Three years on, officials and residents pay their respects to victims of Kumamoto quakes
Mashiki officials offered silent prayers on Tuesday for the victims of the powerful earthquakes that hit the town and other areas of Kumamoto Prefecture three years ago. "We'll place top priority on rebuilding the lives of afflicted people," Mayor Hironori Nishimura said. "We expect post-disaster ...
Quake-hit Kumamoto Castle tower appears to defy gravity after collapsed stone foundation is removed
A tower of Kumamoto Castle, which was hit hard by powerful quakes in 2016, appeared to defy gravity on Tuesday as the local government showed off the progress made on its restoration work to the media. With the top 6 meters of stone foundations supporting ...
Kumamoto resort's quake-resistant domed cabins prove a big draw
Nestled near a volcano in southern Japan, 450 quake-resistant domed houses put up by a health resort and decorated with flowers and dinosaurs are drawing visitors from across Asia. A dozen polystyrene foam pieces, each so light that two adults can pick them up, are ...
Researchers' work questioned after errors discovered in Kumamoto quake data
The science ministry is looking into whether quake-strength data was falsified or fabricated.
Kumamoto railway struggles to rebuild after devastating 2016 quake
A railway in Kumamoto Prefecture is working hard to win back passengers 16 months after a series of powerful earthquakes rocked the area. Minamiaso Railway Co., a public-private third-sector firm, has still been unable to resume full operation of its services along the 17.7-km-long line. "We ...
Kumamoto couple have hard time parting with son lost in earthquake
Shinobu Yamato, 49, still can't wash a pair of socks that her son, Hikaru, had left lying around before he was killed in the earthquakes that rocked Kumamoto Prefecture and its vicinity last April. "I feel like I can still feel my son," she said. She ...
Efforts underway to better support foreign nationals in times of disaster
Efforts are underway by local governments across the nation to support non-Japanese in times of natural disaster as the number of foreign nationals living in Japan continues to grow. As part of the shift, local authorities are preparing emergency manuals and guidelines that stipulate specific ...
Kumamoto marks one-year anniversary of deadly quakes with grief and resolve
Friday marked the first anniversary of strong earthquakes in Kumamoto Prefecture that caused more than 200 deaths. Governments have pledged to overcome the disaster and accelerate efforts at reconstruction. One year after the earthquakes, including a magnitude-6.5 temblor on April 14 and a magnitude-7.3 quake ...
Nearly a quarter of indirect Kumamoto quake deaths linked to sheltering in vehicles
About a quarter of the indirect deaths officially linked to last April's earthquakes in Kumamoto and Oita prefectures spent some of their nights in a vehicle, it has been learned. Of the 170 people indirectly killed by the disaster, such as through a decline in ...
Kumamoto Castle repairs expected to take decades
"Warning: No trespassing due to earthquake damage," bears a sign at Kumamoto Castle, a popular tourist destination in the prefecture, while castle officials make rounds to prevent trespassers. Strong earthquakes that hit the region last April not only destroyed homes, schools and offices but also ...
Caught off guard by deadly quakes, Kumamoto still learning lessons one year on
It was just after midnight and I was dozing off at a capsule hotel in the city of Kumamoto on April 16 last year when the "Big One" hit. Suddenly, I was bouncing around like a ball inside my small capsule for what seemed like ...
Kumamoto veterinarian looks after owners — and their pets — in times of disaster
In times of natural disaster, people's safety and well-being are naturally put first. The same, though, can't always be said for pets, which are also victims in such calamities. But thanks to Ryunosuke Tokuda, a veterinarian who runs an animal hospital in the city of ...
