SEOUL — Korean troops and riot police blocked a group of North Korean defectors from launching balloons carrying propaganda leaflets to their former homeland. Pyongyang had threatened military retaliation ahead of the planned launch.
TSURUGA, JAPAN — There has been an ongoing debate in Japan on the best way to obtain a safe and affordable energy supply for the island nation. The nuclear option suffered a setback in March, 2011, when a massive earthquake and devastating tsunami caused a meltdown in reactors at Japan's main Fukushima-1 nuclear power plant.
TOKYO — Some high profile researchers in the earth sciences are questioning several long-standing assumptions about predicting earthquakes. They contend it is time for a major reassessment on the methods used to forecast where and when killer earthquakes will strike.
TOKYO — Japan's prime minister — as well as his predecessor who was in charge of the government during the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdowns — met Wednesday with activists who have been organizing weekly protests in front of the prime minister's office.