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The devastating Japan earthquake (magnitude 9.0) and tsunami (39-metre high) of 2011, also called the Great Tohoku or Sendai earthquake, was a record-breaker natural disaster causing enormous damage and a nuclear meltdown at Fukushima nuclear power plant. This paper attempts to analyse the long and short run effects of this record-breaking natural disaster on the Japanese equity, debt and FX markets as well as Gold as one of the most popular metals and investment options, using daily data. A variance bound test proposed by Fakhry & Richter (2018) underpinned by the C-GARCH-t model of volatility is adopted. The results seem to indicate that the natural disaster influenced the efficiency of the market in the immediate terms more than the long term. In a global financial market where the key is competitiveness, it is essential to analyse the efficiency and therefore stability of the Japanese financial market. Therefore, analysing the impact of the natural disaster on the competitiveness of the Japanese financial market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iitate, a village in Fukushima Prefecture, suffered little damage from the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on 11 March 2011. However, all village residents were belatedly ordered to evacuate 1 month after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. My family and I had to evacuate to the city of Fukushima, located 40 km from our home in Iitate. This came at a time when my husband and I were planning to start research on Natsuhaze (a type of blueberry grown in Japan) after his retirement. There were conflicting reports. On one hand, the media reported that it was not possible to live in Fukushima. The village of Iitate organised a lecture by an expert to assuage the fear of the residents. The evacuation order 1 month after the disaster contradicted what the expert was saying, and appeared to amplify distrust among the residents. I tried to arrive at my own judgement by measuring the ambient radiation dose in and around my house. Participating in the International Commission on Radiological Protection dialogue seminars provided accurate understanding of the situation. Measurement of radiation doses of wild plants that my husband's father had been cultivating for over 30 years has given me many insights, and I had no concerns about returning to Iitate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake received considerable media coverage. However, a leaning towards sensationalism and a proclivity for denouncing those in power resulted in articles that were, in several instances, scientifically inaccurate, causing anxiety among disaster victims and delaying recovery efforts. Individuals working for the local media in Fukushima had the task of reporting the disaster while being victims of the disaster at the same time. Therefore, many individuals studied and deepened their knowledge about radiation and its effects, and were pained to see inaccurate media coverage of the disaster. Should they have been more forthright in opposing such false media coverage? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

'Yes I tried to explain, but residents couldn't understand …' This was the title of my presentation at the first International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) dialogue seminar in November 2011 held at the Fukushima Prefectural Government office. The accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was triggered by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 2011. Initially, it was thought that Date city, 50-60 km away from the accident, would be safe, but unfortunately this was not the case due to the direction of the wind at the time of the accident. I reported on decontamination in the aftermath of the accident at the ICRP dialogue seminar, following an invitation from Dr. Niwa of the University of Kyoto and a member of ICRP. There were many participants from overseas, and it was the first time that I had attended a meeting with simultaneous interpretation. I still remember that I was slightly bewildered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Fukushima Prefecture, disaster-related death is a social problem for individuals who were forced to leave their hometowns as a result of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Disaster-related death is caused by stress, exhaustion, and worsening of pre-existing illnesses due to evacuation. The number of disaster-related deaths has reached almost 2000, and continues to rise. Prolonged uncertainty and deteriorating living conditions suggest no end to such deaths, although response measures have been taken to improve the situation. It is said that insufficient response measures were taken, in particular, during the transitional period between the emergency phase and the reconstruction phase. There is a need to apply the lessons learned in planning for evacuation after a nuclear hazard, considering radiological protection as well as risks associated with evacuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, with a nuclear accident subsequently occurring at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The government ordered a mandatory evacuation from the high radioactive concentration area in Fukushima, which might have forced many evacuees to change particular aspects of their lifestyles. This study assessed the hypothesis that mean body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese individuals would increase among evacuees after versus before the disaster.Methods: A longitudinal study examined data collected from 41,633 Japanese participants (mean age, 67 years) sourced from general health checkups conducted in 13 communities between 2008 and 2010. Follow-up examinations were conducted from June 2011 through March 2013.Results: A total of 27,486 participants (12,432 men and 15,054 women; follow-up proportion, 66%) received follow-up examinations after the disaster, with an average follow-up of 1.6 years. Mean body weight significantly increased in both evacuees (n=9,671) and non-evacuees (n=17,815) after the disaster, with greater changes in body weight among evacuees than non-evacuees (+1.2 kg vs +0.3 kg, p<0.001). The proportion of overweight/obese people also increased among evacuees after the disaster, and evacuation was associated with an increased risk of being overweight, despite adjustments for confounding variables. The proportions of overweight evacuees before and after the disaster were 31.8% and 39.4%, respectively, whereas proportions among non-evacuees were 28.3% and 30.3%, respectively.Conclusions: Body weight and the proportion of overweight/obese people increased among residents, especially evacuees, in the evacuation zone of Fukushima prefecture after the Great East Japan Earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Disaster-related concerns by sub-populations have not been clarified after the great East Japan earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear power plant incidents. This paper assesses who was concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disasters among the general population in order to buffer such concerns effectively. Methods: The hypothesis that women, parents, and family caregivers were most concerned about radiation, food safety, and natural disaster was tested using a varying-intercept multivariable logistic regression with 5809 responses from a nationwide cross-sectional survey random-sampled in March 2012. Results: Many people were at least occasionally concerned about radiation (53.5%), food safety (47.3%), and about natural disaster (69.5%). Women were more concerned than men about radiation (OR = 1.67; 95% CI = 1.35–2.06), food safety (1.70; 1.38–2.10), and natural disasters (1.74; 1.39–2.19). Parents and family care needs were not significant. Married couples were more concerned about radiation (1.53; 1.33–1.77), food safety (1.38; 1.20–1.59), and natural disasters (1.30; 1.12–1.52). Age, child-cohabitation, college-completion, retirement status, homemaker status, and the house-damage certificate of the last disaster were also associated with at least one concern. Participants from the Kanto region were more concerned about radiation (2.08; 1.58–2.74) and food safety (1.30; 1.07–1.59), which demonstrate similar positive associations to participants from Tohoku where a disaster relief act was invoked (3.36; 2.25–5.01 about radiation, 1.49; 1.08–2.06 about food safety). Conclusions: Sectioning the populations by gender and other demographics will clarify prospective targets for interventions, allow for a better understanding of post-disaster concerns, and help communicate relevant information effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great East Japan earthquake was one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to hit Japan. We present features of the disaster and the radioactive accident in Fukushima. About 19,000 are dead or remain missing mainly due to the tsunami, but children accounted for only 6.5 % of the deaths. The Japanese Society of Pediatric Surgeons set up the Committee of Aid for Disaster, and collaborated with the Japanese Society of Emergency Pediatrics to share information and provide pediatric medical care in the disaster area. Based on the lessons learned from the experiences, the role of pediatric surgeons and physicians in natural disasters is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal, the 2011 Sendai, Japan earthquake, the 1967 nuclear technology disaster in New Haven, Connecticut and the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan. The author argues that human intention is a factor in events and suggests that the world prepare for natural and accidental disasters in the future.

At 14:46 on March 11, 2011 (local time), a large earthquake of magnitude Mw 9.0 took place, generating a tsunami that caused severe damage to the east coast of Japan. To comprehensively record tsunami trace heights and impacts along the coastal region, the Tohoku Earthquake Tsunami Joint Survey Group was organized immediately after the event. As part of this group, the authors conducted a field survey in Miyagi and Fukushima Prefectures. The surveyed area can be divided into 2 parts from the point of view of its geographical features: the northern part (a rias coastal area) and the southern part (a coastal plain area). In this paper, the characteristics of the damage due to the tsunami in each area are analyzed by using both the results of the authors' own field survey and the Joint Survey Group. In the rias coastal area, inundation heights were more than 10 m, which resulted in the flooding of the low-lying grounds located at the inner part of the bays. The tsunami wave caused widespread destruction in this area, and coastal buildings (including reinforced concrete buildings) suffered severe damage. In the southern coastal plains, inundation heights were 5-10 m and the tsunami reached a few kilometers inland, though unfortunately there were not enough high locations or buildings for the residents to evacuate. In addition, an extensive line of coastal dikes and forests, which had been placed to protect the wide plains behind them, also suffered extensive damage. From these geographically dependent inundation and destruction patterns, a number of important lessons on how to modify and improve future risk management strategies can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can we learn from the Great East Japan Earthquake? In this article, I examine the effects of the overarching physical and social system that has developed in Japanese society for the last half century. I use the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident as an example. I will also look to the meaning of kuni (the Japanese word for country, state or nation), and emphasize the urgent need to advance sociological comparative analysis of different forms of nation, state and country in times of emergency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Months after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the real truth hidden by incompetence and dissembling by Japanese authorities has emerged: Three of the four nuclear power plants at Fukushima suffered a meltdown. Japan's leading anti-nuclear crusader and two French public figures worried about the impact on the future of nuclear technology respond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]