Asia, Japan Earthquake | featured news

With a minute of silence, tolling bells and prayers, Japan will on Sunday mark the first anniversary of an earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis that shattered public trust in atomic power and the nation's leaders.

Japan says it will soon require atomic reactors to be shut down after 40 years of use to improve safety following the nuclear crisis set off by last year's tsunami....

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake struck off the east coast of northern Japan Sunday, prompting tsunami advisories for several coastal regions, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

A week into his new job, Japan’s disaster reconstruction minister resigned Tuesday after making remarks widely criticized as offensive during a visit to the tsunami-devastated northeastern coast, where he refused to shake a governor’s hand, scolded the official and threatened to withhold aid.

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant experienced a full meltdown at three reactors in the wake of an earthquake and tsunami in March, the country's Nuclear Emergency Response Headquarters said Monday.

Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan -- in danger of losing a no-confidence vote in parliament on Thursday -- will offer to resign later this year after dealing with a nuclear crisis and other urgent matters related to the massive March earthquake and tsunami, domestic media reported.

Ratings agency Fitch on Friday cut its outlook on Japan's sovereign debt, warning that the vast cost of a March earthquake and tsunami and the still-unknown bill for the clean-up after the nuclear disaster would further strain the country's already shaky public finances.

Japanese Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said on Sunday the government may need to spend 10 trillion yen to 15 trillion yen ($184 billion) for reconstruction from the devastating earthquake that hit the country's northeast in March.

A contraction in the first quarter at an annual rate of 3.7 percent was worse than economists had expected.

A worker at Japan's tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant died on Saturday, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co said, bringing the death toll at the complex to three since a massive earthquake and tsunami in March.