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source : Japan Times .

Urayasu still dealing with liquefaction
Streets, water lines and sewers far from back to prequake levels

By NATSUKO FUKUE

URAYASU, Chiba Pref. —
Flanked by Tokyo Bay and greenery, Urayasu has long been a popular home for young families. But the March 11 earthquake turned the resortlike city into one of tilting houses, cracked roads and thrust sewer pipes up.

About 300 km from the epicenter off Miyagi Prefecture and a 20-minute train ride from central Tokyo, Urayusu suffered ground liquefaction — which causes soil to act like quicksand — because three-fourths of the city sits on landfill.

The damage from liquefaction will cost the city about ¥73.4 billion, including restoring sewerage systems, waterworks and roads.

For residents whose homes were damaged, it will take time and money to get back to normal, but vital services are gradually recovering. About 73,000 households have water out of the 77,000 that were cut off immediately after the quake.

Almost four weeks have passed since the temblor, but the popular Disney theme parks were still closed Thursday. Although nothing inside them was damaged, both Disneyland and DisneySea are closed because of Tepco's unpredictable rolling blackouts, according to Hiroshi Suzuki, spokesman for Oriental Land Co., operator of the two parks.

Due to the shutdown, the number of visitors from April 1, 2010, to the end of last month declined 1.8 percent to 25.4 million people compared with a year earlier.

... "I actually saw a Mercedes buried in mud on my way home" a few days after the quake, said city spokeswoman Emiko Yanagida, who this week was still in blue coveralls at the busy disaster control headquarters set up in City Hall.

... Water mains and sewer pipes have been repaired in Hashimoto's neighborhood, but it was tough not to be able to wash dishes, flush the toilet or take a shower for the first 10 days after the quake, she said.

"Some of my neighbors were wrapping plates in plastic so that they didn't have to wash them," she said. "But the city brought in water trucks soon after the quake, so I appreciate that the city dealt with the problem promptly."

The entire water and sewerage system is expected to be back by mid-April. Meanwhile, the city set up water pipes around the affected districts with taps every 500 meters.

The city also began examining 10,000 houses in the affected areas in order to issue certificates proving damage. Officials aim to complete the task by the end of this month.

MORE
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408f3.html

千葉県浦安市 液体化
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Be objective, not sensationalist, foreign media told

Tokyo has been asking foreign media to report objectively on the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, as sensationalist or factually incorrect reports are believed to have fanned fears and led to import restrictions on Japanese products.

State Foreign Secretary Chiaki Takahashi told a news conference that the government believes some reports by foreign media were "excessive," and through Japanese diplomatic missions abroad has urged the news organizations responsible to correctly and objectively disseminate information.

Ministry officials said some foreign media, especially tabloids, have overemphasized the danger of radioactive materials leaking from the Fukushima plant by focusing on extreme projections, and have even erroneously reported that Tokyo Electric Power Co. has hired homeless people to tackle the ongoing crisis.

MORE
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a8.html

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Tepco pumps nitrogen into reactor 1
Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it injected nitrogen into reactor 1 at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant to purge the hydrogen inside and prevent an explosion, and the process went smoothly.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a1.html

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Radiation eases; police search for 2,400 missing in 10- to 20-km zone
Police begin searching for people missing within a 10- to 20-km radius of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a2.html


Only Chernobyl tops Fukushima, U.N. says
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a4.html


Tiny U.S. drone to view fuel pools
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a5.html


Rebuilding budget may top \4 trillion: Edano
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a6.html


Babies, pregnant women to leave Iitate
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a7.html

Be objective, not sensationalist, foreign media told
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408a8.html



Nuke plant worker mum about own exposure to fallout
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408b1.html


Imperial Couple to visit evacuees
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408b2.html


Onagawa plant safety inadequate?
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408b3.html


Tokai mayor slams Tepco, government
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408f1.html


Farmers struggle amid tsunami aftermath
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408f2.html


s seafood too tainted to eat?
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408f4.html


Water concerns spur run on coconut shells
filtering with charcoal
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nn20110408n1.html


Fish exported to EU issued certificates of origin
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/nb20110408n2.html

. . . . .

Tohoku brewers: 'Drink without restraint!'
MELINDA JOE
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fl20110408a1.html


Evacuees comforted by flutist's soothing melodies
JUNKO HORIUCHI
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/mail/fl20110408a2.html

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