Japan

20111124-155332-pic-664527530.jpg

Streetlights shine in the abandoned town of Iitate, northeastern Japan. Though the town lies outside the official exclusion zone around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, radiation levels were higher than some areas inside - forcing residents to evacuate months after the nuclear plant began leaking radiation.(Associated Press)

SMOKING.jpg

Japan national team player Risa Shinnabe, idolized by millions of schoolgirls, wears a Japan Tobacco logo on her uniform as she waves to fans after a win over the United States at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 18, 2011. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

SMOKING2.jpg

Japan's national team players, idolized by millions of Japanese schoolgirls, wear Japan Tobacco logos and play before Japan Tobacco digital billboards ads in a win over the United States at the Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan, on Nov. 18, 2011. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

20111123-205039-pic-834097754.jpg

"Only senior citizens are saying they want to move back, not the younger people," said Naoto Matsumura, who has chosen to live in Japan's forbidden zone near the Fukushima nuclear power plant. (Christopher Johnson/The Washington Times)

JAPAN.jpg

The town of Minamisanriku is seen eight months after it was destroyed by the March 11 tsunami, in northeast Japan, Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

Japan Panetta Asia_Lea.jpg

U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon E. Panetta speaks to American service members at Yokota Air Base in Fussa, Japan, west of Tokyo, on Monday, Oct. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

JAPAN_01.jpg

Kinichi Oikawa, 82, views the 230-ton tugboat that has sat on his front lawn in Ofunato, Japan, since the March 11 tsunami tossed it onto his property. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

TYPHOON_08

A walks past an uprooted tree that lies on the river bed of the swollen Shonai River at Kasugai, central Japan,on Wednesday Sept. 21, 2011 as powerful Typhoon Roke lashes across central Japan with heavy rains and sustained winds of up to 100 mph. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

TYPHOON_04

Farmlands are under waters flooded from the Toyo River in central japan on Wednesday Sept. 21, 2011 as powerful Typhoon Roke barreled across central Japan with heavy rains and sustained winds of up to 100 mph. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

TYPHOON_03

Two women in kimonos make their way through rains in Tokyo's Ginza shopping area as powerful Typhoon Roke lashes central Japan. The storm made landfall in the afternoon near the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, about 125 miles west of Tokyo. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

TYPHOON_02

Police officers in rain gear regulate vehicles moving across a flooded national route in Toyokawa, central Japan, on Wednesday Sept. 21, 2011 as powerful Typhoon Roke lashes central Japan with heavy rains and sustained winds of up to 100 mph. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)

TYPHOON_01

Surging waves hit against the breakwater in Udono in a port town of Kiho, Mie Prefecture, central Japan, Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011. (AP Photo/Chunichi Shimbun, Daiji Yanagida)

APTOPIX Japan Asia Ty_Lea.jpg

Pedestrians in Tokyo make their way through strong winds and rains from Typhoon Roke on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011, as the powerful storm bore down on Japan's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

JAPAN_0773.jpg

The paintings on Yasuo Shimizu's barber shop in Ofunato, Japan, depict volunteers who helped relief and recovery efforts. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

JAPAN_0772.jpg

The paintings on Yasuo Shimizu's barber shop in Ofunato, Japan, depict volunteers who helped relief and recovery efforts. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

JAPAN_0775.jpg

Yasuo Shimizu stands beside his colorful new barber shop in the devastated port area of Ofunato, Japan. The paintings on the shop depict volunteers who helped relief and recovery efforts. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

JAPAN_0774.jpg

Yasuo Shimizu stands beside his colorful new barber shop in the devastated port area of Ofunato, Japan. The paintings on the shop depict volunteers who helped relief and recovery efforts. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)

Japan Earthquake_Live.jpg

A man on a bicycle passes by a large ship on Sept. 9, 2011, in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture in northeastern Japan. The ship was washed ashore six months earlier by a devastating tsunami. (Associated Press)

20110905-215239-pic-772525625.jpg

Six months after a tsunami and nuclear disaster wiped out the fishing industry in northeastern Japan and scared domestic and foreign consumers away from Japanese seafood, Ofunato's fish market is bustling again. (Christopher Johnson/Special to The Washington Times)