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Taiwan plane brings tourists back to Fukushima

Cairo" Almasalla News"--FUKUSHIMA A TransAsia Airways chartered flight with 180 tourists onboard landed at Fukushima airport Saturday morning, the first international flight to arrive since March 11, giving the region's badly-hit tourism industry a much needed lift.

The tourists are participating in a four-day tour organized by several travel agencies in Taiwan, and will visit sites mainly around the prefecture's scenic Aizu region.

The airport's regular services to Seoul and Shanghai remain suspended because of radioactive fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

To reverse the plunging number of foreign visitors to Fukushima, the prefecture has been running promotional campaigns in Taiwan, as well as in China and South Korea.

The chartered plane will carry Japanese tourists to Taiwan on its return flight.

Operations at the airport, about 50 km inland from the prefecture's coast, were not affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Taiwan's airlines have started operating chartered flights to Fukushima Prefecture in recent years.

Bhutan pair visit survivors

The king and queen of Bhutan have visited Fukushima Prefecture in a bid to encourage survivors of the March 11 disasters and ensuing nuclear crisis.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and Queen Jetsun Pema on Friday visited Sakuragaoka Elementary School in the city of Soma, where fifth- and sixth-grade students sang and danced before the royal couple.

The king told the students that he traveled with the queen to Japan to try to raise the spirits of disaster survivors. He also told the students to use the hardships they are currently experiencing as a chance to learn to control their emotions and build a strong character.

The queen promised to return to Soma if she makes any future trips to Japan.

The couple then visited the city's Haragama and Obama districts, where the quake and tsunami claimed about 160 lives, and offered prayers for the victims at an alter set up in a parking lot.

Source : The Japan Times