Tokyo grinds to a halt

THE streets of Tokyo had been cleared of moving traffic and gas and electricity supplies were halted yesterday. Water supply was also disrupted.

Neither trains nor subways were working as everyone was wary of further tremors, opting to walk rather than be caught in any kind of vehicle, said Ireland Japan Association chairman, Donagh Morris.

The Department of Foreign Affairs were warning that there was “still widespread transport disruption in the north of the country”. Tokyo’s Narita International Airport was also closed.

By early last evening, the Department’s consular crisis centre had dealt with over 230 calls and the embassy in Tokyo has been making contact with Irish nationals known to be in the affected area.

There are estimated to be 2,000 Irish nationals in Japan, the majority of whom reside in the greater Tokyo area. According to the Ireland Japan Association, large numbers of Irish initially travel to Japan to teach English.

However, many of these choose to stay on and develop other careers in IT, finance and engineering.

A new Ireland-Japanese bi-lateral visa programme has also been established, meaning Irish and Japanese students can spend extended periods in either country.