Despite the disaster that befell Fukushima one year ago, much of Asia is still planning for a nuclear-powered future.
Japan
U.S.-North Korea Talks Yield a “Bit of Progress,” but Little Hope for Refugees
A U.S. envoy said two days of meetings in Beijing with North Korean representatives, the first since the death of dictator Kim Jong Il in December, have yielded “a little bit of progress.” But any optimism about resuming talks on …
Kim Jong Un Gets Thumbs-Up from North Koreans in Japan
When Kim Jong Un was declared heir apparent of North Korea in December, Choe Kwan Ik was probably one of the few people in Tokyo who knew who the kid was. As Bill Powell writes in this week’s story “Meet Kim Jong Un,” (available …
Bluefin Sells for Record $735,000: In New Year, Same Threats for Tuna in Japan
Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji market rang in the first auction of 2012 with a record sale when a local sushi company bought a 593-lb. (269 kg) bluefin tuna for over $735,000. Weighing in at roughly $1,247 a pound, that’s the most …
Kim’s Death: Jitters in Northeast Asia
On Monday afternoon, a black-clad newscaster in Pyongyang, sitting in front of a bucolic backdrop of pine trees and snow-capped mountains, was barely able to get out the news. North Korea’s long-time leader Kim Jong Il, she …
Quietly, the U.S. Embarks on an East Asia Offensive
If Americans were paying attention to matters of foreign policy over the weekend, it likely had to do with what was discussed at yet another farcical Republican debate, replete with wild distortions of reality and bald admissions of ignorance. What should have been more on the collective radar took place west of South Carolina — …
“Atomic Anne” Lauvergeon Replaced As Head Of Nuclear Giant Areva
Anne Lauvergeon–longed ranked by international publications as one of the most influential and powerful women in global business—will be replaced as chairman of Areva, the one-stop nuclear giant she created in 2001. Thursday’s announcement by France’s conservative government to part with Lauvergeon when her current contract …
Fukushima: Workers Re-Enter Reactor Building for First Time
One of the most unnerving things about the situation at the Fukushima nuclear power plant is that it just keeps going. As U.S. special forces prepared to raid a white house in Abbottabad, as Gaddafi’s forces and NATO remain mired in their deadly standoff, the workers at the stricken power plant have continued their Sisyphean task of …
China Welcomes bin Laden’s Death, but Concerns About U.S. Focus Emerge
The online reactions in China to the death of Osama bin Laden have been diverse, with some celebrating the death of the terrorist, while a few mourned the passing of someone who challenged the global dominance of the U.S. Officially the Chinese government welcomed news that an American military team took out the Qaeda leader in Pakistan …
After Disaster, Sorrow in a Few Short Words
When an earthquake hit the Japanese town of Niigata in October 2004, Yo Yasuhara, an elderly monk, wrote these words:
It’s cold and wet/camping outdoors/aftershocks multiplying the misery
The poem, originally written in Japanese, so stirred survivors that it was carved in a memorial stone. Today, one month after the Great Tohoku …
Global Briefing, April 4, 2011: Banned Books and Broken Promises
There Will Be Blood— In a dispatch from Kabul, John Wendle explains how the actions of one extremist preacher in Florida sparked violence in Afghanistan; Elsewhere, the Wall Street Journal reconstructs last week’s attack on a U.N. compound and the subsequent murder of seven U.N. workers.
Missing Persons — To the list of …
What’s in Store for Japan’s Embattled Nuclear Workers?
As more details emerge from inside the evacuation zone in Fukushima, it’s becoming more and more evident that workers at the Daiichi power plant, feted as heroes since the early days of Japan’s nuclear crisis, will be bearing their burden for years to come.
Tepco gave its workers the option not to go to Fukushima days after …
Global Briefing, Mar. 30, 2011: Secret Wars and Snake Escapes
Libyan Lament — In the besieged town of Bin Jawad, Abigail Hauslohner meets rebel fighters dismayed by the absence of allied planes. “Sarkozy betrayed us,” one says. “There are no planes,” says another.
Cricket’s Biggest Game — In an op-ed for the New York Times, Aakanksha Pande previews today’s India vs. Pakistan semi-final; …