Earthquake Disaster in Japan

Japan to start releasing Fukushima water into sea in two years

The decision, long speculated but delayed for years due to safety concerns and protests, came at a meeting of Cabinet ministers who endorsed the ocean release as the best option.
US troops in Japan will have a chance for up-close look at passing Olympic torch

The Olympic torch will pass near several U.S. military installations this spring and summer.
Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics

Spectators from abroad will be barred from the Tokyo Olympics when they open in four months, the IOC and local organizers said Saturday.
Austin, Blinken arrive in South Korea for talks expected to cover North’s nuclear ambitions

North Korea’s nuclear arsenal will likely be the focus of talks between the U.S. secretaries of Defense and State and their South Korean counterparts Wednesday and Thursday in Seoul.
Austin in Tokyo: US-Japan alliance will stay stronger than any adversary

The U.S. and Japan can “outmatch any competitor” in the years ahead, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told his Japanese counterpart Tuesday.
Japan's green future requires returning to its nuclear past

Since Japan pledged in October to become carbon neutral by 2050, many among the advisory group have reached the same conclusion. To meet its global climate commitments, the country will need to restart almost every nuclear reactor it shuttered in the aftermath of the 2011 meltdowns, and then build more.
Bells, sirens and moments of silence at US bases in Japan mark 10 years since earthquake and tsunami

Tributes were a reminder that more than 20,000 American troops worked alongside their Japanese allies to respond to the disaster.
From a phone call, interrupted, emerged two sides of Japan’s most powerful earthquake

Ten years after a devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, Stars and Stripes reporters share their memories.
Serious snowboarding injury spurs Air Force safety warning in Japan

The Air Force is alerting service members to exercise caution in the Japanese mountains after an airman was seriously injured during a recent snowboarding trip.
A decade after Fukushima nuclear disaster, contaminated water symbolizes Japan's struggles

Beside the ruins of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, more than 1,000 huge metal tanks loom in silent testament to one of the worst nuclear disasters in history, the meltdown of three nuclear reactors 10 years ago this month. The tanks contain nearly 1.25 million tons of cooling-system water from the 2011 disaster.
Military families find creative ways to cope with the coronavirus pandemic in Japan

For U.S. military families in Japan, coping with the pandemic meant finding ways to bring joy and productivity back into their lives.
Discount rail passes will soon be available for US troops in Japan

Expats and foreign workers in Japan, including those under the status of forces agreement, have long grumbled about the availability of heavily discounted fares for the country's rail system which are offered only to tourists.
Strong quake hits Japan's northeast coast; no tsunami alert

The Japan Meteorological Agency says a strong earthquake has hit off the coast of northeastern Japan, shaking Fukushima, Miyagi and other areas.
Fukushima nuclear water to be released into sea

Fishery groups across the country have strongly opposed the water release, saying it could cause damage to their livelihoods through harmful rumors.
Testing campaign turns up a fifth coronavirus case at Sasebo Naval Base in Japan

Sasebo Naval Base and Naval Air Facility Atsugi each reported one new coronavirus case on Thursday.
Sasebo, Misawa are latest bases in Japan to relax anti-virus restrictions before holiday

Two more U.S. military bases in Japan eased coronavirus restrictions in time for sailors, airmen, families and civilian workers to stretch their legs over Independence Day weekend.
Pandemic pushes public bathhouses into predicament

Some public bathhouses, known as sento in Japanese, had looked forward to promoting "sento culture" to the world on the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, but the future of such a movement is now bleak.
New US law requires probe of Marshall Islands nuclear dump threatened by rising seas

Congress is demanding that the Department of Energy investigate an aging, cracking U.S. nuclear waste dump threatened by climate change and rising seas in the Marshall Islands.
How the US betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster

Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 67 nuclear bombs on, in and above the Marshall Islands — vaporizing whole islands, carving craters into its shallow lagoons and exiling hundreds of people from their homes.
Preserving Pacific history: Stars and Stripes librarian retires after 40 years among the archives

Thousands of newspapers dating back to 1945, countless clippings of old stories and half a million priceless photographs detailing Stars and Stripes' presence in the Pacific fill a room that Norio Muroi has tended for the past four decades.
US Navy base reports damage to more than 20 structures days after typhoon pummels Japan October 15, 2019
Why Typhoon Hagibis packed such a deadly, devastating punch in Japan October 14, 2019
Japan-South Korea feud starts to cast shadow over Tokyo Olympics September 13, 2019
A flying car in Japan hovered above the ground for about a minute August 5, 2019
Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force to acquire 20 unmanned helicopters July 28, 2019
Radioactivity in parts of the Marshall Islands is far higher than Chernobyl, study says July 15, 2019
Military families’ grassroots charity still supports Japan tsunami victims, eight years after disaster June 28, 2019
New Misawa Queen looks forward to serving as ambassador for US air base in Japan June 21, 2019
Sirens at Misawa mark eight years since devastating quake and tsunami in Japan March 11, 2019
Trust fails to recover from nuclear disaster February 20, 2019
Near the site of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, a shattered town and scattered lives February 3, 2019
Filmmakers seek Yokota airmen to serve as extras in ‘Fukushima 50,’ starring Ken Watanabe January 17, 2019
Japan plans to decommission its only tactical reconnaissance squadron January 7, 2019
Japanese prefecture devastated by 2011 earthquake thanks Yokota for relief efforts November 5, 2018
Okinawa election shaping up as a political main event in 2018 January 2, 2018
Fukushima looks to top-tier sake to beat nuclear stigma December 31, 2017
Risky stalemate as science battles human fears at Fukushima November 25, 2017
Woods Hole scientists return to site of 1946-58 nuclear bomb testing in Pacific November 6, 2017
Nuke-sniffer, ballistic recon aircraft deploy to Okinawa amid rising tensions with N. Korea September 8, 2017
PACOM: Chinese jets’ intercept of US nuke-sniffer was ‘unprofessional’ May 18, 2017
New South Korean president seen hindering nuclear ambitions May 16, 2017
Nuke-sniffer aircraft arrives on Okinawa as tensions rise on Korean peninsula April 12, 2017
Japan overturns ruling barring nuclear reactor operation March 28, 2017
Are elevated Fukushima radiation levels cause for alarm? February 8, 2017
Japan hits back at charge that it is devaluing the yen February 1, 2017
Stars and Stripes' top photos of 2016: Pacific December 29, 2016
No damage at US bases after 7.4-magnitude quake sparks tsunami waves in Japan November 21, 2016
From Operation Tomodachi to Hiroshima visit, exiting Obama viewed favorably in Japan November 7, 2016
New Godzilla film imagines a strong Japan pushing back against the US September 24, 2016
Thousands work daily at Japan nuclear plant selling no power September 15, 2016
Former senator pledges to support vets in Fukushima lawsuit August 31, 2016
US military warns Pokemon trainers: 'Do not do stupid stuff' July 29, 2016
Former Japanese leader starts fund for US vets who helped Fukushima July 7, 2016
China to build nuclear power plants on artificial islands April 22, 2016
Navy families help quake survivors; official aid efforts continue April 22, 2016
Japanese tsunami debris: It’s not the problem California feared March 16, 2016
16 US ships that aided in Operation Tomodachi still contaminated with radiation March 13, 2016
Spurred by help from military families, tsunami victims aid others in need March 8, 2016
Fukushima radiation poses little risk, but lack of trust lingers March 7, 2016
Five years after nuclear meltdown, no one knows what to do with Fukushima February 10, 2016
Japanese government to ease radioactive waste rules February 4, 2016
Air Force radiation sniffer plane to deploy after North Korea's nuclear test January 6, 2016
Robots readied to decontaminate Japanese nuclear plant December 17, 2015
USS Ronald Reagan focus of radiation disaster drill in Japan December 17, 2015
China has awful safety record and wants to run 110 nuclear reactors by 2030 December 5, 2015
Tokyo confirms Fukushima worker's cancer claim October 20, 2015
Public can tour USS Ronald Reagan Monday in Japan October 9, 2015
USS Ronald Reagan docks at new home in Japan October 1, 2015
Protesters rally against USS Ronald Reagan arrival, Japan security bills September 13, 2015
Large protest against USS Reagan, security bills set for Sunday in Yokosuka September 11, 2015
Japanese troops rescue residents trapped by raging floodwaters September 10, 2015
Aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan: New symbol of US in Asia September 1, 2015
Abe weathers ‘hot summer’ of protests as support bounces back August 31, 2015
At DARPA challenge, rescue robots demonstrate future of disaster relief June 10, 2015
Robots at Pentagon-sponsored competition for disaster relief, not war May 28, 2015

Spc. Timothy Jones, right, and Spc. Ivan Santos, background center, toss debris while clearing out Nobiru train station, in Japan's tsunami-battered northeast, in April 2011.<br>Erik Slavin/Stars and Stripes

Photo gallery: Stars and Stripes' coverage of the quake aftermath and relief efforts

U.S. military facilities in the earthquake area.

Stripes.com Editors' Picks

US can build military facilities in Norway under new defense cooperation pact

The U.S. and Norway signed a revised defense cooperation agreement Friday that will allow the Americans to build facilities at three airfields and one naval base in the country.
51 West Point cadets caught cheating must repeat a year

Most of the 73 West Point cadets accused in the biggest cheating scandal in decades at the U.S. Military Academy are being required to repeat a year, and eight were expelled, academy officials said Friday.
Photos on UFO websites were shot by Navy personnel, Pentagon says

Photos and video of unidentified objects in the sky published on two websites dedicated to reports about UFOs and the paranormal were shot by Navy personnel, the Pentagon said.

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Japan to start releasing Fukushima water into sea in two years

US troops in Japan will have a chance for up-close look at passing Olympic torch

Spectators from abroad to be barred from Tokyo Olympics

Austin, Blinken arrive in South Korea for talks expected to cover North’s nuclear ambitions

Austin in Tokyo: US-Japan alliance will stay stronger than any adversary

Japan's green future requires returning to its nuclear past

Bells, sirens and moments of silence at US bases in Japan mark 10 years since earthquake and tsunami

From a phone call, interrupted, emerged two sides of Japan’s most powerful earthquake

Serious snowboarding injury spurs Air Force safety warning in Japan

A decade after Fukushima nuclear disaster, contaminated water symbolizes Japan's struggles

Military families find creative ways to cope with the coronavirus pandemic in Japan

Discount rail passes will soon be available for US troops in Japan

Strong quake hits Japan's northeast coast; no tsunami alert

Fukushima nuclear water to be released into sea

Testing campaign turns up a fifth coronavirus case at Sasebo Naval Base in Japan

Sasebo, Misawa are latest bases in Japan to relax anti-virus restrictions before holiday

Pandemic pushes public bathhouses into predicament

New US law requires probe of Marshall Islands nuclear dump threatened by rising seas

How the US betrayed the Marshall Islands, kindling the next nuclear disaster

Preserving Pacific history: Stars and Stripes librarian retires after 40 years among the archives

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Stripes.com Editors' Picks

US can build military facilities in Norway under new defense cooperation pact

51 West Point cadets caught cheating must repeat a year

Photos on UFO websites were shot by Navy personnel, Pentagon says

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