Tracking Marine Debris from the Japanese Tsunami

Large amounts of debris from the Japanese tsunami of 2011 could hit the Oregon Coast sometime next year, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Just how much flotsam will make it here and exactly when remains a mystery for now, however. The Japanese government estimates that up to 25 million tons of debris — everything from vehicles, boats and parts of buildings to appliances, bottles and cans — were swept out to sea during the course of the natural disaster last March. In the days immediately after the tsunami, large moving islands of debris were clearly visible off the Japanese coast. But as they floated out to sea and dispersed, scientists lost track of them. NOAA officials say no debris islands are currently visible in the North Pacific Ocean from their satellite images — though passing ships have reported seeing some concentrations of tsunami-related flotsam. Instead, NOAA is using computer estimates to track the debris’ path and drift rate, based on average ocean currents and winds. NOAA officials predict that the debris could begin hitting the West Coast of the United States in 2013.

Two pictures as the clues... the truth shall prevail

A while ago, a mysterious article about Dokdo appeared on an online community. 'You don't know the whole truth if you only have half the page,' it said. The article featured two maps, one by Korea, the other by Japan. The Korean one read "East is sea Sea", but the Japan one read "Sea of Japan." If you put the two maps together, "East sea is sea of Korea not Japan", revealing the whole truth. Japan keeps their nonsensical rambling about Dokdo, as well as distorting history by stating that Dokdo belongs to Japan in their textbooks, causing much criticism by the Korean government and citizens. No matter how much Japan tries to haggle, Dokdo belongs to Korea. They'll only waste more energy by arguing that it belongs to Japan.

Posters point to plight of 'comfort women'

Singer Kim Jang-hoon and Professor Seo Kyung-duk have joined forces again in a project to raise awareness about the plight of so-called "comfort women". "Comfort women" is a euphemism for women who were forced into sexual slavery during World War II by the Japanese military. Seo, a visiting professor at Sungshin Women's University, said Jan. 5 that some 1,500 posters were distributed around Tokyo with the help of a group of Korean students studying in Japan. The posters were placed around locations in Shinjuku, Shibuya and Harajuku, among other urban areas. Seo said that Kim paid for all the expenses for the posters, just as he did when he paid for a similar ad in the Asian edition of The Wall Street Journal last December. Like the ad, the poster is titled "Do You Hear?" and shows the women and their supporters at their 1,000th protest rally held outside the Japanese Embassy in Seoul on Dec. 14. It also details information about the injustice the women have suffered over the years because the Japanese government has yet to make an official apology. "The poster aims to appeal to Japanese youth who are not aware of the situation, because they were never taught what really happened", Seo said. The professor said that next week there are plans to place another 1,500 posters in Osaka, Kyoto and Kansai.