Dalai Lama held a memorial service in Tokyo for quake and tsunami victims: “I have felt deep sorrow”

Dalai Lama XIV, the supreme leader of Tibetan Buddhism, held a memorial service on the 29th, at Gokokuji Temple in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo. He did so for the forty-ninth day after a person’s death (in Buddhism, on the 49th day after a person's death, judgement on where the person be sent after death is handed down). He gave a lecture and said “I have felt deep sorrow for the terrible thing that had happened. What I could do is only to pray.”

Originally, he just planned to stop over at Japan to transfer his flight back to the States. But he extended his stay in Japan in response to the mega quake and tsunami that followed to hold a memorial service.

At the service, Dalai Lama chanted the sutra along with another 70 Tibetan and Japanese monks from various sects. The sutra, hannya shingyo, echoed throughout the main hall of the temple.

Dalai Lama encouraged the disaster victims by saying, "Since we lost our country, we have enhanced our own inner strength. Japan has lost lots of its people in the Second World War, but it did not discourage the country from rising again. I would like Japan to remember its ability to mover forward."

Yomiuri Shimbun, April 29, 2011
Translated by Yuka Yamashita

A couple of years to resume fishery, and also worries about the accidents at the nuclear power plant

Mr. Takayuki Ishimori (54) at Nonohama Fishing Port in Onagawa-cho, Miyagi Prefecture


I am a chairman of Nonohama Branch of Miyagi Prefectural Fishermen’s Association. The ship departed to the sea, but not for the fishing. There are divers to check the condition of the seabed. This area is for the oyster farming. If the seabed was damaged by debris, we cannot carry out the business. I think it would take a couple of years to resume the fishery.

We hold the meeting of the Association every Sunday, and we want the government to provide the equal opportunity for fishery to each fisherman.

I also work as an electrician at the Onagawa Nuclear Power Plant nearby. My job is to maintain the generator and other things. When you work inside the plant, you will understand that it is safe. But the accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant have made us uneasy. (photo by Mr. Hiroto Shibata)

Daily Sports Newspaper, April 26, 2011
http://photos.nikkansports.com/

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Government’s aid should be focused on providing the housing for victims as soon as possible

(by Ms. Yoko Honma (56), Housewife, Ofunato-cho, Ofunato City, Iwate Prefecture, at the rent house in Ofunato City where she has taken shelter)

I saw a man counting coins in his hand at the grocery store the other day. He was trying to make sure if he had enough money for the items that he needed to buy. When I felt his desperation, I just could not help wishing that the donated money would be delivered to the victims as soon as possible. I am in the same boat. The longer the lives at the shelter, the more discouraged we would become. Food only is not enough for us to live in positive attitude. I was lucky to move into a rent house. I wish the government provide the aid to the victims as soon as possible so that the people can move out of the evacuation center and make living on their own.

Asahi Newspaper, April 29, 2011

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Japanese Nuclear Adviser Quits .(by WSJ)

TOKYO—A special advisor to the Japanese government on radiation safety resigned Friday, saying that he was dissatisfied with the handling of the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703567404576293201211871250.html

Fukushima Prefecture starts taking custody of pets left in 20-km no-entry zone (by Mainichi Shimbun)

A dog found in the no-entry zone near the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is pictured on April 28, 2011. (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp

A Day to Bid Farewell to Tsunami Dead .(by WSJ)

Residents of Rikuzentakata, where 2,000 people were killed or lost in the March 11 tsunami, participated in a 49th-day memorial service Thursday.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703643104576290873496027278.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENews

Severe job shortages in Miyagi after tsunami disaster (by Mainichi Shimbun)

Job seekers form long lines in front of the Ishinomaki employment office before it opens for the day. (Mainichi)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/

DPJ eyes tax hike, partial capital relocation in postquake vision (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110429p2g00m0dm006000c.html

Workers construct temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in the grounds of a school acting as a shelter in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, Japan, Sunday, March 20, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Panel urges broad compensation for farmers, fishermen (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104280204.html

Rows of spinach and other leafy vegetables are lined up for auction at a wholesale market in Maebashi after shipment restrictions were lifted earlier this month. (Shinji Ishiwata)

Disaster rekindles doubts about courts' nuclear plant rulings (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104270145.html


A plaintiff, demanding suspension of a reactor at the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture, holds a sign that reads, "A 10-year grudge," after the high court reversed a lower court and dismissed the case in March 2009. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Holidaymakers should travel to revitalize devastated economy (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110428p2a00m0na008000c.html


People row boats as they enjoy warm spring weather under the canopy of the cherry blossoms at the Imperial Palace moat in Tokyo, Wednesday, April 13, 2011.(AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

Medical team from southern Japan provides psychological care for quake relief workers (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110428p2a00m0na018000c.html


Hitoshi Kuroda, left, consults with psychiatric care team members over mental care for disaster relief workers at Greenpia Sanriku Miyako on April 22. (Mainichi)

Osaka governor vows to scrap nuclear power generation (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110428p2a00m0na011000c.html


Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto is pictured during his regular media interview at the Osaka Prefectural Government on April 27. (Mainichi)

Reconstruction Adviser: Time to Push Reforms (by WSJ)

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/04/22/reconstruction-adviser-time-to-push-reforms/?mod=earthquake


European Pressphoto Agency
An elderly evacuee sits outside an evacuation center as a volunteer walks by in the tsunami-devastated coastal town of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture April 13.

For Many, Golden Week Is Opportunity to Help (by WSJ)

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/2011/04/27/for-many-golden-week-is-opportunity-to-help/?mod=earthquake


Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
A woman receives clothes from volunteers in Miyagi Prefecture earlier this month. Many Japanese are forgoing traditional Golden Week vacations and choosing instead to travel and volunteer in Japan’s tsunami-devastated northeast.

Illnesses Surge Among Quake Victims . (by WSJ)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703907004576278620034100668.html


YASUYOSHI CHIBA/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

Shizuko Abe, 67, helps her 73-year-old husband, Yoshio, at a shelter for displaced hospital patients.

“Our skill and spirit stay alive,” a company president vows to rebuild his venerable sake brewery.

A long-established brewing company Suisen Shuzo, Co., Ltd. in Rikuzentakata, Iwate where the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami have caused significant damage is trying to rise from devastation. The tsunami claimed many victims among the company’s officers and employees and the company building and factory turned into rubble. However, Mr. Yasuhiko Konno (64), the president of the company says “Tangible things have disappeared, but our skill and spirit of sake brewing stay alive,” and vows to start from scratch.

Suisen Shuzo’s predessor “Kesen Shuzo” was formed as a result of the merger of eight breweries in both Rikuzentakata and Ofunato in 1944. Suisen Shuzo’s signature brand, which is called “Suisen,” made from the Kesen River’s subsoil water, won the 2007 & 2008 Gold Award in the All Japan New Sake Competition. The company had launched a new business to open a market in China due to the shift away from sake in the Japanese domestic market.

On March 11, “Koshikidaoshi,” the celebration to reward the company’s master brewers before shipment of sake brewed in the previous year was going to be held at four in the afternoon. “Tsunami has flown over the seawalls! Run!” A man cried out in the address over the community wireless system when the employees started going home after two big shakes.

Mr. Konno got into his car with his wife and hit the gas pedal. When he stopped the car and turned around, he found the ocean heaving with debris at the place where the company building and his home used to be. Four out of sixty company officers and employees were killed and three went missing.

Two days after the earthquake, Mr. Konno stood in the ruins of the company building where the sea water had receded. There was not a trace of the company building that had been registered as a tangible cultural asset. Only a few out of 100 cherry blossom trees survived, which the people in Rikuzentakata would feast their eyes on. He found most of the 150 sake brewing tanks he had owned lying on their side. His heart ached when he smelled sake in the air in the mass of rubble.


The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 14, 2011
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/feature/20110316-866918/news/20110414-OYT1T00113.htm

Translated by Mikiko Yamashita

Japan reviewing policy to export nuclear technology (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/business/news/20110427p2g00m0bu054000c.html


This October 2008 photo shows the Fukushima No. 1 power plant of Tokyo Electric Power Co. at Okuma, Fukushima prefecture, northern Japan.(AP Photo/Kyodo News)

Fukushima villagers launch organization demanding TEPCO, gov't pay compensation

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/news/20110427p2a00m0na014000c.html


Iitate residents raise their fists and chant a slogan during a rally at a local hall on April 26. (Mainichi)

Minamisoma mayor wants to hold rebirth forum (by Japan Times)

FUKUSHIMA — The mayor of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture, expressed his desire Monday to create an international forum in the city for firms and people from all over the world to contribute their expertise on how to tackle nuclear crises as well as alternative energy development.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110427f3.html

Son reopens sake shop that missing father protected from tsunami (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110427p2a00m0na012000c.html


Toyoki Sugawara stands in front of a temporary building for his family's reopened sake business in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on April 25, 2011. (Mainichi)

Female worker at nuke plant suffers radiation dose exceeding limit (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110427p2g00m0dm092000c.html


Workers are pictured at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant on March 23. (Photograph courtesy of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency)

Photo Journal by Mainichi Shimbun: Be prepared

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photojournal/graph/photojournal/1.html

Children conduct evacuation drills at a playground of Takata Elementary School in devastated Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, on April 27. The school, located about 600 meters from the seashore, was designated as an evacuation shelter. On the day of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami hit the first floor of the school building. All of the school children were safe after evacuating to high ground. (Mainichi)

Culture of Complicity Tied to Stricken Nuclear Plant (NYT)

Masataka Shimizu, center, president of Tokyo Electric Power, and company officials knelt to ask forgiveness of residents in a shelter in Koriyama.

By NORIMITSU ONISHI and KEN BELSON

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/27/world/asia/27collusion.html?_r=1&hp

Japan Utility President Stranded as Crisis Began (by WSJ)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704729304576286741965541546.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

Tepco President Masataka Shimizu is shown speaking to the media earlier this month. The Japanese government said Tuesday it had bumped the executive from a military transport flight a few hours after a tsunami triggered an accident there last month.

Calorie intake of most quake victims in Miyagi falls short of target (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/04/26/20110426p2g00m0dm002000c.html

Evacuees rest at the main floor of a high school gymnasium that has turned into an evacuation center in Watari, Miyagi Prefecture, northern Japan Tuesday, March 29, 2011. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Japanese NGOs seek nuke-free society on 25th anniv. of Chernobyl (by Mainichi Shimbun)

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A group of 87 nongovernmental organizations in Japan reiterated calls to achieve a nuclear-free society on Tuesday, the 25th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, at a time when the worst nuclear crisis since is continuing at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/national/archive/news/2011/04/26/20110426p2g00m0dm019000c.html

Chernobyl widows mourn as bell tolls 25 times (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20110426p2g00m0in077000c.html

Two girls light candles near the monument to Ukrainians who were evacuated from the town of Pripyat, which was affected by radiation in Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 25, 2011. (AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov)

Austrian chancellor calls for nuclear-free future (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20110426p2g00m0in075000c.html

Anti nuclear demonstrators hold a banner during a protest marking the 25th anniversary of the nuclear accident in Chernobyl in Vienna, Austria, on Monday, April 25, 2011. Austria is an ardent opponent of nuclear power and has no operating plants of its own. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)

Thousands demonstrate near German nuclear plants (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20110426p2g00m0in073000c.html

People ride their bikes and hold flags reading "Nuclear power? No thanks" during a demonstration at the nuclear power plant of Biblis in Germany, Monday, April 25, 2011. Thousands of people have staged protests near several German nuclear power plants, demanding a speedy end to the country's use of atomic energy. (AP Photo/dapd, Thomas Lohnes)

Public split on nuclear energy, but long-time warning deserves serious debate (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110426p2a00m0na001000c.html

In this March 20, 2011 aerial file photo taken by a small unmanned drone and released by Air Photo Service, the crippled Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant is seen in Okumamachi, Fukushima prefecture. From top to bottom: Unit 1, Unit 2, Unit 3 and Unit 4. (AP Photo/Air Photo Service)

Japan’s Cherry Blossoms Bloom, but Nuclear Fears Keep Tourists Away (by NYT)

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/26/world/asia/26blossom.html?_r=1&ref=world


In a place that usually has hundreds of thousands of visitors, fears of nuclear contamination have kept sightseers from making a trip to see a weeping cherry tree said to be a thousand years old.

Industries left short-handed after foreign workers flee Japan following nuke accident (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110425p2a00m0na022000c.html

A Chinese restaurant remains closed in Yokohama's Chinatown. (Mainichi)

Anti-nuclear plant candidate Hosaka wins Setagaya Ward mayoral race (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110425p2a00m0na008000c.html

Nobuto Hosaka raises bunches of flowers after winning the Setagaya Ward mayoral election on April 24. (Mainichi)

Fukushima city to seek reconstruction ideas from around globe (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110426p2g00m0dm003000c.html

Suits to halt atomic plants have all failed (by Japan Times)

The risk of an earthquake causing critical damage to a nuclear power plant has been the subject of lawsuits filed by residents in various parts of Japan over the years, but to date none of these legal actions has led to the actual suspension of a plant.

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110426a2.html

5,000 protest in Shibuya against nuclear power generation (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104250122.html

Participants in an anti-nuclear demonstration walk the streets of Tokyo's Shibuya district on April 24 holding "nanohana" flowers, a symbol of the revitalization of Chernobyl following the 1986 nuclear accident. (Shingo Kuzutani)

Evacuees get home visits of five hours--No-go zone entry after Golden Week OK'd; animal cull begins (by Japan Times)

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110425x1.html

Russian nuclear scientist says Fukushima disaster was predictable (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110425p2a00m0na023000c.html


A unique photo of the 4th destroyed reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant made by the plant's photographer Anatoliy Rasskazov in the first hours after the deadly April 26 1986 explosion. A highly radioactive vapor trail seen coming from the heart of the destroyed reactor. He died in 2010 of Chernoby-related cancer. (AP Photo/Anatoliy Rasskazov)

Indonesian nurse grateful for Japan's help after Sumatra tsunami joins relief team in Iwate (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110425p2a00m0na017000c.html


Indonesian nurse Suwarti shows a board with a message in support of Japan written by her colleagues, in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, on April 24. (Mainichi)

American teacher in Sendai stays in Japan to help with volunteer efforts (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110425p2a00m0na011000c.html


Greg Lekich, far left, and other volunteers are pictured in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture, on April 20. (Photo courtesy of Greg Lekich)

How did Japan's nuclear industry become so arrogant? (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110425p2a00m0na006000c.html


Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) officials hold a press conference on March 21 on the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant. (Mainichi)

Movers turn away evacuees / People told to relocate get cold shoulder from moving firms (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

FUKUSHIMA--Many residents in Fukushima Prefecture who have been told to prepare for evacuation have been refused service by moving companies, it has been learned.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110424002266.htm

Canadian filming quake-hit Kesennuma (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

KESENNUMA, Miyagi--A Canadian researcher has focused her camera on Kesennuma in a project that may last a decade to show how the devastated city and residents are recovering from last month's massive earthquake and tsunami.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T110424001230.htm

Atmospheric radiation leak underestimated (by Yomiuri Shimbun)

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20110424dy04.htm

Fukushima crisis initially categorized as 'incident,' not accident (by Asashi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104230229.html

Hidehiko Nishiyama, spokesman for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, left, raises the severity of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident to level 7 on the INES scale on April 12. (Yuta Takahashi)

Hey there! Hi there! Ho there! Mickey Mouse brings smiles to evacuees (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104230231.html

Earthquake and tsunami survivors greet Mickey Mouse at an evacuation center in Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture. (Kenta Sujino)

Our newly built house washed away, only 33-year mortgage remains

(by Ms. Mika Tanaka (32), Yuriage, Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture, at an evacuation shelter, Natori City Culture Center, Natori City, Miyagi Prefecture)

The house we rebuilt only a year and a half ago was washed away by the tsunami.

We chose the white wall and floor after thinking it over and over for our new house. We still have 33 years mortgage loan to pay. Insurance paid for the damage, but it did not cover even the half of the remainder that we owe. We’d like to move out from the shelter, but we cannot afford to rent a house big enough for a family of seven and make payment for the loan; moving out from the shelter means resumption of the loan payment. My friends at the shelter have similar problem.


Asahi Shimbun, April 23, 2011
Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Schoolboy hurt in bullying incident after evacuating from Fukushima (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110423p2a00m0na023000c.html

Quake- and tsunami-stricken city starts project to employ beleaguered local residents (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110423p2a00m0na021000c.html

Satoru Suzuki stands on the ruins of his house, of which only the foundation remains, in Ofutano, Iwate Prefecture, on April 20. He is determined to help with efforts to rebuild his hometown. (Mainichi)

Families struggle to identify bodies left abandoned near nuke plant for a month (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110423p2a00m0na024000c.html

People look at photographs of clothes and other items recovered with bodies at an evacuation zone at an abandoned elementary school used as a makeshift refugee shelter in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, on April 17. (Mainichi)

Board of Education members in disaster hit areas reported the difficulties of the mental care for the students of the tragedy.

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, a conference of executive members of the Board of Education from all over Japan--prefectures plus Tokyo, Hokkaido, Osaka, and Kyoto as well as ordinance designated cities--was held at the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology on April 20th, 2011. One after another, members of the board from the disaster hit areas and also those from prefectures that accepted the evacuee students expressed the difficulties in providing the mental care to the students and appealed for the increase in budget to hire the additional teachers.

The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology distributed the guideline materials for the mental care designed for the schools and parents at the conference. After reviewing the contents, Mr. Jin Takahashi, superintendant deputy of the Board of Education in Miyagi Prefecture requested, “Please consider the situation. The guideline instructed ‘not to worry too much,' but those children went through the tsunami cannot forget the disaster even if they try not to think about it. It is not easy to tell them not to worry.”

The Ministry explained the plan to increase the number of teachers for the prefectures of the disaster hit areas and those accepted the evacuee students. For example, Niigata Prefecture received a total of 993 students of elementary schools and middle schools (as of April 19, 2011), and 42 additional teachers will be additionally deployed. Mr. Rikiya Hamanaka, the counselor of Niigata Prefectural Board of Education appealed, “under the existing system, it is expected that the two thirds of the cost of salaries for those additional teachers has to be covered by prefectures and it is very tough for them to do so. Could the government cover 100 %?” The ministry answered that it would be covered by the tax money allocated to local government.

Mr. Mitsuru Fukushima, the superintendant deputy of the Board of Education in Fukushima Prefecture met with Mr. Yoshiaki Takagi, the Minister of Education and other staffs after the conference and asked them to explain the standard of judging whether children can go outside and play in the schoolyard in reference to the amount of radiation, directly to the parents of 13 elementary schools, middle schools, kindergartens, and nursery schools where the radiation amount exceeded the standard.


Asahi.com, 4/20/2011
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0420/TKY201104200548.html

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Photo Journal by Mainichi Shimbun: Saying goodbye

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/photojournal/graph/photojournal/1.html

Evacuees in the gymnasium of Shizugawa Elementary School in Minamisanriku, Miyagi Prefecture, pose for a group shot on April 19, 2011, ahead of a round of group evacuations from the town scheduled for April 21. Around 60 of the 152 evacuees were set to leave, after having spent a month and a half sharing times of both joy and sorrow with the others at the school. Wishing each other well and wondering when they will be able to return, the evacuees were reluctant about parting ways. (Mainichi)

Lack of land hampering temporary housing construction in devastated northeast (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110421p2a00m0na008000c.html

Workers build temporary housing in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, in this recent photo. (Mainichi)

Radioactive leaks into sea were 20,000 times above limit: TEPCO (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110421p2g00m0dm049000c.html

In this photo taken on Thursday, March 31, 2011 by Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and released by Japan Defense Ministry Friday, April 1, a U.S. military barge carrying pure water arrives to the quay near Unit 1 of the tsunami-stricken Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear complex in Okumamachi, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, after being towed by a JMSDF tugboat, not shown. (AP Photo/Japan Defense Ministry )

Despite losing 35,000 chickens to quake, aging poultry farmer vows to start again (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110421p2a00m0na006000c.html

Kohei Furuyama cleans up an empty poultry farm in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture. (Mainichi)

As a fisherman, I’d like to go back to the sea because that's where I belong

(by Mr. Isao Imai (63), Minami Soma City, at Shinsan Gymnasium, Nagaoka City)
I used to fish on the fishing boat, the Daijuhachi Yamatomaru at Uketo Port in Namie-cho, Fukushima Prefecture. My house is located within 20 kilometers radius from the nuclear power plant. The port suffered the terrible attack of the tsunami and the boat was washed away. I’m afraid that the fish must be contaminated by the radiation. As I have been out on the sea throughout my life, I’d like to go back there again soon. I have been patient with the current situation thinking that the sea is where I belong.

Niigata Nippo netpark, "Voices of Evacuees in the Prefecture," April 20, 2011
http://www.niigata-nippo.co.jp/news/pref/22074.html

Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Disappointed by discrimination against those from Fukushima and feel like hiding I am from there

(by Kieko Takeda(57) from Minami Soma City, Fukushima Prefecture at a city gymnasium in Niigata Prefecture)
I heard that the people from Fukushima prefecture who evacuated to other areas are being bullied or discriminated against. I am so disappointed to hear that. Anybody could face the same situation as long as there are nuclear power plants throughout Japan. When I walk on the street, I feel like hiding the fact that I am from Fukushima.


Niigata Nippo netpark, "Voices of Evacuees in the Prefecture," April 20, 2011
http://www.niigata-nippo.co.jp/news/pref/22074.html

Translated by Takako Takata

Government asking not to discriminate against evacuees of nuclear power plant accidents

Japanese government sent out the message to citizens, local governments, and business corporations not to discriminate against those who evacuated from the area of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

The news reported that those evacuees were asked to go through the screening for the radiation or present the proof that they were not exposed to the radiation at several evacuation centers and they were refused to make hotel reservations, and children were bullied by others. The government’s address came out because of the information received from the news.

The Minister of National Policy Unit, Mr. Koichiro Genba expressed at the conference that it was so regretful that some were treating those evacuees thoughtless and asked all the organizations and the business associations to guide the people concerned to be more considerate in order to prevent discrimination against them.

The Chief Cabinet Secretary, Yukio Edano said, “The radiation would not spread among people like the infectious disease as a fact.” He condemned those discriminative acts as overreaction.

On April 19, it was reported that evacuees from Fukushima Prefecture were asked to present the proof of screening for radiation before admission to the evacuation center in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture. The city official explained that the evacuees needed to know if they were exposed to radiation or not and the city was trying to help the evacuees, but no explanation was made why it was necessary to present the proof. © AFP

4/19/2011 AFP

ttp://www.afpbb.com/article/disaster-accidents-crime/disaster/2796285/6964402?utm_source=afpbb&utm_medium=detail&utm_campaign=must_read


Translated by Makiko Tajima Asano

Japan Considers Banning Entry into Evacuation Zone .(by WSJ)

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703922504576273930625967622.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond


Agence France-Presse/Getty Images

A Japanese defense soldier walks among tsunami devastation in the Taro area of Miyako, Iwate prefecture on April 19, 2011.

Met Opera Ready for Japan Tour This Summer (by WSJ)

http://blogs.wsj.com/japanrealtime/?mod=WSJ_Japan_JapanRealTime

Workers battle to remove radioactive water from troubled nuclear reactor (by Mainishi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110420p2a00m0na018000c.html


In this image released Saturday, April 16, 2011, by Tokyo Electric Power Co., top of the container of the nuclear reactor, painted in yellow, of Unit 4 at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Plant is observed from its side with a T-Hawk drone Friday, April 15, 2011 in Okuma, Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan. (AP Photo/Tokyo Electric Power Co.)

Pressure on to speed up construction of temporary housing for evacuees

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/perspectives/news/20110420p2a00m0na005000c.html



In this April 12, 2011 file photo, a man walks a path between spaces divided by corrugated boxes for each family at the evacuation center at the Big Palette Fukushima sports arena in Koriyama, Japan, a month after an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan's northeastern coast. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, File)

Man who escaped death in tsunami remembers wife's parting words of thanks (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110420p2a00m0na017000c.html


Masaru Kumakawa holds a treasured coin purse that his wife left to his daughter -- the only keepsake he has after a tsunami swept her away from him on March 11. (Mainichi)

Donations by TEPCO execs show close ties to Liberal Democratic Party (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20110420p2a00m0na004000c.html



Tokyo Electric Power Co., (TEPCO) Chairman Tsunehisa Katsumata, right, speaks during a news conference at the company's head office in Tokyo, Wednesday, March 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye )

“Don’t give up” A message from a municipal employee who has lost his wife and only child

Mr. Takuya Saijo (left), his wife Yuriko and Naoto. Picture was taken when the family went out to celebrate Mr. Saijo's birthday last year. (photo furnished by Mr. Sato)

“Everyone who was affected by the disaster, I know how painful it is, but please don’t give up. Employee S.” The message posted on the bulletin board at the Natori City Hall of quake-hit Miyagi Prefecture cheers up the people. It is Mr. Takuya Saijo (30), a municipal employee who wrote the message. He himself lost his seven-month-old only son in the tsunami and his wife, Yuriko (27) is still missing. “I would like to be a husband and father whom my wife and son could be proud of.” He stays positive as he continues to work.

At 2:46 pm on March 11, Mr. Saijo who was at his desk at the City Hall called his wife on her cell phone once he felt earthquake. Her phone rang and he thought his call got through for a moment, but it was disconnected within a second. Although he called her again and again during the violent quake, his mobile’s screen only showed “No signal is available.” He felt so anxious, but he reminded himself that his wife was protecting their only son.

The employees of the Pension Division which Mr. Saijo works for were assigned to establish a system to take in those affected. Immediately, he was given the task of securing food supply for evacuation centers. He took his wedding band off and carefully put it into his pocket so as not to damage it while at work.

It was not until two o’clock on the morning of March 12 that he got home in Natori City after work. His home is about three kilometers away from the coast, but the whole area was covered in water and mud. He opened the door and called his wife’s name, but the two were not there. “They must be shivering in the cold somewhere.” He drove around carrying blankets, foods, diapers, etc., to look for his wife and son at every shelter as well as his wife’s silver car in every parking lot all through the night.

Early in the morning, Mr. Saijo was headed to his wife’s parents’ house, which was about 3.5 kilometers away from his home. He used to visit them with his son. Streets were blocked by debris and mud along the way to the house. After he got out of his car and walked through debris strewn streets, he found that the parents’ two storied house was gone, which was about one kilometer away from the coast.

On March 13, he finally got together with his wife’s mother at an evacuation center. She told him that his wife had been washed away in the tsunami with her son in her arms.

On March 15, Mr. Saijo’s father and younger sister visited him in the evacuation center where he worked to tell him that there was a body which looked like the son Naoto’s in the mortuary. After work, Mr. Saijo went to the mortuary near the City Hall. Naoto’s tiny pink coffin was laid together with many other large ones. Mr. Saijo opened the tiny coffin’s cover and found Naoto inside. He looked as if he was asleep, but his purple colored underwear was stained with mud. Mr. Saijo cuddled up to Naoto and kept stroking him on the cheek and head.

On March 16, the City Hall was again full of people who were trying to find out about the safety of their families and friends. Mr. Saijo’s wife was still missing. He looked at the list of evacuation centers and victims’ names many times a day.

He saw a number of other people, like him, who were looking for their loved ones but disappointed to have found no names on the list. He wanted to say to them, “Here is someone who understands your pain.” He asked himself what he could do for them and came up with this idea to write a message for those affected.

On March 17, he arrived in the office early and took out his family photo which he kept in the desk drawer.

It was three years ago that he had met his wife, Yuriko. She was his junior colleague and an upbeat woman who always talked with a smile on her face. He fell in love at first sight and proposed to her on June 14 of the year, which was her birthday. The two used to walk on the beach with the Labrador retriever, Yuriko’s parents’ dog. And their son Naoto was born last July and used to smile when he had a camera pointed at him. Mr. Saijo took thousands of photos of Naoto.

He started writing with fond memories of his wife and son. He tried to write word by word in a careful manner, but could not write neatly. And he finished writing “Don’t give up.”

“Are you the person who wrote the message? Actually, we are on the same boat.” The people who had lost their family members talked to Mr. Saijo a few days after he posted the message. They talked to each other about whether they lived safely. Mr. Saijo made a promise to have a talk with them when they were in trouble. He says, “I am not the only one who is suffering. I hope to support each individual who suffers.”

“I would like to rebuild and revive this town where my wife and son were born and raised so that everyone here can live with a smile again.” His family photo is in his desk drawer as usual.

Mr. Saijo's message posted on the safety confirmation bulletin board at the Natori City Hall.

The full text of Mr. Saijo’s message:

I have lost my beloved wife and newborn only son in the ferocious tsunami.

I would like to live life to the fullest in order to be a husband and father whom they can be proud of.

Everyone who was affected by the disaster, I know how painful it is, but please don’t give up!

Natori City Employee S.

The Asahi Shimbun, April 15, 2011
http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0415/TKY201104150225.html

Translated by Mikiko Yamashita

Poll: 41% want nuclear power generation reduced or stopped (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104180129.html

Journalist leads 'Tour of Love' through battered Tohoku (by Asahi Shimbun)

http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201104160147.html


Iranian journalist Afshin Valinejad gives a guided tour of the Tohoku region. (Louis Templado)

Global confidence in nuclear energy falls after Japan quake (by Mainichi Shimbun)

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/international/news/20110419p2g00m0in041000c.html


In this image made on Friday, April 15, 2011, the Lonngmen Nuclear Power Plant is seen behind Fulong beach in Gongliao Township, northeastern Taiwan. As China, Taiwan.