Latest news with #NotoPeninsula
NHK
2 days ago
- Sport
- NHK
Marathon event makes comeback in quake-hit Noto Peninsula, central Japan
A marathon event was held in Suzu City in Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, for the first time in six years. Participants ran through the city where damage from the January 2024 quake can still be seen. Sunday's 35-kilometer race attracted 114 people from across the country. The course's turning point was the Rokkosaki lighthouse on the tip of the Noto Penninsula. The annual "Noto Peninsula Suzu Ultramarathon" was first held in 2012, but stopped in 2019 because organizing members were aging. Some residents responded to calls for reviving the event with the hope that it would help spread awareness about the quake-stricken areas' current situation. The organizers restricted the number of participants and kept the distance to 35 kilometers due to limited local accommodation facilities and poor road conditions. A 51-year-old participant from Kaga City in Ishikawa Prefecture said the weather was hot but he was encouraged by the people who came to cheer the runners along the route. He said he saw cracked roads and collapsed buildings, but he could feel that recovery efforts were underway when he saw buildings under construction. He added that he wants to come again.
Japan Times
03-06-2025
- General
- Japan Times
Noto quake liquefaction hampers land boundary redrawing
Soil liquefaction caused by a massive earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in central Japan on Jan. 1, 2024, has complicated local efforts to redraw land boundaries in some disaster-hit areas. Both the town of Uchinada and the neighboring city of Kahoku in Ishikawa Prefecture were hit by a widespread lateral flow, in which the ground shifts sideways, when the 7.6-magnitude quake caused soil to behave like liquid, a phenomenon called liquefaction. While the local governments hope to set the postquake boundaries based on the land situation after the liquefaction, the central government holds on to its legal interpretation that existing lines drawn under the parcel boundary system, which establishes boundaries based on real-estate registration documents, should not be altered. Liquefaction during the Noto quake caused a lateral flow of up to 3 meters along a prefectural road running north to south through Uchinada and Kahoku. A 44-year-old resident of Uchinada said he will remove concrete walls separating his home from his neighbor's in order to prevent a dispute from arising, as his property may be encroaching on his neighbor's registered area as a result of the lateral flow. "I can't wait for years until the (revised) land boundaries are formalized," said the resident, who bought his home four years ago. "I'd like to live without worries." The local governments of Ishikawa, Uchinada and Kahoku believe that the boundaries should be established under the postliquefaction situation. They urged the country to allow land registration based on the results of a cadastral survey to remeasure the area and replot the boundary location for each plot of land. On the other hand, the central government upholds a Supreme Court ruling that legal land boundaries cannot be changed just with an agreement by relevant landowners. For drawing new boundaries in areas that went through significant land movements, the central government thinks it necessary for landowners to carry out parcel subdivision or consolidation, in which land is divided up or transferred among the owners for fresh registration, or alternatively for local governments to undertake property rezoning in such areas. Both options pose heavy burdens to local residents and procedural difficulties. The local governments are negative about the options, saying that five to ten years would pass without progress on establishing the revised land boundaries. In the past, the central government made an exception to its policy holding that boundaries based on land registrations should not be altered. The 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake, which mainly hit Kobe in western Japan, led to large-scale land shifts and elevations. The central government at the time issued a notice that if the ground surface moved horizontally in a wide area due to crustal movements, parcel boundaries would be altered accordingly. It said, however, that parcel boundaries would not be changed for cases of localized surface movement, such as landslides. The lateral flow caused by the Noto quake falls under localized surface movement, the central government says. The central government cannot change its legal interpretation causally, as that could cause some people to lose land because their plots were crushed by others in the lateral flow, an official said. Aiming to find a solution to the boundary issue, a team comprising members of the central and three local governments was launched Thursday. It will discuss the possibility of a legislative review and a simplification of procedures for rezoning by local governments.
CTV News
29-05-2025
- General
- CTV News
Big surprise in sumo. The sport has a new champion - and he's Japanese
Onosato receives the trophy after winning in a sumo wrestling tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan arena in Tokyo, Sunday, May 25, 2025. (Kyodo News via AP) TOKYO — Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he's Japanese. Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 191 kilograms (421 pounds) and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is about 140 kilos, or just over 300 pounds. The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians and prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia. 'I'll devote myself to training so that I will not disgrace the title of yokozuna,' Onosato said Wednesday, dressed in a formal kimono and bowing as he sat on the floor. 'I will aim to become a one-and-only yokozuna.' Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, is only 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo's top rank by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning last week's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which came after he won another prestigious tournament in March. Onosato is from Ishikawa prefecture, which was hit on Jan. 1, 2024, by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed about 600 people in the prefecture and caused widespread damage. Much of the destruction was centered on an area known as the Noto Peninsula. 'I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region,' he said. He then added: 'I determined that yokozuna should be my goal once I entered the world of sumo,' he said. 'It's not easy to achieve and I'm really delighted.' Sumo is regarded as Japan's national sport, or most sacred sport, and many of the ritual elements are connected to Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion. Sumo's origins date back more than 1,000 years, and Japan is the only country where it is contested on a professional level. The sport is highly regimented with many wrestlers living in communal training facilities where food and dress are controlled by ancient traditions. Onosato's promotion will set up an instant rivalry with Mongolia-born Hoshoryu, who is the other wrestler in Japan to hold the yokozuna title. The Japanese news agency Kyodo said the two sumo stars are due to meet in a tournament in July in the central city of Nagoya. ___ Stephen Wade, The Associated Press
NHK
28-05-2025
- General
- NHK
Japan's Diet passes revisions to disaster management law
Japan's Diet has passed revisions to the country's law on disaster management to bolster preparedness. A package of six amendments was passed by the Upper House on Wednesday, based on lessons learned from the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and other events. Local governments will be required annually to make public the status of their stocks of contingency supplies, such as food and portable toilets. Other measures include creating a system for advance registration of volunteer groups, promoting cooperation between volunteers and local governments, and covering expenses of volunteer activities. The revisions widen welfare support for affected elderly people and those with disabilities living in evacuation centers or in their homes or vehicles. Officials will be allowed to provide welfare services for babies and others needing special care, regardless of location. The changes also allow contractors to enter private properties to restore water distribution networks during disasters. This comes after a prolonged delay in repairing damaged water pipes after the Noto quake. The government plans to proceed with campaigns to spread awareness about the amendments among local officials and volunteer groups.
CBS News
28-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Sumo wrestling gets its first Japanese grand champion in 7 years as 24-year-old Onosato reaches top rank
Tokyo — Japan has a new sumo grand champion — or yokozuna — and the big news is he's Japanese. Onosato, the new grand champion, weighs 421 pounds and he is the first Japanese competitor to reach the top rank since 2017. By comparison, the average weight of an NFL lineman is just over 300 pounds. The sport has recently been dominated by Mongolians. Prior to Onosato, six of the previous seven yokozunas have been from Mongolia. "I'll devote myself to training so that I will not disgrace the title of yokozuna," Onosato said Wednesday, dressed in a formal kimono and bowing as he sat on the floor. "I will aim to become a one-and-only yokozuna." Japanese sumo wrestler Onosato (C) and his Nishonoseki stable master (R) attend the "yokozuna," or grand champion, promotion ceremony in Ami Town, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, May 28, 2025. STR/JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Onosato, whose real name is Daiki Nakamura, is only 24 and was promoted Wednesday to sumo's top rank by the Japan Sumo Association. Onosato was promoted by winning last week's Summer Grand Sumo Tournament, which came after he won another prestigious tournament in March. Onosato is from Ishikawa prefecture, which was hit on Jan. 1, 2024, by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed about 600 people in the prefecture and caused widespread damage. Much of the destruction was centered on an area known as the Noto Peninsula. "I will work hard as a yokozuna to encourage and cheer up the Ishikawa prefecture and the Noto region," he said. He then added: "I determined that yokozuna should be my goal once I entered the world of sumo," he said. "It's not easy to achieve and I'm really delighted." Onosato looks on during the 15th day of the Grand Sumo May Tournament at Ryogoku Kokugikan, May 25, 2025, in Tokyo, Japan. ETSUO HARA/Getty Sumo is regarded as Japan's national sport, or most sacred sport, and many of the ritual elements are connected to Shinto, Japan's indigenous religion. Sumo's origins date back more than 1,000 years, and Japan is the only country where it is contested on a professional level, though competitors come from around the world. Last year the sumo world lost one of its contemporary greats, Hawaii-born Akebono, who died at the age of 54. The American was the first foreign-born wrestler to reach the level of yokozuna. The sport is highly regimented with many wrestlers living in communal training facilities where food and dress are controlled by ancient traditions. Japanese sumo wrestler Onosato holds up fish as he celebrates after the "yokozuna," or grand champion, promotion ceremony in Ami Town, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, May 28, 2025. STR/JIJI Press/AFP/Getty Onosato's promotion will set up an instant rivalry with Mongolia-born Hoshoryu, who is the other wrestler in Japan to hold the yokozuna title. The Japanese news agency Kyodo said the two sumo stars are due to meet in a tournament in July in the central city of Nagoya.
