Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in May. The beleaguered leader is expected to step down in coming weeks. Koji Sasahara/AP hide caption
Rebuilding Japan A magnitude 9.0 quake rocked Japan, triggered a tsunami and set off a race to cool overheating nuclear reactors. Thousands are feared dead.
In Tokyo today, newspapers printed extra editions to report about the women soccer team's victory in the World Cup. Yoshikazu Tsuno /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
This March 24 aerial photo shows the extent of damage at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan. The 40-foot-tall tsunami destroyed the electrical and cooling systems, resulting in meltdowns at some of the reactors. Air Photo Service/AP hide caption
Nisaka Mieko gathers chives, which have been contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima nuclear reactor accident. She says she may lose $25,000 in crops, and hopes to plant some of the seeds next year. Louisa Lim/NPR hide caption
The Japan Animal Rescue shelter in Samukawa houses about 200 dogs and cats, most of them brought in from the now off-limits area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Brian Naylor/NPR hide caption
A worker checks the status of the water level at the Unit 1 reactor at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant in Japan on Tuesday. Japanese officials said the reactor doesn't appear to be holding water, which means its core probably sustained more damage than originally thought. TEPCO/AP hide caption
Toyota Tundra trucks are lined up at an Arizona dealership in April, when the automaker recalled about 51,000 of the vehicles. Ross D. Franklin/AP hide caption
A man holds a placard during a march denouncing the use of nuclear plants and power during a demonstration in Tokyo on May 1. Toru Yamanaka /AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Prime Minister Naoto Kan, after telling the nation he would be giving up his pay. Japanese Government Internet TV hide caption
April 29: An image from video taken by Tokyo Electric Power Co. as robots explored the nuclear reactor building of Unit 1 at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi plant. TEPCO/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
In Kesennuma, garbage covers much of the city, particularly in the harbor. Some baseball fields and parks nearby have been converted into areas where cranes can sort through the debris. Yuki Noguchi/NPR hide caption
Michihiro Kono is the ninth-generation chief executive of soy sauce maker Yagisawa Co. in Rikuzentakata, Japan. His factory, storeroom, customer records and two of his employees were washed away in the tsunami. But he's determined to rebuild. Chie Kobayashi for NPR hide caption
A security guard stands near the Toyota exhibit at the 2011 New York International Auto Show on Thursday. Mary Altaffer/AP hide caption
Newly minted second-graders in Rikuzentakata, Japan, begin their school year more than two weeks late after a tsunami wiped out most of the town. Yuki Noguchi/NPR hide caption