The flowers have finally opened.

That’s the feeling with this year’s sakura (cherry blossom) bloom in Tōhoku.

In a normal year they would have all fallen by now, but with the Sakura’s arrival more or less 10 days late, many are enjoying them right up to the start of the Golden Week holidays.


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Fukushima parks deserted, choking on rampant weeds Overgrown weeds are being left unchecked in parks in Fukushima as people increasingly avoid the facilities due to radiation fears caused by the ongoing nuclear crisis. After residents associations ordinarily entrusted with maintaining parks voiced fears about adverse effects of radioactive ( Read more... )

Residents' urine now radioactive Fukushima
More than 3 millisieverts of radiation has been measured in the urine of 15 Fukushima residents of the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata, confirming internal radiation exposure, it was learned Sunday. Both are about 30 to 40 km from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant, which has been releasing ( Read more... )

BUSINESS

Jun 25 Internet marketplace giant Rakuten pulls out of Japan Business Fed.  
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Japan’s suicide rates soar by up to 39 per cent in areas hit by the earthquake...

The March 11 earthquake in Japan wreaked immediate devastation, but now there are concerns about the mental health of those that survived it, with suicide rates rapidly increasing in areas hit by the disaster.

One of the areas most affected by the 9.0-magnitude ( Read more... )

BUSINESS

Apr 14 Tokyo Bay home demand to drop as quake turned land to mud, shattered pipes   Developers in Tokyo's bayside neighborhoods, where apartments were built on reclaimed land, are halting sales after Japan's earthquake turned some of the landfill into mud, shattered pipes and severed water supplies. While most of ( Read more... )

Spent fuel rods add to trouble at Japan nuke plant

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Fresh nuke plant woes, as police search for bodies.


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BUSINESS

Apr 11 Tsunami devastates abalone fishing industry   The March 11 tsunami dealt a crippling blow to abalone fishing along the Tohoku region's Sanriku coast, sweeping tons of debris into the sea and destroying fishing vessels. It is expected to be years before abalone fishing in the area can resume, leading some ( Read more... )