Reborn-Art Festival: A Tohoku community gets a new lease on life
Climbing the stairs of Ishinomaki's first department store, built in 1930, I can hear the sound of a man singing and the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar. The voice is not one of a professional crooner; it's raspy and unsure, and sounds like ...
First Bryde's whale auction held since Japan's resumption of commercial whaling
A Bryde's whale auction was held on Thursday in Sendai — the first since Japan ended its 31-year commercial whaling hiatus a month ago — with cuts of the single animal on offer sold for up to ¥20,000 ($183) per kilogram. Bryde's whale meat is ...
Mother arrested over death of malnourished 2-year-old daughter left at home in Sendai
Police arrested a woman in Sendai on Monday on suspicion of leaving her 2-year-old daughter unattended at their apartment for three days last week, resulting in her death from hypothermia. Risa Tsuchiya, 25, has admitted to leaving her daughter Hinata at the apartment in Sendai, ...
Tohoku residents try to keep memory of 3/11 quake and tsunami alive through VR and wreckage
Conveying the fear of when a massive earthquake and tsunami strike is no easy feat. But eight years on from the disaster that shook the nation to its core, schools, municipalities and museums in the Tohoku region devastated by the Great East Japan Earthquake in ...
Whaling fleet leaves for north Japan waters in last ostensibly scientific mission before IWC exit
Four whaling vessels left a port in Miyagi Prefecture on Thursday to take part in the last of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country's exit from the International Whaling Commission at the end of June. The ships, which left the ...
Tsunami-hit Ishinomaki to return 1964 Tokyo Olympics cauldron lent as symbol of 3/11 recovery
The city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture held a ceremony Sunday to return the 1964 Tokyo Olympics cauldron, after its four years on display to recognize the area's recovery from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The Japan Sport Council offered the cauldron to the ...
Eight years on, Abe says 3/11 recovery nearing 'final stages,' though half of public unconvinced
Japan pauses at 2:46 p.m. to observe a moment of silence and reflect on all that has happened since that fateful day.
Tohoku residents still haunted by memories of devastating 3/11 triple disaster
Despite the passage of time, their stories are still heart-wrenching.
'Recovery Olympics' moniker for 2020 Games rubs 3/11 evacuees the wrong way
Residents in the area view the preparations as something happening in the background. In fact, some believe they are actually hindering the region’s recovery.
Ishinomaki whale-tooth artisan who lost shop on 3/11 sees chance to preserve tradition
In a once-booming whaling community in the northeast, an artisan has managed to keep alive a whale-tooth crafting tradition after his store was destroyed by the mega-quake and tsunami in 2011. Carver Masayuki Chijimatsu, 65, now sells seals and accessories made from the teeth of ...
Waste not, want not: Temporary housing units for 3/11 finding new roles across Japan
Fukushima and the city of Tono, Iwate Prefecture, have turned some of their temporary units into permanent public housing for those still displaced.
Foreign workers helping Tohoku seafood companies recover from 2011 quake and tsunami
Fish processors are now trying to stem their losses by turning to foreign trainees as firms deal with a severe labor shortage in the region.
