Tag: Japan

TOKYO - Rescue workers from more than a dozen countries searched ravaged northeastern coastal cities on Monday for survivors of a massive earthquake and tsunami, as an international effort to help Japan cope with its multiple disasters gathered pace. Some 70 countries have offered assistance in an outpouring of solidarity with Japan, with help coming not only from allies like the United States but also countries with more strained relations like China, and even from the Afghan city of

KUJI - Survivors searched for loved ones on Monday in emergency centres across the northeast coast of Japan, with thousands of people still missing after an earthquake and tsunami that probably killed more than 10,000. "I am looking for my parents and my older brother," a weeping Yuko Abe, 54, said at an emergency centre in Rikuzentakata, a nearly flattened town of 24,500 people in far-northern Iwate prefecture. "Seeing the way the area is, I think perhaps they did not make it. I also

TOKYO - Nuclear fuel rods at a quake-stricken Japanese nuclear reactor are now fully exposed, Jiji news agency said, quoting the plant's operator, Tokyo Eletcric Power Co. The report referred to the Fukushima Daiichi complex's No.2 reactor, where levels of water coolant around the reactor core had been reported as falling earlier in the day. The Jiji report said a meltdown of the fuel rods could not be ruled out. A meltdown raises the risk of damage to the reactor vessel and a

FUKUSHIMA - Japan fought on Sunday to avert a meltdown at three earthquake-crippled nuclear reactors and more than 10,000 people were feared dead in the nation's biggest crisis since World War Two.
In the small port town of Minamisanriku alone some 10,000 people were unaccounted for - more than half the population of the town, which was practically erased, public broadcaster NHK reported.
"The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear incident have been the biggest crisis Japan

TOKYO - Japan is facing its worst crisis in the 65 years since the end of World War II, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Sunday, calling on the nation to unite after it was devastated by a huge earthquake.
The situation at a quake-stricken atomic power plant also remains grave, Kan said as engineers battled a nuclear emergency sparked by the massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and the devastating tsunami it triggered.
"The current situation of the earthquake, tsunami and the

KARACHI - The destruction caused by the tsunami in Japan's northern coastal regions conveys a clear message to the relevant authorities in Pakistan that have failed to ensure the protection of mangroves forests along the 1050-km coastline country - considered a natural shield against disasters.
A statement issued by Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum (PFF) on Saturday stated that serious efforts for the conservation of mangroves are needed from the government, which should learn a lesson

FUKUSHIMA - Survivors of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami huddled in shelters and hoarded supplies on Saturday as rescue workers searched a mangled coastline of submerged homes, cars and stranded boats. Aerial footage showed buildings and trains strewn like children's toys after powerful walls of seawater swamped areas around the city of Sendai, about 130 km from the epicenter of the earthquake and among the worst-hit areas.
"Everything is so hard now," said Kumi

GENEVA - The international community started to send disaster relief teams on Saturday to help Japan after it suffered a massive earthquake and tsunami, with the United Nations sending a group to help co-ordinate work. "We are in the process of deploying 9 experts who are among the most experienced we have for dealing with catastrophes.
They will help evaluate needs and coordinate assistance with Japanese authorities," Elisabeth Byrs, spokeswoman of the UN Office for the

SENDAI - An explosion at a Japanese nuclear plant triggered fears of a meltdown on Saturday, after a massive earthquake and tsunami left more than 1,000 dead and at least 10,000 unaccounted for.
As workers doused the stricken reactor with sea water to try to avert catastrophe, Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the chaos unleashed by Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake was an unprecedented national disaster. The quake, one of the biggest ever recorded, unleashed a terrifying 10-metre

TOKYO - A devastating tsunami triggered by the biggest earthquake on record in Japan killed at least 1,000 people along the northeastern coast on Friday after a wall of water swept away everything in its path.
Thousands of residents were evacuated from an area around a nuclear plant north of Tokyo after fears of a radiation leak, but officials said that problems with the reactor's cooling system were not at a critical level. Underscoring concerns about the plant, the US air force

TOKYO - Japan's centre-left government on Wednesday named as its new foreign minister Takeaki Matsumoto, who hails from a powerful political family but faces tricky relations with the US, China and Russia. PM Naoto Kan picked the former banker and great great grandson of Japan's first prime minister because of his "capability, knowledge and to ensure continuity of diplomacy", said Kan's top spokesman Yukio Edano.
Matsumoto, 51, replaces Seiji Maehara, an outspoken security hawk

KARACHI - Charles Ceronio, a world-renowned bonsai master, exhibited his works, titled 'Bonsai Demonstration', on Sunday at the Japan Cultural Centre of the Consulate-General of Japan, in collaboration with the Pakistan Bonsai Society (PBS).
Bonsai is traditional Japanese potted tree arrangement and one of the most popular Japanese cultural activities in the world. The basic philosophy of bonsai is making a small world on pottery, and many bonsai require a few years to be

TOKYO - Seeking cooperation of investors to explore enormous possibilities of strengthening and expanding business relations with Pakistan, President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday invited the Japanese business community to rejuvenate Pakistan's economy through their individual contribution, joint venture or consortia.
Commenting on investment-friendly environment established by the present government, the president said, "The government has designated a 2000-acre Special Economic

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari, who left on Sunday for Japan on a three-day visit, will hold talks with the Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan to strengthen the cordial relations between the two countries and open new vistas of cooperation.
This will be the president's second visit to Japan since assuming office. He will also visit the emperor of Japan and hold summit level talks with Prime Minister Naoto Kan, according to an official statement.
The president is also

TOKYO - A Japanese court has ordered the government to give one man a record $2.4 billion tax refund, newspapers reported. The Supreme Court ruled tax authorities had no right to ask for 160 billion yen ($1.92 billion) in gift tax from Toshiki Takei, a former director of consumer loans firm Takefuji Corp., the Yomiri Shimbun newspaper said.
The court said the government should give the money back to Takei, who experts estimate will be entitled to interest at four percent, taking

ISLAMABAD - President Asif Ali Zardari will pay a visit to Japan from February 21-23 at the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, to strengthen the cordial relations between the two countries and open new avenues of cooperation. It will be the president's second visit to Japan since assuming office during which he would call on the Emperor of Japan and hold summit-level talks with Premier Naoto Kan.
Zardari is also scheduled to meet with Japanese cabinet members,

ISLAMABAD - Japan has provided US $45 million to the UN-HABITAT (United Nations Human Settlements Programme, a UN agency for human settlements) for assistance to the Pakistani flood victims. "As winter prevails, the needs of the 20 million flood affectees have been growing and the government of Japan has given funds at a very critical time," a press release issued by the UN-HABITAT said Monday.
"This substantial amount will go towards early recovery involving shelter, water,