Mikura: Tokyo’s island of natural wonders

Apr 24, 2011

Mikura: Tokyo’s island of natural wonders

Last week, while much of the metropolis continued to reel from aftershocks following the March 11 megaquake, and worries about radiation leaks from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear reactors lurked in most people’s minds, there was a part of Tokyo blissfully removed from all ...

A place of refuge for exiles and foreign wayfarers

Apr 24, 2011

A place of refuge for exiles and foreign wayfarers

The 21-sq.-km island of Mikura has a distinctive history remembered and shared well by villagers. While some archeological evidence shows that the island was inhabited as far back as 6,000 years ago, modern-day villagers say the oldest written records that link them to their ...

NHK hopes for a home run with new anime

Apr 22, 2011

NHK hopes for a home run with new anime

It’s a quintessential scene of Japanese youth: Young boys out in baseball uniforms jog across their school grounds, the white and maroon of their gear contrasting with a clear blue sky. In the bleachers, an earnest-looking high school girl named Minami, in a jersey ...

All fired up by Japanese wheels

| Apr 17, 2011

All fired up by Japanese wheels

Cycling has enjoyed a renewed boom in popularity in recent years as an eco-friendly means of transportation and for its health benefits. Reflecting this trend, more and more helmet-donning businesspeople are seen cycling to work on their glimmering sports bikes these days, often gliding ...

Awaji Island quake museum offers shocks and survivors

Apr 10, 2011

Awaji Island quake museum offers shocks and survivors

AWAJI ISLAND, Hyogo Prefecture — At age 79, Yoshiko Negita’s mind is alert and her memory is laser-sharp. There is, too, a sense of urgency in her voice as this resident of Awaji Island in the Seto Inland Sea speaks to visitors at its ...

Kageyama to drum up aid

Apr 1, 2011

Kageyama to drum up aid

Award-winning taiko drummer Isaku Kageyama — known for his fusion of Japanese traditional music with jazz, rock and club music — will hold a charity performance in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo, on April 8. Proceeds from the event will be donated to the Japan Red ...

Comic’s tweets tackle specter of fear

Mar 25, 2011

Comic’s tweets tackle specter of fear

These are hard times for entertainers in Japan. In the face of the March 11 Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake and tsunami, which has killed more than 9,000 and left many more missing, and with radiation still leaking from the damaged Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, ...

Mar 23, 2011

Scatalogical ‘Reactor Boy’ web-cartoon eases fears of radiation

On March 15, four days after the Tohoku-Kanto earthquake and amid the heightened radiation fears following explosions at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, Tokyo-based media artist Kazuhiko Hachiya started posting a series of short messages on Twitter. “I’ll try to explain what’s ...

| Mar 16, 2011

Take proper steps to avoid exposure to fallout

More residents near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture were ordered to evacuate Tuesday, raising concerns about radiation exposure. Here are basic questions and answers on what to do when faced with possible radiation contamination. I live within 20 to ...

Mar 15, 2011

Clinics do their best to deal with outages

Hospitals and clinics scurried Monday to cope with the start of rolling blackouts in the Kanto region. While some general hospitals are equipped with their own power generators, many clinics chose to close on the assumption that blackouts will prevent doctors from accessing their ...