Tag - disaster-preparedness

 
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November 21, 2024
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

A lifeguard waving a tsunami flag during a demonstration
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 4, 2024
Meteorological agency ramps up 'tsunami flag' awareness efforts
Visual communication tools like tsunami flags are critical at swimming beaches, where sound can be obscured by waves and wind.
The Ishikawa Prefectural Government engaged KDDI SmartDrone to have its drone operators survey flood-hit areas in the cities of Wajima and Suzu in the prefecture last week.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 3, 2024
Private drone operators seek bigger role in disaster response
Establishing protocols with local governments and coordinating the use of drones with manned aircraft would make efforts more effective, they say.
A gas station damaged by Hurricane Helene in Perry, Florida, on Sept. 27. Extreme weather and climate change are exposing the flaws in how we handle hazardous waste.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Oct 3, 2024
Toxic waste is at the mercy of climate change
Among Hurricane Helene’s roster of disasters is a storm surge that deluged a retired nuclear power plant in Florida. While radioactive material there remains secure, according to operator Duke Energy, one of the plant’s industrial wastewater ponds overflowed amid the flood. With luck, any resulting...
Water is seen at the bottom of the No.1 shaft, which maintains and controls the inflow and discharge channel as part of a complex of underground tunnels at the Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel in Kasukabe, Saitama Prefecture, which protect Tokyo and its suburbs against floods.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2024
Japan expands underground complex to counter climate change rains
The Metropolitan Outer Area Underground Discharge Channel has already prevented more than ¥150 billion in flood damage.
The deep-sea drilling vessel Chikyu is docked at the Port of Shimizu on Sept. 5 ahead of a 106-day expedition by researchers from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Oct 2, 2024
Japan's deep-sea vessel digs for answers to 2011 earthquake
In a hundred-day expedition, scientists aboard the Chikyu aim to piece together the earthquake's story and assess the potential for another temblor to be triggered.
Rescue personnel search for missing people in debris after flooding along the Tsukada River Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sept. 23.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 30, 2024
Lessons from Japan’s fight against floods as the climate changes
As climate change intensifies flood risk, Japan should rely more on adaptive and nature-based solutions to prepare for disasters like the recent deluge in Ishikawa.
Employees of the Tokai village government in Ibaraki Prefecture offers a moment of silence on Monday to commemorate the 25th anniversary of a criticality accident that occurred at a facility of nuclear fuel-processing company JCO.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 30, 2024
Ex-mayor raps government for lack of preparedness for nuclear disasters
Tatsuya Murakami, who dealt with a 1999 nuclear accident as a village chief, warns against the pursuit of nuclear power without weighing its risks.
Families of people killed by the eruption of Mount Ontake 10 years ago offer prayers in Otaki, Nagano Prefecture, on Friday.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 27, 2024
Victims of Mount Ontake eruption remembered 10 years on
Silent prayers were offered at 11:52 a.m., the time when the country's worst volcanic disaster in the postwar era occurred on Sept. 27, 2014.
A ride-hailing service vehicle in Sendai. In times of disasters, such services will be available more widely.
JAPAN
Sep 17, 2024
Japan to allow use of ride-hailing services in disasters
Demand for transportation tends to increase during disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, as well as in the recovery and reconstruction process.
Portable power supply devices at a Bic Camera electronics store in Tokyo
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2024
Sales of portable power supply devices surge amid heightened disaster preparedness
Jackery, a U.S.-based major portable power supply solution firm, saw a sharp climb in sales in Japan after the possible Nankai Trough quake alert issued on Aug. 8.
A small fire department vehicle makes its way to a disaster site during rescue operations following the Noto Peninsula earthquake.
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2024
Japan to deploy smaller rescue vehicles after lessons learned from Noto quake
Based on the experience, the agency plans to provide disaster response teams with smaller rescue vehicles capable of operating over rough and narrow roads.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addresses a meeting on the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2024
Japan to enhance evacuation system for Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant
The move is aimed at gaining the understanding of Niigata Prefecture residents for a restart of the plant before Prime Minister Fumio Kishida steps down this autumn.
A shelf for emergency goods is seen almost empty at a hardware store in the city of Shizuoka on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Society
Sep 1, 2024
20% take no action over Nankai Trough quake warning
The emergency information was lifted on Aug. 15 as there was no particular change in the state of the plate boundaries near where the quake is expected to occur.
A map of western Japan shows the Nankai Trough and, to its north, the hypocentral region where the energy for an earthquake is thought to be building.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Aug 30, 2024
Did you feel that? It may be time to refresh your disaster kits — and vocabulary.
Part of Japan got a scare when the first-ever megaquake alert was issued earlier this month, a reminder that knowing the right terms in a disaster is crucial.
A member of the Self-Defense Forces wipes away sweat as he conducts a search and rescue operation at a landslide site caused by heavy rain in Kumano, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 11, 2018.
ENVIRONMENT / Boiling Point
Aug 29, 2024
Can Japan handle a heat wave and natural disaster at the same time?
Recent typhoons and the Nankai Trough megaquake alert have put the spotlight on how the country would deal with a dual disaster.
An illustration of the Japan Coast Guard's planned patrol ship, which will be its biggest ever
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024
Japan Coast Guard to build its biggest patrol ship
The coast guard's new ship will be around 200 meters long and will weigh about 30,000 tons.
Demolition works were still being carried out on July 1 in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, six months after the New Year's Day earthquake in the Noto Peninsula.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2024
Land ministry highlights disaster reduction measures in budget request
The budget request is up 18.1% from the previous year at ¥7.03 trillion.
A huge seawall has been constructed along a coast in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2024
Infrastructure ministry to boost aid for port flood prevention
The ministry also plans to provide tax breaks to companies working on raising seawalls systematically.
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel has asked Japan to name its representatives for a joint task force on disaster relief hub.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2024
U.S. urges Japan to name disaster relief hub task force members
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel asked Japan's foreign and defense ministers to provide the names of four officials at its "earliest convenience."
Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui offers flowers for the victims of the massive landslides on the 10th anniversary of the disaster during a ceremony in Hiroshima on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2024
Victims of Hiroshima landslides remembered 10 years on
The landslides, which occurred in the early hours of Aug. 20, 2014, claimed the lives of 77 people and completely or partially destroyed 396 houses.
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.
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