Products from Tohoku to be used for ODA

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Foreign Ministry will establish a special quota to buy products from the disaster-hit Tohoku region for the government's official development assistance programs, according to government sources.

The plan is aimed at supporting reconstruction of the disaster-hit areas and dispelling harmful rumors about local products, the sources said.

To fund the plan, the ministry will appropriate about 5 billion yen in the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011.

Specifically, the ministry is considering using canned mackerel and saury produced by seafood processing firms in the disaster-hit areas for food assistance programs for developing countries. The government will test the products for radioactivity to ensure their safety before sending them overseas, according to the sources.

The ministry also is considering using endoscopes, many of which are produced in Fukushima Prefecture, and wheelchairs produced in the disaster-affected areas for medical aid for developing countries.

The plan is meant not to only support reconstruction of the areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami but also to dispel harmful rumors overseas about the safety of food produced in the areas by certifying its safety, the sources said.

As part of efforts to end harmful rumors, the ministry also plans to offer samples of Japanese food in China and hold large-scale Japan exhibitions in that country to promote Japanese tourist destinations. China is a major importer of Japanese agricultural and other products.

To cover the expenses of such public relations activities overseas, the ministry will appropriate several hundred million yen in the third supplementary budget, the sources said.

The ministry plans to hold the events on such occasions as visits to China by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba.

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Tohoku trucks' toll-free spree ends

The government plans to terminate the toll-free benefit for large vehicles, mainly trucks, in the disaster-hit Tohoku region at the end of August because many trucks have abused it, official sources said Friday.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will continue to make expressways in the area free to individuals carrying certificates showing they are survivors of the March 11 earthquake-tsunami disaster or evacuees from the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the sources said.

In late June, the ministry made expressways in the region toll-free for such individuals and trucks carrying cargo to disaster-hit areas to help with reconstruction.

Under the measure, tolls are exempted for trucks exiting the toll-free section of expressways.

Many trucks that were going beyond the toll-free section exited within the section to avoid paying tolls. The toll-free measure started in late June on more than 20 expressways.

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M6.8 quake jolts Tohoku

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.8 jolted the Tohoku region Friday afternoon, but caused no abnormalities at the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the Meteorological Agency and Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The 2:36 p.m. quake measured lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale to 7 in Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, and it also rattled wide areas in Japan from Hokkaido to the Kinki region near Osaka.

The agency temporarily issued a tsunami warning to Miyagi and Fukushima, but no tidal waves were observed. The warning was lifted about 40 minutes later.

Along with the Fukushima plant, the Onagawa nuclear plant in Miyagi operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Tepco's Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture were operating normally after the quake.

East Japan Railway Co. said it suspended some services on the Tohoku, Yamagata and Joetsu shinkansen lines for up to two hours to confirm their safety, while East Nippon Expressway Co. also closed the Joban, Banetsu and Sanriku expressways.

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Tourists head west as Tohoku, Tokyo drop off itineraries

Western Japan, especially the Kyushu region where a new bullet-train line opened in March, has become a popular location for summer vacationers while the northeast and the Tokyo area have seen fewer tourists due to March 11.

While the number of overseas tourists to Japan has dipped markedly following the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, travel agencies are vying for customers who are planning to vacation in western parts of the country.

According to travel agency JTB Corp., as of early August the number of buyers of its package tours to Kyushu for the July-September period rose 30 percent compared with a year earlier.

After the Kyushu Shinkansen Line began full service between Fukuoka and Kagoshima in March, Nippon Travel Agency Co.'s sales for Kyushu tours increased about 30 percent and those at KNT Co. jumped 20 percent.

But sales of package tours to the Tokyo metropolitan area decreased 10 to 30 percent at the travel agencies, with those to Tokyo Disneyland, the best-selling line to date, remaining sluggish.

Tours to the Tohoku region also remained unpopular, and sales fell about 40 percent.

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Tohoku 'doc' admits lacking license

SENDAI — A man who allegedly provided medical services illegally in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, in the aftermath of the March disasters has admitted he is not licensed to practice medicine in Japan.

"I am aware (my actions) violate the Medical Practitioners Law. I did something bad to the residents of Ishinomaki," the man, who identified himself as Kiyoshi Yoneda, said by telephone.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has said that name does not appear on its list of medical licensees, and the Miyagi Prefectural Police are investigating the man on suspicion of illegally providing medical services.

He claims he is a licensed doctor but declined to specify in which country. He said he obtained a medical practitioner's certificate through the Internet in June for around ¥20,000 and showed the document to the Ishinomaki social welfare association.

The man said he is currently in Okinawa Prefecture and plans to turn himself in to police soon to offer an explanation.

"There are some things I did that were wrong, but there are also people who valued my work," he said.

According to sources, the man submitted a copy of his certificate to the local welfare association in late June. It bore the symbol of the Osaka Municipal Government and resembled certificates of Osaka's resident registry.

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Tourists head west as Tohoku, Tokyo drop off itineraries

Western Japan, especially the Kyushu region where a new bullet-train line opened in March, has become a popular location for summer vacationers while the northeast and the Tokyo area have seen fewer tourists due to March 11.

While the number of overseas tourists to Japan has dipped markedly following the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, travel agencies are vying for customers who are planning to vacation in western parts of the country.

According to travel agency JTB Corp., as of early August the number of buyers of its package tours to Kyushu for the July-September period rose 30 percent compared with a year earlier.

After the Kyushu Shinkansen Line began full service between Fukuoka and Kagoshima in March, Nippon Travel Agency Co.'s sales for Kyushu tours increased about 30 percent and those at KNT Co. jumped 20 percent.

But sales of package tours to the Tokyo metropolitan area decreased 10 to 30 percent at the travel agencies, with those to Tokyo Disneyland, the best-selling line to date, remaining sluggish.

Tours to the Tohoku region also remained unpopular, and sales fell about 40 percent.

View the original article here