epa05605246 YEARENDER 2016 FEATURE PACKAGES(15/38) A building destroyed by the 11 March 2011 tsunami can be seen in Ukedo district of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, 24 February 2016, few kilometers away from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. Namie is located north west of the nuclear plant and there are plans to allow about 5,000 of its residents to return to certain areas by March 2017, when the levels of radiation will be relatively low, and officials have already started working at the town hall to prepare for their return. The municipal authorities hope to help businesses that could provide food for those involved in decontamination work, or the decommissioning of the six nuclear reactors at the plant. As for now, a couple of gas stations and a convenience store are open during the day. The town remains empty of people and there are black bags of radiation-contaminated waste everywhere. Many of the black sacks stuffed with contaminated soil, leaves and other debris are stored in so-called interim storage facilities, waiting to be moved to their final destinations in an area close to the nuclear plant, where high radiation levels prevent locals from returning. Millions of bags will have to retain their radioactive contents in the years to come, but their durability are in question. EPA/FRANCK ROBICHON PLEASE REFER TO ADVISORY NOTICE (epa05200442) FOR FULL PACKAGE TEXT
Il numero dei centenari in Giappone sfiora ormai quota 70mila, con le donne che rappresentano quasi il 90% del totale. Lo ha reso noto il ministero della Salute nipponico, che indica come si tratti del quarantottesimo anno consecutivo di crescita, grazie ai progressi della medicina e in generale al miglioramento delle pratiche igieniche e sanitarie degli individui. Le cifre sono state comunicate in concomitanza con la festività del prossimo lunedì, che celebra la Terza età in Giappone. Gli uomini centenari nel Paese del Sol Levante hanno raggiunto quota 8.331, mentre le donne sono ben 61.454: l’88,1% dell’intero campione.
