9.0 Earthquake Struck Northeast Japan!
An 8.4 Earthquake has struck the Miyagi Prefecture of Japan. A large Tsunami has hit the Sendai area and the Sendai Airport has been flooded. There are widespread power outages and telephones are down. We will share more information as we receive it.
JR East first female bullet-train operator
In transportation news, JR East announced Tuesday that they have appointed their very first female bullet train operator to the Tohoku Shinkansen line. Sakai is now a member of a group of 400 male bullet train operators and began her first solo operation on April 9 of this year. I do not have exact number but JR Tokai and JR West have already had women actively operating bullet trains.