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February 22, 2025
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

An All Nippon Airways passenger plane at Noto Airport in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 27, 2024, after its arrival from Haneda Airport in Tokyo following the reopening of earthquake-affected Noto Airport to commercial flights.
JAPAN
Feb 17, 2025
Japan eyes system for faster repairs of disaster-hit airports
The system, expected to cover about 60 airports, is based on lessons from the delayed resumption of an airport on the Noto Peninsula.
The city of Toyama. Under a new plan, the government of Toyama Prefecture, which lies on the Sea of Japan coast, will send officials to Shizuoka Prefecture in the event of a Nankai Trough megaquake.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025
Partner prefecture plan eyed for Nankai Trough quake
The ministry will formally adopt the new plan by the end of fiscal 2024 for implementation in April.
A Self-Defense Forces member leads residents in Fukamimachi, a village in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, to a rescue helicopter, on a destroyed road in January last year.
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2025
Japan to subsidize efforts to prevent emergency roads from collapsing
Many roads built on piled-up soil collapsed after a powerful earthquake struck the Noto Peninsula in January 2024.
A toilet container transported to the roadside station Anamizu for disaster relief in the aftermath of the Noto Peninsula earthquake, on Jan. 12, 2024, in Anamizu Town, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Feb 10, 2025
Japan to help roadside stations install portable containers for disaster use
Portable containers installed at evacuation centers after the earthquake on the Noto Peninsula in January 2024 were used for multiple purposes, including as medical offices.
Homes destroyed by wildfire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles earlier this month. Insured losses caused by this and other fires raging in the area in recent weeks have been valued at over $30 billion.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 5, 2025
Fossil fuel insurance is still way too cheap
Despite mounting losses from climate-induced disasters, insurers continue underwriting fossil fuels. Raising the cost of such policies would help cut emissions and benefit many.
A site where a road collapsed in Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, swallowing a truck, is seen on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2025
Japan plans to strengthen water infrastructure after major road collapse
The move comes after it is believed a damaged sewer pipe caused a sinkhole to open up in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture, on Jan. 28.
Katsumi Murakami, a Lawson convenience store owner in Kobe, talks about his experience in the 1995 earthquake and how convenience stores can serve a lifeline in times of disaster.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2025
Convenience stores' importance grew after Kobe earthquake, one owner says
The owner recalled handing out food from his Lawson convenience store following the 1995 earthquake and ensuring it was open for business three months later.
Yoshiteru Murosaki, professor emeritus of disaster prevention planning at Kobe University, says poor environments at evacuation centers following disasters remain a concern.
JAPAN
Jan 21, 2025
Expert calls for more discussions on earthquake preparedness
The expert mentioned poor environments at evacuation centers as one of the problems persisting since the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995.
A training session for a new reporting system that the Japan Coast Guard began operating on Saturday
JAPAN
Jan 18, 2025
Japan Coast Guard launches emergency video reporting system
The coast guard hopes the new system will improve life-saving measures in the event of emergencies at sea.
Roxana Oshiro and her husband gather their belongings in front of their house in Furukawacho, in Kobe's Suma Ward, after the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Jan 17, 2025
The efforts to bridge the disaster information gap, 30 years on
Disaster information didn't reach many non-Japanese speakers after the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck. Thirty years later, has the situation improved?
Self-Defense Forces members search for victims in Kobe's Nagata Ward on Jan. 28, 1995, in the wake of the Great Hanshin Earthquake.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 16, 2025
Hanshin quake sparked changes to Japan's disaster response policies
Having outlined the Self-Defense Forces' active role and support for victims, the government now aims to set up a new central agency for disaster relief.
A mirror reflects a collapsed house in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 10, nearly one year after a major earthquake struck nearby on New Year's Day in 2024.
JAPAN / Explainer
Jan 14, 2025
Miyazaki quake falls short of triggering Nankai Trough megaquake advisory
Though Monday's temblor struck a similar area to one in August that sparked the first advisory, no such alert was issued.
Staff Sgt. Akihiro Yamamoto reflects on the Great Hanshin Earthquake while looking at materials at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Itami base in city of Itami, Hyogo Prefecture in December.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 14, 2025
How the SDF has earned trust through disaster relief efforts
Public sentiment toward the SDF was markedly colder during the Great Hanshin Earthquake, service personnel recall.
Participants observe a minute of silence for the victims of the Jan. 17, 1995, earthquake during an event for the the Coming-of-Age Day in Kobe on Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2025
20-year-olds celebrated in Kobe 30 years after earthquake
A minute of silence was observed for the victims of the Jan. 17, 1995, earthquake.
Rescue workers search a flooded area during the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis, which caused severe floods at the Chikuma River, in the city of Nagano in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Jan 12, 2025
Disaster-hardened Japan faces enormous costs from climate change
The total cost in climate damages for the country through 2050 could amount to ¥952 trillion if more ambitious action isn't taken.
Palm trees burned by the Palisades Fire along the shore in Malibu, California, at sunrise on Friday.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change
Jan 11, 2025
‘We’re in a new era’: How climate change is supercharging disasters
Extreme weather events — deadly heat waves, floods, fires and hurricanes — are the consequences of a warming planet, scientists say.
Volunteers take care of children at a children’s play space opened for survivors of the earthquake in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31, 2024.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 7, 2025
Professor highlights crucial importance of volunteer aid after major quakes
Although volunteers often face criticism on social media, an expert in disaster management argues that volunteers are essential from the very moment a disaster strikes.
A portion of data showing changes in terrain due to the Noto Peninsula earthquake. The blue areas indicate landslides, while the red areas show accumulated debris.
JAPAN
Jan 6, 2025
Japan government promotes laser forest terrain surveys
Data obtained by terrain surveys can be used for disaster responses by analyzing terrain changes after earthquakes or heavy rain.
Kenichi Tatsumi, 74, chairman of an association for people with visual impairment in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, speaks during an interview in November.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 2, 2025
App helping visually impaired in disasters gains traction one year on
The service, which uses the app to read out the names of evacuation centers and other necessary information, was launched in April this year.
The first sunrise of the year is seen on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the massive Noto Peninsula earthquake, in Mitsukushima, a scenic spot in Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, where part of the mountain face collapsed.
JAPAN / Society
Jan 1, 2025
Japan marks anniversary of massive Noto Peninsula earthquake
Most of the people affected by the disaster have returned to their homes or moved into temporary housing, and are working to rebuild their lives.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
IPhone parts maker Murata eyes supply chain shift toward India
Murata Manufacturing President Norio Nakajima
Monthly number of visitors to Japan hit record high in January
A visitor feeds the deer at Nara Park in Nara on Jan. 27. The monthly number of foreign visitors to Japan hit a record high in January.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
Arsenal defender Tomiyasu undergoes knee surgery
Arsenal's Takehiro Tomiyasu celebrates scoring against Everton on May 19, 2024.
Japan release of Shiori Ito's documentary in limbo
Shiori Ito, who won a civil suit over a rape case against a TV reporter, in 2018. Her former lawyers claim her documentary includes footage used without the consent of sources.
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown ready to sprint past Paris disappointment
Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (center) runs during a 100-meter heat at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, 2024.
What is the ceiling for sumo’s newest yokozuna?
Newly promoted grand champion Hoshoryu (center) performs a dedication ceremony at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo on Jan. 31.
‘Yasuko, Songs of Days Past’ puts overlooked star in the spotlight
“Yasuko, Songs of Days Past” centers on a real-life love triangle between poet Chuya Nakahara (Taisei Kido, left), actor Yasuko Hasegawa (Suzu Hirose, center) and literary critic Hideo Kobayashi (Masaki Okada).
Japan’s English-language education doesn’t pass the test
One-third of elementary school students in Japan do not like learning English, according to a 2021 poll, an 8% rise since 2013. The pressure of taking proficiency tests is eroding children's engagement with studying English and its benefits.

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