News On Japan

Kumamoto Earthquake Death Toll Rises to 38 as More Than 8,200 Remain Evacuated

Kumamoto - The death toll from the Kumamoto earthquake has risen to 38, while more than 8,200 people remained in evacuation shelters on August 4, one week after the disaster struck.

A total of 12,276 homes have been damaged. Construction of temporary housing for displaced residents began on August 3 in the city of Uki and the town of Hikawa.

The earthquake has also dealt a major blow to Kumamoto's tourism industry. A survey conducted through tourism-related organizations found that accommodation bookings for about 66,000 people had been canceled between the earthquake and July 31.

The cancellations have caused an estimated 900 million yen in losses, according to preliminary figures.

The total does not include accommodation facilities in the Yatsushiro area, where conducting the survey has been difficult, meaning the overall financial damage is expected to rise further.

Source: FNN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

The death toll from the Kumamoto earthquake has risen to 38, while more than 8,200 people remained in evacuation shelters on August 4, one week after the disaster struck.

Japan's Immigration Services Agency on August 4 released draft guidelines that would tighten the requirements for foreign nationals seeking permanent residency, including new income and pension standards designed to ensure applicants have economic conditions equal to or better than those of Japanese people.

Large and very strong Typhoon No. 13 (Dolphin) was moving west south of Chichijima as of the 6 a.m. update on August 4, bringing severe weather to the Ogasawara Islands before an expected approach to Okinawa later in the week.

Six airlines, including All Nippon Airways, Japan Airlines and Air Do, will move the baggage check-in deadline for domestic flights at Haneda Airport to 30 minutes before departure from September 1.

The conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel may be entering a more dangerous phase, with Tehran appearing increasingly willing to initiate attacks rather than merely respond to US strikes, while disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz threaten oil and liquefied natural gas supplies worldwide.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

The operators of cosmetics and apparel stores at Aeon Mall Kumamoto disclosed new details on August 4 about how five employees who had initially evacuated the building later returned inside before being killed in an explosion following the earthquake.

A Tokyu train struck a truck that had been forced onto the tracks by a road collision in Yokohama on the morning of August 4, temporarily suspending all services on the Kodomonokuni Line, although none of the roughly 100 passengers and crew aboard the train were injured.

The family of a 22-year-old cosmetics store employee killed in the explosion at Aeon Mall Kumamoto said she had safely evacuated after the powerful earthquake but returned to the building under instructions from her company, calling her death a "man-made disaster."

Kumamoto residents struggling to recover from the magnitude 7.1 earthquake were forced to halt cleanup work on August 3 as the temperature in Kumamoto City reached 40.3 degrees Celsius, adding a second life-threatening disaster to communities already devastated by the quake.

A 36-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a male relative in the abdomen with a small chainsaw in a parking lot in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture.

An ancient zelkova tree believed to be about 800 years old toppled at Suzume Shrine in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture, on August 1, with no injuries reported.

A 39-year-old woman visiting the coast of Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, with her family died on August 2 after a falling rock struck her in the head near the Yodo sea cave.

Princess Aiko, the only daughter of Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, visited Ise Jingu in Mie Prefecture on Monday, paying respects at the shrine ahead of her first viewing of a traditional timber-hauling ceremony.