Japan's new land minister Kazuyoshi Akaba resolved to bolster disaster management
New Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba has stressed his resolve to beef up Japan's disaster preparedness following a spate of serious natural events, including earthquakes and typhoons. He also underlined that it was important for the central and local governments to work ...
Tropical storm hits Bahamas, still reeling from Hurricane Dorian
Tropical Storm Humberto moved away from the Bahamas on Saturday after dumping rain on parts of the archipelago's northwest region that were already hammered by Hurricane Dorian two weeks ago. Humberto dropped rain on the islands as U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited the Bahamas to ...
Last week's typhoon provided ample evidence the Tokyo area needs better prepartation for disasters, especially among transport companies and employers in general.
Bahamians desperately search for loved ones as 1,300 remain missing after Hurricane Dorian
Focus They scan social media, peer under rubble or try to follow the smell of death in an attempt to find family and friends. They search amid alarming reports that 1,300 people remain listed as missing nearly two weeks after Hurricane Dorian hit the northern ...
Typhoon-hit zoo in Chiba reopens thanks to help from volunteers
A zoo in Chiba Prefecture that was struggling to provide water for its animals due to Typhoon Faxai reopened Saturday, encouraged by a wave of moral and material support from the public. Ichihara Elephant Kingdom, a public zoo in Ichihara, had been closed since the ...
Typhoon-hit Chiba seeking volunteers to help with repairs amid power outage
Some municipalities in typhoon-hit Chiba Prefecture start recruiting volunteers as more than 100,000 households remained without electricity nearly a week after the typhoon blew through.
Demolition starts for former site of government's Fukushima task force
The Environment Ministry started dismantling on Tuesday the former off-site center in Fukushima Prefecture that was used by the central government's task force to deal with the aftermath of the March 2011 nuclear disaster. The Fukushima Prefectural Government expressed its intention in August last year ...
Commuters and travelers face grueling Monday morning in typhoon-hit Tokyo
Tokyo's morning rush was more hellish than usual Monday, with massive crowds of commuters gathering at train stations across the metropolitan area to wait for train services disrupted by Typhoon Faxai. The powerful typhoon made landfall before 5 a.m. around the city of Chiba as ...
Hokkaido marks first anniversary of earthquake that left 44 people dead
Hokkaido on Friday marked the first anniversary of a powerful earthquake that claimed 44 lives and triggered the nation's first prefecture-wide blackout. The magnitude 6.7 quake jolted Hokkaido in the early hours of Sept. 6, injuring 785 people and damaging thousands of homes. Hundreds of thousands ...
Donations to quake-hit towns in Hokkaido rose sharply in fiscal 2018
Donations to three towns in Hokkaido hit by a powerful earthquake last year expanded sharply in fiscal 2018 under the government's furusato nōzei (hometown tax donation) system, according to local municipalities. Under the plan, which allows taxpayers to contribute to their hometowns or other municipalities ...
Oil leak at ironworks complicates disastrous flooding in Saga
Volunteers help clean up parts of Saga Prefecture flooded by the recent torrential rains, but oil that leaked from an ironworks is compounding their troubles.
Japan conducts emergency drills in preparation for the huge quake predicted to hit Tokyo area
The government conducted full-scale drills on Sunday — the official Disaster Prevention Day — in preparation for a powerful earthquake that is predicted to occur directly under the Tokyo metropolitan area. The drills were carried out under a scenario of a 7.3 magnitude temblor occurring ...
