NEWSWORTHY
Mito and Chiba cities sign nuclear accident evacuation accord
The municipal government of Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture —located near a nuclear power plant — signed an accord Wednesday that will allow its residents to take shelter in six municipalities further away from the complex in the case of an accident. The arrangement aims to facilitate ...
Japanese government begins discussion on contingency plans in event of Mount Fuji eruption
A government panel started discussions Tuesday on how to address repercussions in the Tokyo Metropolitan Area in the event Mount Fuji erupts, with falling volcanic ash likely to push the capital into chaos. Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak at 3,776 meters and lying about 100 ...
Meteorological Agency raises alert level for volcano on Kagoshima Prefecture island
The Meteorological Agency on Wednesday raised the alert level for a volcano on Kuchinoerabu Island, urging residents there to prepare for possible evacuation.
Just six visually impaired people were confirmed to have taken shelter at evacuation sites in the three hardest-hit prefectures of Okayama, Hiroshima and Ehime.
Parts of Frankfurt airport were evacuated for several hours on Tuesday following a lapse in security in which a French family of four were allowed to leave the secure zone despite testing positive for explosives, federal police said. After the alarm had been raised, the ...
Only 3.6 percent of Hiroshima residents had evacuated when July rain disaster struck: survey
Only 3.6 percent of people living in the city of Hiroshima evacuated from their homes when special heavy rain warnings were issued during last month's downpours in western Japan, a survey has shown. The low evacuation rate highlighted the difficulty of encouraging people to associate ...
Large-scale evacuation a key concern in the event of a major flood in Tokyo
The government and officials say 1.76 million residents live below sea level, and that up to 1.78 million in five Tokyo wards may have to evacuate before a major typhoon.
Japan's vaunted quake and missile alert system runs up against limits
On Jan. 5, as Tokyo commuters were struggling back to work after the long New Year's break, blaring sirens from every phone pierced the sleepy atmosphere: "strong" earthquake coming. The message delivered via the country's alert system, part of its much-hyped J-Alert mechanism, warned of ...
Kansai Electric Power Co. on Wednesday restarted a reactor at its Oi plant on the Sea of Japan coast, located close to two other units already online, amid lingering safety concerns following the 2011 Fukushima disaster. It is the first time that multiple nuclear reactors ...
Japanese government draws up instructions to help schools prepare against possible missile strikes
The education ministry has compiled guidelines to help schools review their crisis management manuals in order to better prepare against a possible North Korean missile attack. The guidelines were drawn up after Pyongyang fired two ballistic missiles that flew over the country last year. The guidelines ...
No Fukui evac plan needed for simultaneous nuclear accidents: Cabinet documents
The central government and the Fukui Prefectural Government have determined there is no need to craft a new evacuation plan in case of a twin nuclear accident there, Cabinet Office documents show. In a meeting last month, state and prefectural officials confirmed that a simultaneous ...
To address safety concerns amid an ambitious tourism campaign, the land ministry plans to use boats to get visitors to Haneda airport if a major quake cripples Tokyo’s transport system.
