- Fukushima
- Two Years On from FukushimaSven Saaler
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More than two years since the nuclear accident at Fukushima Daiichi, more than 100,000 people are still unable to return to their homes due to radioactive contamination. Ironically, however, the nuclear disaster seems to have had more impact in some European countries than in Japan itself. Germany, Italy, and Switzerland have all decided to phase out nuclear energy. France is discussing new ways o…
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- Nuclear Power and the Emptiness of Political PromisesHayakawa Masaya
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At a New Year’s meeting of her supporters on January 13, Shiga Prefecture’s governor Kada Yukiko revealed the series of events that led to the formation of the Nippon Mirai no Tō, or the “Tomorrow Party of Japan.” Apparently she took the decision to form the party after being persuaded by Ozawa Ichirō in the lead-up to the December’s lower house elections that “if you run, we should get 100 cand…
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- El Sistema Brings Music to Sōma, FukushimaHosoda Haruko
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El Sistema is a world-famous music education program. It began in 1975, when the economist and conductor José Antonio Abreu put together an orchestra of Venezuelan musicians in the hope of encouraging more people to participate in the arts in that country. El Sistema is well-known for having produced classical music celebrities like conductor Gustavo Dudamel, but the program is about much more t…
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- Building a Floating Wind Farm Off the Fukushima Coast
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After being devastated by the Tōhoku earthquake and nuclear disaster last March, Fukushima Prefecture is now looking to renewable energy as a new area of industrial development. Tests of the world’s first large-scale offshore floating wind farm are underway, and hopes are high.
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- Five Things to Know About Energy in Japan
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Basic information about Japan’s energy situation is indispensable when examining the prospects for renewable energy sources here. We kick off our series with a quiz to see what you know about things like Japan’s energy self-sufficiency ratio and the price of gas.
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- Examining Japan’s Energy ChoicesMurakami Tomoko /Nishida Naoki
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In June 2012, a government council issued a report laying out three scenarios for Japan’s energy use. In this report, two researchers from the Institute of Energy Economics examine these scenarios and discuss the ideal ways forward for Japan’s energy strategy.
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- “Accounts of Huts”: Repercussions of 3/11 in the German Cultural SphereIrmela Hijiya-Kirschnereit
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The most radical repercussion from the 3/11 disaster and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, on an international scale, arguably took place in Germany, where the government decided only a few days after the cataclysm to phase out nuclear power. This radical change in the country’s energy policy was confirmed by the German parliament in June 2011. Beyond this political leve…
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- Hiroki: Fukushima’s Rejuvenated Sake Star
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Hiroki is one of the sake brands credited with igniting a boom in the market for small-batch craft brews from local breweries. But the tiny brewery in Fukushima Prefecture that produces the brand was once on the verge of closing down. Today, it has been dramatically reborn as a producer of microbrews that are sought out by aficionados around the country.
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- The Timeless Charms of Aizu
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For many years, Aizuwakamatsu was one of the most popular tourist spots in Fukushima Prefecture. Although the number of visitors has dropped since the earthquake and tsunami disaster of 2011, one long-established ryokan (inn) has managed to weather the storm, and has actually seen an increase in business. Here we introduce the timeless appeal of this special part of the world.
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- Fukushima Folk Song “Requiem”
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Min’yō are traditional Japanese folk songs, interwoven with the reality of daily life and handed down from generation to generation. Fukushima Prefecture is particularly famous for its rich repertoire of traditional songs. When a group of local musicians got together to make a recording of Fukushima folk songs as a way of soothing the pain from last year’s disaster, Nippon.com was on hand to capture the moment.
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