Japan quake: live report
March 16, 2011 - 2:45PM
0237 GMT: Update on AFP team?s struggle to cover the devastation in Japan (Mie Kohiyama, Rosland Abdul Rahman and Olivia Hampton).
- Before heading east to disaster zone, Olivia Hampton reports ?we jumped into a taxi cab and had the driver guide us to different stations in and around the city. The rental car company would only provide half a tank of gas and supplies are running short. Station after station we pass are eerily empty, cordoned off with a panel reading "sold out" in big black and red characters. In the outskirts of the city, a few stations are still open but dozens of cars have formed long queues. We take our chances with one station. Here as in every other station, big yellow signs with blue and red characters warn customers they are limited to 20 litres per car. After waiting for about an hour and with just 10 cars in front of us, staff close their station and redirect traffic elsewhere. Despite all the frustration, there were no signs of road rage.?
0231 GMT: Radiation levels rose Wednesday at a quake-hit Japanese nuclear power plant but later fell, the chief government spokesman said.
0222 GMT: The credit quality of Japanese firms may suffer if the country struggles to recover from last week's massive earthquake and tsunami, Standard and Poor's said Wednesday.
0214 GMT: An AFP correspondent reports: ?Just found an open supermarket in a suburb of Ichinoseki, one of the first we?ve seen to allow people inside. It was packed and shelves were emptying fast.
0155 GMT: On the ground in Tokyo AFP's David Watkinssays: "Commuters still heading to work in Tokyo Wednesday morning but city is certainly quieter than usual. The number of people sporting paper face masks has shot up despite the fact that the maks are absolutely useless in the event of spiking radiation levels. More cyclists on the roads too, after reports of a run on bike shops in the city following the quake Friday."
0147 GMT: 112 countries and regions and 24 international organizations have offered assistance in the rescue and recovery efforts, says Japan's foreign ministry says, our Tokyo correspondent Frank Zeller reports.
0137 GMT: Our correspondent Olivia Hampton reports from the northwestern city of Akita about a run on petrol stations. ?On our way out of the city, we saw even bigger queues stretching for five kilometres-plus.?
0130 GMT: In Rome AFP?s reporter Gildas Le Roux says Italian officials are battling opposition to the planned re-introduction of atomic power abandoned following the Chernobyl disaster. ?Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made nuclear energy a key part of his platform despite widespread public opposition even before Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.?
- Rome wants to start building nuclear power stations from 2014 and to produce a quarter of its electricity with atomic energy by 2030.
0129 GMT: Live TV footage shows a cloud of white smoke rising above the Japanese nuclear power plant.
0119 GMT: Japan's foreign ministry has told the media that eight experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will arrive today to help Japan battle its nuclear crisis.
- They will provide technical advice on managing the situation at the Fukushima No 1 atomic power plant 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
0035 GMT: AFP's Washington bureau reports that US right-wing radio host and television presenter Glenn Beck has been blasted by other American celebrities and the media for calling the monster quake that rocked Japan a message from God.
- Actress, author and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg said Beck should "check the mirror" if he thought Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami were signs of God's anger with mankind.
0030 GMT: The Bank of Japan has pumped another 3.5 trillion yen ($43.3 bln) into the financial system, adding to the trillions spent Monday and Tuesday to soothe shaken markets.
0015 GMT: AFP Japan bureau reports that Tokyo shares were 6.05 percent higher early on Wednesday, following the biggest two-day sell-off on the Nikkei index for 24 years on fears of the threat of a nuclear meltdown after a huge earthquake.
0010 GMT: Our correspondent in Japan Shingo Ito reports that a fresh fire broke out at the Fukushima Daiichiatomic power plant early Wednesday, compounding Japan's nuclear crisis. The blaze at the number-four reactor reportedly went out of its own accord later, the state atomic safety agency said.
0000 GMT: AFP's Hong Kong office is taking over our Live Report on the developing situation in Japan, with reports from correspondents on the ground and witness accounts.
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March 15, 2011 - 3:24PM
0237 GMT: Update on AFP team?s struggle to cover the devastation in Japan (Mie Kohiyama, Rosland Abdul Rahman and Olivia Hampton).
- Before heading east to disaster zone, Olivia Hampton reports ?we jumped into a taxi cab and had the driver guide us to different stations in and around the city. The rental car company would only provide half a tank of gas and supplies are running short. Station after station we pass are eerily empty, cordoned off with a panel reading "sold out" in big black and red characters. In the outskirts of the city, a few stations are still open but dozens of cars have formed long queues. We take our chances with one station. Here as in every other station, big yellow signs with blue and red characters warn customers they are limited to 20 litres per car. After waiting for about an hour and with just 10 cars in front of us, staff close their station and redirect traffic elsewhere. Despite all the frustration, there were no signs of road rage.?
0231 GMT: Radiation levels rose Wednesday at a quake-hit Japanese nuclear power plant but later fell, the chief government spokesman said.
0222 GMT: The credit quality of Japanese firms may suffer if the country struggles to recover from last week's massive earthquake and tsunami, Standard and Poor's said Wednesday.
0214 GMT: An AFP correspondent reports: ?Just found an open supermarket in a suburb of Ichinoseki, one of the first we?ve seen to allow people inside. It was packed and shelves were emptying fast.
0155 GMT: On the ground in Tokyo AFP's David Watkinssays: "Commuters still heading to work in Tokyo Wednesday morning but city is certainly quieter than usual. The number of people sporting paper face masks has shot up despite the fact that the maks are absolutely useless in the event of spiking radiation levels. More cyclists on the roads too, after reports of a run on bike shops in the city following the quake Friday."
0147 GMT: 112 countries and regions and 24 international organizations have offered assistance in the rescue and recovery efforts, says Japan's foreign ministry says, our Tokyo correspondent Frank Zeller reports.
0137 GMT: Our correspondent Olivia Hampton reports from the northwestern city of Akita about a run on petrol stations. ?On our way out of the city, we saw even bigger queues stretching for five kilometres-plus.?
0130 GMT: In Rome AFP?s reporter Gildas Le Roux says Italian officials are battling opposition to the planned re-introduction of atomic power abandoned following the Chernobyl disaster. ?Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has made nuclear energy a key part of his platform despite widespread public opposition even before Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan.?
- Rome wants to start building nuclear power stations from 2014 and to produce a quarter of its electricity with atomic energy by 2030.
0129 GMT: Live TV footage shows a cloud of white smoke rising above the Japanese nuclear power plant.
0119 GMT: Japan's foreign ministry has told the media that eight experts from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission will arrive today to help Japan battle its nuclear crisis.
- They will provide technical advice on managing the situation at the Fukushima No 1 atomic power plant 250 kilometres (155 miles) northeast of Tokyo.
0035 GMT: AFP's Washington bureau reports that US right-wing radio host and television presenter Glenn Beck has been blasted by other American celebrities and the media for calling the monster quake that rocked Japan a message from God.
- Actress, author and talk show host Whoopi Goldberg said Beck should "check the mirror" if he thought Friday's 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami were signs of God's anger with mankind.
0030 GMT: The Bank of Japan has pumped another 3.5 trillion yen ($43.3 bln) into the financial system, adding to the trillions spent Monday and Tuesday to soothe shaken markets.
0015 GMT: AFP Japan bureau reports that Tokyo shares were 6.05 percent higher early on Wednesday, following the biggest two-day sell-off on the Nikkei index for 24 years on fears of the threat of a nuclear meltdown after a huge earthquake.
0010 GMT: Our correspondent in Japan Shingo Ito reports that a fresh fire broke out at the Fukushima Daiichiatomic power plant early Wednesday, compounding Japan's nuclear crisis. The blaze at the number-four reactor reportedly went out of its own accord later, the state atomic safety agency said.
0000 GMT: AFP's Hong Kong office is taking over our Live Report on the developing situation in Japan, with reports from correspondents on the ground and witness accounts.
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March 15, 2011 - 3:24PM
0418 GMT:Tokyo government official says radiation level not considered at the level where it harms human health.
0403 GMT: Higher than normal radiation levels have been detected in Tokyo, according to the city government.
0356 GMT: Flights from Beijing and Shanghai to Tokyo on Air China were cancelled on Tuesday afternoon and in the evening, the BBC reports.
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0350 GMT: Tokyo shares plunged 11.03 percent as Japan's nuclear crisis escalated
0347 GMT: The French embassy in Tokyo has withdrawn a news item on its website saying a low level radioactive wind could reach Tokyo in 10 hours. Embassy officials say the report was unconfirmed and that the winds have changed.
0326 GMT: A fire at the Fukushima nuclear plant has apparently been extinguished, media reports quoted the power station operator as saying.
0324 GMT: Eyewitness tweets: "Just passed Eneos gas station in Yamagata where line went for over 1 km, station attendant bring out portable battery charger for cars."
0322 GMT: Radiation is 400 times the annual legal limit near Fukushima's reactor 3, the Kyodo news agency reports.
0250: Japan Times Twitter page retweeted - : People in Tokyo metropolitan area do not need to worry about radiation for now b/c distant from Fukushima: Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano.
0230 GMT: The United States nuclear regulatory commission has sent eight additional experts and managers to Japan to help respond to its damaged nuclear power plants.
0221 GMT: Radiation levels around reactors now a threat to human health: Japan govt
0212 GMT: People between 20-30 km around the Fukushima reactor should stay indoors: the Prime Minister said.
0208 GMT: A fire has broken out at the number-four reactor at the quake-hit Fukushima No. 1 atomic power plant and radiation levels have risen considerably, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said.
0116 GMT: Some workers have been evacuated from the number-two reactor at the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, according to Tokyo Electric Power Co. "We have moved our staff to a safer area," except for those working to cool the reactor, the TEPCO spokesman said.
0110 GMT: The death toll from Friday's earthquake and tsunami that flattened much of Japan's northeast coast topped 2,400, police said Tuesday. The National Police Agency said 2,414 people are confirmed dead and 3,118 missing, with 1,885 injured in the disaster which struck on Friday afternoon. The official toll yesterday stood at 1,647.
0100 GMT: The US House of Representatives has observed a moment of silence for the people killed, missing or injured in the Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
0050 GMT: Tokyo shares fell 6.62 percent in morning trade Tuesday, a day after their lowest close in two years following Japan's devastating natural disasters and nuclear emergency. The nikkei index plunged 636.75 points to 8,983.74.
0045 GMT: The seal around a reactor at a quake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant does not appear to have been holed, the plant operator said Tuesday, following an explosion at the plant. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters earlier that the suppression pool of the number-two reactor at the Fukushima No.1 plant appeared to have been damaged.
0035 GMT: The Bank of Japan has pumped five trillion yen into the financial system to soothe money markets shaken by Japan's biggest ever earthquake, a devastating tsunami and a nuclear emergency.
0020 GMT: US relief organizations have raised more than $22 million US dollars in donations for relief after Japan's disaster, with US companies also offering multimillion-dollar donations. The American Red Cross raised $19 million as of 3:00 pm (1700 GMT), with $1.6 million sent in $10 donations by Americans text-messaging the number 90999, a spokeswoman for the organization said.
0015 GMT: Higher radiation levels were recorded Tuesday in a region north of the Japanese capital Tokyo after a blast at a quake-hit nuclear power plant, Kyodo News reported. It said the increased levels were detected in Ibaraki prefecture between the capital and Fukushima, where the nuclear plant is located. There were no immediate details.
0000 GMT: A huge explosion hit another reactor at an earthquake-damaged Japanese nuclear power plant early Tuesday, the third blast since Saturday, the plant operator said. "There was a huge explosion" between 6:00 am (2100 GMT Monday) and 6:15 am at the number-two reactor of Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant, a Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) spokesman said
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