Earthquake
Japan: Huge troop search for quake and tsunami bodies
April 25, 2011Japan has deployed nearly 25,000 troops to search for the bodies of those missing since the earthquake and tsunami that devastated north-eastern areas more than six weeks ago. The search is the third such large-scale effort since the disaster. Twelve...
Japan bans entry into Fukushima evacuation zone
April 21, 2011Japan has made it illegal to enter a 20km (12-mile) evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear reactor. People were urged to leave the area shortly after the 11 March earthquake and tsunami crippled the plant, but the order was not enforced...
Japan uses robots to measure radiation at nuclear plant
April 18, 2011Remote-controlled robots are being sent into the quake-hit Fukushima nuclear plant to measure radiation levels. The readings from two reactors showed a harsh environment for humans to work in, complicating efforts to stabilise the damaged reactors. ...
Tepco to compensate Japan's nuclear plant victims
April 15, 2011The Japanese government has ordered the operator of the nuclear plant damaged by last month's quake and tsunami to pay compensation to affected families. About 48,000 families who lived within 30km (18 miles) of the Fukushima Daiichi plant will be eligible...
Japan quake: Police search for bodies near plant
April 14, 2011Japanese police have begun searching for victims of the 11 March earthquake and tsunami within a 10km zone around the damaged Fukushima nuclear plant. Up to 1,000 bodies are thought to be in the area, but their retrieval has been delayed because of radiation...
First of Japan disaster survivors get temporary houses
April 12, 2011A month after the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and resulting tsunami devastated northeastern Japan, more than 125,000 people remain in evacuation centers. Others are living with relatives. Most of them were made homeless by the March 11 natural disaster...
Japan raises severity of Fukushima accident to highest level
April 12, 2011Japan has raised its evaluation of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster to the highest level on the international nuclear accident scale -- level seven. The upgrade makes Fukushima only the second nuclear accident ever to rank at level seven. The...
Japan: Powerful earthquake hits north-east
April 11, 2011A powerful earthquake has hit north-east Japan, exactly one month after the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The 7.1-magnitude tremor triggered a brief tsunami warning, and forced workers to evacuate the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant. The epicentre...
Japan: Powerful aftershock leaves three dead
April 08, 2011Three people have been killed and scores injured after a powerful aftershock struck north-east Japan. Several buildings were destroyed and power was cut to 3.6 million homes. It was the most powerful tremor since the 9.0-magnitude quake that triggered...
Japan earthquake: Radioactive leak plugged at reactor
April 06, 2011A leak of highly radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean from Japan's crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant has been stopped, its operator reports. Tepco said it had injected chemical agents to solidify soil near a cracked pit that was the source...