Disaster in Japan

Buddhists Remember Japan's Tsunami Victims

Apr 28, 2011 - 7:00 AM |AP

SOMA, Japan -- Buddhist priests in black and gold robes chanted and rang bells Thursday to mark the 49th day since Japan's massive tsunami when the dead are believed to end their restless wandering...

Asbestos, Japan Tsunami's Other Hidden Danger

Apr 27, 2011 - 4:30 AM |AP

SENDAI, Japan - Inside the chunks of slate and wallboard smashed and scattered by Japan's tsunami hides a health risk that has been overshadowed by contamination from a leaking nuclear plant: the...

Angry Farmers Protest Against Japanese Nuke Plant Owner

Apr 26, 2011 - 7:09 AM |AP

TOKYO -- Angry farmers brought two cows to Tokyo where they shouted and punched the air Tuesday in a protest to demand compensation for products contaminated by radiation spewing from Japan's...

With 12,000 Still Missing, Japan Keeps Searching

Apr 25, 2011 - 10:25 AM |AP

SHICHIGAHAMAMACHI, Japan -- A line of somber soldiers walked methodically through a drained swamp Monday, with each step sinking their slender poles into the muck beneath. If one hit a body, he...

Careful Search for Mementos Slows Japan Rebuilding

Apr 23, 2011 - 1:17 PM |AP

Getty

KESENNUMA, Japan -- Sakuji Funayama watched intently as a giant steel claw tore chunks off the remains of his two-story home, ripped open like a dollhouse by last month's tsunami and washed up onto a...

Japan Plans Disaster Budget, Building 100K Homes

Apr 22, 2011 - 7:25 AM |AP

AFP / Getty Images

TOKYO -- Japan's government proposed a special $50 billion (4 trillion yen) budget to help finance reconstruction efforts Friday and plans to build 100,000 temporary homes for survivors of last...

Students Return to School in Japan's Disaster Zone

Apr 21, 2011 - 10:58 AM |AP

Hiro Komae, AP

KESENNUMA, Japan -- In the gray of early morning, plastic curtains are pulled back from the school gym's windows and 260 evacuees sleeping on blankets stir to life under basketball hoops. For...

Japan Declares No-Go Zone Around Nuclear Plant

Apr 20, 2011 - 11:16 PM |AP

TOKYO -- Japan declared a 12-mile (20-kilometer) area evacuated around its tsunami-crippled nuclear power plant a no-go zone on Thursday, urging residents to abide by the order for their own...

Japan Mulls Strictly Enforcing Evacuation Zone Near Plant

Apr 20, 2011 - 7:22 AM |AP

David Guttenfelder, AP

TOKYO -- Japanese authorities may for the first time strictly enforce their evacuation zone around a crippled nuclear plant, citing concerns Wednesday over radiation risks for residents returning to...

Baby in Iconic Tsunami Photo Safe With Parents

Apr 19, 2011 - 8:46 AM |AP

Yomiuri Shimbun / AP

ISHINOMAKI, Japan -- A Japanese soldier grins as he cradles a tiny baby in a fuzzy pink blanket, plucked from the second story of a wreckage-blocked house three days after a powerful earthquake and...

Nuke Plant Starts Pumping Out Radioactive Water

Apr 19, 2011 - 6:13 AM |AP

TOKYO - The operator of Japan's crippled nuclear plant began pumping highly radioactive water Tuesday from the basement of one of its buildings to a makeshift storage area in a crucial step toward...

5 Asian Nuclear Reactors Face Tsunami Risk

Apr 18, 2011 - 4:21 PM |AP

GeoEye / AP

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- The skeleton of what will soon be one of the world's biggest nuclear plants is slowly taking shape along China's southeastern coast - right on the doorstep of Hong Kong's...