From Kyodo:
A powerful typhoon continued its advance toward Tokyo and other eastern areas of Japan on Friday, with the weather agency urging people to prepare for strong winds and heavy rainfall, and transport operators canceling many train services and flights.
The Japan Meteorological Agency warned of violent winds, mudslides, high waves and flooding, as heavy rain will sharply increase the risk of disaster.
From South China Morning Post:
Tsunamis of up to one metre were initially expected to arrive or had arrived in some coastal areas in Kyushu and Shikoku islands, the JMA said.
The agency also said a small tsunami was possible in Chiba, about 850km from the epicentre.
“Tsunamis will strike repeatedly. Please do not enter the sea or approach the coast until the warning is lifted,” the agency said on social media platform X.
However, tsunamis of only 50cm, 20cm, and 10cm were confirmed to have hit some places, including the port of Miyazaki, more than an hour after the quake, it said.
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
A mudslide that occurred in July on Mt. Ibuki, which straddles Shiga and Gifu prefectures, was likely caused by soil erosion from wild deer eating vegetation on the mountain, experts have said.
Deer causing serious damage to crops and vegetation has become a problem in various parts of the country. The July mudslide, which plowed into houses, is believed to be the first one caused by deer. Shiga Prefecture and other authorities are investigating the case in detail.
They always look so peaceful. No one sees their dark side.
From Kyodo:
In 2020, the government released its first damage estimates for the Tokyo metropolitan area in the event of an eruption of Japan's highest peak, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures west of Tokyo.
In the worst-case scenario, the accumulation of ash could reach 10 centimeters in the capital's Shinjuku Ward 15 days after the eruption starts.
We will need a lot of brooms.
Joel Tansey from The Japan Times:
In the meantime, determining a tsunami’s arrival time on shore could still prove to be an essential part of tsunami warning systems, given the density of the cable network in the Pacific Ocean.
“Optical fiber cable is everywhere offshore,” Aoki says, while noting that the network is far less developed on the Sea of Japan side given political sensitivities with Japan’s neighbors. “Using optical cable is a promising tool to quickly understand the arrival time of tsunami.”
This is a very innovative idea to leverage existing data infrastructure to dramatically increase seismic tracking. Also an interesting history of the current system of seismographs that power Japan's earthquake & tsunami early warning system.
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
He was arrested Sunday when his ship docked in Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, a police statement said. He later appeared before a district court to look into a request to detain him pending a decision on his possible extradition to Japan, the statement said.
He was detained in Germany in 2012 on a Costa Rican extradition warrant but skipped bail after learning that he was also sought for extradition by Japan, which has accused him of endangering whalers’ lives during operations in the Antarctic Ocean. He has since lived in countries including France and the United States.
From Kyodo:
Japan on Saturday extended its designation of its continental shelf to the eastern part of islands some 1,000 kilometers south of Tokyo, enabling the resource-poor country to start research on extracting maritime natural resources such as rare metals from the region.
A revised Cabinet order took effect designating a significant portion of the Ogasawara Plateau sea area as part of its continental shelf, an area of around 120,000 square kilometers. Its move to enlarge the shelf has triggered opposition from China.
As this expansion is on the Pacific side of Japan, there is no credible claim or complaint that could be made on this expansion, assuming it gets approved by all relevant authorities in the UN. Since the US, the area’s closest territorial neighbor, did not reject the proposal, should be a done deal.
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
The rainy season appears to have ended in the Kanto-Koshin and Tokai regions, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced Thursday.
And now the Sun rules over us all...
From The Yomiuri Shimbun:
It aims to build a system that distributes information via the Michibiki satellites about natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunami that is issued by the countries’ governments to local residents.
The Japanese government expects that people in the island nations will utilize the information for evacuation from tsunami and other prevention measures, as local people can get accurate information even if ground-based telecommunications systems are cut off.
Yumi Nakayama from The Asahi Shimbun:
An agave “century plant” said to bloom only once every 100 years has begun to open its bushy yellow blossoms in Hibiya Park in Tokyo.
Time to head to the park before they close up again.