NEWSWORTHY
The Michinoku Coastal Trail: Tohoku's recovery in action
The Michinoku Coastal Trail is a 2013 initiative by Japan's environment ministry to rejuvenate disaster-stricken Tohoku through ecotourism. At 700-kilometers long, it winds through protected forest, bucolic villages and along dramatic coastlines.
Three zoos in Tohoku to swap female elephants in bid to fire up breeding interest
In the first attempt of its kind, three zoos in Tohoku will launch a project Tuesday to swap their female African elephants with each other to form new breeding pairs. The three are Selcohome Zoo Paradise Yagiyama in Miyagi Prefecture, Akita City Omoriyama Zoo in ...
New stadium gives recovering Kamaishi hope for future
Takeshi Nagata looks out over the pitch from the back stand of Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium and tugs at the collar of his shirt. He retired from playing rugby six years ago, but his body is still in good shape and his formal clothes ...
Fukushima 'ambassadors' visit Taiwan school to offer thanks for 3/11 aid
Three students from Fukushima Prefecture visited a junior high school in Taipei to offer thanks for Taiwan's reconstruction support after the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. The three junior high and high school students, acting as "reconstruction ambassadors," called on the Taiwanese students ...
Japanese government eyes Jomon Period sites for World Heritage designation
A government panel Thursday selected archaeological sites in northern Japan from the Jomon Period as potential UNESCO World Cultural Heritage candidates in 2020. The ancient sites in Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate and Akita prefectures, representing a culture that occupied the archipelago for nearly 10,000 years, will ...
Prayers offered on 10th anniversary of deadly Iwate-Miyagi quake
People offered prayers Thursday as the Tohoku region marked the 10th anniversary of a major earthquake in Iwate and Miyagi prefectures that left 17 people dead and 6 unaccounted for. In Kurihara, Miyagi Prefecture, relatives of the victims and others affected by the magnitude 7.2 ...
The government on Wednesday held its first meeting with leaders of local governments which will host exchanges between residents and athletes of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics as it aims to improve hospitality in the communities. "We would like to deepen cooperation among local ...
Kamaishi mounts a soft-power recovery to revive tsunami-hit community
The city of Kamaishi is quietly combating its population decline with PR, career-advancement and tourism measures designed to revive its tsunami-battered community.
Tohoku communities slow to regroup as tsunami-hit cities rebuild on higher ground
Takashi Ito's family-owned book and stationery store is one of the 20 or so shops occupying a new mall that opened last year in Rikuzentakata, a tsunami-ravaged city in Iwate Prefecture once known for the towering pine trees that lined its scenic coast. The mall ...
Isolated deaths are on the rise in the temporary housing complexes in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures as their tsunami-shattered communities struggle to rebuild anew. The three prefectures have plans to build a combined 30,000 units of so-called disaster-recovery housing for those displaced. About 90 ...
41 structures in Tohoku preserved as witnesses to March 2011 disasters
At least 41 structures in three prefectures in Tohoku have been preserved to commemorate the damage caused by the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters, a tally shows. The structures spread across 23 municipalities in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures are being saved in ...
Finding a little historical perspective in Iwate's Hiraizumi
World Heritage site steeped in history remains largely free of tourists.
