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sendai

After contamination, U.S. naval fleet repositions

U.S. Navy officials in Japan announced early today that they have repositioned their 7th Fleet after 17 Navy personnel aboard three helicopters tested positive for low levels of contamination from a radioactive plume that rose above the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and its strike group were roughly 100 miles northeast of the plant at the time of the explosion, but three helicopters had flown closer to help with relief efforts, reported the fleet's public affairs office.

Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Jeff A. Davis told The New York Times that the levels of … Read more

Failed phone calls: Reaching Sendai feels futile

The search for people in the tsunami-ravaged areas of Sendai, Japan is almost impossible if you're overseas. Here's my brief account.

Let me preface this by saying that I lived in Japan for 10 years. Most of that time was in Tokyo (eight years), but two were in Sendai. And I visited Sendai coastal areas fairly often in the summer when I lived there.

But there is one place that is special. An area near the tiny Yamashita train station (see map), not much more than a mile from the Sendai coast, where I spent many happy days … Read more