Japan

Liberal Democratic Party Ousted from Power

In August 2009 parliamentary elections, the opposition Democratic Party won in a landslide over the ruling Liberal Democrats, who had been in power nearly uninterrupted for a half-century. The Democratic Party increased its number of seats from 119 to 308, while the Liberal Democrats slid from 296 seats to 119. Yukio Hatoyama, who became prime minister in September, promised to lift Japan out of economic stagnation and a culture of corruption–malaise widely credited with sparking the popular backlash against the Liberal Democrats. Hatoyama campaigned on promises to move the U.S. Marine Air Station Futenma off the island of Okinawa and recast the relationship between Japan and the U.S. as one of equals. Okinawans had long complained about the noise and intrusion of the base, and tension between residents and marines soured after the rape of a 12-year-old local by three marines in 1995. The U.S. resisted Hatoyama's plan to move the base off the island, and insisted that Japan comply with 2006 agreement to relocate the base to a less populated part of Okinawa. However, in early 2010 as tension mounted between North and South Korea over the sinking of a South Korean warship and China indicated it planned to beef up its military, polls showed that most Japanese endorsed the role of the U.S. as a protector of Japan, and support of plans to move the base off Okinawa was largely limited to the island. Hatoyama's popularity took a nosedive, and he resigned in June. He was the fourth prime minister to step down in four years. The Democrats elected Foreign Minister Naoto Kan, a former leftist activist, to take over for Hatoyama.

Tsunami Devastates Japan

Japan was hit by a massive earthquake on March 11, 2011, that triggered a deadly 23-foot tsunami in the country's north. The giant waves deluged cities and rural areas alike, sweeping away cars, homes, buildings, a train, and boats, leaving a path of death and devastation in its wake. Video footage showed cars racing away from surging waves. The United States Geological Survey reported the earthquake and on Monday revised its magnitude from 8.9 to 9.0, which is the largest in Japan's history. The earthquake struck about 230 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Disaster struck again on Saturday, March 12, when about 26 hours after the earthquake, an explosion in reactor No. 1 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station caused one of the buildings to crumble to the ground. The cooling system at the reactor failed shortly after the earthquake. Officials feared that a meltdown may occur, and radioactive material was detected outside the plant. These fears were realized on Sunday, when officials said they believed that partial meltdowns occurred at reactors No. 1 and No. 3. The cooling systems at another plant, Fukushima Daini, were also compromised but the situation there seemed to be less precarious. More than 200,000 residents were evacuated from areas surrounding both facilities. Problems were later reported at two other nuclear facilities. By Tuesday, March 15, two more explosions and a fire had officials and workers at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station struggling to regain control of four reactors. The fire, which happened at reactor No. 4, was contained by noon on Tuesday, but not before the incident released radioactivity directly into the atmosphere. The Japanese government told people living within 20 miles of the Daiichi plant to stay indoors, to not use air conditioning, and to keep their windows closed. More than 100,000 people are in the area.

At a news conference on Sunday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan emphasized the gravity of the situation. "I think that the earthquake, tsunami, and the situation at our nuclear reactors makes up the worst crisis in the 65 years since the war. If the nation works together, we will overcome," he said. The government called in 100,000 troops to aid in the relief effort. The deployment is the largest since World War II.

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