Breaking Tweets » Japan

TwitPics: Typhoon Melor hits Japan

Bryan Simpson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:03:40 +0000

The Associated Press reports that typhoon Melor struck Japan’s main island of Honshu Thursday, damaging buildings, disrupting businesses, and delaying flights and train service.

BBC News adds that one person is reported dead and more than 20 are reported injured.

Twitterers in Japan have been posting TwitPics of the typhoon and its aftermath. Some even mentioned and showed how much conditions improved afterwards:

“The typhoon is approaching to Aquapolis of Kobe Now.” per @yfvelocity:

“The typhoon today.” per @e2gma:

“Tokyo train torpor thanks to typhoon” per @ingulsrud:

“The street outside my apartment. Water past my ankles. Not raining right now tho, and barely windy. Pussy typhoon! #typhoon18 #melor” per @mullenkedheim:

“Stuck in totsuka now. Kind of beautiful day in the end. Typhoon turned into just wind. have a look:” per @zan_chan:

“What a beautiful day 2 hours after the typhoon. Heading for lunch now.” per @jecjec81:

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International community seeks compromise on whaling

Britni Day — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:59:48 +0000

Per BBC, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has opened its annual meeting in Madeira, Portugal, with careful discussion of a compromise between pro- and anti-whaling nations. Talks began a year ago but did not progress as planned, U.S. chairman William Hogarth told BBC News.

Anti-whaling countries would like to see Japan suspend its “research” programs in the Arctic that critics believe are being used as a guise to hunt whales for consumption. Iceland has also come under criticism from anti-whaling countries for expanding its hunting numbers of the endangered fin whale. The company involved in the whaling, Hvalur hf, told BBC that there is no market for whale meat in Iceland, but because of the financial crisis they will export much of the meat to Japan.

The Twitterverse reacted with a variety of responses:

sharko597 (Orchard, Singapore)‘whale’ cusine launched in Tokyo as International Whaling Commission starts annual mtg http://bit.ly/FNF47 how is eating whale research!? 22 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck

levitatingcat (Undisclosed) Japan, Norway, and Iceland want to lift the ban on whaling: http://tinyurl.com/mjaz7e. Don’t let them! http://tinyurl.com/dnm7nw. 22 Jun 2009 from web

EppoNuman (The Hague, Netherlands) If whales were small children – would we still not blow Japanese whaling ships out of the water, when on their illegal killing spree?? 22 Jun 2009 from web

abranches (Undisclosed) I’m skeptical about a consensus solution on whaling. Japan has spent lots of time & money to get a pro-whaling coalition. Hard to let it go 22 Jun 2009 from Seesmic Desktop

kvltpunk (Austin, Texas) RT @aissle: “boycott” her favourite J-rock groups to protest Japan’s whaling // Giving up Malice Mizer is some serious stuff…. 22 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck

crisatunity (Dallas, Texas) In my heart I wish US Navy ships would sink whaling vessels, then harpoon the survivors. 22 Jun 2009 from web

MissJeannineW (Undisclosed) Stop the whaling and save these beautiful animals!!!!! Shame on you killers! 22 Jun 2009 from web

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4 planes emergency land on 3 continents in 24 hours

Craig Kanalley — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:23:25 +0000

The last 24 hours have been eventful in the skies with four planes forced to emergency land before reaching their destination on Wednesday – one in Asia, two in Europe, and one in North America. Here’s a roundup of the incidents, links to media reports, and tweets on each:

An Airbus 330-220 plane bound from Japan to Australia landed in Guam at 11 p.m. local time after a fire broke out in the cockpit. There were 203 passengers on board.

rilstix (Brisbane, Australia) flames on board a jetstar plane coming back from japan. airline catering hits new low. 11 Jun 2009 from web

Juzzash (Geelong, Australia) A jetstar flight just had to emergency land due to a fire in the cockpit. Lovely. Any more plane incidents before I have to go home? 11 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon

henrystones (Brisbane, Australia) just spent ages catching up on tweets- not worth it. tokyo rules, our plane caught fire on the return flight to aus – we weren’t on it 11 Jun 2009 from web

An Airbus 320 flight bound from the Canary Islands to Oslo, Norway was forced back to its place of departure and landed safely at 8:05 a.m. local time after an engine failure. There were 189 passengers on board.

nesher Otro airbus con problemas, un A320 que salia de Gran Canaria: http://www.telecinco.es/informativos/sociedad/noticia/100004779/ (Another problem with Airbus, an A320 that came from Gran Canaria) 10 Jun 2009 from web

joseLITRO (Badajoz, Spain) Su puta madre otro Airbus con problemas, ahora en Gran Canaria. Yo mañana me vuelvo para casa aunque sea en un Tupolev a gasoil (Oh [expletive] other problems with Airbus, now in Gran Canaria. I am back to my house in Tupolev via diesel) 10 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

An Airbus 340-300 jet bound from Milan to Beijing landed in Moscow at 9:07 p.m. local time also after an engine failure. There were 155 passengers on board.

RusNews (Russia) В “Шереметьево” экстренно сел аэробус Air China из-за неполадок с двигателем: На борту Airbus 340-300, летевшего.. http://cli.gs/Y0QHeT (Airplane Accidents of Air China made a crash landing at Sheremetyevo “: Airbus 340) 09 Jun 2009 from twitterfeed

rianru (Russia) Происшеств Самолет компании Air China совершил аварийную посадку в “Шереметьево”: Airbus 340.. http://tinyurl.com/m2s8×6 (In the “Airport” of another village, Airbus Air China lands because of problems with the engine: On board the Airbus 340-300, flying) 09 Jun 2009 from twitterfeed

An American Airlines flight bound from New York to Zurich landed in Nova Scotia at 7:40 p.m. local time after a fire ignited in a bathroom. There were 210 passengers on board.

SLew (Salem, Mass.) Are there always so many stories in the news about emergency plane landings & missing helicopters? I TOLD you guys we’re not supposed to fly 10 Jun 2009 from web

JonMosier (Washington, D.C.) @lukehellier the story about an airbus plane making an emergency landing in Canada. Figure it out Airbus, you’re freakin us out. 10 Jun 2009 from web in reply to lukehellier

The incidents occurred just days after an Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris disappeared from radar screens and crashed in the Atlantic Ocean.

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Tokyo experiences moderate earthquake

Craig Kanalley — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 06:34:43 +0000

Per the USGS, a 5.9-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday afternoon near Honshu, Japan, and it was felt in Tokyo just 110 kilometers (70 miles) away.

It is not yet clear if the quake was an aftershock of a 6.3 quake that shook Northern Japan on Friday.

@nevaneva of Chiba, Japan, had the first tweet on the earthquake.

nevaneva (Chiba, Japan) big ole earthquake!
06 Jun 2009 from Nambu

Here are some other tweets from Japan, which provided personal experiences:

ShaneSakata (Chiba, Japan) Earthquake still rocking my building in Chiba, Japan – this one’s a bit long for my liking. 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck

raysor (Japan) My first mini earthquake, building swayed 06 Jun 2009 from Twidget

ShaneSakata (Chiba, Japan) All’s fine – lamp pull cord is still swaying but the earthquake is over for now. I hope we don’t get aftershocks… 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck

ourmaninabiko (Abiko, Japan) Quake unsettles recent homeowners (as the Japan Times might say); just a tiddler, but not very pleasant (as Our Man would say). 06 Jun 2009 from web

arnabgupta (Tokyo, Japan) Tokyo Earthquake: I live in 6th flr of a 2006 building,between Shinjuku and Shibuya,and my building shook noticeably for a solid 10 seconds. 06 Jun 2009 from web

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Earthquake shakes Hokkaido, Sapporo in Northern Japan

Craig Kanalley — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 04:03:52 +0000

Per Yahoo! Japan, a 6.3-magnitude earthquake shook Northern Japan at 12:30 p.m. local time on Friday. The epicenter was in Tokachi-oki and the quake was felt strongly in nearby Hokkaido and Sapporo, Japan. Per the map provided by Yahoo, it does not appear Tokyo felt the quake.

@Kuma provided the first tweet on the quake. It was soon followed by these tweets from the affected area:

Kuma (Sapporo, Japan) earthquake 05 Jun 2009 from Tweetie

kirinfish (Sapporo, Japan) earthquake 05 Jun 2009 from mobile web

tdes (Hokkaido, Japan) Earthquake in Hokkaido! Just a bit of shaking … I’m still alive. 05 Jun 2009 from web

mrsalbrecht (Goshogawara, Japan) Little earthquake in Aomori prefecture. Neat. 05 Jun 2009 from web

ichinald (Japan) 結構揺れたんですね、北海道方面。みなさん大丈夫かな?　http://www.jma.go.jp/jp/quake/ (I shook me, towards Hokkaido. Is it safe to you?) 05 Jun 2009 from web

hakujin (Aomori, Japan) I felt it here! RT @mrsalbrechtRT @ActionCentral 6.4-MAG EARTHQUAKE STRIKES HOKKAIDO, JAPAN, SAYS @USGS 05 Jun 2009 from web

@Kuma told @BreakingTweets that there was “No problems in Sapporo.. just some minor rumbling.” @nobonne of Sapporo reported feeling “dizzy” after the quake.

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North Korea threatens war on South Korea

Craig Kanalley — Wed, 27 May 2009 05:26:37 +0000

Per Yonhap News Agency in South Korea, North Korea said on Wednesday that South Korea’s decision to join a U.S.-led anti-proliferation program was a “declaration of war” and that it is no longer bound by the Korean War armistice agreement that ended the 1950-1953 conflict. The nation also said in a statement that it will respond militarily to any foreign inspections of its ships.

@BreakingNews reported the threats first to the Twitter world, though it appears to have slightly skewed North Korea’s claims based on the latest media reports.

BreakingNews BULLETIN — NORTH KOREA CALLS SOUTH KOREAN DECISION TO JOIN ANTI-PROLIFERATION PROGRAM A DECLARATION OF WAR. 27 May 2009 from BNO Headquarters

BreakingNews BULLETIN — NORTH KOREA SAYS IT WILL “USE ITS MILITARY” TO RESPOND TO SOUTH KOREAN DECISION. 27 May 2009 from BNO Headquarters

BreakingNews BULLETIN — NORTH KOREA ABANDONS KOREAN WAR ARMISTICE. 27 May 2009 from BNO Headquarters

At this time, no other news organization is reporting a state of war between the nations or that North Korea will definitively respond militarily to South Korea’s decision to join the U.S. program. A report from Bloomberg wrote only that North Korea “threatened military action,” far less definitive than the @BreakingNews tweet.

CNN’s @iDesk tweeted shortly after @BreakingNews, “We are checking all these reports from North Korea and having our experts distinguish between the facts and rhetoric.”

Twitterers in the region responded with confusion, as well as surprise.

freedomyears (Seoul, South Korea) why do I know nothing about this North Korea nonsense??? what did they do? american media hype as per… 27 May 2009 from web

peijinc (Shanghai, China) really ? north korea leaving the ceasefire agreement? 27 May 2009 from TweetDeck

richpav (Japan) OK, North Korea is officially scary now. 27 May 2009 from twhirl

jasohill (Hachimantai, Japan) What is going on with North Korea? Did they just declare war on South Korea? Twitter is confusing at the moment. 27 May 2009 from Power Twitter

SirSteven (Suzhou, China) Some disturbing single-line “declaration of war” missives coming out of North Korea press office. Just usual rhetoric? h/t CNN’s @klustout 27 May 2009 from Tweetie

KankiKnight (Tokyo, Japan) RT @klustout Very unsettling if confirmed. JUST IN: North Korea says it is no more bound to Korean War armistice: Yonhap http://tr.im/mvJY 27 May 2009 from web

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North Korea launches short-range missiles

Craig Kanalley — Tue, 26 May 2009 08:35:28 +0000

Per Yonhap News Agency in South Korea, a day after conducting a nuclear test, North Korea fired two short-range missiles on Tuesday, according to a South Korean official. The official said “the North is continuing its saber-rattling,” yet he declined to say whether the fresh missile launches were tests.

Here are some of the latest tweets on the issue from South Korea, Japan and China, clearly showing the tension in the region:

hohocho (Seoul, South Korea) @klustout I didn’t had a good night sleep because of North Korea. They maximized tenstions among all Koreans. 25 May 2009 from web in reply to klustout

JVJ1984 (Uijeongbu, South Korea) If North Korea attacks South Korea, I’m going to Australia. 26 May 2009 from web

africanpygmy (Tokyo, Japan) I bet we won’t be hearing much of Suzan Boyle now that we’ve got North Korea firing 2 missiles at the Japanese Sea. What a pity… 26 May 2009 from web

tokyorich (Tokyo, Japan) North Korea should stick to producing disco biscuits and give the missiles a rest. 26 May 2009 from web

vlcupper (Seoul, South Korea) There’s been an alarming rise in air traffic since North Korea’s test. 26 May 2009 from web

zhang_jianyong (Nantong, China) North Korea’s nuclear test has driven America insane! America, do not get so afraid of NK. If you are doing good, so does the whole world. 26 May 2009 from web

kyo_co (Osaka, Japan) f**k the North Korea. that country is crazyyyy:( 26 May 2009 from web

GeoffreyWu (Hong Kong) North Korea fires short-range missile — WOW, are they going to claim it s a “Satellite” again? 26 May 2009 from web

beijingbaby (Beijing, China) oh North Korea….what are we ever going to do with you. 26 May 2009 from web

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Featured TwitPic: Birds in Tsubame, Japan

Nicole Russo — Sat, 16 May 2009 01:45:01 +0000

“Birds.” (Posted by @monoqnet on May 15, 2009)

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North Korea launches rocket

Craig Kanalley — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 02:50:00 +0000

Per The Wall Street Journal, “North Korea launched a multi-stage rocket Sunday in defiance of international pressure.”

Nearly 15 minutes before this news was confirmed by major news outlets such as BBC, CNN, and Reuters, @jasohill, a photographer of Hachimantai, Japan, broke the news to Twitter.

jasohill This is for real folks. NORTH KOREA has just launched it missile. 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox

Popular Twitter news service BNO was one minute behind that tweet with its first tweet on the news:

BreakingNews FLASH — TOKYO — JAPANESE GOVERNMENT: NORTH KOREA HAS LAUNCHED ROCKET 05 Apr 2009 from BNO Headquarters

@jasohill went on to provide these first-hand accounts from Japan:

jasohill We have alarm bells going off here in Hachimantai. Has launched its rocket 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox

jasohill Warning alarms going off. We have a rocket heading over Japan 05 Apr 2009 fro
m TwitterFox

jasohill This is not a false alarm. The North Korean rocket has been launched 05 Apr 2009 from TwitterFox

Other Twitterers in the region noted the news, many of them breathing a sigh of relief when it became apparent they were out of harm’s way.

akikohayashi (Tokyo, Japan) Missile: It’s gone. Relieved. But how many more times do we have to experience the similar situation? This is enough. 05 Apr 2009 from web

kyotonils (Kyoto, Japan) NK launches missile and I’m 2 stories undereground in retail bunker (Hankyu). Commerce seemingly unaffected. Chou creme hoarding imminent… 05 Apr 2009 from mobile web

SirSteven (Suzhou, China) North Korea has fired off its rocket-missile-satellite thingy, and no-one bothered to shoot it down… *yawn* 05 Apr 2009 from DestroyTwitter

Mitch
ell1986 (Cheongju, South Korea) The missile has been launched…..and the world didn’t end (at least for us in Asia)…now to move on…. 05 Apr 2009 from web

kkongchi (Seoul, South Korea) I’m living in Seoul, Korea and All Media are saying on N.Korea’s Rocket. but It seems that they launched Not Missile but Satellite. 05 Apr 2009 from TweetDeck

naotakahashi (Gumma, Japan) Seemingly North Korea’s “Flying Object” flew over Japan without any droppings. 05 Apr 2009 from web

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North Korea launch imminent

Craig Kanalley — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:48:00 +0000

Per Sky News, Pyongyang’s official news agency has announced that preparations are complete and it will launch a satellite “soon.” The move would be in defiance of international calls for resistance in recent days.

Voice of America foreign correspondent Steven Herman (@W7VOA) is reporting via Twitter that the launch could happen at any minute, as 2:00 GMT (the current time as of this post) opens a window North Korean officials have given for it.

The latest reports have heightened the fears of Japanese Twitterers:

prophotopete (Japan) Apparently North Korea has a bloody missile aimed in our direction and are getting ready to launch it soon. Any news in the US? 03 Apr 2009 from web

dialogjapan (Tokyo, Japan) North Korea says to rocket launch imminent. Is it a missile to Japan ? so much afraid that if it hits anywhere in Japan. http://news.go … 04 Apr 2009 from twhirl

japchap (Japan) North Korea’s supposedly launching their “satellite” into orbit… or is it really a satellite? Crazy dictators stirring the pot… 04 Apr 2009 from Twidget

mickstokyo (Tokyo, Japan) scared of north korea’s rocket!!!! 04 Apr 2009 from web

shita (Yokohima, Japan) North Korea is ready…. 04 Apr 2009 from twitterrific

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