Japan Rescue Efforts

Japan's prime minister vowed to provide "ceaseless" support to areas devastated by the New Year's Day earthquake as snow and sleet hampered rescue and relief efforts and local media reported that the disaster had now claimed at least 126 lives.

Japan on Thursday said rescue efforts were under way to locate any survivors after one of its military helicopters carrying 10 people crashed in the sea near Miyakojima, part of the country's southwest Okinawa island chain.

Around 18,000 volunteers from all across Japan today participated in the ongoing cleanup and reconstruction efforts in western parts of the country devastated by heavy rains which left more than 200 dead and dozens of people missing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is using 'anime' cartoons, Internet chats and even an unusual show-and-tell TV appearance, complete with a mockup of burning buildings, in an effort to persuade wary voters that his bolder defence policy makes sense.

Japan promised today not to give up "until the very end" on efforts to rescue two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic militants demanding a $200 million ransom, after a deadline passed with no word from the captors.

Strong tides and murky waters off South Korea's southwest coast were hampering efforts on Friday to find survivors from a ferry accident over 48 hours previously that left hundreds of passengers missing, most of them high school students.

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake late on Thursday hit the same area of Japan that was ravaged by disaster a month ago, seismologists said, prompting a local tsunami alert.The new quake caused a handful of injuries, national broadcaster NHK said, but there were no reported deaths. The tsunami alert was later cancelled after no deadly wave materia...

Heavy snow and bitterly cold conditions continue to add to the misery of thousands of survivors in Japan.With relief efforts hampered, helicopters are being used to fly supplies to several evacuation centres which have been cut off by the snowfall.Plunging temperatures have put many elderly residents in makeshift evacuation centres further at risk....

Japanese troops have rescued a 60-year-old man who floated out to sea on the roof of his home when a tsunami engulfed Japan's coast following the massive earthquake.A spokesman for Japan's military said Hiromitsu Shinkawa was pulled from the sea after he was spotted waving a red cloth about 15 kilometers offshore from the quake-ravaged town of Mina...

Japan's prime minister vowed to provide "ceaseless" support to areas devastated by the New Year's Day earthquake as snow and sleet hampered rescue and relief efforts and local media reported that the disaster had now claimed at least 126 lives.

Japan on Thursday said rescue efforts were under way to locate any survivors after one of its military helicopters carrying 10 people crashed in the sea near Miyakojima, part of the country's southwest Okinawa island chain.

Around 18,000 volunteers from all across Japan today participated in the ongoing cleanup and reconstruction efforts in western parts of the country devastated by heavy rains which left more than 200 dead and dozens of people missing.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is using 'anime' cartoons, Internet chats and even an unusual show-and-tell TV appearance, complete with a mockup of burning buildings, in an effort to persuade wary voters that his bolder defence policy makes sense.

Japan promised today not to give up "until the very end" on efforts to rescue two Japanese hostages threatened with beheading by Islamic militants demanding a $200 million ransom, after a deadline passed with no word from the captors.

Strong tides and murky waters off South Korea's southwest coast were hampering efforts on Friday to find survivors from a ferry accident over 48 hours previously that left hundreds of passengers missing, most of them high school students.

A powerful 7.1-magnitude earthquake late on Thursday hit the same area of Japan that was ravaged by disaster a month ago, seismologists said, prompting a local tsunami alert.The new quake caused a handful of injuries, national broadcaster NHK said, but there were no reported deaths. The tsunami alert was later cancelled after no deadly wave materia...

Heavy snow and bitterly cold conditions continue to add to the misery of thousands of survivors in Japan.With relief efforts hampered, helicopters are being used to fly supplies to several evacuation centres which have been cut off by the snowfall.Plunging temperatures have put many elderly residents in makeshift evacuation centres further at risk....

Japanese troops have rescued a 60-year-old man who floated out to sea on the roof of his home when a tsunami engulfed Japan's coast following the massive earthquake.A spokesman for Japan's military said Hiromitsu Shinkawa was pulled from the sea after he was spotted waving a red cloth about 15 kilometers offshore from the quake-ravaged town of Mina...