Tokyo, Japan – A barefoot runner dressed as Jesus Christ participates during the 2012 Tokyo Marathon in Tokyo, Japan, February 26, 2012. (Photo by YUTAKA/AFLO SPORT)
Tokyo, Japan – (L to R) Arata Fujiwara (JPN), Michael Kipyego (KEN), Stephen Kiprotich (UGA) during the 2012 Tokyo Marathon Medal Ceremony at Tokyo Big Sight, February 26, 2012. (Photo by Daiju Kitamura/AFLO SPORT)
(FILE PHOTO) Tomioka, Japan – A photo released on February 28, 2012 shows a dog inside the Fukushima nuclear zone. Naoto Matsumura (52) is a rice farmer living alone about 12km away from the crippled Fukushima Dai Ichi nuclear power plant. This puts him well within the government imposed danger exclusion zone but he has refused steadfastly to evacuate from his hometown, Tomioka since the March 11th 2011 disaster happened. Before the nuclear crisis took hold his town was home to 16,000 but now Matsumura-san is the only inhabitant. He has been surviving on canned food cooked on a gas stove and provided by volunteers as he still has no electric power. Most of his days are spent looking after abandoned animals including pets and farm animals left by victims and evacuees. These are his only company. He requested help from the government for this but was told that all they could do was to kill the animals. Matsumura now believes that the reason the government built the nuclear plant in Fukushima was because they didn’t believe it was safe enough to have near Tokyo. .He describes his mission as one to recover the area, which was completely destroyed by the tsunami, earthquake, and radiation. He says “I will never leave my hometown despite the radiation. I hope to see TEPCO (Tokyo Electric Power Company which operates the nuclear plant) crushed.” (Photo by Naoto Matsumura/Handout/AFLO)
Tokyo, Japan – Sean Paul appears at the MTV presents Sean Paul “Tomahawk Technique” Special Live at Akasaka Blitz in Tokyo, Japan, February 28, 2012. He released his new album called “Tomahawk Technique” on February 22 in Japan. (Photo by Yumeto Yamazaki/AFLO)
Tokyo, Japan – Tokyo’s Hibiya Park is blanketed in snow, February 29, 2012. A early spring storm triggered by low pressure in the Pacific Ocean south of Japan brought fresh snow over wide swaths in the Kanto Area from the wee hour of Wednesday, disrupting land-sea-air transportation services. Looming in the background is Imperial Hotel. (Photo by Natsuki Sakai/AFLO)
