Now that northeast Japan is gradually shifting into recovery mode and the Fukushima nuclear plant crisis is becoming more manageable, new themes have been emerging in the vernacular media. One is the life expectancy of the cabinet of PM Naoto Kan.
Another is the frequent aftershocks, some quite large, and many media outlets fret that the March 11 disaster may soon be followed by a major seismological event close to Tokyo.
Recent headlines from the weekly magazines include: "The recurrence of a tsunami and quake under the capital" (Aera, April 25); "Seismologist issues urgent appeal: 'An M8-class aftershock will come' " (Shukan Bunshun, April 28); "Inauspicious signs off the coast of Ibaraki and in southern Ibaraki — the terror of a huge quake under the Tokyo metropolis" (Shukan Asahi, April 28); "Fears of a huge M8-class aftershock to the east of Chiba Prefecture" (Flash, May 3); "The globe has been thrust into a period of major earthquake activity" (Friday, May 5).