The worst of times sometimes brings out the best in people, even in Japan’s “losers” a.k.a. the Japanese mafia, the yakuza. Hours after the first shock waves hit, two of the largest crime groups went into action, opening their offices to those stranded in Tokyo, and shipping food, water, and blankets to the devastated areas in two-ton trucks and whatever vehicles they could get moving. The day aft

Japan's Fukushima 50: Heroes Who Volunteered to Stay Behind at Japan's Crippled Nuclear PlantsDaughter tweets that her father has volunteered and "I am really proud of him." March 16, 2011 — -- They are the nameless brave men who are working as the last line of defense at Japan's crippled Fukushima nuclear plants. They stayed behind while everyone else was sent nearly 15 miles away and radiat

The number of people confirmed dead in the earthquake and tsunami in north-east Japan now stands at nearly 8,500 but officials fear more than 15,000 have been killed in just one area. The small coastal town of Rikuzentakata was badly hit - the tsunami flattened everything in its path. From there, Damian Grammaticas reports.

By Nicholas Kristof March 11, 2011 10:33 am March 11, 2011 10:33 am Our hearts are all with the Japanese today, after the terrible earthquake there – the worst ever recorded in Japan. But, having covered the 1995 Kobe earthquake (which killed more than 6,000 people and left 300,000 homeless) when I lived in Japan as Tokyo bureau chief for The New York Times, I have to add: Watch Japan in the comin