Noda visits disaster-hit Miyagi areas

SENDAI — Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda traveled to Miyagi Prefecture on Saturday to gauge conditions after the area was ravaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Damage control: Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda inspects a fishing port in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on Saturday. KYODO PHOTO

Noda met with Deputy Gov. Shuichi Miura and Shigeru Sugawara, the mayor of Kesennuma, and pledged further support for the region's reconstruction.

"I would like to reflect your requests in the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011," Noda said.

He visited a Kesennuma fish market that was devastated by the tsunami and was asked by local officials to rebuild seafood-processing facilities.

"There will be no reconstruction of the affected areas without job creation," Noda replied, adding he will try to finance the necessary steps through the third extra budget.

Later in the day, the prime minister was scheduled to visit Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, also hit hard by the tsunami, to inspect the damage and meet with senior officials.

Noda, in office since Sept. 2, has vowed to speed up reconstruction of the areas stricken by the catastrophe and the nuclear crisis.

On Thursday, he visited Fukushima Prefecture, home to the radiation-leaking Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

Noda also traveled Friday to the prefectures of Wakayama, Mie and Nara, which were devastated by heavy rain dumped by Typhoon Talas last weekend.

OSAKA — The typhoon that ravaged western Japan last weekend caused an estimated ¥2 billion worth of damage to the farming, forestry and fishery industries in Wakayama Prefecture, according to a tally the prefectural government released Saturday.

The survey did not include damage to the livestock industry, and the final total may turn out to be much larger.

Nara Prefecture, which was also hit hard, is conducting its own survey of the damage.

Typhoon Talas, the 12th typhoon of the season, left 57 people dead and 44 missing across the country.

It caused around ¥880 million in damage to farm production in Wakayama, including oranges and Japanese apricots.

Damage to the fishery industry is estimated at ¥160 million, while damage to the forestry industry is put at around ¥520 million.

The natural disaster also caused an estimated ¥490 million in damage to farmland, irrigation channels and other facilities, according to the prefecture.

MATSUE, Shimane Pref. — The city of Yasugi, Shimane Prefecture, which is known for it's comic dance based on scooping up loaches, is gearing up for an influx of visitors to its annual festival thanks to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's remark on the mud-loving fish.

Now that the city of 43,000 has found itself unexpectedly in the limelight, it is receiving a flood of inquiries about local loach cuisine and souvenirs.

The city and a local tourism association have printed tourist maps showing restaurants that serve loach.

"We want women, in particular, to try loach dishes rich in the kind of nutrition that is good for their beauty," said Hiromi Sakuno of the local tourism association. The fish is rich in calcium and iron.

Expecting a sharp increase in visitors to the Yasugi "Dojo" (Loach) Festival next Sunday, the city has opened a souvenir shop near the Yasugi railway station to sell processed loach food items and novelty goods related to the fish.

Noda compared himself to the humble fish in a speech during the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential election earlier this month.

View the original article here

Japan PM visits tsunami-hit area six months on - Sin Chew Jit Poh

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (C) inspects a disaster area in the quake-hit city of Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture on September 10, 2011. Photo courtesy: AFP/JIJI PRESS

by Harumi Ozawa

TOKYO, September 10, 2011 (AFP) - Japan's new prime minister Yoshihiko Noda visited the northeastern region devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami on Saturday on the eve of the six-month anniversary of the tragedy.

Noda travelled to ravaged Miyagi and Iwate prefectures for the first time since taking office a week ago, when he replaced Naoto Kan who stepped down amid criticism over his handling of the aftermath of the disaster.

But in an early embarrassment for the young government, the newly appointed economy, trade and industry minister was forced to resign Saturday over comments about the crisis-hit Fukushima nuclear plant.

Yoshio Hachiro provoked anger when he called the area around the atomic plant a "shi no machi" or a "town of death".

He denied media reports that after his visit to the plant he also made as if he was rubbing his jacket against a journalist, while making a remark to the effect that "I will infect you with radiation".

But he also declined to elaborate on what exactly happened, saying it was during an unofficial meeting with reporters.

Noda has pledged his government will boost post-disaster recovery efforts but the early resignation of one of his cabinet ministers will do little to stem an erosion of faith in Japan's leaders following the March disasters.

On Saturday the new premier inspected the port city of Kesennuma, one of the most severely damaged communities on the Pacific coast.

Accompanied by the state minister in charge of post-disaster reconstruction Tatsuo Hirano, Noda also visited Iwate prefecture's devastated Rikuzentakata city.

"I saw how massive the tsunami force was with my own eyes," he said, according to Jiji Press. "I would like to see proposals from local residents so that we can help them rise again from this."

After inspecting the destroyed facilities of the Kesennuma fish market, Noda promised local officials that the government will "reflect your needs and opinions on such measures as special economic zones for reconstruction, subsidies and the third extra budget".

Ceremonies to mourn the dead and rallies against nuclear power are scheduled to take place across the nation, with silent prayers to be offered at 2:46 pm on Sunday, the exact moment the quake struck six months ago.

A day ahead of the anniversary, survivors in Soma in Fukushima prefecture held a memorial ceremony for the 459 people dead or missing from the city.

"I promise to address the reconstruction with all my strength and all my heart," said Fukushima governor Yuhei Sato as he stood in front of a stage full of white chrysanthemums.

Hundreds of paper lanterns were released into the sky there at dusk on Saturday, symbolising the souls of those lost in the disaster.

The event was organised by fashion designer Kansai Yamamoto, who held similar memorials in Chernobyl, which experienced a serious nuclear accident 25 years ago, and Indonesia -- the nation hardest hit by the 2004 Asian tsunami.

"These lanterns represent both the souls of the victims and a call for a world that is calm and peaceful," Yamamoto said.

The March 11 tsunami, triggered by a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, ravaged Japan's northeast and left nearly 20,000 dead or missing, according to the latest police figures.

The towering wall of water battered cooling systems at the Fukushima plant, 220 kilometres (138 miles) northeast of Tokyo, triggering the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl.

View the original article here

Thaksin visits Japan - Channel News Asia

TOKYO: Thailand's fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra is due to give two speeches in Japan on Tuesday as part of a visit that has stoked widespread controversy in his home country.

The one-time business tycoon, toppled in a 2006 coup, is visiting Japan just a fortnight after his sister Yingluck Shinawatra took power as Thailand's prime minister, raising questions about his influence over her government.

Thaksin, who is living in exile in Dubai to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, has angered his critics with his Japan visit -- until August 28 -- which many see as an attempt to make a return to the international stage.

His visit will include a tour of northeastern areas devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. On Tuesday he was due to give two speeches in Tokyo.

In a recent interview with Japan's Kyodo News agency, he said he wanted to assess what Thailand could do to help Japan.

"My intention is to visit the tsunami site to see whether we can render any kind of cooperation or assistance," he was quoted as saying.

He said help from Bangkok could possibly include assisting disaster-hit Japanese companies relocate to Thailand, or to issue long-stay visas to tsunami victims who want to recuperate in Thailand.

Thaksin reportedly insisted he is not officially involved with the new government led by Yingluck, telling Kyodo: "Leadership lies with the prime minister. I just give advice when needed. I don't give advice every day."

Thaksin, who served as Thai prime minister between 2001 and 2006, is loved by many poor Thais but seen by the Bangkok-based elite as authoritarian and a threat to the monarchy.

His removal from power by royalist generals heralded five years of political crises, both in the Thai parliament and on the streets, where his foes and supporters have held crippling rival protests.

They culminated in rallies by "Red Shirts" loyal to Thaksin last year, in which more than 90 people died in clashes between the army and demonstrators.

Yingluck, a political novice who her brother has described as his "clone", has raised the idea of an amnesty for convicted politicians.

While Yingluck's government denied making a specific visa request for Thaksin, Tokyo said Bangkok had asked it to allow in the former leader, making an exception to its normal entry rules concerning criminal convictions.

The previous Democrat-led government accused the fugitive of bankrolling the 2010 Red Shirt rallies and inciting unrest, and a Thai court last year approved an arrest warrant for him on terrorism charges.

An opinion poll published on Monday indicated most Thais want Thaksin to stay out of politics.

Almost 69 per cent said he should allow Yingluck to run the country by herself, compared with 20.5 per cent who said he should have a role, according to Assumption University of Thailand, which surveyed almost 2,200 people.

-AFP/wk

View the original article here