NEWSWORTHY
Typhoon Shanshan to bring heavy rain and strong winds to eastern Japan
Japan's weather agency has warned of heavy rain, strong gusts of wind and high waves as a strong typhoon is expected to travel very close to the country's eastern and northeastern coastal areas from late Wednesday to Thursday afternoon. Typhoon Shanshan could linger longer than ...
A photo studio in Okayama Prefecture has offered to restore — free of charge — photos damaged by the heavy rains that ravaged western Japan last month, prompting people in the disaster-hit areas to send in tens of thousands of photos. Staffers and volunteers at ...
Traumatic memories and concerns for the future unnerve those displaced by Hiroshima rain disaster
Shigenobu Ikeda, 74, dreams of returning to his home in Hiroshima. He believes the property can be fully restored, even though half of the house was damaged in a landslide triggered by the recent torrential rains in western Japan. Ikeda is one of dozens of survivors ...
More in LDP call for surge in public works after disasters, but some see election ploy
An increasing number of Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers are calling for boosting public works projects to improve infrastructure.
In Mabicho, delays, lack of awareness raised death toll from floods
When Isao Akutagawa moved to the sleepy riverside community of Mabicho in Okayama Prefecture 45 years ago, it seemed like the perfect suburb to raise his children. In the town, which was merged with the nearby city of Kurashiki in 2005 and is now called ...
Recent flooding highlights power of social media in a disaster
Online users in Japan followed the storms that lead to devastating floods and landslides in the western part of the country closely as they unfolded last week. The topic remained central to discussion on social media as the days went on and the full ...
The Osaka quake should serve as yet another wake-up call for city administrators across the nation to review their preparedness for disasters.
Osaka quake could be sign of more shaking to come, experts warn
While details of the fault movements behind the fatal quake have yet to be determined, it struck in an area where active faults are concentrated.
Nankai Trough quake, tsunami could cost Japan ¥1.4 quadrillion over 20 years, engineers say
The estimate for the latest big quake feared “in the next 30 years” comes from the Japan Society of Civil Engineers, who factored infrastructure damage into the economic impact.
Kin of last confirmed victim of Kumamoto quakes mark second anniversary of disaster
The family of the last confirmed victim of the powerful earthquakes that rocked Kumamoto Prefecture in 2016 marked the second anniversary of the main quake on Monday. Takuya Yamato, 59, his wife, Shinobu, 50, arrived with their eldest son Shogo, 25, near the spot in ...
Three interesting figures we stumbled across online last week.
As Philippine volcano spews lava fountains, 40,000 people flee
The Philippines' most active volcano continued to spew fountains of red-hot lava and massive ash plumes Tuesday in a dazzling but increasingly dangerous eruption that has sent 40,000 villagers to shelter in evacuation centers. Lava fountains gushed up 700 meters (2,300 feet) above Mount Mayon's ...
