working without the protection of dosimeters. It also said radioactivity in groundwater under the compound spiked.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Apr 1, 2011

Coming together for the survivors

One recent afternoon in a small community room in an apartment building in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, people streamed in carrying big boxes and bags full of food, beverages and clothing.

JAPAN

Apr 1, 2011

Sarkozy, Kan meet in Tokyo

Visiting French President Nicolas Sarkozy expressed strong support and solidarity Thursday with grief-stricken Japan over the recent deadly earthquake and tsunami.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 31, 2011

World pitches in to offer support

Messages of support and donations have been flooding in from all over the world to give the grieving people of Japan hope and courage and remind them they are not alone.

JAPAN

Mar 29, 2011

Embassies ready iodide tablets

Various embassies in Japan are passing out potassium iodide tablets as a "precautionary measure" to protect their citizens from radiation exposure in case the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant goes haywire.

JAPAN

Mar 28, 2011

First foreign doctors arrive to help victims

For the first time since the deadly earthquake and tsunami hit northeast Japan, the government on Sunday permitted a foreign medical team to enter the country to treat victims.

JAPAN

Mar 26, 2011

'Voluntary' evacuation set for 20 to 30 km

Residents living between 20 and 30 km from the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are being urged to "voluntarily evacuate" amid difficulties in obtaining daily necessities and the possibility of further radiation leaks, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday.

JAPAN

Mar 26, 2011

Kan breaks silence, vows to help locals rebuild lives

Addressing the public for the first time in a week, Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Friday evening to do everything in his power to prevent the crisis at the Fukushima nuclear plant from escalating.

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 26, 2011

'Drastic' ideas eyed for power crisis

The government will come up with a drastic plan by April to deal with a major electricity shortage expected this summer from the loss of two nuclear power plants damaged by the quake and tsunami in Fukushima Prefecture.

JAPAN

Mar 25, 2011

Tap water woes hit Chiba, Saitama, Ibaraki

The scope of radiation-contaminated tap water expanded Thursday, with radioactive iodine detected in tap water in Chiba, Saitama and Ibaraki prefectures, while the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which said the day before its drinking water was contaminated, scurried to distribute 240,000 bottles of water...

Japan Times

JAPAN

Mar 24, 2011

Kan widens ban on contaminated food

Prime Minister Naoto Kan instructed Fukushima Gov. Yuhei Sato on Wednesday to tell local people not to eat certain leafy vegetables, including spinach, cabbage and broccoli harvested from Fukushima Prefecture, after finding radioactive materials well beyond the legal limit.

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

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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