People around the world were deeply saddened to learn of the devastation caused by the major earthquake and the related tsunami on Friday 11 March in northern Japan. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake had its epicentre some 130 km off the eastern coast, and gave rise to unprecedented damage that extended far and wide.
The KEK high-energy physics laboratory and the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) are the two particle accelerator facilities closest to the epicentre. In both case there were fortunately no reported injuries, nor was there any resulting radiation hazard. J-PARC lies on the eastern coast at Tokai and was the most heavily affected of the two facilities. Designed to withstand a tsunami of up to 10 m, on this occasion there was little effect. Although surrounding roads and some buildings were severely damaged, the accelerators at the facility appear to be in relatively good shape. KEK, at Tsukuba some 50 km north-east of Tokyo, suffered significant disruption to services and some damage to buildings and facilities.
The thoughts of the particle-physics community are with friends and colleagues at partner institutes in Japan, as well as those at laboratories and institutes elsewhere who have family and friends in Japan.
The latest information about KEK and J-PARC is available on the websites: http://j-parc.jp/index-e.html.
