JAPAN :CONTINUING CRISIS

An elderly man and woman push a cart carrying their salvaged belongings in Miyako, in Iwate prefecture, on March 16.

As if conditions for survivors and emergency workers weren't bad enough after the massive earthquake and tsunami, snow fell today in chilly Northern Japan. The dire situation prompted the first-ever televised address to the nation from Emperor Akihito, who made no such speech even after the Kobe earthquake in 1995. As aid and personnel poured into Japan, the nuclear crisis prompted neighboring countries to step up inspections of Japanese foods, and prompted governments worldwide to study their own nuclear energy policies. Meanwhile the grim work of recovery continued.


Vehicle headlamps illuminate the disaster area of Yamada town in Iwate prefecture on March 16. The official toll of the dead and missing following a devastating earthquake and tsunami that flattened Japan's northeast coast has topped 11,000, with 3,676 confirmed dead.


The 4,724-ton freighter M.V. Asia Symphony lies on a pier after being hit by the tsunami at the port in Kamaishi city, Iwate prefecture on March 16. All 17 Filipino crew (next picture) are safe and living at an emergency shelter near the port

Survivors of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated the eastern coast of Japan rest in the Miyako Shogako school sports hall, used as a shelter for evacuees, in Miyako town on March 16.

Policemen carry the bodies of victims retrieved from the debris in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, days after the area was devastated by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 16.

Damage caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami is seen from a hill overlooking the city of Kesennuma on March 16.

In this handout image provided by the U.S. Air Force, a house is seen adrift off the coast of northeastern Japan from a HH-60G helicopter surveying the damage stricken area as part of Japan's earthquake and tsunami recovery effort March 14.

Medical staff use a Geiger counter to screen a woman for possible radiation exposure at a public welfare center in Hitachi City, Ibaraki, March 16, after she was evacuated from an area within a 12.4 mile radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

A car lies among debris swept inland by the tsunami following the earthquake in Minami Sanriku, Miyagi prefecture.

Rescue workers search for a body after digging a car out of the debris in Minamisanriku town, Miyagi Prefecture, March 16.

A doll lies on the ground after the March 11 tsunami and earthquake in Natori in Miyagi Prefecture on March 16