architizer:

An art installation simulating the inside of a swimming pool in Kanazawa Japan

The Lede has video recorded from the dashboard of a delivery driver’s car as the tsunami rushed through streets in Japan. This is fascinating POV footage, and it’s equally haunting as you can see how completely normal that day was for these people.

This came through our Twitter, and appears to be footage of a July 19th, 2011 meeting between residents of Fukushima Prefecture—which was heavily hit from the 3-punch combo of earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear fall-out.

Residents are demanding “that the government evacuate people promptly in Fukushima and provide financial and logistical support for them” to a government representative. At one point (2:50), the government representative is asked to test the urine of children—and that person refuses. Semi-chaos ensues (“Test this urine!”, “Do you not have children?” “Please don’t run away!”).

wnyc:

lookhigh:

When the worst earthquake in Japan’s history and the subsequent tsunami knocked out all power in the city of Ishinomaki in Miyagi Prefecture, editors at the Ishinomaki Hibi Shimbun, the city’s daily newspaper, printed news of the disaster the only way they could: by pen and paper.

Newseum Acquires Hand-Written Newspapers Chronicling Japan Earthquake : NPR

Nice handwriting.

Wow, this is pretty amazing.

Images of What Remains: A look at the latest headlines around the world, as seen through photography.  (Q. Sakamaki / Redux for Newsweek)

staff:

In light of the recent disasters, our hearts are focused on the vibrant and wonderful community in Japan.  Your resilience is inspiring, and we hope that recovery will be swift and complete. 少しでも皆さんの力となり、一日でも早く日常の生活が取り戻せる事を願います。

As of today, Japanese is now the newest language available on Tumblr. We’re very grateful for our amazing members in the Japanese community, and we hope you’ll find the new option useful. You can change your language setting on your Preferences page. 

You can also keep up with news from Japan via the #Japan tag page.

To aid the relief and emergency efforts, we’re asking all of our members to contribute to Red Cross International from your Dashboard. Look for the message on the sidebar. Members who donate will unlock the Limited Edition Japanese Tumblr Logo, and Tumblr will match your contributions up to $15,000. 

日本の皆さま, 頑張ってください

Love, タンブラー

(via alittlespace)

utnereader:

“Among the many things the Japanese people are mourning this week are their libraries,” writes The Book Bench’s Macy Halford in memoriam. The 9.0-magnitude earthquake that kickstarted a ring of Pacific tsunamis, displaced thousands of people, and terminally damaged multiple nuclear reactors recently has also shaken the Japanese library system to its knees. Read more …

Awful.

wnyc:

via nikki-meow  A tired but determined-looking cat struggles to survive in Japan. -A.P.

UDPATE 3/16, 12:15 pm: This photo is a screen grab from a Japanese TV show called “Wake Up,” showing a white and grey cat clinging to a tuft of grass just above a water line.

We reblogged the photo from another Tumblr, believing it to be a scene resulting from last week’s earthquake and subsequent tsunami.

Among so many dramatic images coming from Japan, something in the cat’s expression and predicament seemed to go to the heart of people watching the devastation there. Many people contacted us to find out if that cat was safe. So we started checking.

What we’ve found is that while the photo was taken in the disaster zone in Japan, the date on the photo reveals that it was taken on the 9th of an unidentified month. If the date is correct, it may mean that the photo was actually taken before last week’s earthquake. We have been unable to confirm the exact date that the photo was taken.

However, a contact in Japan was able to turn up a web report about the image that said the cat had been rescued by a city employee and is in safe protective custody.

SEE UPDATE: THIS KITTY IS OK! (*Also may have been a victim of earlier disaster… timing remains unclear.) Thx for getting to the bottom of this, WNYC.

A full-blown nuclear meltdown would be devastating for pregnant women and their fetuses, which are particularly vulnerable to the lasting effects of radiation. Should the worst-case scenario become a reality, it could lead to a generation of children born with all manner of maladies, from congenital malformation to mental retardation.

How Japan’s earthquake will affect unborn babies