March 2011
27 posts
Napa - Iwanuma Sister City fundraiser
This past week, I did a report on the city of Napa and it’s close ties to its sister city Iwanuma in Miyagi Prefecture. Iwanuma is home to the Sendai Airport and was hard hit by the tsunami. I met Charlie Ray, one of the founding members of the sister city program. He met us at the Napa City Hall with an album filled with photos of his past visits to Iwanuma and the many friends he made over...
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VIDEO: North Bay Town Reaches Out To Sister City... →
The crisis in Japan is causing heartache in the Napa Valley because its Japanese sister city of Iwanuma, home to the Sendai airport, was hard hit by the tsunami.
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VIDEO: Calif. Pilot Stays In Japan While His... →
One California pilot commits to staying in Japan, despite his family’s decision to leave the country.
Why the white masks?
Some people have asked me about why so many Japanese people seen in the news coverage are wearing white masks. Actually, it is a common practice during the flu or allergy season in Japan and is not related to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant situation or radiation.
When I first went to live in Japan years ago, I was surprised to see so many people wearing masks at certain times of the year....
Evacuation.
March 16 - Well, today, we left Japan. It was not an easy decision. With the uncertainty, though, over the Fukushima nuclear reactors, many foreign press are pulling back or pulling out.
I’ll update soon on our final hours in Tokyo….
Tonight (Tokyo daytime) the U.S. Embassy announced it will have government chartered transport planes to help U.S. citizens leave Japan and go to...
Tokyo Taxi Driver
Wednesday March 16
He said his name is Mr. Asami. He’s a Tokyo taxi driver we met outside our hotel. When we hopped in his cab, I started speaking with him in Japanese, asking why there was such a long queue of taxis (20-30?) lined up there. He said it’s because there were hardly any passengers around and it wasn’t worth it to drive around the city using up gas. Right now,...
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VIDEO: Foreigners Quietly Leaving Japan In Wake Of... →
Safely returned from Tokyo Wednesday night, KTVU reporter Jana Katsuyama talked about her departure from still reeling country and how many foreigners were quietly leaving Japan in the wake of the multiple disasters that have struck the nation
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VIDEO: Evacuees Fill Tokyo's Shelters →
KTVU’s Jana Katsuyama returned from Tokyo Wednesday, but before she left Japan, she filed this report on how the concerns over radiation exposure are growing and affecting daily life.
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VIDEO: Store Shelves Going Empty In Japan →
KTVU’s Jana Katsuyama reports from Tokyo on how store shelves have begun to empty in the wake of the massive killer quake and tsunami. And just days after the northeastern of Japan is hit with natural disasters and threats of nuclear meltdown, it begins to snow there.
Cold adds to Crisis
Wednesday March 16 -7pm Japan time (Wed. 3am PST)
Well, we got back to the hotel tonight and it is COLD outside. There’s an unseasonable cold snap that has brought freezing temps and snow to northeastern Japan. That isn’t going to help all of the evacuees who are in shelters or those without power or supplies. It’s supposed to continue through tomorrow. You just have to feel for...
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VIDEO: Growing Nuclear Crisis Looms In Japan →
Japan suspended operations to prevent a stricken nuclear plant from melting down after radiation made it too dangerous for workers to remain on the scene as both residents and visitors contemplated leaving the country in crisis.
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VIDEO: Japan Facing Major Aftershocks, Colder... →
In addition to the growing crisis surrounding the stricken nuclear plant in Fukushima, Japan was facing major aftershocks and colder weather that was going to severely impact the up to 450,000 people staying in temporary shelters in the wake of last week’s earthquake and tsunami.
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VIDEO: Fire At Nuclear Plant Increases Radiation... →
Jana filed this reporter Wednesday morning in Japan, where a fire at a nuclear plant began ramping up earlier that day, forcing thousands more to be evacuated from their homes and further increasing radiation danger in the northern part of the country.
Breaking News: Another Aftershock
Wednesday March 16 (Tokyo) Just felt another aftershock here in Tokyo…I was in the hotel lobby doing an interview when the whole building started swaying. It lasted at least 20 seconds…Japanese news reports are saying it was at 12:52pm Japan time…a 6.0 quake off the coast of Chiba prefecture. Need to check that with the USGS website, but you could definitely feel it!
I’ll...
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VIDEO: Aftershocks Rock Japan →
KTVU’s Jana Katsuyama was in Tokyo when the city was struck by an aftershock measuring 6.1. She reported Tuesday on how people there coped with the damage, power outages and even more unnerving aftershocks.
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Tuesday in Tokyo - a BIG aftershock, shortages,...
March 15 - Tuesday in Tokyo
WOW. Just had another aftershock…this one felt big.
I was on the phone talking to KTVU’s Morning Executive Producer Bobbi Polos about 10:30 p.m. or so, when suddenly the SKYPE computer and camera started swaying with the table. Then I realized the whole room was moving. Much bigger than the aftershocks we felt the other day!
Paul came into the room, but...
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VIDEO: Radiation Concerns Rise In Tokyo →
With the news of slight detections of radiation in Tokyo, concerns over possible contamination from Japan’s troubled nuclear power plants were starting to rise among the populace in the aftermath of last week’s earthquake.
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VIDEO: Tokyo Residents Cope With Disaster →
While Tokyo residents were facing shortages of food, water and gas, many who KTVU reporter Jana Katsuyama spoke with expressed even greater concern for those Japanese citizens living in the harder hit areas to the north.
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VIDEO: Rolling Blackouts, Frequent Aftershocks Hit... →
After being in Japan for a few days, there is an acute sense that the city is in a state of disarray. Three aftershocks have already hit Tokyo and experts have said there could be another aftershock as big as a 7.0 in upcoming days. In its attempts to conserve energy, the country has taken to conducting rolling blackouts, something the country will continue doing for the rest of the...
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VIDEO: Japanese Struggle In Quake's Aftermath →
Gas shortages, power outages and a gruesome search for victims continued in Japan Monday. KTVU’s Jana Katsuyama reports from the stricken nation, providing a firsthand account of the country’s struggles.
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VIDEO: Bay Area Search And Rescue Teams Arrive →
Jana provides this firsthand account of Bay Area search & rescue teams arriving in Japan to assist in the quake aftermath, and her experiencing her first aftershock since she arrived.
California connections?
Calling all Californians…just wanted to say if anyone out there has a friend or relative here in Japan who’s impacted by the earthquake and tsunami in any way, let me know. Since we’re here and have some access to resources on the ground, we’d be glad to help people connect or get their stories out. You can send a message directly to our newstips@ktvu.com email, or leave a...
Aftershocks and Power
Well, Monday was another eventful day.
Paul and I hit the streets and went straight to Tokyo Station. It’s one of the main shinkansen bullet train boarding/departure points for the line heading north. The earthquake and tsunami have really disrupted Japan’s ultra-modern, super-efficient, high-speed and regular rail lines. We saw people coming into the station looking confused about...
Monday March 14, 2011
Monday 10:03 a.m. - Aftershock
I’ve been up for about an hour now, after about 4.5 hours sleep, and suddenly my Japanese rental cell phone started ringing like crazy. I went to see who was calling me and saw it was an earthquake alert. About five seconds later, the hotel room started shaking back and forth. I just felt my first aftershock.
According to the USGS website it appears it was a...
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Journal Entries - Day 1
Sunday, 3:40 p.m. - (Sat. 10:40 p.m. PST)
Well, we arrived at Narita Airport in Japan after a long 10 hour flight from San Francisco. My colleague, videojournalist Paul Fifield and I spent much of the flight poring over maps and discussing the latest aftershocks and earthquake news in Japan. (I also gave him a quick crash course on Japanese phrases and culture.) The plane was packed and when ...
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Jana Arrives In Japan, Speaks To KTVU →
Jana’s first interview since she arrived in Japan, which first aired on Sunday’s KTVU Mornings On 2 newscast. Click the link above to see the video.
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Japan Incident Map on ESRI →
This map not only provides information on the size and origins of the earthquake, it provides up-to-date news, video and social media entries and even where it was posted.
