Strongest Ever Japan Earthquake
and Tsunami News updates
for April 30-May 6, 2011
This page is a continuation of my main Strongest
Ever Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami
page, reflecting April 30-May 6, 2011 news updates
for the
8th week after
the initial quake. Thanks so much for your
concern, and please remember in your thoughts and prayers those
thousands of people who are
suffering right now and haven't heard from their missing
family
members.
News Updates for
8th Week after Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
-- April 30-May 6,
2011
(JST=UT+9 hrs., or CDT+14 hrs., e.g. 8 am in Houston = 10 pm in Tokyo):
May 6,
2011
20:05 (JST): New subway station monitor shows TEPCO
electricity demand/supply -
A recently installed monitor in a Tokyo subway station shows the
real-time hourly electricity demand as a percentage of the available
supply that TEPCO is capable of providing. In the 12-1 pm hour on May
6, TEPCO customers were using 30.3 gigawatts, which was 83% of the
maximum 36.5-gigawatt capacity TEPCO could supply.
(Demand/supply graph)
May 6, 2011
14:40 (JST): 132 children left without both parents after
quake and tsunami - The number of children in Iwate,
Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures whose parents died or remain missing
in the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake had reached 132 as of May
4. Children under the age of 18 who lost both their parents or
are still unable to locate their parents in Yamada and other
municipalities in Iwate Prefecture numbered 57, while an identical
number of children were without both parents in Onagawa,
Higashimatsushima, and other municipalities in Miyagi Prefecture.
(Source: Mainichi Daily News)
Students solicit contributions in front of JR Yurakucho Station in
Tokyo on April 15 for children who lost both parents in the March 11
earthquake and tsunami. (Mainichi)
May 6, 2011
10:20 (JST): Superheroes Cheer Children In Japan's Tsunami
Zone - The battle between the buggy-eyed blue superhero
and the evil sea monster and his ninja henchmen was a brief but
refreshing return to normalcy for children in this Japanese coastal
city.
Nearly two months after their lives were roiled by a massive tsunami,
the boys and girls of Ishinomaki--many who still live in shelters or
half-ruined homes surrounded by debris--were treated to the stage
show as part of Children's Day celebrations. (Source: NPR)
A clown entertains children outside the Ishinomori Shotaro Manga Museum
during a Children's Day event in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture,
northeastern Japan, Thursday, May 5, 2011. (AP photo)
May 6, 2011
7:15 (JST): Quake-hit areas stuck with massive amounts of
unwanted
donated items - Local government officials in the
disaster-stricken Tohoku areas are struggling to deal with the
excessive amount of donated items, many of which are stockpiled in
school gymnasiums and other temporary storage facilities. Many items,
such as winter clothes, blankets and heaters, are no longer needed, but
donations are still coming in.
On Wednesday, authorities in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, decided to
organize bazaars to sell some of the excess items and donate others to
different charities in an attempt to ease the backlog. Out of
approximately 10,000 boxes of donated goods, about a third are not
needed, including around 8,000 children's knapsacks, officials said.
(Source: Japan Today)
May 5, 2011
21:00 (JST): Amway Malaysia collects RM60,000 in aid of Japan
earthquake-tsunami survivors - Distributors and employees
of leading direct-selling company Amway (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (Amway) gave
generously in response to the company's donation drive in aid of the
Japan earthquake-tsunami survivors.
The collective contribution from Amway distributors, employees and the
company amounted to RM60,000 (~$20,000). Paul Yee, general manager of
Amway, handed the donation to Malaysian Red
Crescent (MRC) chairman for Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur Branch
Datuk Dr Noordin Ab Razak at their national headquarters in Jalan
Ampang, Kuala Lumpur recently.
More...
Yee (left) handing over the cheque to
Dr Noordin at MRC national headquarters.
May 5, 2011
14:35 (JST): TEPCO president visits Fukushima -
The president of Tokyo Electric Power Company, or TEPCO, has again
apologized to communities affected by the emergency at the Fukushima
Daiichi nuclear plant.
Masataka Shimizu visited officials in Hirono in Fukushima Prefecture on
Wednesday.
The town has set up a disaster relief headquarters in neighboring Iwaki
city. Shimizu apologized to Hirono Mayor Motohoshi Yamada.
Shimizu promised to bring the situation at Fukushima Daiichi under
control as soon as possible so people can go home. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
May 5, 2011
5:55 (JST): Children's Day Message - Secretary
of State Hillary Rodham Clinton issued a statement on Japan's
Children's Day in Washington on May 3, noting that people throughout
the United States have been working with their communities and schools
to donate money and food, send care packages and letters, and encourage
children in the affected areas as they rebuild your lives.
Separately, in advance of Children's Day (May 5), the U.S. Embassy in
Tokyo delivered
to the government of Japan a package of cards which second-graders at a
public school in Santa Fe, New Mexico made to console victims of the
March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan and sent to the Embassy.
(Source: U.S. Embassy Japan)
Children's Day card
May 5, 2011
2:55 (JST): Money not reaching victims of Japan earthquake -
Only a tiny fraction of the money donated to help survivors of the
Great East Japan Earthquake has made it into the hands of disaster
victims nearly two months since the devastation of March 11.
The Japanese Red Cross Society and other entities have sent about 58
billion yen (about $715 million). But less than 10 per cent of this
amount has actually reached disaster victims, according to
investigations by The Yomiuri Shimbun. The standstill has been
attributed to lack of staff at local governments as well as difficulty
in identifying recipients and informing them the donations are
available.
(Source: The Vancouver Sun)
Fishing boats lie amongst tsunami devastation in the town of Yamada,
Iwate Prefecture on May 4, 2011, nearly two months after the 9.0
magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami hit Japan.
(Image credit: Toshifumi
Kitamura, AFP/Getty Images)
May 4, 2011
20:45 (JST): Tsunami In Japan Has Affected Over 60,000 Thai
Workers
- The tsunami in Japan has affected over 60,000 Thai workers as some 60
local plants has reduced the production due to insufficient raw
materials.
The situation has affected 60,704 employees in five Thai provinces
comprising 11,441 employees at 16 plants in Ayutthaya province, 17,605
employees at seven plants in Samut Prakan, 7,287 employees at four
plants in Chon Buri, 4,500 employees at three plants in Chachoengsao
and 2,670 employees at three plants in Pathum Thani. (Source:
Bernama.com)
May 4, 2011 16:20 (JST): "Songs for Japan" charity album
raises $5 million
- A charity album featuring hits from the likes of Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan
and Madonna has raised $5 million for the victims of the Japanese
earthquake and tsunami, the record labels involved said on Wednesday.
The album "Songs For Japan," a collaboration between the world's
biggest record companies, was released a month ago and has been on sale
in digital format and as a two-disc CD set. It was available from March
25 on iTunes and from April 4 as a CD. Songs For Japan featured 38 hits
and classic songs, including "Imagine" by John Lennon, "Don't Let The
Sun Go Down On Me" by Elton John, and "Pray" by Justin Bieber. (Source: Reuters)
The US flag
flies amid debris in the devastated town of Hueytown, Alabama (AFP)
May 4, 2011
9:30 (JST): After quake, Japan helps tornado-hit US
(AFP) - Japan said Tuesday that it would deliver blankets
to victims of tornadoes that swept through the US South, repaying some
of the gratitude for US help following its own earthquake and tsunami.
Japan will offer 10 million yen (125,000 dollars) worth of blankets and
plastic sheets for people left destitute after last week's tornadoes
that killed some 350 people, a Japanese embassy official said.
In a statement, Japan's foreign ministry said that visiting official
Chiaki Takahashi offered the assistance to US Deputy Secretary of State
Jim Steinberg "who expressed his appreciation." (Source: Japanese
Embassy, Washington, D.C.)
May 4, 2011
4:32 (JST): Clinton encourages Japanese children in quake-hit
areas - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
encouraged Japanese children who were affected by the March 11
earthquake and tsunami in a message released Tuesday ahead of
Children's Day on Thursday in Japan.
"I want all the people of Japan--especially children--to know that you
are not alone in this trying time," Clinton said in the message. "We
are committed to creating a brighter future filled with opportunity and
prosper for the children of Japan and for all children around the
world," she said. (Source: Japan Today)
May 3, 2011
21:05 (JST): Carp streamers flown at shelter in Kesennuma
- More than 220 carp streamers bearing messages of encouragement are on
display at an evacuation center in one of the areas worst-hit by the
March 11th disaster.
The streamers were designed by Masae Hatakeyama, who used to live in
the coastal city of Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture.
They were flown on Tuesday over a junior high school in the city where
more than 270 people are taking shelter.
Carp streamers are traditionally displayed in Japan around Children's
Day on May 5th to pray for the healthy growth of children -- just like
carp in the rivers. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
May 3, 2011
16:06 (JST): Radiation forecast data released -
The Japanese government has released data projecting the spread of
radioactive substances from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear
power plant.
The science ministry uses a computer system called SPEEDI to predict
how radiation will spread depending on weather and geographical
conditions.
On Tuesday, the government released about 5,000 bits of data showing
hourly predictions from March 11th. The information appears on the
websites of the Nuclear Safety Commission and other entities. (Source:
nhk.or.jp)
The
Hamayuri, a catamaran sightseeing boat, sits atop a two-story inn in
Otsuchi town. (AFP/GETTY)
May 3, 2011
6:45 (JST): Boat swept 1300 ft inland to become symbol of tsunami -
A 100-ton boat which landed on the roof of an inn after being swept
inland 1300 ft. during Japan's tsunami is to be left there as a
memorial
for the disaster, under plans being considered by the government. The
Hamayuri, a 109-ton vessel used to conduct sightseeing cruises in
Kamaishi Bay, Iwate prefecture, was swept to its current position after
being caught in the Japanese tsunami. Government officials are
currently discussing the possibility of keeping the boat in place as an
enduring symbol of the tsunami and its devastation in the region,
according to local news reports. More...
May 3, 2011
5:05 (JST): U.S. Engineering Programs React to Japan Nuclear
Crisis - Researchers at schools in the United
States are working on technologies that will ensure a more effective
response--one that is less dangerous to those tasked with cleaning up
the mess. George Xu, professor of nuclear engineering at Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, N.Y., for instance, has applied a
virtual reality technology he's been developing for many years to the
Fukushima crisis. He and a team of eight students--seven graduate,
one undergraduate--in his radiation safety course have reconstructed
the troubled reactors in a virtual setting. Using the students'
research, radiation levels in specific areas of the plant at any given
time throughout the ordeal have been calculated and simulated. More...
May 3, 2011
0:35 (JST): Japan new vehicle sales fall by record 51% in
April - Japan's domestic sales of new cars, trucks and
buses logged their biggest-ever drop in April, an industry group said
Monday as the March quake and tsunami hit production and supplies to
dealers.
The sales came to 108,824 units in April, down 51 percent from a year
earlier, the Japan Automobile Dealers Association said.
The drop, far steeper than a 37 percent fall in March, was the biggest
since the data began being recorded in 1968. The previous record fall
was 45.1 percent in May 1974 when Japan was reeling from the oil
crisis. More...
An
11-year-old boy shows his school backpack in Rikuzentakata, Iwate
Prefecture. His teacher found the backpack in the
rubble of their tsunami-ravaged elementary school two weeks after the
disaster, which claimed the lives of the boy's grandfather and great
grandmother. (Mainichi)
May 2, 2011
21:50 (JST): Treasures among the rubble - The
Mainichi Daily News has compiled photographs of quake & tsunami
victims showing items they now treasure following the disaster.
(Source: The Mainichi)
May 2, 2011
18:35 (JST): U.S. Worldwide Travel Alert - May 2 -
The U.S. Embassy in Tokyo transmitted the following information through
the Embassy's warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in
Japan.
The U.S. Department of State alerts U.S. citizens traveling and
residing abroad to the enhanced potential for anti-American violence
following recent counter-terrorism activity in Pakistan. Given the
uncertainty and volatility of the current situation, U.S. citizens in
areas where recent events could cause anti-American violence are
strongly urged to limit their travel outside of their homes and hotels
and avoid mass gatherings and demonstrations. U.S. citizens should stay
current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their
surroundings at all times. This Travel Alert expires August 1,
2011. (Source: U.S. Embassy Tokyo)
May 2, 2011
15:35 (JST): Italian celebrity Girolamo Panzetta pledges to
help with relief efforts -
In a recent interview with the Mainichi, Girolamo Panzetta, an Italian
TV personality who has been living in Japan for over two decades, said
he wanted to do all he could for Japan following the March 11 quake and
tsunami, and the ongoing nuclear crisis.
Panzetta, 48, is married to a Japanese woman whose father is a native
of Fukushima Prefecture, one of the regions most severely hit by the
disaster.
"My father-in-law is from the Fukushima Prefecture town of Aizumisato,
and I've been to the town many times." The Italian celebrity says he is
currently preparing to send relief supplies to the affected regions.
(Source: Mainichi Daily News)
May 2, 2011
10:40 (JST): Tornado-damaged Hot Springs, Arkansas holds
benefit concert for Japanese sister
city - In spite of suffering severe damage from last
week's tornadoes, Hot Springs, Arkansas held a benefit concert anyways
for its quake/tsunami-damaged Japanese sister
city, Hanamaki, in Iwate Prefecture. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
May 2, 2011
7:30 (JST): Securing land for housing for disaster victims
poses challenge - Securing enough land for temporary
housing for victims of the March 11 strongest ever Japan earthquake and
tsunami has emerged
as a challenge for government officials as they work out reconstruction
plans for northeastern Japan.
On Monday, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism
announced that it should be able to secure land lots to build around
52,000 temporary housing units for those who lost their homes in the
most heavily hit prefectures of Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima.
This is still short of the need, as the government still has to find
lots for around 20,000 more units. (Source: Japan Today)
May 2, 2011
5:05 (JST): Repetitive post-quake public service messages
drove TV viewers nuts - "The same ad messages were
repeated too many times. They were never designed to be shown that way,
and there was no real connection between their message and the
post-disaster situation."
Yukichi Amano, a columnist for Kokoku Hihyo, a trade publication that
covers the advertising industry, is obviously unhappy with blizzard of
public service messages aired on TV after the March 11 disaster in
Tohoku.
"It's hard enough as it is to convey the right message through those
kind of ads," Amano continues. "Viewers are just as likely to feel, 'I
don't want to have to listen to this kind of sermonizing!'"
The TV networks suspended the airing of all regular TV commercials and
substituted messages produced by the Advertising Council. (Source:
Japan Today)
May 2, 2011
1:25 (JST): Traffic jams heightened tsunami death toll after
March 11 quake - Traffic jams following the devastating
March 11 strongest ever Japan earthquake and tsunami added to the death
toll in northeastern coastal areas, as many cars were
stranded and swallowed up by the big waves.
Although some local governments had called on residents not to use cars
to escape from tsunamis, many people still attempted to do so.
Ishinomaki, Miyagi city council member Yoshiaki Shoji, 60, who
evacuated by bicycle to an elementary school near the national road,
said he shouted to stalled cars to "Get out!", but nobody responded to
his calls apparently as they were inaudible with the cars' windows
closed.
Shoji, who managed to run up to the second floor of the school and
survive, said he found many cars toppled over there. (Source: Japan
Today)
May 1, 2011
20:50 (JST): Sightseeing boat resting on roof to be removed
- Authorities in Iwate Prefecture will start work to remove a
sightseeing boat that was carried by the March 11th tsunami and ended
up on top of a two-story building.
The 27-meter long luxury cruiser owned by Kamaishi City was in a
dockyard in neighboring Otsuchi Town for regular inspection when the
tsunami hit the area. The boat came to rest about 400 meters inland on
the roof of a Japanese-style inn.
A university professor and others had requested local authorities to
preserve the boat as a symbol of the disaster for future generations.
(Source: nhk.or.jp)
May 1, 2011
15:45 (JST): Tourists return to Tokyo - The
first group of foreign tourists since the March 11th strongest ever
Japan earthquake and
tsunami has arrived in the Tokyo Metropolitan area.
More than 20 people from Singapore flew into Tokyo's Narita Airport on
Saturday morning where they received a warm welcome from Japan
transport bureau staff and others.
The tourists traveled to the hot-spring resort of Hakone where they got
to view cherry blossoms around Lake Ashi. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
May 1, 2011
10:50 (JST): Japan protests French TV's description of quake
- The Japanese Embassy in France has lodged a protest
with French TV's
Canal Plus puppetry program over some inappropriate content that
caricatures current affairs. Among the offending segments was
a scene where a photo of disaster-hit areas was compared with one
showing the devastation in Hiroshima after the 1945 atomic bombing. It
was described as showing that nothing apparently has changed in Japan
for the past 6 decades. The program also included a parody of Japan's
national flag where the symbol for radioactivity was superimposed over
the rising sun. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
Japan flag w/ radioactivity symbol
May 1, 2011
6:50 (JST): Supply chain disruption expected to be resolved
around autumn: METI - Supply chain disruptions for parts
and raw materials that have occurred after Japan's March 11 massive
quake will likely be resolved by around the fall, a Ministry of
Economy, Trade and Industry official said, based on results of a survey
of 55 quake-affected major manufacturers.
According to the survey, 85% of respondents producing industrial
materials and 71% of those putting out finished products said they
would be able to secure sufficient supplies by October.
The survey also showed that 64% of the manufacturers' 70 production
bases have been restored, although the ministry said it did not define
the word "restored" in the survey. (Source: Japan Today)
April 30,
2011 18:45 (JST): Tohoku Earthquake USGS Aftershock Map
- There have been 1115 Japan quakes since March 11, 2011.
April 30,
2011 16:10 (JST): U.S. college offers scholarship for
quake-affected Japanese students - A U.S.
university in Arkansas has set up a new scholarship for Japanese
students who were affected by the March 11 catastrophic earthquake and
ensuing tsunami.
The University of Arkansas-Fort Smith said recently it will offer
scholarships for two Japanese students who want to study abroad but
face financial difficulties because of the disaster. The scholarship
will allow the students to study at the university for eight months
beginning in August. (Source: Kyodo News)
April 30,
2011 13:55 (JST): Criticism up on Japan PM's handling of nuke
crisis - Criticism of the Japanese government's
handling of the crisis at a radiation-spewing nuclear power plant
increased Saturday, with a new poll indicating three-quarters of the
people disapprove and a key adviser quitting in protest.
A Kyodo News service poll released Saturday showed that Prime Minister
Naoto Kan's support ratings were plunging.
The poll reported that 76 percent of the respondents think Kan is not
exercising sufficient leadership in handling the country's earthquake,
tsunami and nuclear triple crisis, up from 63.7 percent in the previous
survey in late March.
More...
Abe and Murakami
(Sankei)
April 30,
2011 10:35 (JST):
Two workers find love among the ruins - One
Minami-Sanriku couple recently found a silver lining in the Tohoku
tsunami disaster. 42-year-old Seiki Abe, a man living in one of the
town's evacuee shelters successfully proposed to 28 year-old Nozomi
Murakami, a volunteer worker there. The couple plan to marry in
mid-May.
Abe's home was relatively undamaged, but as a volunteer firefighter, he
has been spending his days at a shelter cooking for residents.
Murakami, who is a laundry worker, said she was inspired to volunteer
because her father did the same following the Great Hanshin Earthquake
in 1995. The two met when Murakami, who was tasked with ferrying
supplies, asked Abe to show her around. After the couple became closer,
Abe popped the question on April 16. (Source: Japan Today)
Dalai Lama in
Tokyo
April 30,
2011 8:25 (JST): Dalai prays for quake-tsunami victims in
Japan - On his first visit to Japan since last month's
mega-quake and tsunami, Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama on
Friday offered prayers at a Buddhist temple for Japan quake and tsunami
victims, and told survivors not to feel discouraged but to look to the
future with full confidence.
The 75-year-old monk, on his way to a 15-day US tour, prayed with 3000
people at Gokokuji Temple in Tokyo for an hour, seven weeks after the
magnitude-9 quake and tsunami. His prayers for the victims came a day
after Buddhist priests in black and gold robes chanted and rang bells
to mark the 49th day since the twin disaster. Buddhist services are
normally held to mark the day in the belief that that is when
the souls of the dead depart for another world.
More...
April 30,
2011 2:10 (JST): GW volunteers surge in disaster-hit region
- Japan starts Golden Week, a week of national holidays on Friday. And
that has caused the number of volunteers visiting its disaster zones in
the northeast to surge.
A long line formed before 8AM outside a registered volunteer center at
a university in Ishinomaki City, located in Miyagi Prefecture. The
region was hardest hit by the March 11th strongest ever Japan
earthquake and tsunami.
The center has so many volunteers it has already ended its recruitment
drive for the holiday period. (Source: nhk.or.jp)
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The US flag
flies amid debris in the devastated town of Hueytown, Alabama (AFP)
The
Hamayuri, a catamaran sightseeing boat, sits atop a two-story inn in
Otsuchi town. (AFP/GETTY)
An
11-year-old boy shows his school backpack in Rikuzentakata, Iwate
Prefecture. His teacher found the backpack in the
rubble of their tsunami-ravaged elementary school two weeks after the
disaster, which claimed the lives of the boy's grandfather and great
grandmother. (Mainichi) 
Abe and Murakami
(Sankei)
Dalai Lama in
Tokyo
