This special section is designed to provide readers with the Internet's most comprehensive, archival coverage of Japan's tragic earthquake, tsunami and Fukushima nuclear crisis.

Life and Death Read More

May 24, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (15): The veterinarian thought, ‘They are stray cats, aren’t they?’
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May 22, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (14): What about the happiness of dogs and cats?
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May 20, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (13): Farmer offers flowers, apology to slain cattle
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May 17, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (12): Farmer finds it impossible to oppose killing of cattle
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May 15, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (11): Farmers told not to kill cattle
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May 08, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (8): Woman repeatedly rescued pets in the Fukushima off-limits zone
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May 07, 2013
Last remaining pupil at Fukushima school hides his loneliness
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May 03, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (6): Dogs in the shelter are suffering from mental illness
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May 01, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (5): Dogs wandering in the no-entry zones
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April 29, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (4): An evacuee slept on a floor for the first time in 80 days
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April 28, 2013
Survivors of 3/11 disaster issue newspaper to pull people together
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April 26, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (3): Pets forgotten in the mass evacuation
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April 24, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (2): Daughter tells father, 'You are stupid'
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April 22, 2013
PROMETHEUS TRAP/ The disaster and animals (1): Veterinarian finds puppy amid Fukushima nuke crisis
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April 09, 2013
Recovered buoy revives restaurant
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April 08, 2013
PHOTO: Cherry blossom road partially open to Fukushima evacuees
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April 07, 2013
Parents of firefighters lost in 3/11, 9/11 share memories
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Quake and Tsunami Read More

April 02, 2013
Tsunami survivor keeps searching for missing family
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March 28, 2013
Toyota opens new training school in Tohoku region
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March 11, 2013
ISHINOMAKI: Two years on, firefighters still searching for bodies
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March 10, 2013
High school student wears late sister's ribbon from 3/11
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March 05, 2013
Teenage tsunami survivor to deliver speech at U.N.
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March 04, 2013
English version of 3/11 disaster documentary to be screened in Tokyo, London
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February 28, 2013
Tsunami 'miracle' pine tree was younger than thought
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February 21, 2013
60% of thermal power plants stand in quake-prone areas
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February 21, 2013
Lady Gaga memorabilia donated to disaster-stricken Miyagi
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January 31, 2013
After surviving tsunami, movie house could be victim of digital wave
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January 09, 2013
National archive to compile 300,000 items related to 3/11 quake
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Recovery Read More

May 21, 2013
Fishermen net fish in Fukushima waters to measure radiation levels
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May 21, 2013
Mega-solar power plant taking shape in tsunami-hit park
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May 19, 2013
Fukushima's Hula Girls teach pupils positive attitude with dance
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May 17, 2013
High school students to be tour guides in quake-recovering Iwaki
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May 04, 2013
PHOTO: Volunteers help festival carry on in tsunami-hit town
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April 25, 2013
PHOTO: Town bids farewell to surviving cherry trees
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April 25, 2013
Meet the French artist who leaves no lasting works
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April 18, 2013
Director, movie fans help struggling cinema go digital
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April 10, 2013
Nuclear standards proposal may force decommissioning of old reactors
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April 10, 2013
PHOTO: Quake-hit studio busy making Children's Day streamers
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April 03, 2013
Rail service resumes on quake-ravaged Sanriku coast
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April 03, 2013
U.S., Taiwan top donors in 3/11 relief through Red Cross
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April 02, 2013
Cherry trees to mark tsunami line in Tohoku as warning to future generations
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April 01, 2013
Handprint cherry blossoms of hope are in full bloom
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March 29, 2013
Locals divided over 'disaster museum' proposal for Fukushima plant
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March 24, 2013
3/11 still too raw to make hard and fast decisions about preservation issues
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March 21, 2013
Easter Island gift for tsunami-hit town arrives in Japan
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March 12, 2013
Kites soar in Gaza Strip to offer hope to 3/11 disaster zone
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Fukushima nuclear crisisRead More

Democratic rights or illegal squatting? Court holds ...
These tents were set up by anti-nuclear protesters at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district. Some passers-by exchanged words with those manning the tents on May 22, when this photo was taken. (Ryujiro Komatsu)
May 24, 2013
Anti-nuclear activists blasted the government at the Tokyo District Court on May 23 in the first hearing over the legality of protest tents set up on the grounds of the...
Stricken Fukushima nuke plant struggles to keep...
Workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant walk past a politician campaigning and reporters in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, in December. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
May 23, 2013
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to ...

AnalysisRead More

Cellphone logs help estimate radiation exposure of...
The Asahi Shimbun
May 10, 2013
Chaos reigned during the early phase of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, and people who fled the area have no idea how much radiation they were exposed to before the evacuation. ...

OpinionRead More

POINT OF VIEW/ Katsuno Onozawa: Government's...
Katsuno Onozawa (Eiji Yamaguchi)
April 30, 2013
As concern over nuclear accidents and radiation lessens, people have begun to go so far as to talk about restarting idle reactors.
FUKUSHIMA LESSONS: Government admits failures in Fukushima crisis
June 08, 2011
FUKUSHIMA LESSONS: Government admits failures in Fukushima crisis
These tents were set up by anti-nuclear protesters at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo's Kasumigaseki district. Some passers-by exchanged words with those manning the tents on May 22, when this photo was taken. (Ryujiro Komatsu)
Kenji Shishido poses for a photo with the dog Oni in the first shelter in Iinomachi district of Fukushima city. (Provided by a relative of Kenji Shishido)
Workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant walk past a politician campaigning and reporters in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, in December. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The Tsuruga nuclear power plant in Fukui Prefecture (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Veterinarian Seido Watanabe, left, works in the second animal shelter in Miharu, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 9, 2013. (Misuzu Tsukue)
An aerial view of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Fishermen select fish to be tested for their radiation levels off Hirono, Fukushima Prefecture, on May 20. (Hiroshi Kawai)
Construction continues on a mega-solar power plant at a tsunami-damaged park in Higashi-Matsushima’s Nobiru district in May. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
Cattle were put down one after another in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 21, 2012. (Provided by Yasuaki Tashiro)
The Hula Girls dance with pupils at municipal Minami Elementary School in Fukuyama, Hiroshima Prefecture, on May 17. (Gen Hashimoto)
Underground storage tanks at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant are seen at the top of the photo. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A stray cow wanders through a garden in the no-entry zone. (Provided by Seido Watanabe)
High school students in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, discuss the forthcoming tour of their city. (Takuro Negishi)
Cattle wander in the no-entry zone around the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on Dec. 8, 2012. (Misuzu Tsukue)
Fisheries officials in Fukushima Prefecture look at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s plan to release groundwater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant into the sea. (Shiro Nishihata)
The Asahi Shimbun
A veterinarian in Fukushima Prefecture put up a poster on the broken front door of his animal hospital saying, “Don’t hurt our feelings any more.”
Japan Coast Guard members prepare to board a boat carrying hypothetical terrorists during a May 11 training exercise at the Fukushima No. 2 nuclear power plant. (Pool)
An aerial view of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (Hiroki Endo)
The Asahi Shimbun
TEPCO plans to replace the makeshift protective canopy built over the damaged No. 1 reactor building at its Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A pet rescue worker tries to take a dog into custody within the no-go zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. (Provided by Seido Watanabe)
High radiation levels were detected in the soil at a prefectural parking lot in Fukushima city. (Masakazu Honda)
The Asahi Shimbun
Mieko Yoshida, a cram school teacher, stands in front of the city office carrying a placard calling for the rescue of pets left in the Fukushima no-go zone.
Takashi Sato studies arithmetic with teacher Kei Omuro at the Onami Elementary School in Fukushima. (Yusaku Kanagawa)
Workers clean up a community in Date, Fukushima Prefecture, on May 2. The workers are not related to this article. (Tamiyuki Kihara)
A dog is groomed by workers at the animal shelter operated by the Fukushima prefectural government. (Provided by Kazumi Mochizuki)
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe holds a joint news conference with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in Ankara on May 3. (Teruo Kashiyama)
Volunteers from around Japan, along with local residents, shoulder a portable shrine in Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture, on May 3. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
The condition of a shelter for dogs and cats, set up by the Fukushima prefectural government, was a grave one on May 17, 2011. (Provided by Shoko Imakawa)
The International Atomic Energy Agency's investigators tour the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on April 17. (Provided by the IAEA)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Naomi Hirose (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
A stray dog wanders around in a no-entry zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant on July 3, 2011. (Provided by Kosuke Ota)
Katsuno Onozawa (Eiji Yamaguchi)
After 3 months, rescued tsunami baby is happy and healthy
June 14, 2011
After 3 months, rescued tsunami baby is happy and healthy
"Pet Village" was constructed for dogs and cats of evacuees. (Provided by Kazumi Mochizuki)
Inochi newspaper editors Yuya Kawamura, left, Tomoe Ito, second from right, and Ruiko Sasahara, right, talk about the content of their newspaper in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. (Shu Nomura)
In this April 8, 2013 file photo, characters on the side of a boat that read Takata-kou-kou — “Takata High School” — a high school in Rikuzentakata City in Iwate Prefecture, is seen on a Japanese boat that washed up in Crescent City, Calif. (AP Photo/Del Norte Triplicate)
A notice pasted at an evacuation center reads, “It is prohibited to bring pets (such as dogs and birds) into this building." (Provided by Seido Watanabe)
Bags of rice produced in 2012 are stored at a warehouse in Fukushima Prefecture, after the grain was found to contain radioactive material exceeding the government safety standard. (Asahi Shimbun file photo; photo is partly retouched)
Local people attend a traditional tiger dance performed in the rain beneath illuminated cherry trees in bloom at the former Akahama elementary school in Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture, on April 24. (Shiro Nishihata)
Children are captivated as they listen to a female college student reading to them at an evacuation center in Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, in May 2011. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Georges Rousse, left, talks with Shinichi Chiba in Cafe Loin in Matsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, on April 24 after completing his drawings. (Kengo Hiyoshi)
Industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Tohoku Electric Power Co. President Makoto Kaiwa explains the decision to abandon the planned Namie-Odaka nuclear power plant in March. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Dogs that were left in Seido Watanabe’s animal hospital (Provided by Seido Watanabe)
A high level of radioactive cesium was found in mud at the bottom of this swimming pool at a public high school in Fukushima Prefecture. (Provided by a teacher)
The puppy saved by Seido Watanabe. He named it Ohagi. (Provided by Seido Watanabe)
International Atomic Energy Agency mission team leader Juan Carlos Lentijo speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on April 22. (AP Photo)
This rat, found dead March 20 beneath a charred terminal of a temporary switchboard at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, has been fingered as the cause of the recent blackout there. (Provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.)
Tokyo Electric Power Co. head office in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Radioactive water leaked from the No. 2 and No. 3 underground tanks, shown with dotted lines, at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. The photo was taken on April 7. (Yosuke Fukudome)
The Oi nuclear power plant, with the No. 3 and No. 4 reactors in the foreground (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Internal Ground Self-Defense Force material related to a secret rescue mission (Hiroyoshi Itabashi)
The Cinemarine theater in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, attracts a large audience of children. (Noriki Ishitobi)
The International Atomic Energy Agency team ispects the spent nuclear fuel storage pool of the No. 4 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant on April 17. (Provided by Tokyo Electric Power Co.)
GSDF Maj. Gen. Masato Taura, left, meets with Masao Yoshida, then chief of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, in April 2011. (Provided by the Ground Self-Defense Force)
The Oi nuclear power plant (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Part of MOPP 4 gear (Hiroyoshi Itabashi)