10 Nov
Japan received bids from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to replace its outdated F-4 fighter jets on 27 September 2011, as part of a plan to buy 40-50 fighter jets in a deal worth more than US$6 billion.
Japan intends to add the new aircraft to its fleet by 2016.
Currently, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) has a fleet of 350 combat aircraft, which incorporates 260 fighter aircraft. But the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) was forced to scrap 12 out of 18 damaged F-2s after the March 11 tsunami, which hit the JASDF Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi prefecture. Additionally, the existing fleet of F-4EJ Phantom II and F-15J Eagles are of older generation and also need to be replaced. (East Asia Forum)
Japan received bids from Boeing, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems to replace its outdated F-4 fighter jets on 27 September 2011, as part of a plan to buy 40-50 fighter jets in a deal worth more than US$6 billion.
Japan intends to add the new aircraft to its fleet by 2016.
Currently, the Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) has a fleet of 350 combat aircraft, which incorporates 260 fighter aircraft. But the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MoD) was forced to scrap 12 out of 18 damaged F-2s after the March 11 tsunami, which hit the JASDF Matsushima Air Base in Miyagi prefecture. Additionally, the existing fleet of F-4EJ Phantom II and F-15J Eagles are of older generation and also need to be replaced. (East Asia Forum)28 Sep
Seagulls flock around passengers on the deck of a cruise boat, hoping for scraps; hotels and inns show no-vacancy signs and fresh oysters are served in seaside restaurants.
But despite an appearance of normality, business is far from booming in Matsushima, where serene pine-covered islands have attacted generations of tourists to an area classed as one of Japan's three most beautiful spots. (AFP)
Seagulls flock around passengers on the deck of a cruise boat, hoping for scraps; hotels and inns show no-vacancy signs and fresh oysters are served in seaside restaurants.
But despite an appearance of normality, business is far from booming in Matsushima, where serene pine-covered islands have attacted generations of tourists to an area classed as one of Japan's three most beautiful spots. (AFP)17 Aug
Matsuo Basho, arguably Japan's most famous haiku poet, is said to have been at a loss for words when he first saw the hundreds of pine-clad islets scattered around Matsushima Bay during a 17th-century journey to the Tohoku region.
When the monster March 11 tsunami wiped out towns all along the Sanriku coast, killing or leaving thousands of people missing in Miyagi Prefecture, Matsushima's famed cluster of about 260 islets served as a natural buffer, weakening the impact of the waves and largely sparing the coastal town from utter devastation, despite its proximity to the 9.0-magnitude quake's epicenter. (Japan Times)
Matsuo Basho, arguably Japan's most famous haiku poet, is said to have been at a loss for words when he first saw the hundreds of pine-clad islets scattered around Matsushima Bay during a 17th-century journey to the Tohoku region.
When the monster March 11 tsunami wiped out towns all along the Sanriku coast, killing or leaving thousands of people missing in Miyagi Prefecture, Matsushima's famed cluster of about 260 islets served as a natural buffer, weakening the impact of the waves and largely sparing the coastal town from utter devastation, despite its proximity to the 9.0-magnitude quake's epicenter. (Japan Times)27 Jun
The Japan Tourism Agency said Monday it has added three areas in disaster-hit northeastern Japan, including a town in Iwate Prefecture with historic assets that was recently listed as a UNESCO World Heritage cultural site, as designated regional tourism spots where it expects foreign visitors to increase.
The designation of Hiraizumi in Iwate Prefecture, Sendai and Matsushima in Miyagi Prefecture, and Aizuwakamatsu in Fukushima Prefecture comes after the agency chose 11 locations in other regions of Japan in April, when it postponed selection in the Tohoku region to assess the outlook for reconstruction following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (Kyodo)
3 Jun
Some public schools in areas stricken by the Great East Japan Earthquake can only provide school lunches consisting of bread and milk, increasing concerns that students may suffer from malnutrition.
While many schools in the disaster-ravaged prefectures managed to resume serving regular lunches before Golden Week in May, more than 40 percent of 69 towns, cities and villages were unable to do so, citing reasons such as disaster-related damage to school lunch caterers.
At present, three cities and three towns in Miyagi Prefecture--Ishinomaki, Higashi-Matsushima, Tome, Onagawacho, Minami-Sanrikucho, Rifucho--and two cities in Iwate Prefecture--Kamaishi and Rikuzen-Takata--are unable to offer regular school lunches. (Yomiuri)