Tohoku tours shed light on life in the aftermath of the 3/11 tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster
This is the second in a series examining how the northeast and the nation are progressing with efforts to deal with the March 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. For the disaster-hit coastal areas of Fukushima, Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, tourism is more than just ...
Mayor of Namie, near shuttered Fukushima nuclear plant, dies at 69
Tamotsu Baba, mayor of Namie in Fukushima Prefecture, died at hospital in the city of Fukushima on Wednesday. He was 69. First elected mayor of Namie in 2007, Baba was in his third term. He submitted his resignation earlier this month due to illness and ...
Nissan opens plant in Fukushima town to give second life to EV batteries
At a small plant intended to help revitalize a town ravaged by the 2011 earthquake, Nissan Motor Co. is giving its costly electric vehicle (EV) batteries a new lease on life after they pass their peak performance. Global automakers are looking for ways to make ...
Fukushima town of Namie to launch radioactive decontamination work around May
Around May, decontamination work will begin in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, to make some of its most radioactive areas habitable again, the government said. Namie was hit hard by the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami and nuclear disaster in 2011, and ...
For Fukushima returnees, security a growing concern in deserted towns
It's like a dream to once again be able to live in my "home, sweet home." That's what Hidezo Sato, 72, says he feels every day since returning to his fallout-hit hometown of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture. The government partially lifted its nuclear evacuation order on March ...
Fire crews finally extinguish Fukushima blaze in no-go zone as officials battle radiation rumors
A wildfire near the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant has finally been extinguished after a 12-day battle waged by firefighters and Self-Defense Force troops in special protective gear left 75 hectares of tainted forest scorched, and local officials scrambling to quash radiation rumors. The wildfire, ...
Namie: one step forward, a few steps back
Evacuees from the Fukushima town of Namie are struggling to find a good reason to return to their homes.
Namie's high recovery hopes haunted by dwindling coffers, fears of losing vital state dole
A robot testing facility, a robotics research center, a base for renewable energy and a memorial park — these are some of the plans the irradiated town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, has in mind for rebuilding after the triple reactor meltdown at the nearby ...
Namie radiation evacuees fear return
Weed-engulfed buildings and shuttered businesses paint an eerie picture of a coastal Japanese town abandoned after a monstrous earthquake and tsunami triggered meltdowns in the Fukushima nuclear plant. Namie, one of the communities hardest hit by the 2011 disaster, had 21,000 residents before they fled ...
Retailer hopes to lift returning firms in Namie by tapping pipeline to Qvevri-made Georgian wine
Matsubaya, a retail and wholesale firm from the town of Namie near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, is trying to revitalize businesses that were based in the district, using Georgian wine. The firm, which evacuated to Tamura in central Fukushima Prefecture, is ...
Since the 2011 meltdowns ended their future as prized black wagyu beef, a rancher near the Fukushima nuclear power plant has given his cattle a new mission: They've become protesters. Defying both government evacuation and slaughter orders, 62-year-old Masami Yoshizawa returned to his ranch 14 ...
Fried noodles served up by nuclear evacuees of the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, won first prize in this year's low-price popular food contest B-1 Grand Prix held in the city of Toyokawa, Aichi Prefecture, over the weekend. The Namie team, whose members had to ...
