For a break from ‘earthquake news’, Barrier Free Japan talks about the prevalence of ‘QR codes’ at train stations in Japan and how this might affect accessibility.
The question is, will the increasing use of QR codes make it more difficult for some in Japan to use the railway?
A massive earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year’s Day has now claimed 215 lives in Ishikawa Prefecture. Fourteen people who evacuated to safety are now believed to have died from causes related to the disaster. Medical experts warn the figure could increase due to poor sanitary conditions in shelters.
Of the total, eight died of indirect causes related to the earthquake, including exhaustion and poor health during evacuation. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, the number of people still unaccounted for stood at 52.
The Japanese government plans to focus more on preventing deaths from indirect causes, rushing to move evacuees, especially elderly people, from stopgap shelters to more livable accommodation out of concern about deteriorating sanitary conditions.
Fatalities in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa from a massive earthquake that struck on New Year’s Day have exceeded 200.
According to an announcement by the Ishikawa prefectural government Tuesday, the death toll in the 7.6 magnitude quake rose to 202.
Nine people at evacuation center in Ishikawa were infected with norovirus and two people were infected with the new coronavirus.
They were all in the same evacuation center. After receiving treatment at the hospital, he was placed in isolation.
The death toll in the central Japan prefecture of Ishikawa from Monday’s powerful earthquake has risen to 126, prefectural officials said Saturday.
The magnitude-7.6 New Year’s Day quake has left 210 people unaccounted for in the prefecture, the officials said.
According to Ishikawa Prefecture, as of 10 a.m. on the 4th, damage such as water outages and power outages had been confirmed at around 120 elderly facilities in the prefecture, including special nursing homes and group homes.
Residents are not able to take a bath, and the toilets cannot be flushed, raising concerns about hygiene.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has named this earthquake the ‘2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake’ which in Japanese is ‘ 令和6年能登半島地震’ or the ‘Reiwa 6 Noto Peninsula Earthquake’, ‘Reiwa 6’ being the Japanese Imperial Year in 2024.
I began this podcast episode intending to just welcome in 2024 and then, at around 16:10, a Shindo 7 earthquake occurred in Ishikawa Prefecture and a tsunami warning was issued. At the time of posting this on the late evening of January 1st 2024, not all tsunami warnings have been lifted, but the number of earthquakes has lessened.
After more than 400 years, the iconic Nagoya Castle is under siege, this time by those wanting to make it more accessible to wheelchair-users and those who are determined to keep it as original as possible.
At a town hall meeting on the planned reconstruction of the castle here on June 3, a man scolded a wheelchair-user.
“Don’t confuse equality with your selfishness,” the man said. “How dare you be so selfish.”
Barrier Free Japan