Japan Quake One Year Anniversary

One year after a magnitude-9 earthquake triggered a devastating tsunami and nuclear disaster, Japan is slowly rebuilding its economy, industries and towns. Bloomberg reporters revisit many of the sites hit by the disaster to interview people they talked with a year ago, to see how they have coped and the challenges they still face.

Special Report Features

Fukushima Farmers Face Decades of Tainted Crops as Fears Linger

Farmers in Japan’s Fukushima face years of additional losses as consumers continue to doubt the safety of produce from the region devastated a year ago by the tsunami and nuclear fallout, which may taint crops for decades.
Honda Supplier’s Tears Herald Rebirth for Japan Quake-Hit Zone

As the surge of water smashed through the factory wall in northeast Japan a year ago, Takumi Tanaka held on to an air hose to stop being swept away. Four days later, he was back at the shattered auto-parts plant, groping through meter-thick mud studded with uprooted trees.
Japan’s Parties See Record-Low Backing at Earthquake Anniversary

One year after Japan’s most powerful earthquake ever, the nation’s top two political parties have record-low approval ratings, signaling widespread discontent at the government’s response to the disaster.
Emperor Prays, Trains Stop as Japan Remembers 3/11 Disaster

Japan’s Emperor will lead millions of the country’s citizens in prayers and remembrances today for the more than 19,000 killed or lost in the quake and tsunami that struck at 2:46 p.m. one year ago. Some train services in Tokyo will halt temporarily as part of the memorial.
Fukushima Evacuees Run Into Tepco Red Tape, ‘Sponger’ Attacks on Payments

Less than half of the evacuees from the Fukushima nuclear crisis have filed for compensation from Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) because the application forms are too complex, a survey shows.
3/11 First Responders in Japan’s Triple Disaster Overcome Fears, Shock

Flight engineer Tsutomu Kimura had his first look into the smoking ruins of the No. 3 reactor building when his helicopter buzzed over the Fukushima Dai-Ichi (9501) atomic plant three days after it exploded.
Japan’s 3/11 Disaster Endures in Broken Families, Divided Towns

Chikako Abe’s desk is decorated with flowers and candy at her school in Minamisoma, a reminder of a 17-year-old life cut short a year ago. Instead of attending a graduation ceremony this month, her family will pray on March 11 at the ruins of a house where the sea snatched away the lives of Chikako, her father and two grandparents.
Post-Fukushima U.S. Nuclear Reactor Rules Questioned Over Cost, Adequacy

The first rules for U.S. reactors imposed in response to last year’s nuclear disaster in Japan are fueling a debate over the adequacy and cost of the measures.
Success in Public-Spending Cuts Turns to Hurdle in Japan Quake Rebuilding

After years of criticism for public- works spending that rewarded political constituents at the cost of adding debt, Japan succeeded in cutting the largesse in half. Now, that legacy of success is hampering an economic rebound.
Tokyo Quake May Risk 650,000 Fires as Defenses Seen Lacking

Tokyo’s preparedness for dealing with a major earthquake after last year’s record temblor in northeast Japan that left more than 19,000 dead or missing may not significantly cut deaths or damage, says Kazuchika Asano, who has studied the city’s emergency procedures for two decades.
Children Wait for UN Radiation Study After Fukushima Crisis

As five-year-olds charge through the corridors of a kindergarten in northeast Japan at lunchtime, teacher Junko Kamada says she is still unsure if their food is safe a year after the Fukushima nuclear accident.
Nuclear-Free Summer Looms Over Japan’s West in Risk to Recovery From Quake

Japan’s economic rebound from the deepest contraction among advanced nations after Greece and Portugal may be stunted this year as power shortages threaten its western region.
Japan’s Kan Gets Mixed Assessment on Fukushima Disaster Response

Japan’s former Prime Minister Naoto Kan received a mixed assessment of his handling of last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster from an independent panel.
Tepco Bailout Largest in Japan Since Rescue of Banks

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) is set to receive a government bailout that may cost as much as 11 trillion yen ($137 billion) after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, the largest in Japan since the rescue of the banking industry in the 1990s.
Nuclear Safety Chief Says Lax Rules Led to Fukushima Crisis

Japan’s atomic safety rules are inferior to global standards and left the country unprepared for the Fukushima nuclear disaster last March, the country’s top nuclear regulator told a parliamentary investigation.
Hula Girls Revive Quake-Hit Fukushima Town at Hawaii Theme Park

A Hawaiian theme park that propped up the economy of a rural Japanese town in Fukushima prefecture for 45 years was forced to close after the March 11 earthquake. Almost a year later, the hula girls have returned.

Slideshows

Before and After the Cleanup

An earthquake of 9.0 magnitude struck Japan on March 11, 2011 at 2:46 p.m. local time, triggering a tsunami of up to 10 meters that engulfed large parts of northeastern Japan and damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant
One Year After the Tsunami

Photographer James Whitlow Delano visited the area near the Fukushima Power Plant that was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 to document how the landscape has changed.