Tokyo: Sixteen people were injured on Saturday when a powerful quake jolted western Japan, authorities said. The earthquake shook Hyogo prefecture and its surrounding areas in western Japan early Saturday morning, reported Xinhua. The quake, registering a preliminary magnitude of 6, occurred at 5.33 a.m. The epicentre of the quake was near Awaji island in Hyogo prefecture around 10 km underground, Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Sixteen people suffered minor injuries in prefectures of Hyogo, Okayama and Osaka in the quake, media reported. The Japanese government has set up a task force at the prime minister's office following the quake.
The West Japan Railway Company said it had suspended many of its train services in Hyogo prefecture and surrounding areas. A devastating quake struck Kobe and surrounding areas in Hyogo in 1995, killing over 6,000 people and injuring more than 40,000.
...
more
01:25 PM, Apr 13, 2013
Tokyo: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hit western Japan early on Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no tsunami warning was issued, the nation's meteorological agency reported. "Although there may be slight sea-level changes in coastal regions, the earthquake caused no damage to Japan," the agency said on its website. The US Geological Survey (USGS) initially reported the quake's magnitude at 6.3 and said it had its...
08:13 AM, Apr 13, 2013
Tokyo: A strong earthquake shook northern Japan on Wednesday evening, and a small tsunami was forecast for part of its Pacific coast. The Japan Meteorological Agency said the tremor was 6.8 magnitude. A tsunami of about a half-meter was forecast for Hokkaido island's central and eastern Pacific coast, and for Aomori and Iwate prefectures. Iwate prefecture, or state, was heavily damaged by last year's earthquake and tsunami. Thousands of aftershocks...
03:55 PM, Mar 14, 2012
March 11 will mark the one-year anniversary of Japan's deadly earthquake and tsunami. It is hard to imagine the amount of work that still needs to be done to rebuild countless communities. And while Japan's economy may be struggling, in the disaster zone, there are plenty of jobs to be had. ...
08:35 AM, Mar 11, 2012
Tokyo: A strong earthquake hit northern Japan on Thursday, but no damage was immediately reported. Japan's Meteorological Agency said the magnitude 6.1 quake struck early in the evening south of the main northern island of Hokkaido. No damage or injuries have been reported, and the agency did not issue a tsunami warning. The quake hit about 750 kilometers (465 miles) northeast of Tokyo. Thousands of quakes have shaken Japan since...
04:47 PM, Nov 24, 2011
Okuma: Media allowed into Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear power plant for the first time on Saturday saw a striking scene of devastation: twisted and overturned trucks, crumbling reactor buildings and piles of rubble virtually untouched since the wave struck more than eight months ago. Representatives of the Japanese and international media, including The Associated Press, were allowed into the plant with the government's chief official in charge of the world's worst...
03:07 PM, Nov 12, 2011
Fukushima: At last, victims of Japan's nuclear crisis can claim compensation. And they are angry. They are furious at the red tape they have to wade through just to receive basic help and in despair they still cannot get on with their lives seven months after the huge quake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear disaster in 25 years. Shouts fill a room at a temporary housing complex where...
10:08 AM, Oct 18, 2011
Tokyo: Japan Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda is to be voted in on Tuesday as the country's sixth prime minister in five years amid doubts he can unite his fractious ruling party while tackling myriad economic ills and a nuclear crisis. Noda, a 54-year-old fiscal hawk who wants to curb Japan's huge public debt, was elected head of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in a bruising run-off. He had...
09:48 AM, Aug 30, 2011
Tokyo: A strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 jolted northeastern Japan off Fukushima prefecture on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, although no damage was reported and a tsunami advisory for the area was lifted after no waves were sighted. Some highways were closed and high-speed bullet trains were halted after the quake, public broadcaster NHK said. A 50 cm (20 inch) tsunami advisory was issued for the...
01:29 PM, Aug 19, 2011
Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Saturday that it will take decades to clean up and decommission the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant after the world's worst atomic accident since Chernobyl. Kan's comments marked the first time that Japan's government has offered a timeframe for the clean-up at Fukushima beyond the emergency measures now underway to shut down its reactors. "It will take three, five, ten years, or eventually...
08:50 AM, Jul 10, 2011
Los Angeles: Pop superstar Lady Gaga has been sued over sales of her wristbands for Japan's earthquake relief efforts in a class action that claims that not all the proceeds went to victims as she had promised. Michigan legal network 1800LAWFIRM also alleges that Gaga and other companies involved in the sale and marketing of the $5 white and red "We Pray for Japan" wristbands overcharged buyers on shipping costs...
10:56 AM, Jun 28, 2011
Tokyo: Executives at the Japanese utility behind the nuclear power plant sent into meltdown by the March quake apologized on Tuesday to investors who repeatedly interrupted the annual meeting of shareholders with heckles, yells and outraged questions. Tokyo Electric Power Co Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata promised that the company was doing its utmost to bring radiation leaks under control. He said it would speedily compensate people forced to evacuate the area...
09:57 AM, Jun 28, 2011
Tokyo: Nearly 70 per cent of Japanese oppose the restart of nuclear reactors halted for maintenance work, a poll showed on Monday, even though keeping them shut could mean power blackouts this summer and higher electricity bills. Public fears about nuclear power have grown due to the crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant, where workers are struggling to control radiation leaks from meltdowns after reactor cooling systems...
12:58 PM, Jun 27, 2011
Los Angeles: Lady Gaga is being sued in a $5 million class action suit for allegedly scamming a Japan relief charity. She has been accused of pocketing proceeds from the sales of "We Pray for Japan" wristbands. Michigan Law firm 1-800-LAW-FIRM claims that GaGa sold the bracelets for $5, plus $3.99 for shipping and handling, and 60 cents for taxes, but jacked up the price of the shipping costs in...
12:56 PM, Jun 27, 2011
Tokyo: Japan should raise taxes to fund rebuilding after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the government's advisory panel said on Saturday, but it is unclear how binding its recommendations will be given the political impasse over the fate of Prime Minister Naoto Kan. The panel's proposal provides the basis for spending on reconstruction of Japan's northeast devastated by the magnitude 9.0 quake and a deadly tsunami, which is widely...
12:34 PM, Jun 25, 2011
Shanghai: China's suspension of nuclear project approvals, put in place in the wake of Japan's nuclear crisis, could be lifted by mid-2012, a newspaper reported on Saturday. The State Council, or cabinet, suspended approvals of new nuclear projects on March 16, days after Japan's quake-ravaged nuclear complex triggered radiation worries worldwide, especially in neighbouring China. "To restart the approval procedure in one year is the optimistic estimate, but the country...
11:04 AM, Jun 25, 2011
Tokyo: A rise in radiation halted the clean-up of radioactive water at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power station on Saturday hours after it got under way, a fresh setback to efforts to restore control over the quake-stricken plant. The power plant has been leaking radiation into the atmosphere ever since the March 11 quake and tsunami and both China and South Korea have expressed concern over the possibility of further leaks...
05:19 PM, Jun 18, 2011
Tokyo: The operator of Japan's crisis-hit nuclear power plant said it would start an operation to clean up radioactive water later on Friday, after several glitches that delayed the plan. Unless the clean-up begins, large and growing pools of radioactive water could spill into the sea within a week, officials said. Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, has pumped massive amounts of water to cool three reactors at the...
05:50 PM, Jun 17, 2011
Tokyo: The Japanese utility battling to bring its radiation-spewing nuclear reactor under control says it is moving 1,500 more tons of radioactive water into temporary storage. Tokyo Electric Power Company said on Sunday that the move is critical to prevent the spilling of highly radioactive water into the ground and the sea. More than 100,000 tons of radioactive water have pooled beneath the troubled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in...
12:55 PM, Jun 05, 2011
Tokyo: Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, facing a no-confidence vote in parliament, said on Thursday he will consider resigning once Japan's efforts to recover from its earthquake and tsunami disaster take firm hold. Kan told members of his party that he felt responsible for carrying through with leading the recovery. He made the comments ahead of a no-confidence vote in parliament submitted by the opposition that has deeply split his...
10:34 AM, Jun 02, 2011
