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Expats in Japan Tiptoe Back to Work
Life in Japan is showing tentative signs of returning to normal, but a fresh challenge may be facing the expatriates and Japanese who left and are now trickling back to their offices: how to cope with ostracism and anger from their colleagues who have worked through the crisis.
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U.S., British teachers help evacuees in tsunami-hit Iwate shelter
Three teachers of English from the United States and Britain have earned the thanks of evacuees at a shelter in tsunami-ravaged Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan after deciding to stay in the area to offer their help. The three men’s relatives in their own countries suggested they leave Japan home but they chose to work…
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Information on foreigners in Tohoku scarce
Authorities are trying to gather information about foreign victims of the March 11 earthquake-tsunami catastrophe, but the unprecedented damage is hampering relief work. Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto pledged to do his utmost to determine the whereabouts of foreigners, both alive and missing, but 10 days after the disaster the government remains unready to release even…
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Japan Nuclear Disaster Caps Decades of Faked Reports, Accidents
The unfolding disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant follows decades of falsified safety reports, fatal accidents and underestimated earthquake risk in Japan’s atomic power industry. The destruction caused by last week’s 9.0 earthquake and tsunami comes less than four years after a 6.8 quake shut the world’s biggest atomic plant, also run by Tokyo Electric…
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18 March, 1600hrs, British Embassy Briefing
On 18 March at 1600hrs, the British Ambassador to Tokyo, David Warren, and the UK’s Chief Scientific Advisor, Sir John Beddington, held a telephone briefing regarding the situation at Fukushima. Over the past few days, there has been continuing concern about the situation at Fukushima, particularly in light of yesterday’s amendment to British travel advice…
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Foreigners again flood immigration
Foreign residents flooded the Tokyo Immigration Bureau early Thursday seeking re-entry permits as fears of a nuclear crisis prompted them to make plans to leave temporarily if needed. More than 2,500 foreign residents had formed a long line stretching outside the immigration office as of noon, apparently due to fears of the unfolding crisis at…
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Embassies launch emergency measures
Embassies in Tokyo have started emergency steps such as moving their functions to the Kansai region or flying diplomats’ families out of Japan amid concern over radiation from the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant. While the government expressed understanding over their decisions, officials urged the embassies and foreigners living in Japan to stay calm.
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Capital has no iodine prep plans
Other than monitoring radiation levels in the capital amid the failures at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government said Wednesday it had no plans to prepare any radiological countermeasures, such as reserving iodine pills to deal with internal exposure to radioactive substances. The government instead called for residents to go about…
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U.S., U.K. advise citizens in quake vicinity to evacuate
The U.S. Embassy in Japan has asked American citizens living within an 80-kilometer radius of the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant in Japan to evacuate as a precautionary measure. “We are recommending, as a precaution, that American citizens who live within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant evacuate the area…
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Embassies list 400 foreigners as missing
About 400 foreigners remained unaccounted for as of noon Wednesday, several dozen embassies told the Foreign Ministry in the wake of Friday’s historic earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region. A ministry official said the missing may not all be caught up in the disaster area and not all embassies have provided information, thus the…