We all recognize the enormous impact that the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, as well as the resulting dangerous situation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, has had on Japan. The United States is continuing to do everything it can and should do to support our close friends, the people of Japan, as they respond to this disaster. This includes providing humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, technical expertise as well as equipment as requested. The American people have also opened up their hearts. Many have given generously to support the ongoing relief efforts. As President Obama said on March 17, we are confident that Japan will recover and rebuild because of the strength and spirit of the Japanese people.
Paris Hilton. © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com
American celebrity Paris Hilton has not learned from her fellow American actor Robert Downey Jr. about the implications of pleading guilty to criminal charges. Years ago in 2001, Robert Downey Jr. pleaded no contest (a.k.a. nolo contendere) to drug-related charges so that he could avoid having to do jail time. Consequently, Japanese immigration authorities detained Downey when he tried to enter Japan in 2009.
Mainichi Japan
Foreign travelers to Japan in 2009 declined for the first time in six years due in part to the global recession and the appreciation of the yen, the Japan National Tourism Organization announced.
Overseas tourists to Japan dropped by 1.56 million, or 18.7 percent, from the previous year to an estimated 6.79 million in 2009, the sharpest decline since records were first kept in 1964, according to the organization. This is mainly due to the worldwide economic slump triggered by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the swine flu outbreak and the appreciation of the yen.
A little-known program of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provides information that bridges oceans.
A government genealogy service lets family history leap off the page – latimes.com
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Kanae Doi, a 34-year-old lawyer, has always wanted to be on the side of the weak. As a director of the Tokyo bureau of Human Rights Watch, a position she has held since 2008, she is trying to change Japanese politics to protect human rights.
Read more: HRW chief working to change diplomacy | The Japan Times Online.
