Japan

Photo

Nuclear crisis turns Japan ex-PM Kan into energy apostle

TOKYO - Nearly a year after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster, then-premier Naoto Kan is haunted by the spectre of an even bigger crisis forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo and threatening the nation's existence.

Recent Japan News

Japan, China to promote yen-yuan currency exchange -Nikkei

TOKYO, Feb 17 - China and Japan will begin work this month to promote the direct exchange of their currencies as trade between their two countries grows, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday.

6:18am GMT

Factbox: Japan's hidden nightmare scenario for Fukushima

TOKYO - Nearly a year after a huge quake and tsunami sparked Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis, then-premier Naoto Kan is haunted by the specter of an even bigger disaster forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo and threatening the nation's existence.

Nuclear Power 6:13am GMT

BRIEF: Moody's assigns Aa3 to Japan Expressway Holding & Debt Repayment Agency's bonds

Feb 17 - Japan Expressway Holding & Debt Repayment Agency:

6:07am GMT

BRIEF: Moody's will not apply finance company methodology for JTCs

* Moody's will not apply finance company methodology for JTCs

6:05am GMT

Factbox - Japan's hidden nightmare scenario for Fukushima

TOKYO - Nearly a year after a huge quake and tsunami sparked Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis, then-premier Naoto Kan is haunted by the spectre of an even bigger disaster forcing tens of millions of people to flee Tokyo and threatening the nation's existence.

World, Nuclear Power, 5:49am GMT

Special reports

Anti-nuclear protesters hold signs at a rally organized by Greenpeace to demand the government immediately stop the expansion of nuclear power offered by mainland China in Hong Kong April 24, 2011. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu

The nuclear industry's trillion dollar question

Before Fukushima, more than 300 nuclear reactors were planned worldwide, mostly in developing economies. While parts of the developed world may reduce their use of nuclear, China, India, the Middle East and Eastern Europe look set continue their nuclear drive.  Full Article 

A member of the Japan Self Defense Force stands on a house at an area that was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in Yamada, Iwate prefecture April 5, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Quake reveals cracks in insurance system

The sophisticated modeling systems the insurance industry uses to predict where disasters will happen and how much they will cost never factored in an earthquake the size of the one that hit northeast Japan.  Full Article 

Tokyo Electric Power Company, Inc. (TEPCO) Vice President Sakae Muto (C) bows at a news conference at the company head office in Tokyo March 28, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Japan engineers knew tsunami could overrun plant

A review of Tokyo Electric Power and regulatory records shows that Japan and its largest utility repeatedly downplayed dangers and ignored warnings -- including a 2007 tsunami study from TEPCO's senior safety engineer.  Full Article 

A staff member of a radiation check-up point points out a location of the tsunami-crippled nuclear plant on a map, on which a radiation gauge is placed, during a photo opportunity in an evacuation center in Fukushima, northern Japan, April 4, 2011. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

Fuel storage, safety issues vexed Japan plant

Tokyo Electric and regulators are certain to face scrutiny on the decision to store most of the Fukushima plant's spent fuel rods inside the reactor buildings rather than invest in other potentially safer storage options.  Full Article 

A Honda logo on a car is seen at Sendai airport which was damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, in Natori, Miyagi Prefecture April 1, 2011. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

Disasters show flaws in just-in-time production

In a globalized economy where manufacturers have moved ever more toward lean inventories, the weakest link in the supply chain is what Japan is best known for: high-end, highly technical parts.  Full Article 

Members of the Indonesia Nuclear Energy Regulatory Agency (BAPETEN) scan passengers arriving from Japan for radiation exposure at the Sukarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta March 18, 2011.

Radiation fears may be greatly exaggerated

As workers struggle to contain the fallout from a crippled Japanese nuclear plant, people as far away as Illinois are calling public health officials in a state of panic. But the truth is anxiety is largely disproportionate to the actual danger.  Full Article 

Photo

Mistakes, misfortune, meltdown: Japan's quake

An examination of Japan's effort to contain its escalating nuclear disaster reveals a series of missteps, bad luck and desperate improvisation. What also emerges is a country that has begun to question some of its oldest values.   Full Article 

Photo

Why Japan will avert a fiscal meltdown

In these dark hours, Japan would do well to heed former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's memorable maxim that you never want a serious crisis to go to waste.  Full Article 

Photo

Can Japan find "New Deal" after triple whammy?

The nuclear crisis was a triple whammy for Japan, coming on top of the earthquake -- the fifth strongest ever recorded -- and one of the most powerful tsunami in history, which caused scenes of unimaginable destruction in northeast Japan.  Full Article | Related Story 

Photo

In Chernobyl, a disaster persists

As Japan battles to prevent a meltdown at its earthquake-hit Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, the people of Ukraine are preparing to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident.  Full Article | Related Story 

An evacuee eats his meal in front of a banner of support from Sweden at an evacuation shelter in Rikuzentakata after the area was devastated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami March 29, 2011. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

An interactive guide to how the disaster unfolded.  Timeline 

Scenes From Japan

An injured child sleeps at a Japanese Red Cross hospital after being evacuated from the area hit by tsunami in Ishinomaki March 13, 2011. Japan faced a growing humanitarian crisis on Sunday after its devastating earthquake and tsunami left millions of people without water, electricity, homes or heat. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

Japan disaster: How you can help

If you want to help but are unsure of where to turn here is a comprehensive list of relief organizations that are scrambling to provide aid.  Full Article 

Workers wearing protective suits stand after water stopped flowing at the pit near the water intake canal of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station No.3 reactor, May 11, 2011.  Credit: Reuters/Tokyo Electric Power Co

Fukushima has a hole, leading to leakage

One of the reactors at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant has a hole in its main vessel following a meltdown of fuel rods, leading to a leakage of radioactive water, its operator said.  Video | Full Article 

Key external resources

A woman looks at messages posted on the wall at an evacuation center set at a gymnasium in Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture in northern Japan, March 14, 2011, after an earthquake and tsunami struck the area. REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao

Helpful links to other sites

The story on the devastation throughout Japan is extremely complex and changing by the minute. Here are some external resources that our readers have found useful, starting off with NHK World News.   Learn More