Comedian begins 440-km marathon in quake-hit northeast

Comedian begins 440-km marathon in quake-hit northeast

YAMADA, Japan - Comedian Kampei Hazama (R) speaks during an event in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, in July 2012, about his plan to run 440 kilometers across Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. Hazama began on Aug. 13 in the Iwate town of Yamada a nine-day marathon across the prefectures in northeastern Japan, the area hit hardest by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, in an effort to spread cheer among disaster-stricken local residents.

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Photo taken on Nov. 16, 2011, in Okuma, a northeastern Japan town that co-hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, shows media wearing protective suits taking photos of Futaba Hospital, located about 4.5 kilometers away from the nuclear plant. About 440 patients and elderly people evacuated from the hospital and an old people's home run by the hospital in the wake of the nuclear crisis.

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Photo taken on Nov. 16, 2011, in Okuma, a northeastern Japan town that co-hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, shows hospital beds placed outside Futaba Hospital, located about 4.5 kilometers away from the nuclear plant. About 440 patients and elderly people evacuated from the hospital and an old people's home run by the hospital in the wake of the nuclear crisis.

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Scenes from Great East Japan Earthquake

Photo taken on Nov. 16, 2011, in Okuma, a northeastern Japan town that co-hosts the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, shows hospital beds placed outside Futaba Hospital, located about 4.5 kilometers away from the nuclear plant. About 440 patients and elderly people evacuated from the hospital and an old people's home run by the hospital in the wake of the nuclear crisis.