Disaster in Japan News on the biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years.

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• Aftershock Rattles Disaster-Weary Japan; 2 Dead

  A strong aftershock ripped through northeastern Japan, killing two, injuring dozens and piling misery on a region still buried under the rubble of last month's devastating tsunami.

• Few Signs of Life in Japan Nuclear Evacuation Zone
  The Odaka neighborhood seems frozen in time since it was abandoned after the tsunami nearly a month ago: Doors were left hanging open and bicycles were abandoned. A lone taxi sits in front of the train station. Mud-caked dogs roam empty streets, their barking and the cawing of crows the only sounds.
• Japan Stops Leaks From Nuclear Plant: Facility Operator
  Engineers have stopped highly radioactive water leaking into the sea from a crippled Japanese nuclear power plant, the facility's operator said on Wednesday, a breakthrough in the battle to contain the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
• Tokyo Tiptoes Toward Normality as Disaster Impact Lingers
  Life in the metropolis of 13 million people is tiptoeing towards normality from the early post-disaster days when train service was patchy, workers stayed home and groceries were bare of necessities such as bread, milk, toilet paper and diapers.
• Japan Under Pressure to Expand Nuclear Evacuation
  Pressure grew on Thursday for Japan to expand an evacuation zone round its stricken nuclear plant where radiation hit 4,000 times legal limits in nearby sea and hindered the battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl.
• Japan March Manufacturing PMI Hits 2-Year Low After Quake
  Japanese manufacturing activity slumped to a two-year low in March and posted its steepest monthly decline on record as a devastating earthquake and tsunami disrupted supply chains and production operations, a survey showed on Thursday.
• Tokyo Electric Chief in Hospital as Pressure Mounts
  The head of Tokyo Electric Power was hospitalized on Wednesday amid mounting concerns his utility may collapse under the strain of paying for Japan's worst nuclear disaster.
• Tech Firms Fret Over Length of Japan Disruption
  Disruption of the production and delivery of components used by the global technology sector continued to weigh, more than two weeks after a massive earthquake and tsunami devastated Japan.
• France, US to Help Japan in Nuclear Crisis
  France and the United States are to help Japan in its battle to contain radiation from a crippled nuclear complex where plutonium finds have raised public alarm over the world's worst atomic crisis since Chernobyl in 1986.
• Japan Finds Plutonium at Stricken Nuclear Plant
  Plutonium found in soil at the Fukushima nuclear complex heightened alarm on Tuesday over Japan's battle to contain the world's worst atomic crisis in 25 years, as pressure mounted on the prime minister to widen an evacuation zone around the plant.
• Greenpeace: Radiation Outside Japan Evacuation Zone
  Greenpeace called on the Japanese government to extend an evacuation zone around the stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant, saying it had found high radiation levels outside the zone.
• Radiation, Bad Readings Plague Japan Nuclear Effort
  Emergency workers struggling to pump contaminated water from Japan's stricken nuclear complex fled from one of the troubled reactors Sunday after reporting a huge increase in radioactivity -- a spike that officials later apologetically said was inaccurate.
• Engineers Toil to Pump Out Japan Plant; Radiation
  Japanese engineers struggled on Sunday to pump radioactive water from a crippled nuclear power station after radiation levels soared in seawater near the plant more than two weeks after it was battered by a huge earthquake and a tsunami.
• China Finds Two Japanese Entering With High Radiation
  China found two Japanese travelers arriving with high radiation levels on Friday in the latest consequence of contamination from a crippled nuclear plant two weeks after the Asian nation's devastating earthquake and tsunami.
• A Radical Kind of Reactor
  While engineers at Japan’s stricken nuclear power plant struggle to keep its uranium fuel rods from melting down, engineers in China are building a radically different type of reactor that some experts say offers a safer nuclear alternative, the New York  Times reports.
• Japan Tsunami Losses Felt in Mud-Covered Pictures
  On sprawling blue plastic tarps in a small public hall lie a mass of mud-covered photographs that may be the only remaining printed memories for tsunami victims in the fishing town of Yamada.
• Radiation in Tokyo Water; US Curbs Japan Food Imports
  Japanese authorities advised against allowing infants to drink tap water in Tokyo due to raised radiation levels and the United States became the first nation to block some food imports from Japan.
• Japan's Fish Market Reflects Human Tragedy, Economic Cost
  The tsunami that hit Japan this month took such a huge toll on people, equipment and fish that supplies of some seafood could be cut off for a year or more, industry workers said on Tuesday.
• Japan Sees Quake Damage Reaching Up to $300 Billion
  The Japanese government expects total damage from a devastating earthquake that hit northeast Japan this month to reach 15 trillion to 25 trillion yen ($185-308 billion), the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.
• Diplomas, and an Uncertain Future, for Japanese Pupils
  Schools in Japan begin class in April and hold graduation ceremonies in March; like spring, they represent renewal and rebirth. On Tuesday morning, in a school meeting hall in the tsunami-ravaged seaport of Kesennuma, it became something else: an act of defiance. The NYT reports.
• Nuclear Industry in Russia Sells Safety, Taught by Chernobyl
  It was truly a trial by fire — one that has now become part of Russia’s nuclear marketing message.  How Chernobyl made Russia the most safety-conscious nuclear proponent. The NYT reports.
• Japan Parts Paralysis Spreads as Firms Cut Output
  Sony cut output at five more plants and Toyota Motor delayed restarting assembly lines, as the global supply of parts and products began to feel the full impact of Japan's catastrophic earthquake.
• Tsunami Puts Rare Spotlight on Japan Soldiers
  Japan's worst crisis since World War Two has put its military under a rare spotlight as soldiers search for survivors, clear away rubble, deliver aid and help exhausted engineers avert a nuclear catastrophe.
• Japan Tsunami Victims Back Home, Searching for Memories
  In a devastated landscape of splintered homes, rotting bodies and twisted cars, an elderly man walks with stooped shoulders searching for any object that can bring back memories of his daughter.
• Advantest-Verigy Deal Looks Set to Go Ahead Despite Quake
  Japan's Advantest appeared on the verge of clinching a $908 million acquisition of U.S. chip tester Verigy on Tuesday, in a fresh sign that Japanese firms remain eager to push through deals even after this month's catastrophic earthquake.
• Japan Lost Autos Output to Hit 338,000 Through Friday
  Japan automakers in the first two weeks after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami will lose about 65 percent in light vehicle production, industry consultant IHS Automotive Insight said Monday in a report.
• Japan Disaster To Delay US Nuclear Energy Plans: Buffett
  The nuclear disaster in Japan is likely to have major effects on US energy policy, according to billionaire investor Warren Buffett.
• WHO: Radiation in Food in Japan Is 'Serious Situation'
  The World Health Organization said on Monday that radiation in food after an earthquake damaged a Japanese nuclear plant was a "serious situation," eclipsing clear signs of progress.
• Putin Offers to Help Japan by Boosting EU Gas Supply
  Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Sunday proposed freeing up energy for Japan by increasing gas supplies to Europe and offered Japanese companies a slice of Siberia's gasindustry.
• Japan PM Considers 'Grand Coalition' to Tackle Quake Disaster
  Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to sound out the opposition on joining a grand coalition to handle reconstruction policy following last week's quake and tsunami and amid the ongoing nuclear crisis.   
• Japan Officials Say No Plan for BOJ to Underwrite Debt
  Japan has no plans to ask the central bank to underwrite bonds Tokyo may issue to fund relief and reconstruction after last week's deadly earthquake, top government officials said on Friday, denying an earlier newspaper report.
• Backroom Talks, Secret Protocol Mark G7 Intervention
  The Group of Seven nations have agreed to a secret protocol to guide their coordinated intervention and won’t reveal it in order to keep currency markets guessing, according to people familiar with the matter.
• Central Banks Move To Weaken Yen, Calm Markets
  Japan bought billions of dollars to restrain a soaring yen on Friday, backed by action from European central banks as the world's richest nations moved to calm markets made nervous by Japan's nuclear crisis.
• US Flights Over Plant Gather Crucial Data
  Readings from American flights over the stricken nuclear plant show that the worst of the contamination has not spewed past the 18-mile range established by Japan. The NYT reports.
• Japan Retailers Rocked by Quake, Aftermath
  Japan's retailers were struggling with sluggish sales before Friday's earthquake and tsunami. Now their challenge is more daunting with heightened uncertainty about the economy set to squeeze consumer spending further. 
• In Detail: The State of Each of the 6 Reactors
  Tokyo Electric Power and the Japanese government are battling to cool not just the 3 reactors operating at the time of the disaster, but also cooling pools at 3 others that were down for maintenance. So, which reactors are most at risk?
• Industry’s Pause Raises Supply Chain Concerns
  Many companies outside Japan remain uncertain, or decline to say, whether supplies of crucial components from Japan will be interrupted, the New York Times reports.
• ATM Glitches, Power Outages Jolt Stressed Tokyo
  Malfunctioning bank machines and threats of power outages on Thursday jolted a stressed Tokyo where millions stocked up on rice and other essentials, stayed indoors or crowded into airports during Japan's nuclear crisis.
• BoJ Injects Another 5 Trillion Yen to Calm Market
  The Bank of Japan on Thursday offered to inject a further 5 trillion yen ($61 billion) into the banking system, continuing its effort to calm markets in the wake of the yen's spike to a record high against the dollar.
• Japan Heading Back Into Recession, Strong Yen Weighs
  Japan's economy seems to be in a state of almost suspended animation as its nuclear crisis shows no sign of ending, sorely testing analysts' hopes for a swift rebound led by reconstruction efforts.
• Japan's Yosano: No Need for G7 Intervention
  Japanese markets have not become destabilized enough to warrant joint G7 currency intervention or government purchases of shares, Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said on Thursday.
• Scientists Project Path of Radiation Plume
  A United Nations forecast of the possible movement of the radioactive plume coming from crippled Japanese reactors shows it touching the Aleutian Islands on Thursday before hitting Southern California late Friday. But scientists see little risk, the NYT reports.
• Mizuho Says ATMs Back Up After Nationwide Shutdown
  Mizuho Bank said its automatic teller machines were back up and running across Japan after a shutdown earlier on Thursday, the latest disruption to business and daily life in Japan after last week's devastating earthquake.
• For Japan Tsunami Survivors, Woes Keep Mounting
  Nearly a week after their home town was annihilated in a catastrophic tsunami, the 1,000-plus survivors of the small Japanese fishing town of Otsuchi are hanging by a thread.
• Japan Exodus Clogs Airports as Carriers Scramble
  Airlines raced on Wednesday to clear Tokyo's airports of a backlog of passengers and help those wanting to leave as fears grew that quake-stricken Japan was losing control of a steadily growing nuclear crisis.
• Japan Scrambles to Pull Nuclear Plant Back From Brink
  Japan's nuclear crisis appeared to be spinning out of control on Wednesday after workers withdrew briefly from a stricken power plant because of surging radiation levels and a helicopter failed to drop water on the most troubled reactor.
• Japan Nuclear Crisis Now Seen Worse Than Three Mile
  Conditions at a stricken nuclear power plant in Japan have deteriorated so much that there is a growing consensus the crisis is greater than the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, and there are fears that it could get significantly worse.
• Last Defense at Troubled Reactors: 50 Japanese Workers
  A small crew of technicians, braving radiation and fire, became the only people remaining at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station on Tuesday — and perhaps Japan’s last chance of preventing a broader nuclear catastrophe, the New York Times reports.
• Japan Races to Avert Disaster; Radiation Drifts Into Tokyo
  Japan raced to avert a catastrophe on Wednesday after an explosion at a quake-crippled nuclear power plant sent radiation wafting into Tokyo, prompting some people to flee.
• Foreign Bankers Are Fleeing Tokyo As Nuclear Crisis Grows
  Foreign bankers are fleeing Tokyo as Japan's nuclear crisis worsens, scrambling for commercial and charter flights out of the country and into other major cities in the region.
• Japan Supply Chain Risk Reverberates Globally
  With many Japanese factories facing temporary or partial closure, the earthquake has left investors facing an uncomfortable truth: in the modern world, it can be tough to assess how convoluted cross-border linkages really work, in manufacturing as in finance, the Financial Times reports.
• Foreign bankers flee Tokyo as nuclear crisis deepens
  By Nachum Kaplan and Denny Thomas
• Reactor Design in Japan Has Long Been Questioned
  The type of containment vessel used in the stricken reactors in Japan has long been thought susceptible to failure in an emergency. The NYT reports.
• Authorities Grapple With A Potential Nuclear Crisis
  Japan warned radioactive levels had become "significantly" higher around a quake-stricken nuclear power plant on Tuesday after explosions at two reactors, and the French embassy said a low-level radioactive wind could reach Tokyo within hours.
• Japan's Nuclear Crisis: A Timeline of Key Events
  Japan is struck by the largest recorded earthquake in its history off the coast of the northeastern city of Sendai, putting in motion a series of events that led to a nuclear crisis. The Christian Science Monitor reports.
• Japan government losing public trust as nuclear crisis worsens
  Public trust in the Japanese government faces its biggest test since World War Two over the handling of the nation's nuclear crisis, raising concerns that a breakdown in confidence could fuel panic and chaos if appeals for calm go unheeded.
• Will Japan Crisis Spark Global Markets Correction?
  There is another problem building, and some fear it could lead to a much more widespread crisis in financial assets.
• Impact on World Economies 
  Japan is the second-largest trading partner at the Port of Los Angeles, second only to China, reports CNBC's Jane Wells.
• Japan's Nuclear Reactors: What's Happening Inside?
  The key to averting a nuclear disaster at the quake-stricken Fukushima power complex in Japan is ensuring the thick protective steel walls around the reactor cores remain intact.
• "Get out now": Japan nuclear crisis triggers online panic
  The Internet had one overwhelming message for the world from Japan on Tuesday -- we're terrified of a nuclear meltdown and desperate to get out.
• History Shows Rebuilding Spurs Economy
  A few years ago, a senior official at Japan’s finance ministry shocked a foreign guest by making a deliberately provocative statement. “What Japan’s economy needs is a really good earthquake,” he said. Now, tragically, his tongue-in-cheek wish has come true, the Financial Times reports.
• Analysis: Japan faces five-year road to reconstruction
  Japan will take at least five years to reconstruct its earthquake and tsunami afflicted regions as it balances the need to rebuild houses, roads and power grids with planning for disaster-proof infrastructure.
• Quake Could Pull Japan Out of Deflation: Analyst
  Having eased monetary policy in the wake of the disastrous earthquake and tsunami, the focus now turns to whether Japan will ease fiscal policy to shore up its economy. Jesper Koll, MD & Head of Japanese Equity Research at JPMorgan Securities Japan expects the government to take aggressive fiscal steps.
• Japan Quake's Financial Impact: Five Things to Watch
  While commodity and currency markets took the biggest immediate hit from Friday's earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the damage will be felt throughout the world's economy and the US.
• Is a Japanese Banking Crisis Next?
  The exposures of various insurance companies to the economic devastation of the Tsunami may be dominating the financial discussions in the tragedy's wake – but Japanese banks may be at the most risk.
• Fears of a Nuclear Meltdown 
  After a second hydrogen explosion at a Japanese nuclear plant, an analysis of nuclear power's problems in Japan as well as where the rest of the world stands when it comes to nuclear power, with CNBC's Simon Hobbs.
• BoJ Doubles Asset-Buying Pool to 10 Trillion Yen
  Japan's central bank doubled its asset buying scheme to 10 trillion yen and pumped record funds into the banking system on Monday to shore up confidence in the economy hit by a triple blow of a massive quake, a tsunami and a nuclear emergency.
• Earthquake Will Increase Japan's Debt Burden: Rating Exec 
  The economic impact from the tsumani that slammed into eastern Japan following one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded, 8.9 magnitude, will be felt in the near future, Sean Egan, founder partner and president of Egan-Jones Ratings Company, told CNBC on Friday.
• France Is World's Biggest Nuclear Power Producer
  The world's biggest nuclear power is France, where 58 plants generate 75 percent of the nation's electricity.
• Rescuers Struggle to Reach Survivors
  Japanese authorities continued to struggle to respond to the aftermath of Friday’s earthquake and tsunami as thousands remained missing and nearly half a million survivors huddled in temporary shelters, the Financial Times reports.
• US Investors Poured $1 Billion Into Japan Just Before Quake
  Japan's earthquake couldn’t have come at a worse time for US investors, who poured over $1 billion into Japanese exchange-traded funds last month, second only to US energy funds.