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Qian Daosun (1887–1966) was imprisoned for collaborating with the Provisional Government in North China under Japanese occupation, and to this day he is labelled as hanjian (traitor). Yet, Qian was first and foremost a cultural literatus, librarian, and an exceptional translator with an in-depth understanding of Japanese culture and languages. This article examines the crucial role that Japan and the Japanese language played for Chinese cultural literati in their quest to save China. It also brings to the forefront the dilemmas and agonizing choices Qian faced in his attempt to promote Sino-Japanese cultural exchange in the midst of war, in particular as a librarian. Wartime libraries are highly contested sites of selection, destruction, censorship, preservation, confiscation, and knowledge production. An added layer of complexity was Japan's cultural policy in China that promoted Japanese-language collections and governed libraries such as the Beijing1 Modern Science Library where Qian worked. What exacerbated Qian's dilemmas was his upbringing, which led him to form close personal connections with like-minded Japanese literati. Lastly, this article revisits the hanjian label by comparing Qian's fate to that of other librarians and returned students of Japan, such as May Fourth writer Lu Xun and patriotic bibliophile Zheng Zhenduo. By deliberately examining May Fourth writers alongside hanjian and Japanese intermediaries, the intention is to dismount arbitrary labels and divisions that have set them apart and against each other in the resistance versus collaboration dichotomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the 1st Joint Workshop on the A3 Foresight Program, which brought together climate and environmental scientists from South Korea, China, and Japan to share research on climate change, extreme weather events, aerosol-climate interactions, and the socioeconomic impacts on communities in Northeast Asia. The workshop aimed to reactivate international collaborations that were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and highlighted the need for improved understanding and prediction of climate behavior in the region. The article also discusses studies on climate changes, monsoon dynamics, aerosol concentrations, and the socioeconomic impacts of climate change on Northeast Asian communities. The workshop was successful in fostering international networking and will be followed by a second workshop in China. [Extracted from the article]

With the process of economic globalisation, especially the Belt and Road Initiative implemented by China, the transnational supply chain is dramatically increasing, and the risk ripple effect is becoming increasingly important. Understanding and predicting the dynamic trend of risk transmission within the transnational supply chain is important to prevent the spread of risks. However, the current research lacks the dynamic interpretation of risk transmission and control in the transnational supply chain and ignores the impact of differences among suppliers and the network structure. Therefore, this paper proposed an improved susceptible-infectious-susceptible (SIS) model combined with a complex network model and an optimised approach to the selection of risk control strategies to explore three issues: first, the dynamic change and trend of risk transmission; second, the relationships and impacts of different suppliers and structure of the supply chain on risk transmission; and third, the selection of a risk control strategy within the transnational supply chain. A numerical analysis and an example of a risk control strategy selection are conducted to reveal four properties of risk transmission within the transnational supply chain. In addition, the model is verified with a simulation of a real-world scenario based on the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Global Positioning System (GPS) variometric approach has emerged as an attractive alternative to traditional well-developed positioning techniques including relative positioning and precise point positioning. Previous studies have demonstrated the capability of the variometric approach to retrieve coseismic displacements at centimeter-level precision, in a real-time manner using only readily available broadcast ephemeris. This study presents the first results comparing the performance of the variometric approach by using a variety of precise satellite orbit and clock products. Totally six kinds of products are included in our evaluation, namely the broadcast, IGS (International GNSS Service) ultra-rapid (predicted), ultra-rapid (observed), rapid, final (30-s clock) and CODE (Center for Orbit Determination in Europe) final (5-s clock) products. Static and dynamic experiments are conducted using 1-Hz GPS data covering a relatively large area in China during the 2008 Wenchuan M W 7.9 earthquake. After removing the linear trend, the displacements using broadcast, ultra-rapid (predicted), ultra-rapid (observed) and rapid products reach nearly equivalent precisions at centimeter level. By using final and CODE final products, the precision of displacements can be significantly improved from 1.9–2.0 cm to 0.4–0.7 cm horizontally, and from 6.0–6.2 cm to 1.0–1.7 cm vertically for the dynamic experiments. The displacements using the CODE final products achieve the best precision, improved by more than 40% compared to those using the IGS final products. With the availability of IGS high-rate real-time precise products, this approach is promising to capture coseismic displacements more precisely in real time, which is crucial for earthquake and tsunami early warning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transformations in Business & Economics is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Permeability, an important crustal property that controls transport processes in Earth's shallow crust, is known to change during large earthquakes, with significant implications on the groundwater resources and contaminant transport. Analysis of the response of groundwater in wells to Earth tides has been increasingly used to detect such changes, but often multiple interpretations of the response changes are possible, making it difficult to ascertain its hydrological implications. Here we use data from a groundwater well in North China to illustrate the use of barometric response as a method to resolve this uncertainty. The tidal response of water level in this well shows abrupt coseismic increases of both phase shift and amplitude ratio after the far-field great 2011 M w 9.1 Tohoku earthquake, which may be interpreted either as a large increase in the horizontal permeability of a confined aquifer or as an occurrence in the vertical permeability of an unconfined aquifer. Using data for the water-level response to barometric pressure we show that the aquifer was confined both before and after the Tohoku earthquake; thus the coseismic changes of the tidal response in this well are more likely to be due to an increase in the horizontal permeability. Interpretation of the tidal response shows a hereto unidentified change of poroelastic property in the far field of an earthquake, which stayed constant for ∼4 years after the earthquake until silt-cleaning in the well interrupted data collection. Thus the dynamic shaking during the Tohoku earthquake may have caused permanent deformation in the shallow crust at epicentral distances >1500 km. • The 2011 M w 9.1 Tohoku earthquake caused lasting hydrologic response in the far field. • Barometric response is used as an extra check of the post-seismic aquifer confinement. • Post-seismic hydraulic & poroelastic property changed for >4 yr in a far-field aquifer. • The earthquake may have caused permanent crustal deformation at distances >1500 km. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative evaluation of earthquake‐induced permeability changes is important for understanding key geological processes, such as advective transport of heat and solute and the generation of elevated fluid pressure. Many studies have independently documented permeability changes in either an aquifer or an aquitard, but the effects of an earthquake on both the aquifer and aquitard of the same aquifer system are still poorly understood. In this study, we use the well water‐level response to earth tides and atmospheric pressure to study the changes in hydraulic properties in an aquifer and an overlying confining layer in Beijing, China, following the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake in Japan. Our results show that both the tidal response amplitude and the phase shift increased and that the phase shift changed from negative to positive after the earthquake. We identified increased permeability in both the aquifer and aquitard by the barometric response function method. The horizontal transmissivity of the aquifer increased by a factor of 6, and the vertical diffusivity of the aquitard doubled. Key Points: Water‐level response to earth tides and atmospheric pressure is used to study earthquake‐induced changes in hydraulic propertiesTidal response and barometric pressure response methods both show permeability changes in the aquifer and aquitardThe transmissivity of the aquifer increased by a factor of 6, and the vertical diffusivity of the aquitard doubled after the earthquake [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earth's free oscillations excited by a mega-thrust earthquake were observed by a continentscale array of groundwater monitoring sites for the first time. After the occurrence of the 2011 Tohoku Mw 9.0 earthquake, water level records at 43 out of 216 wells in the China mainland revealed long-period free oscillation signals. In the time domain, these free oscillations exhibit globe circling Rayleigh surface waves. In some single wells, even the globe-circling Rayleigh wave R7 was visible, which travels three times around the Earth after the first arrival and appears about 10 hr after the earthquake occurrence in the present case. The spectral analysis shows that the principal oscillatory fluctuations seen in the water level records correspond to the spheroidal modes 0Sl (l=2-31 for frequencies between 0.3 and 5.0 mHz) of the Earth's free oscillation. Especially at quiet sites, the spheroidal modes at very low frequencies (<1.5 mHz) can be identified with high signal-to-noise ratios. Using signal enhancement methods (product spectrum over 43 wells), even the gravest modes of these oscillations can be detected. The results suggest that groundwater level arrays can be considered as a low-cost complementary tool to study the Earth's free oscillations excited by great earthquakes. Additionally, the sitespecific aquifer response may provide further insight into local hydrogeological conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of China Tourism Research is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Summary A water-level meter installed in Changping well, China, recorded coseismic fluctuations and a step change induced by the M w 9.0 Tohoku earthquake of 11 March 2011. Here we analyse the correlation between water level in the well and vertical ground motions recorded at a nearby surface site, and we examine the relationship between the characteristics of these two datasets and the well-aquifer system parameters. During the arrival period of P- and S-waves, the water level provides information about the intensification of high-frequency ground motions. During the arrival period of the surface waves, the amplitude of water-level fluctuations was closely related to the velocity of vertical-component surface motions. The fluctuation periods of these two parameters are in the range 15–35 s, and the period of oscillation displays a large-to-small characteristic behaviour. The amplification effect on the water level in Changping well, driven by the pressure fluctuation induced by the surface wave, was relatively small, but a low-to-high characteristic is apparent during the coseismic period, related to the gradual enhancement of aquifer permeability due to the action of seismic waves. The coseismic step increase in water level was related to the enhancement of aquifer permeability under the action of seismic waves, and the results of an inversion of water-level tidal-response characteristics show that permeability increased by ∼6.56 × 10 −14 m 2 in the vicinity of Changping well in response to the action of seismic waves emanating from the Tohoku earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater level changes induced by the 2011 Mw = 9.0 Tohoku earthquake were observed by the Chinese mainland hydrological network dedicated to earthquake prediction research at epicentral distances between 1300 and 5400 km. Out of 216 wells operating during the time of the event, 73 showed sustained changes that are evenly distributed between those experiencing water level rises and falls. Water level oscillations during the passage of the seismic waves were recorded at another 85 wells. At the remaining 58 wells, no response to the earthquake was observed. No spatial pattern in the different well response types is evident, neither in terms of distance nor in terms of azimuth with respect to the epicentre. About 80 per cent of the well-aquifer systems are sensitive to Earth tides. Statistical analysis revealed that those wells that showed a response to the Tohoku earthquake are characterized by admittance factors (with respect to the major tidal constituents M2 and O1) above 0.5 m of water level change per microstrain—corresponding to 5 kPa water pressure change per microstrain or 5 GPa, whereas the majority of the non-responding wells are characterized by lower tidal factors. However, no systematical difference in tidal admittance factors or phases can be seen between wells that displayed sustained changes and those showing coseismic oscillations/fluctuations. Postseismic phase shifts in the M2 tide were observed at 31 sites, positive in 22 cases and negative in nine cases. Such phase shifts may indicate changes in the aquifer permeability. Thus, earthquake-induced temporal variations in the permeability might have occurred at about 43 per cent of those wells that displayed sustained water level changes, but less than 15 per cent of all observed wells. Statistical methods were used to analyse the relationships between the different types of groundwater level changes, tidal amplitude and phase, well-epicentre distance and azimuth, well depth and aquifer lithology. The statistical analysis did not indicate any obvious significant relationships between water level changes and any other parameter—except the tidal admittance—indicating that the processes behind groundwater level changes induced by a distant great earthquake are complex. Further detailed studies are required to understand these underlying mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake (Mw 9.0) in Japan caused significant coseismic displacement in much of eastern China, where seismic activity has been intense and damaging earthquakes numerous. Did the Tohoku earthquake change the stress field and seismic activity in eastern China? Here, we used a viscoelastic deformation model of layered spherical earth to calculate the coseismic and postseismic displacements and compared the results with Global Positioning System data for eastern China. Using the best-fitting model, we then calculated the coseismic and postseismic Coulomb stress changes on major active faults in eastern China. Our results show that the Coulomb stress changes caused by the Tohoku earthquake on these faults are less than 0.002 MPa, so were unlikely to significantly alter the stress field or trigger earthquakes in eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the behavior of the advanced unbonded pre-stressed concrete containment vessel (UPCC\T) for one typical China nuclear power plant under Japan's March 11 earthquake, five nonlinear time history analysis and a nonlinear static analysis of a 1:10 scale UPCCV structure have been carried out with MSC.MARC finite element program. Comparisons between the analytical and experimental results demonstrated that the developed finite element model can predict the earthquake behavior of the UPCCV with fair accuracy. The responses of the 1:10 scale UPCCV subjected to the 11 March 2011 Japan earthquakes recorded at the MYG003 station with the peak ground acceleration (PGA) of 781 gal and at the MYG013 station with the PGA of 982 gal were predicted by the dynamic analysis. Finally, a static analysis was performed to seek the ultimate load carrying capacity for the 1:10 scale UPCCV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the post-Great East Japan Earthquake narratives and discourses related to various types of energies currently in use in East Asia. Methodologically, interpretive study and textual analysis of collected secondary literatures, media reports as well as some policy resources was conducted. It examines the factional interests, narratives, discourses and schools of thought influencing the outcome of energy issues or decisions as they are reported in the media or trade publications. It argues that decision-makers and policy implementers are not a hegemonic singular entity but encompass many factional interests and contesting agendas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great earthquakes introduce measurable co-seismic displacements over regions of hundreds and thousands of kilometers in width, which, if not accounted for, may significantly bias the long-term surface velocity field constrained by GPS observations performed during a period encompassing that event. Here, we first present an estimation of the far-field co-seismic off-sets associated with the 2011 Japan Mw 9.0 earthquake using GPS measurements from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) in North China. The uncertainties of co-seismic off-set, either at cGPS stations or at campaign sites, are better than 5 - 6 mm on average. We compare three methods to constrain the co-seismic off-sets at the campaign sites in northeastern China 1) interpolating cGPS coseismic offsets, 2) estimating in terms of sparsely sampled time-series, and 3) predicting by using a well-constrained slip model. We show that the interpolation of cGPS co-seismic off-sets onto the campaign sites yield the best co-seismic off-set solution for these sites. The source model gives a consistent prediction based on finite dislocation in a layered spherical Earth, which agrees with the best prediction with discrepancies of 2 - 10 mm for 32 campaign sites. Thus, the co-seismic off-set model prediction is still a reasonable choice if a good coverage cGPS network is not available for a very active region like the Tibetan Plateau in which numerous campaign GPS sites were displaced by the recent large earthquakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the practices of journalistic witnessing in the case of Hong Kong journalists' coverage of the Japan earthquake in March 2011. While research and discussions of journalistic witnessing have primarily focused on eye-witnessing through audio-visual media, this study explores the varieties of journalistic witnessing through a comparison between print and television journalism. This study argues that technological practices, on-site options and constraints, and the journalists' own role conceptions shape whether and how journalistic witnessing is performed. In the case under study, television journalists' emphasis on the notion of presence and the technological practice of live reporting have constrained their capacity to perform as witnesses. In contrast, with their on-site options narrowed by the constraints in the post-disaster environment, print journalists produced a type of quasi-survivor witnessing account based on the sensibilities of being a journalist-traveler from Hong Kong. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Japan's 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake and the accompanying tsunami have reminded us of the potential tsunami hazards from the Manila and Ryukyu trenches to the South China and East China Seas. Statistics of historical seismic records from nearly the last 4 decades have shown that major earthquakes do not necessarily agree with the local Gutenberg-Richter relationship. The probability of a mega-earthquake may be higher than we have previously estimated. Furthermore, we noted that the percentages of tsunami-associated earthquakes are much higher in major events, and the earthquakes with magnitudes equal to or greater than 8.8 have all triggered tsunamis in the past approximately 100 years. We will emphasize the importance of a thorough study of possible tsunami scenarios for hazard mitigation. We focus on several hypothetical earthquake-induced tsunamis caused by M 8.8 events along the Manila and Ryukyu trenches. We carried out numerical simulations based on shallow-water equations (SWE) to predict the tsunami dynamics in the South China and East China Seas. By analyzing the computed results we found that the height of the potential surge in China's coastal area caused by earthquake-induced tsunamis may reach a couple of meters high. Our preliminary results show that tsunamis generated in the Manila and Ryukyu trenches could pose a significant threat to Chinese coastal cities such as Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macao. However, we did not find the highest tsunami wave at Taiwan, partially because it lies right on the extension of an assumed fault line. Furthermore, we put forward a multi-scale model with higher resolution, which enabled us to investigate the edge waves diffracted around Taiwan Island with a closer view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the political and economic conditions of nations within the Southeast Asia and Pacific region. It explores the tension within China between domestic problems and foreign economic expansion, the effects of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on relations with South Korea, and the aftermath of the March 2011 earthquake and Fukushima nuclear plant meltdown in Japan. Also investigated are Australia's economic alliance with U.S., New Zealand's budget, and the Southwest Pacific.

For Japan, 2011 was one of the most difficult years following the end of World War II. On March 11, 2011, Japan suffered a natural disaster in the form of a magnitude 9 earthquake that occurred in the Pacific Ocean not far from the northeastern section of the island of Honshu. This generated an enormous tsunami that inundated the Tohoku District. This was followed by natural and technogenic accidents at the Fukushima-1 Nuclear Power Plant that led to radioactive pollution of the environment. The country was forced to adopt a course not only of rebuilding the regions destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami but of creating a new energy policy in the context of the rise in antinuclear attitudes resulting from a loss of faith in the "peaceful atom." The disaster dealt a palpable blow to the country's economy, which in 2011 had barely begun to recover from the world financial and economic crisis. The political situation in Japan deteriorated as well, leading to a change in prime ministers. Tokyo was also forced to resolve a number of complicated issues in relations with its main foreign policy partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tidal leaky model is used to study the earthquake-induced permeability changes. • Permeability increase following earthquakes may recover or do not recover. • Different directions of seismic wave arriving cause different stress changes. • Longer period seismic waves facilitate the clearing of larger clogs in fractures. • Groundwater response to earthquakes may be frequency dependent. Analysis of 12 years' groundwater level data (2007–2019) from a well in a carbonate aquifer in northern China reveals that the groundwater response to earthquakes may be dependent on frequency. While the coseismic permeability increased during the 2008 M7.9 Wenchuan earthquake and eventually recovered to pre-seismic values (similar to that reported in previous studies), the observed increase following the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku earthquake in the same well showed no such recovery. Analysis of the seismograms of the two earthquakes near the well shows that the dominant frequency of the Rayleigh waves was lower in the Tohoku earthquake by a factor of five, compared with that during the Wenchuan earthquake. We hypothesize that Rayleigh waves with lower frequency are more efficient in clearing clogs from larger fractures in carbonate aquifers, or the clogging in larger fractures in the given azimuth are more easily to be cleared to the seismic wave following the Tohoku earthquake, and that the cleared large fractures are difficult to recover with post-seismic groundwater processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the significant role played by Internet on the emerging debates in China on whether and how it should put aside the historical dispute on Sino-Japanese wars and express sympathy and offer humanitarian aid to Japan after the latter was hard-hit by a devastating earthquake on March 11, 2011. It notes the existence of various opinions in Chinese cyberspace regarding the calamity in Japan, leading to a war of words between those gloating over the disaster and others calling for respecting the dead. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the news portal ifeng.com, showed nearly 80% of Chinese respondents stated that they support the government's efforts to aid Japan despite existing frictions between the two countries.

On 20 April 2013, a moment magnitude (Mw) 6.6 earthquake occurred in the Lushan region of southwestern China and caused more than 190 fatalities. In this study, we use geodetic data from nearly 30 continuously operating global positioning system (GPS) stations, two periods of leveling data, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations to image the coseismic deformation of the Lushan earthquake. By using the Helmert variance component estimation method, a joint inversion is performed to estimate source parameters by using these GPS, leveling, and InSAR data sets. The results indicate that the 2013 Lushan earthquake occurred on a blind thrust fault. The event was dominated by thrust faulting with a minor left-lateral strike–slip component. The dip angle of the seismogenic fault was approximately 45.0°, and the fault strike was 208°, which is similar to the strike of the southern Longmenshan fault. Our finite fault model reveals that the peak slip of 0.71 m occurred at a depth of ~12 km, with substantial slip at depths of 6–20 km. The estimated magnitude was approximately Mw 6.6, consistent with seismological results. Furthermore, the calculated static Coulomb stress changes indicate that the 2013 Lushan earthquake may have been statically triggered by the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Vegetation responses to extreme droughts divergently during different seasons over Southwestern China. • The 2009–2010 winter-spring drought resulted in reduction in EVI and GPP/NPP in spring and decreased NDVI and VOD in summer. • The 2011 summer drought leads to enhanced vegetation productivity and larger summer GPP/NPP. In the winter and spring of 2009–2010 and summer of 2011, Southwestern China was hit by two severe drought events that are unprecedented over the past three decades with substantial economic damage. The understanding of how vegetation growth responds to extreme drought events in different seasons is inadequate, and underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, we investigated the impacts of the 2009–2010 winter-spring drought and 2011 summer drought on vegetation growth and productivity in Southwestern China, using multiple remote sensing vegetation indexes including Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Enhanced Vegetation Index, gross primary productivity/net primary productivity and vegetation optical depth. Our analyses reveal that severe soil moisture deficit in 2009–2010 winter-spring drought resulted in reduction in evapotranspiration, Enhanced Vegetation Index (0.047) and gross primary productivity (1.833 P cg) /net primary productivity in 2010 spring, worse decreased Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (0.135) and decreased vegetation optical depth in summer. By contrast, the 2011 summer drought led to enhanced vegetation greenness and higher summer gross primary productivity (1.272 P cg) /net primary productivity (0.546) compared with normal years (2007–2008), due to increased solar radiation over forests region. Our study highlights the divergent responses of vegetation to extreme drought events occurred in different seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using global positioning system (GPS) observations of northeastern China and the southeast of the Russian Far East over the period 2012–2017, we derived an ITRF2014-referenced velocity field by fitting GPS time series with a functional model incorporating yearly and semiannual signals, linear trends, and offsets. We subsequently rotated the velocity field into a Eurasia-fixed velocity field and analyzed its spatial characteristics. Taking an improved multiscale spherical wavelet algorithm, we computed strain rate tensors and analyzed their spatial distribution at multiple scales. The derived Eurasia-referenced velocity field shows that northeastern China generally moved southeastward. Extensional deformation was identified at the Yilan–Yitong Fault (YYF) and the Dunhua–Mishan Fault (DMF), with negligible strike–slip rates. The principal strain rates were characterized by NE–SW compression and NW–SE extension. The dilation rates show compressional deformation in the southern segment of the YYF, northern end of the Nenjiang Fault (NJF), and southeast of the Russian Far East. We also investigated the impact of the 2011 Tohoku Mw 9.0 earthquake on the crustal deformation of northeastern China, generated by its post-seismic viscoelastic relaxation. The velocities generated by the post-seismic viscoelastic relaxation of the giant earthquake are generally orientated southeast, with magnitudes inversely proportional with the epicentral distances. The principal strain rates caused by the viscoelastic relaxation were also characterized by NW–SE stretching and NE–SW compression. The dilation rates show that compressional deformation appeared in the southern segment of the DMF and the YYF and southeast of the Russian Far East. Significant maximum shear rates were identified around the southern borderland between northeastern China and the southeast of the Russian Far East. Finally, we compared the multiple strain rates and the seismicity of northeastern China after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. Our finding shows that the ML ≥ 4.0 earthquakes were mostly concentrated around the zones of high areal strain rates and shear rates at scales of 4 and 5, in particular, at the DMF and YYF fault zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The overall western North China has always remained strong crustal movement. • Most parts of North China exhibited NW–SE extensional stress in 2011–2017. • The maximum shear strain predominantly occurred in western North China. • Crustal activity of North China is obviously affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake. North China is located on the N–S seismic belt of mainland China and is characterized by dense faults and intense seismicity. We analyzed the current regional crustal deformation using GPS observations from 1999 to 2007 and 2011–2017. We then established a dynamic finite element model based on the geological structure, geophysical parameters, and GPS velocity constraints to analyze the strain-stress features. Finally, we discuss the rationality of the simulation results, the variations in crustal activity, which may have been caused by the post-earthquake impact of the 2011 Mw 9.0 Tohoku and 2008 Mw 7.9 Wenchuan earthquakes, and the geodynamics of North China. Most parts of North China exhibited extensional stress in an approximately NW–SE direction during 2011–2017. In the two study periods, the maximum shear strain rates predominantly occurred in western North China; the central and eastern parts had relatively smaller values in 2011–2017. These characteristics indicate that the post-earthquake impact of the Tohoku earthquake significantly influenced most parts (central and eastern) of North China, whereas the Wenchuan earthquake mainly affected the western part. Our work quantitatively described the variations in current crustal movement velocities, stress-strain fields, and fault activity rates in North China. These characteristics indicate that the unique tectonic environment, intense crustal activity, and earthquake-prone nature of North China require continuous research attention. The results obtained in this study not only portray the current tectonic activity deformations but also reveal recent geodynamic processes in North China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses public health issues in East Asia. It notes the human suffering and the potential longer term health and social implications of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011. It mentions the announcement in March that the government of China is introducing a smoking ban in indoor public places in May. Another issue of public health importance is the HIV epidemic in China.