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November 21, 2024
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

Climate change, with its natural disasters, is putting nuclear facilities and weapons complexes at risk.
COMMENTARY
Apr 4, 2024
Climate change and nuclear waste are a toxic stew
Nuclear power could be a crucial part of a clean-energy transition, but not if it comes with a high risk of multiple Fukushima-like catastrophes.
Cardboard beds at an evacuation center in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Jan. 31. Because evacuation shelters are operated by municipalities, the quality of disaster relief varies depending on the strength of each local government, one expert points out.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024
Over 8,000 still in evacuation centers three months after Noto quake
The patchy progress of Japan's decentralized disaster relief shows that lessons from past disasters have not been learned, experts say.
As of December 2022, the village of Zamami, Okinawa Prefecture, had in its stockpile six of the nine items listed in a survey as necessary for women and 10 of the 11 items listed as necessary for babies and infants, doing much better than other municipalities in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Apr 1, 2024
Municipalities push gender-inclusive disaster risk management
Some areas in Okinawa involve more women in decision-making and make an effort at stockpiling relevant items.
A worker helps assemble the fuselage of a BK117 helicopter at Kawasaki Heavy Industries’ Gifu plant in Kakamigahara, Gifu Prefecture.
JAPAN / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 1, 2024
Kawasaki Heavy’s Gifu plant produces helicopters for disaster aid
The company's BK117 aircraft has been adopted by Gifu Prefecture and many other municipalities for disaster aid.
Commercial and residential buildings are seen on Ishigaki Island, in Okinawa Prefecture.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2024
Japan to set up new shelters on southwestern islands
The central government has picked five municipalities on the Sakishima southwestern islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
High school students visit seawalls in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Thursday during a weeklong tour of areas hit by the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami in the prefecture.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 26, 2024
Students from wildfire-struck Hawaii learn about disaster recovery in Miyagi
The students visited four municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture to study their efforts to rebuild following the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
The outdoor version of an "instant house," developed and set up by architect Keisuke Kitagawa in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2024
'Instant Houses' used widely in Noto quake-hit areas
The structure, which can be erected in an hour, is 4 meters tall with a floor area of 20 square meters.
Satoshi Fujii (second from right), head of a subcommittee of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, speaks at a news conference on Thursday about the potential costs of an inland quake hitting the Tokyo region.
JAPAN
Mar 15, 2024
Economic losses from massive Tokyo-area quake estimated to top ¥1 quadrillion
Engineers predict that indirect losses, including suspended production activities due to broken roads and bridges, will reach ¥954 trillion.
Knives displayed for sale at the "Survival & Prepper Show" in Longmont, Colorado, on March 2
WORLD / Society
Mar 11, 2024
Disaster 'prepping' finds broad appeal as climate and politics threaten safety
Researchers say the number of Americans getting ready to survive political upheaval and natural catastrophes has doubled in size since 2017.
Schoolchildren wearing padded hoods to protect themselves from falling debris take part in an earthquake simulation drill at an elementary school in Tokyo in August 2018.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 10, 2024
13 years after 3/11, Japan's readiness for complex disasters remains inadequate
The Noto Peninsula earthquake has highlighted gaps in Japan's preparedness for a complex disaster, experts warn.
Residents of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, participate in a nuclear disaster drill at an evacuation facility in Kurihara on Jan. 20.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 9, 2024
Nuclear plant restart raises evacuation concerns in Miyagi
Residents near the Onagawa nuclear plant on Miyagi's Oshika Peninsula are concerned about whether they could evacuate swiftly if disaster strikes.
Any mix of the above foods that fit your dietary needs and preferences will make for filling and nutritious meals during an emergency.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 9, 2024
Don’t let the next quake catch you (or your stomach) off guard
There’s a hidden threat in the days of limited power and bare grocery store shelves that follow a natural disaster: nutritional deficiencies.
Located in Ehime Prefecture at the base of the Cape Sada Peninsula, the Ikata Nuclear Power Plant lies about 45 kilometers from the town of Saganoseki within the city of Oita.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 7, 2024
Court rejects class action suit opposing nuclear plant in Ehime
Local residents in Oita, less than 50 kilometers from the facility, had called into question the safety of the plant during natural disasters.
An anti-seismic reinforced building at the Keiju Medical Center in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, suffered broken pipes and water leakage following a New Year's Day earthquake.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Mar 4, 2024
Hospitals in Japan slow to adopt seismic isolation in their buildings
Facilities severely hit by the New Year's Day quake have not been able to resume surgeries and other medical services.
Residents of Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, take part in an evacuation drill in March 2021.
JAPAN / Society
Mar 1, 2024
More than decade after 2011 quake, Japan still slow to compile evacuation plans
The nation has failed to make progress in crafting plans to help evacuate elderly people and people with disabilities in the event of natural disasters.
Japan Airlines has kicked off an unmanned drone service to deliver goods and medical supplies in the remote town of Setouchi.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 29, 2024
Japan Airlines starts drone service in remote areas for disasters
The carrier is working with local authorities in the town of Setouchi, a tiny inlet in Okayama Prefecture that's home to 8,000 residents.
A plan is being considered to transfer residents and tourists from the Sakishima islands via Kagoshima and Fukuoka airports in the event of a Taiwan contingency.
JAPAN
Feb 28, 2024
Japan mulls Taiwan contingency evacuation routes for remote islands
The envisioned evacuation plans will be drawn up by prefectural governments in fiscal 2024.
Visnu CEO Ryosuke Chiba explains an AI-equipped security camera his company is developing for the city of Kamaishi, Iwate Prefecture, on Feb. 22.
JAPAN / Society
Feb 27, 2024
Japan firms look to AI to bolster disaster prevention and mitigation
Tools are being developed to focus on getting timely information to the relevant parties to facilitate evacuation.
Hideo Shimoju points to a possible site that his fellow neighbors may relocate to. Such relocations have happened before, but not preemptively.
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / Longform
Feb 24, 2024
In disaster-prone Japan, some communities consider major moves
Rural communities are considering collective relocation as a means to deal with worsening climate disasters.
A man pours water into a plastic tank at an evacuation shelter in the city of Suzu, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Feb. 1.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Feb 23, 2024
Noto quake highlights aging water systems in depopulating areas
Nearly 22,000 homes in Ishikawa Prefecture are still without water, and the shortage has sparked debate on how to maintain services in depopulating areas.
Ishiba delays meeting with Trump, citing legal restrictions
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba waves upon arrival for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, in Callao, Peru, on Friday.
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.
Rising sex tourism exposes loopholes in Japan's anti-prostitution law
While financial misfortunes during the COVID-19 pandemic may have driven some women to work the streets, others simply want more money to spend — or want to pay off their debts — at host clubs.
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

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?
By Kathryn Wortley

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SWCC keeps changing with keyword ‘new challenges’

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