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.

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Farmer recovers tsunami-hit land

With the aid of bacteria that lowers the level of sodium in soil, a farmer in the city of Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, harvested 150 tomatoes last month on farmland that was swamped by the March 11 tsunami.

Vine-ripened: Volunteers harvest tomatoes in Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture, on Aug. 20. KYODO

The cyanobacteria — also called blue-green algae — is found in seawater and sludge on the seafloor. Since it consumes salt when it photosynthesizes, it lowers the level of sodium when mixed in soil.

Farmer Etsuo Iizuka, 62, used the soil on his 1,000-sq.-meter tsunami-damaged farm to plant 400 tomato plants in June. Each yielded about 10 tomatoes.

"The new method uses sludge left on the farmland," said Kazuma Nishitsuji, 29, president of My Farm, a Kyoto-based agricultural consultancy that developed the method. "We hope to use it on rice fields as well."

About 20 volunteers helped pick the tomatoes on Aug. 20.

"I'm happy the tomatoes grew better than expected," said Iizuka. "I want to make it a local brand."

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Japan's tsunami-hit towns fight to sustain folk arts

OFUNATO, Japan (Reuters) – The Urahama district of this northeastern Japanese coastal city had for centuries marked religious ceremonies, and mourned their dead, with a dynamic sword dance by masked men, accompanied by drums and flutes.

But everything changed after the March 11 tsunami tore into Japan's northeastern coast, sweeping away homes, performers and precious equipment in coastal areas, like Urahama, that had long treasured their traditional performing folk arts.

Now, people in many of the tightly-knit coastal communities fear the disaster may prove to be the final blow for some 100 troupes that had already been struggling to survive as the towns where they were based aged and young people left to seek work.

"There certainly will be some arts that are bound to disappear," said Shutaro Koiwa of Japan Folk Performing Arts Association in Tokyo.

Many performers are determined to go on despite the steep odds, cherishing their centuries-old traditions.

"In our area, it is a given," said 65-year-old Chikara Furumizu of the Urahama Nenbutsu Kenbai, a group of men and children that performs the sword dance to mourn the deceased in Ofunato, a city some 450 km northeast of Tokyo.

"Without it, we would not know what to do."

The dance had always been especially important during Obon, a period in August marked by Buddhist ceremonies to honor the ancestors. In Urahama, performances were staged in front of homes where a family member had died the previous year.

The magnitude 9 quake and massive tsunami that struck the northeast coast on March 11 left more than 20,400 dead or missing and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years at Fukushima, some 211 km south of Ofunato.

Little remained in the area around Urahama, where more than 100 people were swept away, along with homes and stores.

Though the roughly 40 dance group members all survived, many lost family members and their homes. Costumes, the swords used in performances, masks and musical instruments were either lost or damaged after the tidal wave engulfed their storehouse.

GIVING HOPE

But at Obon, eight men, wearing the usual stern masks and warrior-like outfits -- donated or rented this year -- swung damaged swords and danced to taiko drums and flutes in front of a nursing home where more than 50 people perished.

Amid the dynamic, whirling movements of the dance, the men in their 20s and 30s each paused somberly before a makeshift altar to mourn the dead, pinching a bit of incense ash from a box and bringing it to their forehead before returning it.

Haruka Kariya, a 23-year-old member who fled the tsunami from the fisheries co-op where he worked, said he will stay in Ofunato and continue dancing to give hope to survivors.

"Under this situation in which everything was washed away, we are gathering together. We all know each other for a long time, we have good teamwork, and when we go around homes, our feeling for dancing has been stronger than last year," said Kariya, who lost his grandparents and his home.

"Some people shed tears when they watch us dance and I hope that we can help them, even if it's just a little bit."

Koiwa of Japan Folk Performing Arts Association said the disaster has changed the way that young performers, tasked to carry on the tradition, feel about their art.

"Young people up to now may have somewhat thought they were just dancing and singing what they have learned. But teachers and older people have been saying that now, they are trying to communicate from their heart," he said.

It will take time to recover from the disaster and many things may never be the same. But that won't stop the dancers.

"There are just too many victims. We cannot rest," Furumizu of the Urahama Nenbutsu Kenbai said.

"The most important thing is to look forward."

(Editing by Elaine Lies)

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