Crews start removing Japan tsunami dock from Oregon beach
News On Japan via kimatv.com -- Aug 02
Contractors began removing a massive dock from an Oregon beach Wednesday, almost two months after it washed ashore after floating across the pacific from Japan.
Contractors spent Tuesday preparing popular Agate Beach for the removal effort, according to Oregon Parks and Recreation officials.
The 66-foot long dock, which is almost 20 feet wide and 7 feet high and mostly made of concrete, broke loose from moorings in Japan during the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit the island nation in March of 2011. It weighs several tons.
Shortly after it floated ashore, tons of marine life had to be stripped from the dock over invasive species fears.
Removal of the dock will be a complicated task.
Parksofficials said Ballard Diving and Salvage and other subcontractors assembled a 100-ton lift capacity crane, established a safety zone around the work site, and excavated sand from around the base of the dock.
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times )
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today )
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today )
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a broker of Thai females for violating immigration laws by employing the women as masseuses. (Tokyo Reporter )
The parents of a nightclub worker killed in an arson fire three years ago filed a suit in the Nagoya District Court on Monday seeking damages against top members of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group. (Tokyo Reporter )
Kyodo News said Monday that it has dismissed Satoshi Kondo, 51, deputy chief of its general administration bureau and former personnel affairs division chief, for meeting individually with a female student searching for a job and doing an inappropriate act.
(Jiji Press )
Saitama and Okayama prefectural police last week arrested the manager of an online porn DVD operation that specialized in films featuring children. (Tokyo Reporter)
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times 
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The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today 
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today 
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Spain for seven days from June 10, the government said Tuesday. (Jiji Press 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Monday announced the arrest of a broker of Thai females for violating immigration laws by employing the women as masseuses. (Tokyo Reporter 
The parents of a nightclub worker killed in an arson fire three years ago filed a suit in the Nagoya District Court on Monday seeking damages against top members of the Yamaguchi-gumi organized crime group. (Tokyo Reporter 
Kyodo News said Monday that it has dismissed Satoshi Kondo, 51, deputy chief of its general administration bureau and former personnel affairs division chief, for meeting individually with a female student searching for a job and doing an inappropriate act.
(Jiji Press 
Saitama and Okayama prefectural police last week arrested the manager of an online porn DVD operation that specialized in films featuring children. (Tokyo Reporter) 
Dozens of American children are abducted to Japan every year-not by strangers, but by parents after messy divorces. (thedailybeast.com 
A 5-year-old boy sustained an injury at a shopping mall in Nagoya on Friday after his hand became trapped in an escalator. (Japan Today