QUAKE 3LAST

Some 18,000 SDF personnel and 7,000 US military men are
involved in the three-day mission launched on Friday, during
which they recovered 32 bodies so far.
According to the National Police Agency, the death toll
from the quake-tsunami disaster stood at 11,734 in 12
prefectures, while the number of missing people totalled
16,375 in six prefectures.
A new quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 shook the
southern coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture, north of Miyagi.
A 15-member advance party of a US military radiation
control team arrived at Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo to
help Japan deal with its worst nuclear crisis.
UN chief Ban Ki-moon expressed anxiety over Japan's
nuclear crisis, saying, "We remain deeply concerned about the
situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station."
"Let us rededicate ourselves to help the people of Japan
who are still bravely recovering from the devastating
earthquake and tsunami that killed so many people and
displaced so many more," Ban said.
Under fire for his government's lack of foresight in
preparing for the worst-case scenario at the nuclear plant,
Premier Kan is keen to show that he has a grip on managing the
situation after the twin disaster.
Kan, upon his arrival at Yonesaki Elementary School,
currently a shelter for about 160 evacuees, spoke to some of
them. Donning the blue protective clothing which officials
have been wearing since the tragedy, the Premier enquired
about their condition and promised that the "state will firmly
address" their problems.
"We will do the best we can to set up temporary shelter,"
he said.
But his 20-minute visit three weeks after the disaster
was not welcomed by all the roughly 60 people present there,
with one person saying it would have been better if the
Premier had come earlier.
Fisherman Kazuo Sato, 45, was quoted as saying by Kyodo,
"I wonder how well he could grasp the situation faced by
victims...There are shelters still without electricity or
water. Some people haven't even been able to begin searching
for bodies. I want (the premier) to turn attention to those
matters."
"The situation would not change" even if the Prime
Minister has visited the region, a 50-year-old man said,
noting that the government must put more focus on compensation
and other issues stemming from the nuclear crisis.
During his one-day trip, Kan was also briefed by
Rikuzentakata Mayor Futoshi Toba and Iwate Governor Takuya
Tasso at the makeshift city hall building about the current
condition of the devastated areas. The three also discussed
how to go forward with reconstruction efforts.
Kan also spoke to some 20 firefighters, telling them to
keep up their work. "This is going to be a long fight, but the
government will work together with you until the end."
Besides, he inspected the city streets heavily damaged by
the tsunami.
"We have to think of support measures from the central
government's side on how to revive fishing here," he was
quoted as saying.