Tag - disaster-preparedness

 
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April 25, 2025
 

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DISASTER PREPAREDNESS

The remains of a shopping district that caught fire in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, due to the New Year's Day earthquake
EDITORIALS
Jan 5, 2024
Japan ushers in a bruising beginning for 2024
Japan has learned from past disasters and mistakes and must continue to do so.
Firefighters inspect earthquake-damaged houses in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 3, 2024
Heed the warning of Japan’s New Year's Day earthquake
That so few deaths happened in Japan's Noto region, even in areas with the most severe shaking, isn’t down to luck.
An apartment block that was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Dnipro, Ukraine, on Jan. 18, 2023. Housing, transportation networks and various types of other infrastructure facilities across the nation have suffered substantial damage in the wake of Russia's invasion.
JAPAN
Jan 2, 2024
Japan sharing reconstruction lessons with Ukraine
Ukrainian officials have reportedly said reconstruction efforts will draw inspiration from successful examples in Japan.
Eiko Takeuchi talks about a traffic jam during last winter’s heavy snow along National Route 8 in Kashiwazaki, Niigata Prefecture, on Sept. 18.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Dec 11, 2023
Evacuation plans for nuclear incidents called into question
Effectiveness of preparations as a “last line of defense” to save residents in the event of a nuclear disaster are in doubt.
As of the end of March 2022, only 48% of all water pipes in Tokyo were quake-proof.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2023
Tokyo to install quake-resistant pipe joints to avoid water outages
As of the end of March 2022, only 48% of all water pipes in Tokyo were quake-proof.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2023
Japanese island holds disaster drill in shadow of Taiwan threat
Yonaguni is only 110 km from Taiwan. In August last year, China fired missiles into nearby waters in response to a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi.
A woman and her children at the Minnanouen Kitakagaya community garden in Osaka's Suminoe Ward
ENVIRONMENT / Climate change / OUR PLANET
Nov 5, 2023
How simple steps can help alleviate climate anxiety
From gardening to flood-proofing your home, experts say there are simple ways you can ease some of your concern.
A car is buried in rubble and debris in the aftermath of a devastating flood in al-Bayda, Libya, on Saturday.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2023
'They knew': Warnings went unheeded before deadly Libya flood
Many Libyans are angry that warnings were ignored that could have possibly prevented the worst disaster in the country's modern history.
JAPAN
Sep 13, 2023
State-of-the-art quake simulation test shown to media
The institute hopes that the machine will help uncover the mechanism of earthquakes in a natural setting in order to predict large quakes.
A screenshot of the Nigetore app (left) five minutes after the start of practice evacuation using a 15-minute setting for “preparation time.” On the right, two screenshots show the outcomes of drills and a map indicating an evacuation route with tsunami inundation areas highlighted.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Sep 11, 2023
Tsunami evacuation app offers realistic quake preparation experience
Personal tsunami evacuation drill app Nigetore allows users to choose their own evacuation routes and evaluate their success.
A schoolgirl wears a padded hood for protection from falling debris during an earthquake simulation exercise at an elementary school in Tokyo. The government estimates a 70% chance of a magnitude 7 event striking directly underneath the capital in the next 30 years.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Sep 4, 2023
Tokyo has lived on the brink of the ‘Big One’ — for a century
The Great Kanto Earthquake demolished the nascent Japanese capital, killing more than 100,000 people — some 3% of the city’s population at the time.
Just 17.4% of small and midsize companies in Tokyo have developed business continuity plans to prepare for emergencies including natural disasters, according to a recent survey.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2023
Only 23% of Tokyo companies have business continuity plans, survey shows
Efforts to create such plans did not spread widely among companies although many had their operations disrupted due to the March 2011 quake and tsunami.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 3, 2023
Tokyo lacks places for stranded people just after quake
With transportation networks severely disrupted, experts ponder how to care for those who wouldn't be able to go home.
A child stands in front of the Hibiya Music Hall, which collapsed during the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 31, 2023
The earthquake that turned Tokyo to ash
This week we commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake.
In its quake damage estimates updated last year, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government expects that 4.53 million people will be unable to return home in the aftermath of a massive quake hitting the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023
Over-concentration in Tokyo raising risks from possible quake
The government estimate that up to 23,000 people would be killed if a massive quake hits the capital.
JAPAN
Aug 31, 2023
Century since Kanto quake, expert warns of 'blind faith' in disaster resilience
For many, grasping the potential devastation of a future major quake remains as elusive as it was 100 years ago.
Czech firefighters watch smoke rising as a wildfire burns at the Dadia National Park in the region of Evros, Greece, on Tuesday.
ENVIRONMENT
Aug 30, 2023
Wildfire-preparation tactics every community should consider
Looking at lessons from past disastrous fires, here are steps that can help reduce fire risk at the home and community level.
Residents clean up debris in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, in October 2019.
ENVIRONMENT / Earth science / OUR PLANET
Aug 20, 2023
A Japan research team dares to ask: Can typhoons be controlled?
Researchers in Yokohama are probing whether tropical cyclones can be weakened or diverted, with energy they produce also tapped to generate power.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 20, 2023
Tokyo aiming to eliminate areas congested with wooden houses
As of 2020, Tokyo had some 8,600 hectares of such areas that are expected to suffer particularly severe damage in the event of a large quake.
JAPAN / Society
Aug 9, 2023
Japan prefectures drift away from posting disaster warnings on X
A growing number of prefectures have stopped posting disaster warnings on the platform due to limits on the number of free posts allowed.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Japan must correct Trump’s false data for trade talks, says Kono
Former Foreign Minister Taro Kono
Japan wants to 'separate' tariff and security issues. That may be tough.
Japan’s chief tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, poses with a "Make America Great Again" cap at the White House in Washington on April 16.
Social media helps fuel growing 'sex tourism' in Japan
People walk down a street in the red-light entertainment area of Kabukicho in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo on March 31.
Japan set to fine cyclists on the spot for rule violations from 2026
Under new rules, those who use smartphones while riding a bicycle would be subject to the maximum fine of ¥12,000.
Amid uncertain tariffs, is now the time to buy a new iPhone?
An Apple store in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward in September. Prices for the newest iPhone models start at around ¥100,000 ($700) in Japan.
Built in a flash, Osaka Expo pavilions wrestle with sustainability
Kengo Kuma & Associates oversaw the construction of the Malaysia pavilion, which is encased in interwoven rows of bamboo that appear to ripple.
Japan weighs using U.S. rice imports as tariff negotiation tool with Trump
A restaurant owner pours California-grown Calrose rice into a rice cooker at his restaurant in Tokyo
Is Japan’s parliament ready to welcome more youth to its ranks?
Lower House lawmaker Kai Odake in his Tokyo office on Wednesday
Crow meat, goat tartare: Mauvaise Herbe raises its game
Crow meat, shaped into a ball and attached to a foot of the bird, is one of the peculiar offerings of game at Mauvaise Herbe.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.
By Tomoko Otake

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Looking ahead to Yokohama’s Green × Expo 2027

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