So many people coming up with their own designs / logos trying to express the sadness… well here’s my effort.
This loyal spaniel saved the life of his injured friend who was barely moving by sticking by his side following the tsunami - and leading a group of rescuers to him.
In heartwarming footage, the brown and white dog leads reporters to the injured mud-splattered animal who is lying flat out among the wreckage.
The dog had seemingly stuck by the side of the wounded animal in Arahama, Sendai, for days following the earthquake and tsunami.
Full article found over at
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1368129/Japanese-tsunami-Video-shows-dog-protected-friend-surviving.html
We do not know their names, their faces, their families or their personal stories. Nobody really does. They are strangers, in a faraway land, doing the unthinkable.
In Japan they have a name: The Fukushima 50. A coterie of nuclear plant employees — some reports indicate 50, others suggest four working rotations of 50 — who stayed behind while 700 of their co-workers were evacuated from the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi facility on the Japanese coast.
Five have been killed. Two are missing. Twenty-one have been injured in a struggle where, in the words of Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan, “retreat is unthinkable.”
The men understand the stakes. They know there is no turning back. One worker told a departing colleague he was prepared to die — that it was his job. Another informed his wife he wouldn’t be coming home anytime soon.
Full article over at ► http://www.nationalpost.com/news/Fukushima+risk+lives+prevent+meltdown/4452751/story.html
Among the many human tragedies, here’s a heart warming happy ending for one dog owner in northern Japan:
“Man tearfully hugs his dog after being found by a firefighter. From Sendai-shi, Wakabayashi-ku (Tokyo Shinbun)
見つけ出された飼い犬を涙を流して抱き締める男性（左）と消防員＝仙台市若林区（東京新聞提供 )”
(Reuters) - Japanese Emperor Akihito made an unprecedented televised address to his disaster-stricken nation on Wednesday, expressing deep worry about the crisis at damaged nuclear reactors and urging people to lend each other a helping hand in difficult times.
Looking somber and stoic, the 77-year-old Akihito said the problems at Japan’s nuclear-power reactors, where authorities are battling to prevent a catastrophe, were unpredictable after an earthquake he described as “unprecedented in scale.”
TV stations interrupted coverage to carry the emperor’s first public appearance since last week’s massive earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands of people.
“I am deeply hurt by the grievous situation in the affected areas. The number of deceased and missing increases by the day and we cannot know how many victims there will be. My hope is that as many people possible are found safe,” Akihito said.
“I hope from the bottom of my heart that the people will, hand in hand, treat each other with compassion and overcome these difficult times,” he said, urging survivors not to “abandon hope.”
Japan is reeling from what Prime Minister Naoto Kan has called its worst crisis since the end of World War Two, when the country had to rebuild from its devastating defeat.
For elderly Japanese at least, the sudden message from the emperor doubtless called to mind the August 15, 1945, radio broadcast by his father, Emperor Hirohito, announcing the country’s surrender in World War Two.
That was the first time the emperor’s voice had been heard on radio and his use of formal court language meant most of those listening could not understand what he was saying.
CONSOLING THE PUBLIC
“This earthquake was worse than the Great Kanto Earthquake (in 1923) … It’s never been experienced before,” said Miiko Kodama, an expert in media studies. “This is a symbol of that.”
She added: “Of course, nothing changes as a result of his message, but for those who believe in the emperor, they will be encouraged.”
Conservative Japanese revere the emperor, others feel a fond affection, and still others find the royal family irrelevant.
The plight of hundreds of thousands left homeless by the quake and tsunami that followed worsened overnight after a cold snap brought snow to some of the worst-stricken areas. The death toll stands at 4,000, but more than 7,000 are listed as missing and the figure is expected to rise.
Akihito said he was “deeply worried” about the situation at the Daiichi nuclear plant in Fukushima, 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo, where workers were trying to contain the world’s worst nuclear crisis since the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986.
The emperor and Empress Michiko have long played a role comforting the public in tough times, visiting the survivors of the massive quake that killed 6,400 people in the western port of Kobe in 1995.
Akihito, who ascended the throne after the death of his father in 1989, has striven to draw the imperial family closer to the people in image, if not in fact.
In a sharp break with tradition, he was the first heir to marry a commoner.
Akihito gives pre-recorded news conferences on set occasions such as his birthday and before overseas trips, but the suddenness of the message, its simultaneous airing on nationwide TV and its content were unprecedented.
The Imperial Household Agency, which manages the royals’ affairs, said in a statement on Monday that the royal couple wanted to visit the quake-hit sites but felt that efforts should focus on rescue for now.
(Source: uk.reuters.com)
Japan WILL survive, recover and flourish.
The Japanese are innovative, tenacious and determined. As after the war, Japan had to start again. It started from a point ahead of the west and as the west was stuck in its “old way” Japan had to start from new.
Imagine how far ahead Japan will be once it recovers from this tragedy. Imagine the future once Japan starts with new buildings, new businesses, new technology, new ideas, new communities from a future starting point as opposed to trying to innovate existing ideas, models and systems.
Once Japan recovers from this, as it surely will, Japan will be starting from a new future starting point ahead of everyone else again.
You thought that Japan was ahead with regards to technology and innovation before this earthquake and tsunami tragedy?
You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you Japan and we look forward to that day where the wounds of this tragedy have become faint scars.
Aerial photos taken over Japan have revealed the scale of devastation across dozens of suburbs and tens of thousands of homes and businesses.
Hover over each satellite photo to view the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
See the full article over at
http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/japan-quake-2011/beforeafter.htm
