Climax of Tokyo's "Sanja Matsuri" festival

People in Tokyo have enjoyed the climax of the annual 3-day early summer festival featuring 3 portable shrines. The event was held for the first time in 2 years. The "Sanja Matsuri" is one of the capital's largest festivals with a 700-year history and is held in the Asakusa district of downtown Tokyo. Last year, following the earthquake and tsunami on March 11th, the organizers decided to cancel most parts of the festival, including the parade. On Sunday, men and women wearing "happi" coats carried 3 golden portable shrines on their shoulders to take different routes for the 3 shrines that each weigh about one ton. Thousands of onlookers cheered the participants and took photos of the parade. A woman who carried one of the shrines said the town looked deserted last year. She said she feels even happier than before to take part in the festival after one year's absence. The organizer's representative, Nobuhisa Yoshioka, said the Tokyo Sky Tree will open soon and Tokyo will have a new tourist attraction along with traditional events like this festival. He said he hopes the festival will encourage people to find ways to boost the economy.

Annular eclipse seen across Japan

An annular solar eclipse was visible over a wide area of Japan on Monday morning, giving thrills to observers across the nation. For the first time in 932 years, the rare astronomical event could be seen from a wide area of Japan including Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. It was seen from Kagoshima Prefecture in the southwest to Fukushima in northeastern Japan. An annular eclipse occurs when the sun, moon, and Earth are exactly in line. Instead of obscuring the sun, the eclipse creates a bright ring, called an annular, around the moon's silhouette. In Japan, the moon began sliding in front of the sun from around 6 AM. At Cape Muroto in western Japan, a partial eclipse began at around 6:15 AM, and the "ring of fire" was formed about one hour later. The point where the annular eclipse is visible moved from west to east in a quick succession, from Osaka to Nagoya to Tokyo and then Fukushima. The eclipse was visible in more places than anticipated because the weather cooperated at the last minute, despite forecasts for cloudy skies in many areas. In Shiojiri, Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, NHK cameras caught a high-definition image of Baily's beads --- a spectacle only visible during fleeting moments of the annular eclipse. The image shows beads of sunlight shining through rugged valleys on the edge of the moon. Observation events were held on land, sea and in the air. Some elementary schools held viewing parties. Astronomers say the next time an annular eclipse can be seen across such a wide area will be 300 years from now, in 2312

Kyoto: Govt explanation on Ohi insufficient

A Kyoto prefectural official says the government's explanations on the safety of the Ohi nuclear power plant are insufficient to restart its reactors. The official spoke to a senior representative from the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, Tetsuya Yamamoto, at the Kyoto Prefectural hall on Tuesday. Yamamoto explained that the entire government is dedicated to putting fresh safety standards in place following the Fukushima accident. But the Kyoto official, who heads the crisis management team, replied that it is unclear to what extent the nuclear safety commission was involved in devising the standards. He said the government explanation is inconsistent with the demands of local people. In mid-April, the government decided that the Ohi plant's 2 reactors on the Japan Sea coast need to be restarted to ensure that the Kansai region does not suffer power shortages this summer. The reactors are offline for regular checkups. Tuesday, May 01, 2012 14:53 +0900 (JST)

Storm warning for western and eastern Japan

Stormy weather is hitting western through eastern Japan on Tuesday. The strong winds and rain are due to a low-pressure system over the Sea of Japan. In Tonami City in Toyama Prefecture, central Japan, winds of up to 123 kilometers per hour were observed on Tuesday afternoon. Heavy rain hit some spots in western Japan. In Kobe, 50.5 millimeters of rain fell between 1:30 and 2:30 PM. The Meteorological Agency says the system will move eastward and cross over northern Japan overnight. Winds of up to about 90 kilometers per hour are forecast in the Kanto and Tohoku regions from Tuesday evening. The agency says heavy rain may fall in parts of the Pacific coast from western through northern Japan. It also warns of strong winds, thunderstorms and tornadoes.

5 likely died of starvation in no-entry zone

NHK has learned that at least 5 people probably died of starvation after being stranded in the evacuation zone around the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant following the disaster last year.

The earthquake and tsunami that struck eastern Japan in March last year left 1,605 people dead in Fukushima Prefecture.

Local authorities in the area say that at least 5 others found later in the no-entry zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant had starved to death.

The government evacuated residents around the plant after the accident.

But some people were left behind. One man in his 70s, who lived about 5 kilometers from the plant, was found in late March on the 2nd floor of his home. The 1st floor had sustained damage from the tsunami.

A woman in her 60s was found dead last April inside her home, where she lived alone. She had had trouble walking.

All of the 5 dead were found grossly under weight.

Police and medical authorities examined the 5 bodies and said they appeared to have been stranded, either because they were unable to evacuate on their own or could not ask for help.

Plum festival opens at Mito's Kairakuen garden

An annual Plum Festival has opened at the Kairaku-en garden north of Tokyo.

Kairaku-en in Mito City, Ibaraki prefecture, is known as one of the 3 most beautiful gardens in Japan.

The 130,000-square-meter garden has some 3,000 plum trees of about 100 varieties.

Garden officials say because of the colder than usual weather this winter, only about 50 trees have come into bloom.

On Saturday, visitors could be seen strolling among the trees, and photographing the ones with blossoms.

Last year's earthquake damaged some of the garden's slopes. It also cracked the clay walls in an old summer house of a feudal lord on the grounds. Restoration work was completed earlier this month.

Park officials say they expect the best time to see the blossoms in full bloom will likely be around mid-March.

The Plum Festival continues until the end of March.

Emperor to be hospitalized on Friday for surgery

Emperor Akihito will enter the hospital on Friday, one day before his scheduled coronary bypass surgery.

The Emperor has been diagnosed with angina. Doctors advised him to undergo a bypass operation on 2 of his 3 coronary arteries to increase the blood supply to his heart.

The surgery will take place at the University of Tokyo hospital.

Doctors say if there are no complications, the Emperor will be able to leave the hospital in about 2 weeks.

The Emperor will continue to take part in official duties until Friday while keeping a watch on his health.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 15:51 +0900 (JST)