Japan starts disaster-alert system using satellites
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Japan, one of the world's most  seismically active nations, on Friday began an alert system  using satellites to instantly transmit warnings of natural  disasters, such as tsunami, to speed up evacuations.
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All systems are finally go for Japan's first lunar orbiter, which is scheduled for launch on Aug. 16, officials announced Wednesday.
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A conference on natural disasters opens in Japan with calls on the world to learn from the Asian tsunami.
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Asian telecommunication carriers are mobilizing to help those affected by the weekend's devastating earthquakes off Indonesia and subsequent tsunami waves.
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Other nations could learn from Japan's well-established tsunami warning system, writes Jamie Miyazaki.
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Faulty equipment, poor communications and cumbersome bureaucracy are being blamed for the failure of nations around the Indian Ocean's rim to warn communities about to be hit by one of the world's most devastating natural disasters.
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The United States has dispatched disaster teams to the Asian countries hit hard by a massive earthquake and devastating tsunamis and is
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Japanese researchers on Saturday unveiled the world's largest earthquake simulator designed to help save lives in future temblors, just days before the 10th anniversary of the devastating Kobe earthquake.
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COLOMBO, Sep 19 (IPS) - A tsunami alert, last week, sent thousands of Sri  Lankans living along the coasts of this island nation fleeing  inland, but authorities were exultant that the early warning  systems installed after the disastrous Dec. 26, 2004 Indian Ocean  tsunami were working.
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Japan is preparing to launch this week its first lunar explorer, in a bid to get the country's space program back on track after a string of failures in the last decade.
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The new Japanese spacecraft sent into orbit in September to study the Sun has returned its first scientific data.
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India just launched a communications satellite.
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(InfoWorld) - A powerful earthquake that struck northern Japan Monday morning has caused disruption to communications services in the country. The earthquake struck at 10:13 a.m. just off the coast of Niigata prefecture, which is north west of Tokyo. The magnitude 6.8 quake registered an intensity of 6+ on Japan's scale of 0 to 7, in three locations. Citing figures collected at 1:30 p.m. Japan's NHK television reported at least two people were killed and more than 190 people injured. Television images showed dozens of collapsed buildings and damage to structures such as bridges. At one point black smoke was seen rising from the Kashiwazaki nuclear plant but the operator said this was from an electrical transformer that had caught fire and the reactors had shut down safely with no release of radiation. Japan is one of the most seismically active countries in the world and buildings standards are high to avoid widespread damage during strong quakes. As a result of the temblor major telecommunications carriers have imposed restrictions on phone calls into and out of the affected area. NTT East, the major fixed-line provider in the area, has activated its "disaster dial 171" service that allows people in the area to leave voicemail messages that can be checked by those in the rest of the country. An Internet version of the service, Web 171 has also been activated and allows those affected to leave voice, still image and video images for friends. The major cell phone carriers have similarly restricted calls and activated their own disaster message board services on wireless Internet sites. The restrictions are put on telecom networks to keep lines free for emergency purposes and also to avoid a collapse of the network due to the massive surge in calls often seen after a powerful earthquake.
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A tsunami warning was issued for a group  of islands south of Tokyo on Wednesday after a strong  earthquake off Japan's eastern coast, and authorities urged  local residents to evacuate to higher ground.
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A government panel Wednesday approved plans to send a weather satellite into Earth's orbit by February 2005, in the first scheduled launch for Japan's troubled space program since late last year, an official said.
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InfoWorld - Cellphones in Japan could soon provide a vital warning seconds ahead of a major earthquake.
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A Japanese government panel has approved plans to send two spy satellites into Earth's orbit beginning next year, a media report said Wednesday.    If confirmed, the missions would be the first since late 2003 for Japan's ailing space program, which has suffered a slew of launch and mission failures...