News Headlines - 06 September 2018
▽Japan earthquake hits Hokkaido, leaves dead and missing under landslides on main island - CBS News
A powerful earthquake Thursday on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido triggered dozens of landslides that crushed houses under torrents of dirt, rocks and timber, prompting frantic efforts to unearth any survivors. At least nine people were killed, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Officials said at least 366 were injured, five of them seriously, and about 30 people were unaccounted for after the magnitude 6.7 earthquake jolted residents from their beds at 3:08 a.m.
▽Japan nuclear plant's power restored after quake triggers Hokkaido blackout | Reuters
Power was restored to a nuclear energy plant in Hokkaido, northern Japan on Thursday after a strong earthquake left it relying on emergency generators for 10 nervous hours, but it may be a week before lights are back on all over the major island... Though Tomari was shut down after the Fukushima disaster in 2011, it needs electricity to keep fuel rods cool, and had to rely on back-up diesel generators that kicked in after the quake until power was restored to all three reactors by 1 p.m. local time.
Utilities that operate nuclear power plants stopped funding the reprocessing of nuclear fuel in fiscal 2016, their financial reports showed Sunday, a step that may affect resource-scarce Japan’s nuclear fuel recycling policy.
The 10 utilities, including Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and Japan Atomic Power Co., apparently halted allocating reserve funds for reprocessing costs due to the huge expenses linked to building the reprocessing facilities, sources said.
▽Employee of broadcaster TBS arrested on suspicion of kidnapping teenage girl - Japan Today
Police in Sapporo on Sunday arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of kidnapping a teenage girl in Shizuoka... The girl’s parents filed a missing person’s report after she did not come home. A nationwide alert was issued and police found the couple walking together along a street in Sapporo’s Kita Ward at around 10 a.m. on Sunday.
▽Taiwan to make English an official language next year, says official | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP
Taiwan is to make English an official language next year, Premier William Lai announced on Monday. The Ministry of Education has been discussing the proposal since last October.
The move aims to improve English language proficiency and help Taiwanese people pursue opportunities abroad, Lai said in an interview with United Daily News. It includes establishing bilingual schools across the country, with English being taught to pupils from an early age.
