Daily Japan Headlines: Friday, Sept 9, 2011
Photo Source: Guardian.
Guardian: Haruki Murakami’s cult trilogy 1Q84 poised to take the west by storm
It is a launch more reminiscent of a Harry Potter book than a lengthy, difficult novel by a Japanese author, but bookshops in the US are planning to stay open until midnight to cope with the demand for the translation of Haruki Murakami’s 1,000-page trilogy, 1Q84.
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Guardian: Fukushima disaster: it’s not over yet
The magnitude 9 earthquake that struck Japan on 11 March was one of the five most powerful shocks recorded; so powerful that it lowered the coastline by a metre and nudged Japan two metres closer to the United States. It was followed by a devastating tsunami – which rose to a peak of 40m – and accounted for most of the destruction. These two natural catastrophes left 20,000 people dead or missing and 125,000 buildings destroyed. They triggered a third disaster – the multiple meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant that have together released more radiation than any accident since Chernobyl.
Six months on, the emergency is over. But another disaster is becoming apparent: a psychological crisis of doubt and depression that could prove more destabilising than anything that came before.
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BBC: Japan economy weaker than estimated in second quarter
Japan’s economy contracted more severely in the second quarter than was initially estimated, revised government data has shown.
The economy shrank at an annual rate of 2.1% during the period, compared with the 1.3% drop reported previously.
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Bloomberg: Japan’s METI Wants 200 Billion Yen for Energy Efficiency Fund
Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to ask for 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion) from the government’s next supplementary budget to set up a fund that will support energy efficiency initiatives.
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Washington Post: Japanese Company Develops Radiation-Detecting Plastic
Japanese chemicals company Teijin has developed a plastic that emits a blue light when exposed to radioactivity. Named SCINTIREX, the company expects the polyester-based resin to be used as a scintillator, a core part in radiation meters (radiation quantity can be calculated based on the level of luminescence).
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Bloomberg: Tokyo Station Makeover May Lure Tourists to Financial Area
East Japan Railway Co. (9020)’s 50 billion yen ($645 million) re-fit of Tokyo Station may help transform the financial district of Japan’s capital into a tourist destination, said President Satoshi Seino.
“We want to make it a symbol of Tokyo,” he said in a Sept. 7 interview. “We want people to come and see it and stay in the hotel.”
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