Photographers and printmakers in Japan had very different responses to the challenge of modern life.

With $5 billion committed from the Japanese government.

One day after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took him to coveted sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro, Obama visited the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation where he got a demonstration of ASIMO, Honda’s humanoid robot.

Could a “Super Maglev” train connecting D.C. and Baltimore in just a short, 15-minute trip be a reality? Probably not anytime soon.

The centennial of the planting of Japanese cherry trees on the Tidal Basin will be marked with a celebration of the trees’ origin, as well as remembrances of the earthquake and tsunami last year that ravaged Japan.

Are you hungover? Need some greasy food and some hair of the dog? Want to do it all in the name of a good cause? Stop by the Passenger on 7th Street in Mount Vernon Square, between 2 p.m. and midnight (that’s right, you can brunch until midnight). The bar is serving up their great brunch food as well as cocktails inspired by Japan and cherry blossoms. Ten percent of all sales from the brunch,…

This morning, the Virginia Task Force 1 rescue team from Fairfax County returned from helping with USAID efforts in Japan. Despite a week’s worth of searching, earthquake damage and weather conditions proved too extensive to find survivors around the seaport city of Ofunato. Previously we linked to this video, released by the Department of Defense, of the search and rescuers laboring through rubble and helping with recovery efforts. According to WTOP, over $145,000 worth of gear, supplies and vehicles was left behind for the continuing effort. The Embassy of Japan has setup a website with information of agencies collecting donations.

Photo by yospyn While several local Japanese businesses have started to reach out to help support relief efforts in Japan, KAZ Sushi Bistro Chef Kaz Okochi, who was born in Nagoya, Japan, has called upon his fellow brethren in the DC Chefs’ Club to chip in. Starting yesterday, several D.C. restaurants are donating meals, classes and other packages to be auctioned on eBay. According to WeLoveDC, more than 20 restaurants will be participating in…

We linked to some photographs of Fairfax Urban Search and Rescue team members helping with Japanese recovery efforts in this morning’s roundup, but this Department of Defense footage of the local rescuers making their way through the Japanese port city of Ofunato, meeting with the mayor of the city and searching through the massive rubble, is incredibly humbling.

In the eyes of a Westerner, all those things that make the Japanese culture so intriguing — the mastery of complex technologies, the embrace of natural elements and environmental sustainability, the obsession over all things “cute” — are on display in interactive exhibits throughout the Kennedy Center in Japan! Culture + Hyperculture. Filling the inside halls and spilling over to the exterior grounds and even the parking garage, the exhibition gives us a taste of…