News On Japan

Powerful Quake Strikes Taiwan, Okinawa Tsunami Warnings Lifted

NAHA - An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.7 struck near Taiwan at 8:58 AM on April 3, triggering tsunami warnings for the main island of Okinawa and the Miyako and Yaeyama regions, later lifted at noon.

So far, tsunamis measuring 30 centimeters at 9:18 AM on Yonaguni Island and 20 centimeters at 9:52 AM on Ishigaki Island have been observed.

In Miyakojima, tsunamis measuring 20 centimeters at 10:08 AM and 30 centimeters at 10:50 AM have been recorded.

Regarding damages caused by the earthquake, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hayashi stated that information is still being collected and that, as of now, there have been no reports of damage.

Additionally, authorities in Taiwan report significant damage, including collapsed buildings in the city of Hualien.

Taiwanese authorities have issued tsunami warnings and are calling for vigilance.

Source: ANN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Train stations, airports and expressways were crowded on August 16 as travelers returned from vacations and hometown visits on the final day of the Obon holiday.

The death toll from record-breaking torrential rain in Chiba Prefecture has risen to 10, with 29 people injured, more than 1,500 homes damaged and one person still missing three days after the disaster.

A 12-year-old British girl who disappeared while visiting Japan with her family was found safe in Yokohama on Saturday night, about 59 hours after leaving their private lodging in Tokyo, with police saying there was no indication that she had been involved in a crime.

More than 1,200 vehicles are believed to have been left stranded on roads across Chiba Prefecture after torrential rain caused widespread flooding, with authorities confirming eight deaths and investigating a drainage pump failure at an underpass where a man died.

Japan's weather agency raised the volcanic alert level for Mount Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture from Level 2 to Level 3 on August 14 after volcanic tremors strengthened and gas emissions increased sharply, warning people to stay away from areas within about 2 kilometers of the Nakadake No. 1 crater.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

Japanese researchers are developing a lithium-air battery that uses oxygen from the atmosphere to store and generate electricity, promising nearly five times the capacity of conventional lithium-ion batteries at less than half the weight and potentially opening the way to far longer electric vehicle driving ranges.

Security camera footage captured the moment part of the Hinagu Fault Zone broke through the ground during the Kumamoto earthquake on July 28, as strong shaking lifted the surface of a rice field and moved a nearby light truck violently.

New research is reshaping long-held assumptions about Tyrannosaurus rex, including suggestions that the giant predator may have lived to around 40 years rather than 28, while advances in fossil analysis are also offering new clues about dinosaur growth, posture and even color.

Japan's H3 Rocket No. 9 successfully placed the Michibiki No. 7 navigation satellite into its planned orbit after lifting off from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:23 a.m. on August 11, marking the country's second consecutive successful H3 launch.

Requests for rapidly constructed "instant houses" are growing across areas of Kumamoto Prefecture devastated by the recent earthquake, providing air-conditioned temporary shelter for residents who have been sleeping in tents and vehicles beside their damaged homes.

University students in Shizuoka have designed a future lunar city using the globally popular game Minecraft and educational materials supervised by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, combining programming and spatial design to explore how people could live safely and sustainably on the moon.

Toyota Motor has begun recruiting residents of Shizuoka Prefecture to live in Woven City, its experimental community for developing future technologies, with about 25 households expected to move into the site for two years from March 2027.

A 29-year-old Osaka University researcher is developing technology to produce sugar from carbon dioxide in the air, seeking to create a faster and more sustainable source of livestock feed as population growth, extreme weather and poor harvests raise fears of future food shortages.