Tepco Reports $15bn Loss, President Masataka Shimizu Resigns

By STAFF Writer
May 20, 2011

Tepco President Masataka Shimizu Resigned

JAPAN NEWS – The president of Tepco, Masataka Shimizu, who operated Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, has resigned from his post after reporting a loss of 1.25tn yen ($15.3bn; £9.4bn) over the last year. It is reported that managing director Toshio Nishizawa will replace Masataka Shimizu in this month.

Japan had seen a devastating earthquake followed by tsunami that severely smashed up the Fukushima nuclear plant, and it has been radiating ever since. The crippled nuclear plant has spread panic all across the nation, and even tourists are advised not to visit the Fukushima region for safety reason.

In a news conference Mr. Shimizu addressed a bunch of journalists, saying he wanted to take managerial responsibility and bring a symbolic shut his current job. He further emphasis on experience and proficiency to handle the top post.

The loss of Tepco in the last financial year is the biggest in the history of corporate loss in Japan. In the previous year the company enjoyed a profit of 134bn yen. But this year, due to leaking of nuclear reactor and eventually the devastation caused by it, cost heavily on the company.

Mr. Shimizu was heavily carped for absence for two weeks after the disaster. Later on he was hospitalized for dizzying spell.

"We want to sincerely apologise for our nuclear reactors in Fukushima causing so much anxiety, worry and trouble to society," Mr Shimizu said.

After the radiation threat, the government sealed the place and evacuated the residents from the region around the nuclear plant. The company had to pay compensation to the victims and asked to solve the problem.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimated around 11tn yen as compensation.

Counting the Cost - US-Pakistan Relations: Dead and Buried?
How does Osama bin Laden's death affect US financial aid to Pakistan?

$49bn Emergency Earthquake Relief Grants In Japan's Budget

By MALILA Harris
April 03, 2011

JAPAN NEWS - Japan has witnessed a heavy damage following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Considering the emergency need of the country, the parliament has passed a whooping 4tn yen ($49bn, £30bn) emergency budget for resetting the whole region. The bill was passed by the lower house Saturday and consequently passed by the upper house budget committee early on Monday.

The bill is believed to help greatly for housing reconstruction for those who lost their homes. The bill also aims to support businesses hit by the natural carnage.

According to a data prepared by Japanese police, 14,704 people are died in the disaster and another 10,969 remain missing.

Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda expressed his ministry to further raise the budget allocation in coming months. Analysts have predicted that the disaster cost Japan about $300bn.

The budget has also affected on regular funds like pension, child allowances and motorway tolls, which have been cut down to increase the emergency fund.

The good news is the opposition poses no threat to government but the problem will come for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's government in near future when the government will have to push high it taxes and to secure reconstruction funds using the borrowed fund. It is reported that Japan has already a debt burden twice the size of its economy.

On the other hand, prime minister have been severely criticized for lagging rehabilitation of people and failure to restore power and supply in the region.

Fukushima nuclear reactor had been crippled after the earthquake damaged the cooling systems to the reactors. Work is still continuing to repair the systems, water being poured into reactors to cool fuel rods, but this would lead to contaminated waste water leaking from the reactor buildings.

It is estimated nine months to bring the plant fully under control.

Nissan Witnesses Record Annual Sales In 2010-11

By STAFF Writer

Nissan Record Annual Sales 2010-11

The Japanese carmaker company Nissan has reported record annual sales in its history, rocketing its profit to astounding height. A report says.

The company has crafted a hefty profit of 319.2bn yen ($3.7bn; £2.4bn) in the year to 31 March 2011, up from just 42bn yen a year earlier. The global sales have also climbed up to 19% to 4.2 million vehicles, which impelled the company to raise its turnover by 17% to 8.8 trillion yen.

It is a surprising fact for other companies to witness such growth in Japan after the earthquake almost devastated nation’s economy. Nissan also admitted that the natural calamity had an adversely affected on many companies turnover and profit gain, but the recent figure showed its “resilience” against unfavorable conditions. It is reported the earthquake and consequently nuclear debacle had disrupted many operations in Japan.

This year Nissan have launched ten new models in the market and it is believed that the positive sales figure is because of this.

The growth curve shows highest in neighboring China where the company saw sales rise 36%. In Europe it has been reported 19% and 17% in the United States.

Incidentally, Japan saw the lowest growth of 5%.

Radioactive Litter Threatens Japan Marine Life

By ETHAN Markoff

JAPAN NEWS - Japan nuclear disaster not only affects on human lives but slowly permeating to its rich marine life. In a recent announcement by Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy that says high levels of radioactive cesium have been discovered in seawater. The report raises the possibility of radioactive infiltration into the food chain and could be fatal for living organisms.

The radioactive substance cesium was found near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant and 20 times higher than the normal level. Although the in comparison to other radioactive isotopes spilled from the plant, cesium leaking is less, still scientists have warned cesium 137 poses the greater long-term danger to the marine food chain.

Other prevalent radioactive element like iodine 131 degrades relatively fast, becoming half as potent every eight days. So, the lethal effects can be countered by banning fishing and consumption of sea food for a specific span of time. Cesium 137, on the other hand, has a half-life of 30 years and the bad news is, marine plants readily absorb it, which then cycling in food chain.

“It’s worrisome in that CS 137 is leaking, although the levels are still low,” said Paul G. Falkowski, a professor at Rutgers University’s Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences.

Mr. Falkowski said that the deposited water finally reaches sea and if the water would be heavily contaminated with cesium 137 over an extended period then it surely would question of serious concern.

The source of cesium 137 is still not found, although it is believed that the seawater dumped on the overheating reactors to cool them carried radiation and then poured out to sea. The natural process of dilution of radioactive effluents by the ocean is extraordinary. Many radioactive effluents have been dumped into the marine environment, including nuclear weapons.

Only the good part is the remarkable capacity of ocean to dilute radioactive substance because of it volume and depth. Therefore, oceanographers have not put any panic button right now and said to take appropriation precaution to happen any serious consequences.

Japan's Leaked Nuclear Plant Radiation Traced In China

By ONE Liners Agency

JAPAN / CHINA NEWS - Nuclear radioactive iodine traces has been detected in Chinese Heilongilang province on Saturday, said China government agency to the state-run media.

According to the Chinese authorities, the radiation iodine level was a minuscule fraction, which is one-hundred-thousandth beyond the normal levels, and it has been emanated from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant of Japan.

The Chinese government agency has confirmed that such low level is not harmful to the public health and also said the people here do not required any extra precautions.

Earlier, such low levels radioactive iodine was also traced as far as United States and Sweden.

More to this, several nations are taking necessary steps in ensuring their citizens in Japan don't suffer due to the nuclear fall-out.

United States Embassy in Tokyo wrote on its website it would continue "to make potassium iodide tablets available to private U.S. citizens who have not been able to obtain it from their physician, employer or other sources."

Health officials said these medication can counter the radiation's harmful effects when it enters the body through contaminated water, air or other means.

Meanwhile, Japanese authorities are also distributing such pills to all close to the plant.

Inside Story - The Impact of Disaster on Japan's Economy
It's two weeks since the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and 10-metre tsunami struck the northeast coast of Japan. Hundreds of thousands of people are still homeless, more than half a million households do not have water, and workers are still battling to gain control of the Fukushima nuclear power plant.
 Fears of contaminated food are spreading overseas as officials report traces of radiation in milk products, seawater and 11 kinds of locally-grown vegetables. 
How will Japan recover from the disaster? Will it be able to regain the world's confidence, and how long will it take?

Japan Nuclear Disaster Raises Questions On Regulatory Agencies

From EDITOR’s desk

Japan Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant

April 26, 1986, a disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear plant that shook the world from the hinges. The radioactive fall out affected then and thereafter, spreading all across eastern and western Europe devastated almost half of Soviet population.

Probably the nuclear fall out still haunts the people of Russia and neighboring countries but nobody denies nuclear energy is arguable the most potent of all, but in the recent Japan’s earthquake caused a nuclear crisis, which once again point out a fundamental question – do nuclear rich countries take appropriate measures to full proof the safety of people? Japan catastrophe also raises the question of discussion about the safety of nuclear energy within the self-styled bylaws of regulatory agencies.

On March 11, 2011, Japan had witnessed the worst natural calamity in decades. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami not only wrecked normal life, but also damaged Tokyo Electrical Power Co. (TEPCO) Fukushima 1 Nuclear Power Plant, resulting fatal nuclear leak.

TEPCO doesn’t have the best record for safety or disclosure of information. In 2002, the nuclear plant was alleged for forging safety records, and subsequently was forced to shut down all 17 of its reactors.

The nuclear power plant have had been always in a flimsy state. In 2007, TEPCO was once again shut down all seven reactors at the world’s largest nuclear power station on the west coast of the country, owing to a smaller 6.6 earthquake.

The question of nuclear safety is indisputably more significant in countries like Japan, which are prone to earthquake or other natural disaster. Japan is world’s third largest developer of nuclear reactors (55) behind France and United States with 59 and over 100 respectively. Japan obtains one third of its electricity from these reactors, and planning to build 15 more nuclear reactors.

Japan environmental activists have blamed the regulatory agencies for negligence and a typical culture of management of covering up mistakes.

The problem is that nuclear power companies like TEPCO and the government regulators are "essentially one and the same," says Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, a civil society organization.

The problem lies in the mentality of industries who are very specific about their business, and both the industry and regulators do not want to educate people or policy makers. They never explain the nuances of radioactivity. The truth is radioactive reactors need to take extreme precautionary measurements because even it is shut down, it still generates an enormous amount of heat that hast to be removed to prevent a meltdown.

A perfect example of this pandemonium has been seen in TEPCO's Fukushima I reactor number 4, which was closed since December, but the recent earthquake damaged the cooling system and threatened to go fatal.

Singapore Bans Japanese Food
Mar 24 - Singapore becomes the latest country to ban food imports from certain regions in Japan. Arnold Gay reports

Japan Politics Worries Investors
Mar. 23 - Japan's Prime Minister and his opposition rival need to hit the reset button after years of mistrust to tackle an extensive reconstruction. Kei Okamura reports

OF KHALSA AND SAMURAI - REPRISE.

I think with all the attention on Japan these days, some of you might enjoy reading my earlier post about a Samurai lady meeting two Khalsa in San Francisco.  First, I have constructed a picture as my tribute to the people of Japan, which I will share with you here.

My Tribute to the People of Japan

This is my recognition of the spirit, courage and civility of the Japanese people and their response to the recent trisaster.

This is a reminder that the Sun is always shining. Sometimes we just can't see her.

Below is the the devastation of the earthquake and tsunami, while Fujiyama soars above the tragedy. Above all, the benevolent presence of Amaterasu-no-Kami, the Sun Goddess and chief deity of the Shinto religion, gives her blessing and strength to her people, the people of Japan.

(Note: I am neither Shinto nor Japanese. If I have hurt anybody's religious sensibilities, please let me know and I will correct the matter.)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

With much thanks to Derek Visser. Three of his photos were used to make the Fukushima plant here:
www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5530864283/
www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529845859/
www.flickr.com/photos/vizpix/5529038135/

To the United States Air Force
www.flickr.com/photos/usairforce/5529732202/
and
the US Pacific Fleet(Navy)
www.flickr.com/photos/compacflt/5529922582/

I believe all other images used are in the Public Domain.

OF SAMURAI AND KHALSA

A few weeks ago, we visited the San Francisco Bay Area, courtesy of one of my husband's nephews. I was the first time I have been to San Francisco, Mani's favourite American city, since the events of 1984. Such memories, it brought back! I can't really share these with anyone here, so I'm sharing them with you, my online friends.




One year, I think it was 1978, but I'm not sure, we decided to celebrate our anniversary/my birthday by taking a holiday in San Francisco. Very unusual for us, we decided to leave Sandeep in the safe hands of the family and set off for nine days and eight nights in The City By The Bay. Family had our hotel number, of course, along with a promise not to phone unless it was a life-altering emergency. No such emergency occurred and we had a wonderful time. OK, I'll fess up. We called home each evening to say hi to our Sikhling.

One of the few things Mani and I could never agree about was our manner of dress. His appearance was very important to him. His clothes were always perfect, his turban beautifully tied, shoes, when he wore them, perfectly shined. He even ironed his jeans! (I refused to do that because I thought it was stupid.) I, on the other hand, insisted only that my clothes be neat and clean and cover me decently. And be comfortable. They must be comfortable. Beyond that, I really didn't much care what I looked like. We did agree on a few important points. No high heels, no dresses, no make-up.


On the farm, my appearance didn't matter all that much. He expected me to be a bit messed up, mucking around with the cows and goats and chickens (kept for fertiliser) and also with our various crops. I usually indulged him in the evenings by showering or lounging in the Jacuzzi for a while and then putting on a Punjabi suit, a salwar kameez. He usually lounged around evenings in kurta pajama. We might not have been a Punjabi couple, but except for his grey eyes and my brown hair and pasty skin, we certainly looked like one.

For our trip to San Francisco, we reached a compromise. During the day, while we were walking, hiking, goofing off, I would wear jeans - ironed by him! - and something colourful and attractive on my top. This was necessary because walking shoes look really stupid with dressy clothes. When we went out in the evenings, I would dress to the nines, looking every inch the proper lady, while he also dressed up - in full bana! He looked really cool in bana - what Sikh doesn't? - and he looked somehow silly in a suit.

 


We quickly found out that many fine San Francisco restaurants had a dress code that men had to wear jacket and tie. We avoided those. As Mani said, "They probably don't have decent vegetarian food anyway. We had a glorious time, walking from the Embarcadero to the Pacific Ocean - one side of San Francisco to the other, rambling through Golden Gate Park, exploring those strange, little neighbourhood shops that San Francisco seems to be full of. We spent a whole day at Fisherman's Wharf, watching the tourists shiver. Most people don't realise that San Francisco is quite cool most of the time, and so dress inappropriately for the weather. We also went hiking in the Muir Woods amidst the giant redwoods and hiking up Mt. Tamalpais across the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County.


I really want to write about one particular afternoon and evening. We decided to go see a Toshiro Mifune movie playing in a theatre in Japan Town.

Toshiro Mifune

 
Mani gave me those cow eyes and asked me to dress up, even though it was only afternoon. I said it was too early, if I had to dress up I'd wear bana, too. He grinned at me and agreed. We ended up dressed exactly alike except he had a saffron turban, while I used a chunni. (We should have tied a turban on me, I now realise, but for some reason, we didn't think of it.) And, unlike him, I carried the more usual short kirpan. I admit we made a grand-looking couple, him in a dark blue chola, saffron-coloured gatra containing a full-length kirpan, and, of course, his perfectly tied turban, me similarly clad. Him tall and towering and masculine, the perfect Khalsa warrior, me short and slender, yet with the full figure of a fertility goddess, also the perfect Khalsa warrior, except in a battle, I'd have to ditch the chunni. As he said, "We look goooooood!"

We arrived for the afternoon matinee and, much to our surprise, there were only a very few others attending. I guess weekday afternoons don't bring out the samurai crowd. A very lovely Japanese lady, clad in traditional kimono, not only sold us tickets, but also tended the refreshments counter and acted less like an usher than like a hostess. When we first came in, she looked at Mani shyly, but still with open curiosity and perhaps a bit of apprehension. She was even shorter than I am; he must have seemed a giant to him. "Sir, "she asked in a heavily accented voice, with that high, squeaky voice that Japanese women traditionally affect, "may I ask you a question?" She waited for him to answer, which he did in the affirmative.


I just knew she was going to ask if he were an Arab, but she surprised me. "I see you have a katana, a sword. Are you some sort of a samurai among your people?"  In spite of the accent, her English was excellent.



We were both startled at that question; I was very curious how he would answer. "We are Sikhs who have been initiated into the Khalsa Knighthood, so I suppose you could consider us a sort of samurai." He went on to explain a bit about Sikhi, which she had never heard of. When he finished, she was grinning broadly, obviously happily impressed.
Then she turned to me and said, "Great lady, you are also this Khalsa?"

Great lady! I could live with that. I smiled at her and replied, 

"Yes."

Her smile faded briefly as she asked, "Then why do you have such a small sword?" I didn't really have a good answer, so, on the spur of the moment, I came up with the explanation that I was so short that it would drag the ground., Actually, that is close to the truth. The answer seemed to satisfy her and her smile returned. She also wanted to see them both unsheathed; we were happy to oblige.

She was obviously impressed and asked if there was anything she could do to make us comfortable. She clearly wanted to do something, so one of us suggested that some Japanese tea would be nice. I mentioned that we were visiting San Francisco to celebrate our wedding anniversary as well as my birthday. She brightened up immediately. "Then you must have long noodles for long life to celebrate." He explained that we were vegetarians and ate only "Buddhist food." (We had learned that was the easiest way to get correct food in what used to be called Oriental restaurants.)


"No meat. No egg. Tofu is OK?" She asked.

"A bit taken aback, we agreed.

"I be right back. You go sit down, enjoy watching the people stab each other." She disappeared into a back room and we went into the theatre and watched "the people stabbing each other."

After a time, she returned with a large tray of not only with tea and noodles (in miso soup), but also a sumptuous feast of vegetarian sushi, inari sushi, norimaki with vegetable and tofu filling, and small mounds of vinegared rice with various thinly sliced vegetables on top where normally there would be raw fish. And lots of wasabi, ginger and shoyu.

We were both overwhelmed. She ignored our reaction and arranged one tray on the seat to Mani's left and another to my right, dividing the food between us. "Now eat and enjoy while you watch movie." She smiled, bowed and walked away. What could we do? We ate and enjoyed and watched the movie. And wondered what was going on. After the movie, we found out, while eating some vegetable tempura that she brought in.


"I am Shinto," she told us. "I worship Amaterasu-no-Kami, the Sun Goddess, foremother of our Emperor.

Amaterasu-no-Kami

"Last night, she sent me a dream that I would meet some great warriors, not Japanese, but worthy to be samurai. I saw you and knew she had blessed me with your holy presence, so I could have the honour of serving you. I am descended from a very old samurai family that was impoverished when the samurai class was outlawed. They took all our swords and melted them down. You know, all our women were also taught martial arts and sword fighting, so we could protect our homes and our honour, if need be. Without our swords, what could we be?"

Samurai swords

She was clearly speaking from deep in her heart, speaking as if these things happened recently, instead of in the previous century. I wanted to see your kirpans" - she stumbled over the word - "so I could honour my ancestors." We didn't quite understand that last statement and didn't ask. Somehow asking seemed cold. "There is one more thing, please." She pulled out a small book and handed it to me. (Why not him? I do not know.) This is the Bushido Book, The Code of the Warrior. I think you do not know Japanese, but please accept it as my gift." We were quite overwhelmed. The book was obviously quite old, probably a family heirloom. Still, it was unthinkable to refuse it. We took it and kept it always among our few treasured possessions.


A most important note: As usual most of these pictures are roached from the Internet, compliments of Google Search. Two are not. That strange-looking being on the Golden Gate Bridge is me, as a giant Nihang. Why not?

That very handsome Sardar Ji I have used to illustrate bana is the father of my little sister Kamal Kaur. His name is Sarbjeet Singh Ji and he, like my own Dad, is a Canadian from Punjab. Notice the twinkle in his eyes and that lovely smile.

Sarbjeet Singh Ji

My medical caretaker,Irene pointed out to me that if he is my sister's father, then he must also be my Dad. An interesting idea, as I believe he is somewhat younger than my 57  59 years! My thanks to these two for letting me use this picture. 



One further note about Kamal Ji. You might have noticed her listed as an author, although she has never contributed a post. This is for a very special reason. For some time, she has been downloading and saving each post's html on her computer. Anything can happen on the Internet. This site could be hacked, Blogger could decide to delete it for some reason, new laws in America might restrict the freedom of speech and/or the press. If this blog should, for any reason disappear from the blogosphere, dear Kamal Ji will have preserved it, so it will not be destroyed. Of course, I also download it to my computer, but my poor old compy isn't very reliable and if something should happen to me, it might sit forever here with no one the wiser. So she is performing a great sewa, in my opinion. This will probably embarrass her, but, little sister, I want to thank you from my heart for doing this.

Japan Tremor Trembles Asian Economy

By ETHAN Markoff

A massive disaster not only ruins the place of occurrence but evidently affects the neighboring lands, and in a few cases, spreading across the global pitch. Since the devastation in Japan almost a week back, the economic consequences have already been felt across Asia. The destructions from the natural calamity have been huge and the country is still recuperating from the damages. While the efforts to restore the normalcy continue, the economic backlash on various sectors and industries has created ripples in the economic world.

Countries that export energy and raw materials could find it difficult now as the demand is low Japan. On the flip side, there are others who are depended on Japan for manufacturing components will be revitalizing themselves for shortages in supply.

As for example, Japan is the biggest rival of South Korean companies, who, in the short-term are already gaining from the shutdown in manufacturing in Japan.

"In terms of semiconductors, auto and steel companies, South Korean and Japanese companies are competitors," said Huh Jae-hwan from Daewoo Securities in Seoul.

He said due to unable to meet the demand and orders, the whole flow would be moved to the next biggest Korean manufacturers.

Nevertheless, the benefits will only continue as long as the situation in Japan does not manufacturing raw materials that it used to supply.

The neighboring Chinese electronic industry is likely to be affected by the disruption in supply. It is noted that Japan is China’s biggest source of imports almost adding 13% of its import.

Utilizing the raw components to assemble intro final products, China exports its products around the globe.

Not only the electronic products (The price of a Nikon camera has jumped already by 2,000 yuan), but also the essential commodities prices have already risen in China because of demand in Japan.

Taiwan is facing a similar kind of situation as the electronic manufacturers in the country could suffer as their raw materials are mostly imported from Japan.

Australia and Indonesia are proved to be the best source for thermal coal, iron ore and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Japan’s main concern is now the acute power shortages and as in immediate future, when the construction and rebuilding will begin, the countries like Australia and Indonesia will stand to gain further.

The rising economic country like India will face the music in a more indirect way. Japan is the major source of foreign direct investment into the country and considered as a long-term investor. If the Japanese economy is in jeopardy, the long-term investment into India could also suffer.

Tokyo Businesses Struggle after Quake
Mar 19 - Tourists stay away from the Japanese capital leaving local businesses to struggle. Andrew Raven reports

Counting the Cost - Japan: The Cost of Disaster
On this week's Counting the Cost we look at: The economic impact of the catastrophe in Japan, the global nuclear power debate and an unexpected pastime in Afghanistan - skiing.

German embassy in Japan moved to Osaka amid nuclear fears

BERLIN, March 17 (Xinhua) -- German embassy in Japan would be moved to the southern city of Osaka temporarily, as the capital Tokyo is being threatened by radiation from damaged nuclear reactors in Fukushima, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday.

The German Ambassador to Japan and his staff will continue their duties in Osaka, 600 kilometers southwest of the quake- crippled Fukushima nuclear power station. Germans can contact the team in Osaka if they need help or want to leave Japan, the ministry said.

The ministry added that the move was a precautionary measure amid escalating Japan nuclear crisis, while some embassy offices in Tokyo is not to be completely closed, the ministry added.

The announcement came one day after the ministry advised its citizens to leave Tokyo's metropolitan area and other northern regions of Japan for safety reasons.

Since Saturday, several explosions and fires rocked the nuclear reactors in Fukushima plant, pushing radiation near the area to harmful levels. Higher-than-normal level of radiation was also detected in the densely-populated Tokyo, which is about 250 kilometers away from the plant.

The Japanese government has set up a 20-kilometer exclusion zone around the nuclear plant and asked people living in 10 kilometers beyond zone to stay indoors

On Thursday, emergency workers are using water cannons, heavy- duty firetrucks and helicopters to cool nuclear fuel rods, hoping to prevent more radiation from leaking and spreading. Until nightfall, it remained unknown whether the attempts worked.

Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video: Fall out fears force foreigners to flee euronews

Japan Earthquake Tsunami Affected People Finder And Nuclear Radiation Information

By STAFF Writer

Below are the missing persons help lines for Japan (for Japanese language only here):
Iwate: 0120-801-471
Miyagi: 022-221-2000
Fukushima: 0120-510-186 / 090-8424-4207 / 090-8424-4208

Below are emergency voicemail message board for Japan:
For leaving a message dial 171 + 1 + phone number
For listening a message dial 171 + 2 + phone number

Phone Call Travel Information for Japan:
For overseas visitors to Japan - 03-3201-3331 (24 hour live travel information)

Earthquake and tsunami affected people who are in shelters or evacuation centers can email their photos to tohoku.anpi.google@picasaweb.com which will be uploaded to Picasa Web Album for public viewing. So, searching loved ones in this Japan's crisis becomes easy.

Regarding nuclear power plant radiation and other related health information please visit the official site of World Health Organization.

-------------------------------------
2011 Japan Earthquake Person Finder
-------------------------------------

Wall Street Tumbles as Japan Fuels Gobal [sic] Sell-off
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Wall Street fell 2pc on Tuesday as a global stock market sell-off intensified with investors dumping shares in a flight to safety, panicked by Japan's growing nuclear crisis.

The Dow Jones Industrial Index dropped 2.3pc - or 280 points - to 11,699.96 within minutes of opening, with shares seen as exposed to the disaster sliding. Insurer AIG fell 4pc and General Electric fell 5pc.

European bourses were dragged lower. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.6pc - or 154 points - to a fresh year low of 5622.53 at 1.30pm in London, wiping around £32bn off the value of the blue-chip index. Germany's DAX plunged 4.8pc and France's CAC 3.9pc.

The fall followed a 10.6pc dive - 14pc at one stage - in Japan's Nikkei after the government warned of dangerous levels of radiation following a third explosion at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. The benchmark index ended down 1,015.34 points at 8,605.15, while the broader Topix plunged 9.5pc in its worst two-day fall since 1987.

This caused a ripple effect through Asia, Europe and the United States as investors reassessed the impact of last Friday's earthquake and tsunami and the growing nuclear disaster on a fragile global economy.

Brent crude dropped $4.80 to $108.93 a barrel in London and fell below $100 in New York as markets bet on a dramatic loss of demand for oil from the world's third largest economy.

"Last night’s move was the third worst decline in the Nikkei’s history and there’s fear that there could be more to come," said Simon Denham, the managing director of Capital Spreads. » | Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Japan Shares Tumble as Nuclear Crisis Fears Create Panic
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Tokyo shares closed down 10.55pc on Tuesday as panicking investors dumped stocks after the government said levels of radiation leaking from a stricken nuclear plant posed a threat to health.

Japan's Nikkei index clawed back some ground from an earlier freefall - sliding more than 12pc at one stage - to close down 1,015.34 points at 8,605.15. The broader Topix plunged 9.5pc in its worst two-day fall since 1987.

Other Asian markets suffered a ripple effect as investors fled stocks as the crisis in the world's No. 3 economy seemed only to escalate after a third explosion at the crippled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in Fukushima province. » | Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Dollar Rises from Near-record Lows vs Yen after Quake
REUTERS: The dollar rebounded from near-record lows against the yen on Monday, boosted by hedge fund buying as the Bank of Japan's huge infusion into money markets helped ease nervousness triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami in northeast Japan. >>> Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss | TOKYO | Monday, March 14, 2011