Government-funded annual memorial ceremonies for March 2011 disasters to end in 2021
Government-funded memorial services each year commemorating the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami will end in 2021, which will mark the 10th anniversary of the massive disaster, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Tuesday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe concluded that he should determine the course for ...
Japan approves reduced post-3/11 reconstruction budget, citing progress
The government approved a plan Thursday to drastically reduce its budget for reconstruction of areas hit by the 2011 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster due to progress in ongoing projects. For the five years from fiscal 2021, the government projects to spend some ¥1.5 trillion ...
Chilly Ishinomaki taps olive oil to boost tsunami recovery
The scene of olive trees bearing green and black fruit in November is growing familiar to residents of Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, a city that often sees temperatures drop to below zero in the winter months. "When I heard the olive growing plan, I wondered if ...
Tohoku reactor restart: What is the state of Japan's nuclear policy?
In late November, the Nuclear Regulation Authority (NRA) gave the green light for restarting the No. 2 reactor at Tohoku Electric Power Co.'s Onagawa plant in Miyagi Prefecture, which had been damaged in the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami. The announcement once again ...
Blue Impulse aerobatics team to draw Olympic rings in sky at flame-welcoming ceremony
Japan's Blue Impulse aerobatics team will draw the five Olympic rings in the sky with colored smoke at a ceremony in March to mark the arrival of the sacred flame from Greece, a source said Friday. The 2020 Tokyo Organising Committee has decided that the ...
The government and ruling camp are discussing an extension of special tax cuts for companies in areas affected by the March 2011 disasters in Tohoku, according to informed sources. The tax breaks are set to expire at the end of fiscal 2020 through March 2021. Given ...
Japan's Reconstruction Agency to get 10 more years to aid Fukushima nuclear disaster recovery
The plan is expected to be approved at a Cabinet meeting within this year and be submitted to the Diet next year.
Japan's top court finalizes ¥1.44 billion in damages for 84 deaths at school in 3/11 tsunami
The decision was sealed after the Supreme Court rejected an appeal filed by the Ishinomaki municipal and Miyagi prefectural governments over blame for the tragic evacuation plan.
Museum dedicated to March 2011 tsunami disaster opens in Iwate Prefecture
A museum aimed at passing on the lessons of the March 2011 tsunami to future generations opened Sunday in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. The Iwate Tsunami Memorial Museum, launched by the Iwate Prefectural Government, is a key feature of a park being built by the national ...
Former Tepco executives found not guilty of criminal negligence in Fukushima nuclear disaster
Three former senior executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. are acquitted of professional negligence relating to the 2011 crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
Rent hikes for surviving 3/11 residents cause mass exodus of young families in Sendai
Eight years since the Great East Japan Earthquake, some survivors of the disaster still live in uncertainty as they fall between the cracks of governmental policy that is meant to support them. Now, 176 families who live in public apartment complexes within Sendai will have ...
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 ...
