Patriot PAC-3 guided missiles are in place in Iwate and Akita prefectures, below the path Pyongyang has announced its rocket will traverse.

VOA: standard.2009.04.03

The storm caused two-meter-high (six-and-a-half-feet) drifts and was blamed for derailing a bullet train in Akita prefecture, south of Hokkaido, on Saturday afternoon.

NPR: Snow Kills 8 In Japan, Including Family In Car

Robert Crais: I had a big Akita, Yoshi, who was fabulous.

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The article cited an analysis by a professor in Akita University that used generational accounting methodology to calculate the financial burden being placed on the next, unborn generation, of Japanese by current welfare system.

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