4 children die in car in blaze in Hokkaido

4 children die in car in blaze in Hokkaido

HAKODATE, Japan - A gutted minivan, in which four children were found dead, is raised at the premises of Esashi Police Station in Hokkaido on April 3, 2010. The four children -- two toddlers and two twin babies -- were killed in a fire which started in the vehicle in the absence of their father in the nearby town of Assabu the previous day.

(1)Damage from strong quake in northeast Japan

(1)Damage from strong quake in northeast Japan

ISHIDORIYA, Japan - Workers check a viaduct pier on the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet-train line in Ishidoriya, Iwate Prefecture on May 27 that was damaged by a powerful quake that hit northeastern Japan May 26. East Japan Railway Co. said cracks were found in 23 viaduct piers on the line between Mizusawa-Esashi and Morioka.

Korean weightlifter wins Japanese high school meet

Korean weightlifter wins Japanese high school meet

ESASHI, Japan - Pak Dok Gwi, 16, of the Hokkaido Korean School, celebrates after winning the gold medal in the 94-kg weightlifting competition at the national high school games on Aug. 5 in Esashi, Iwate Prefecture, northeast Japan. He is the first competitor from a Korean school in Japan to win a title at the inter-scholastic sports meet.

(1)Damage from strong quake in northeast Japan

(1)Damage from strong quake in northeast Japan

ISHIDORIYA, Japan - Workers check a viaduct pier on the Tohoku Shinkansen bullet-train line in Ishidoriya, Iwate Prefecture on May 27 that was damaged by a powerful quake that hit northeastern Japan May 26. East Japan Railway Co. said cracks were found in 23 viaduct piers on the line between Mizusawa-Esashi and Morioka. (Kyodo)

Legacy of 1960 anti-security treaty movement still remains

Legacy of 1960 anti-security treaty movement still remains

TOKYO, Japan - Freelance writer Akiko Esashi, who has published the book ''Michiko Kamba -- Legend of a Sacred Girl,'' talks about her experiences during the 1960 anti-Japan-U.S. Security Treaty demonstrations in Yokohama on May 27, 2010. (Kyodo)

4 children die in car in blaze in Hokkaido

4 children die in car in blaze in Hokkaido

HAKODATE, Japan - A gutted minivan, in which four children were found dead, is raised at the premises of Esashi Police Station in Hokkaido on April 3, 2010. The four children -- two toddlers and two twin babies -- were killed in a fire which started in the vehicle in the absence of their father in the nearby town of Assabu the previous day. (Kyodo)

Korean weightlifter wins Japanese high school meet

Korean weightlifter wins Japanese high school meet

ESASHI, Japan - Pak Dok Gwi, 16, of the Hokkaido Korean School, celebrates after winning the gold medal in the 94-kg weightlifting competition at the national high school games on Aug. 5 in Esashi, Iwate Prefecture, northeast Japan. He is the first competitor from a Korean school in Japan to win a title at the inter-scholastic sports meet.