Japan

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9,500 Missing in One Japanese Town

It amounts to half the population

(Newser) - As the rescue mission continues in Japan, the first truly scary numbers are emerging. Government officials in the northern town of Minamisanriku say 9,500 are missing, according to the official Kyodo news agency. That represents about half the town's population, notes the CBC . Still, confusion is rampant, and the...

Japan Wakes to Scenes of Devastation

Massive rescue operation gets under way

(Newser) - Morning has brought a clearer sense of the devastation in Japan caused by the fifth-largest earthquake recorded since 1900. Japanese media reports say the death toll from the quake-tsunami combination will certainly exceed 1,000, but no firm totals could be had. More than 120 aftershocks were recorded, reports AP...

Coast Guard Searches for Man Swept Out to Sea
 Coast Guard Searches 
 for Man Swept Out to Sea 
Tsunami victim in US

Coast Guard Searches for Man Swept Out to Sea

He was taking photos of tsunami waves along California coast

(Newser) - The tsunami that roiled the US West Coast today may have claimed at least one victim. The Coast Guard is searching for a man swept out to sea while taking photos in northern California, reports the Eureka Standard-Times . The man and two friends were near the mouth of the Klamath...

Japan Nuclear Plant Will Vent Small Amount of Slightly Radioactive Vapor to Reduce Pressure
Radiation Levels Soar
at Japan Nuclear Plant 
UPDATED

Radiation Levels Soar at Japan Nuclear Plant

At least a small amount has seeped outside

(Newser) - The earthquake that rocked Japan today damaged a major nuclear power plant, and officials said radiation levels were around 1,000 times higher than normal in the control room of a reactor, reports MSNBC . At least a small amount has leaked outside, but it's not clear how much danger it...

Video Captures First Moments of Japan Quake

It's probably the strongest in 1,200 years in the region

(Newser) - Scientists are still trying to get a handle on just how devastating today's 8.9-magnitude earthquake was in Japan. One official with the US Geological Survey figures it's the biggest in the region in 1,200 years and ruptured a patch of the earth's crust 150 miles long and 50...

Quake Brings Tokyo to a Standstill

Hordes look for emergency shelter with no way to get home

(Newser) - Japan's huge earthquake brought super-modern Tokyo to a standstill today, paralyzing trains that normally run like clockwork and stranding hordes of commuters carrying mobile phones rendered largely useless by widespread outages. The magnitude-8.9 quake shook buildings in the capital, left millions of homes across Japan without electricity, shut down...

Japan's Geologists Had the 'Big One' All Wrong

They'd predicted a massive quake southwest of Tokyo

(Newser) - For years, Japan’s scientists have been expecting a giant earthquake, pinpointing its location along a fault line southwest of Tokyo—but today’s disaster defied their forecasts. The country’s biggest earthquake occurred 231 miles northeast of the capital along a different fault, the Washington Post reports. Scientists had...

Tsunami Warning Extended to Entire US West Coast
 Tsunami Waves Hit 
 US Mainland 
UPDATED

Tsunami Waves Hit US Mainland

But no major damage reported

(Newser) - The first tsunami waves triggered by Japan's massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake have hit the US mainland, the AP reports. Waves surged slightly along the northern coast of California and could reach seven feet; Oregon also saw high water. The tsunami was earlier moving through all the Hawaiian islands, according to...

Hundreds of Bodies Found in Japanese Coastal City

Earthquake also spawns fears over nuclear power plant

(Newser) - The death toll continues to rise in the wake of Japan's massive earthquake , and police say between 200 and 300 bodies have been found in the coastal city of Sendai. Another 88 have been confirmed dead and 349 are missing, the AP reports. More than 50 aftershocks went on for...

Japan Quake: Scenes of Devastation

40 reported dead, figure all but certain to rise

(Newser) - At least 40 people were killed in the 8.9-magnitude earthquake and ensuing 23-foot tsunami that struck Japan today, and another 39 are confirmed missing, officials tell the AP , though they cautioned that the figure was all but certain to rise given the scale of the disaster. There have now...

Japan Reeling in Aftermath of Massive Quake

Reports of deaths, massive damage

(Newser) - A devastated Japan is reeling in the wake of one of the biggest earthquakes on record , which left behind a cracked and shaken Tokyo and coastal towns ripped apart by a 23-foot tsunami. The effects of the massive shaker aren't over yet as sirens in Russia and Hawaii warn of...

8.9 Quake Rips Tokyo, Tsunami Shatters Coast

Wall of water rips down buildings

(Newser) - A tsunami rammed the coast of Japan following a powerful 8.9-magnitude earthquake that violently shook buildings in Tokyo and sent panicked residents into the streets. The extent of damage and injuries is not yet known from the quake and aftermath, but TV cameras showed a powerful Pacific wave ripping...

Japan Digs for Evidence of WWII Human Experiments

Excavates ground in search of remains linked to Unit 731

(Newser) - It's a grisly and mysterious effort: Japan today began excavations at a former army medical school—in the search for human remains linked to the military's shadowy Unit 731. It ran a notorious World War II program that allegedly conducted live experiments on foreign prisoners of war, most of them...

Activists Halt Japan Whale Hunt
 Activists Halt Japan Whale Hunt 

Activists Halt Japan Whale Hunt

Harassment making Antarctic hunt 'unsafe,' says fisheries official

(Newser) - The Japanese have temporarily suspended an Antarctic whale hunt because of repeated harassment by activists from the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The hunt, aiming to bag as many as 945 whales, has been halted because of "violent" disruptions, said the nation's top fisheries officials. No one has been injured...

China Economy Zooms by Japan to No. 2 Spot

Nation's now gearing up to take on No. 1 US

(Newser) - China has steamed past Japan to become the world's second-largest economy. Japan's economy, hit by a drop in exports and consumer demand, was worth $5.5 trillion at the end of last year, while China's was estimated at $5.8 trillion. China is expected to take over the US as...

700K Condoms Missing in Japan

Malaysian police investigating disappearance

(Newser) - Say, have you by any chance seen 700,000 condoms laying around? If so, you might want to let Malaysian police know. They’re investigating the disappearance of ultrathin Japanese condoms after the shipment went missing somewhere between Malaysia and Japan, AFP reports. The container arrived in Tokyo from the...

Throngs Gather for... Hole-Digging Contest?

Winner of Japanese competition gets $1,215—and Golden Shovel

(Newser) - And you thought hot-dog-eating competitions were weird. Try this one on for size: Japan has an All-National Hole-Digging Competition, in which participants, yep, dig holes. The contest, which drew more than a thousand participants to the outskirts of Tokyo yesterday, awards the following feats: deepest hole, most creative digging, and...

Say It Ain't So: Sumo's Fixed!
 Say It Ain't So: Sumo's Fixed! 

Say It Ain't So: Sumo's Fixed!

Wrestlers admit arranging matches in Japan

(Newser) - Three Sumo wrestlers have admitted fixing matches in Japan, and the scandal is only expected to grow, reports the Guardian . "It is certainly the national sport," said Prime Minister Naoto Kan. "If matches have been fixed, it is a serious betrayal of the people." Police found...

Japan Volcano Breaks Windows 5 Miles Away

Biggest blast yet could be heard more than four miles away

(Newser) - Japan’s Shinmoedake peak gave off its biggest explosion yet today, shooting debris 6500 feet into the air and shattering windows five miles away. The eruption was five times larger than the volcano’s initial activity, and Japan widened the danger zone to a two-and-a-half-mile radius around the crater, the...

Japanese Party Honcho Indicted

Divisive decision could push Japan toward new election

(Newser) - The man behind the Japanese ruling party’s historic 2009 victory has been indicted for misreporting political funds. The move could expand divisions among members of the Democratic Party of Japan and help drive the opposition’s push for a new election, the New York Times reports. Ichiro Ozawa may...

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