• Japan has some pretty hefty rebuilding plans: With a month and a half of distance between the earthquake and tsunami that ravaged a large chunk of the country, and a need to ensure a next step for the recovering nation, Japan’s government, led by Prime Minister Naoto Kan (left), has a large-scale recovery plan in its sights, which includes the building of 100,000 temporary homes. A huge catalyst for the move, according to the prime minister, was a recent meeting he had with people stuck in shelters. “I felt with renewed determination that we must do our best to get them back as soon as possible,” he said. More details:

The cost & the overall need

• $48.5 billion in emergency spending earmarked

• 14k people confirmed dead after last month’s quake
• 13k people missing in the quake or tsunami
• 130k people still live in evacuation centers source

• » Japan has recovered before: Back in 1923, Japan suffered a far more substancial economic and physical disaster from Great Kanto Earthquake, which killed as many as 140,000 and caused the country to lose 40 percent of GDP. The current earthquake, likely the most expensive in the country’s history at $300 billion, is a mere fraction of that in comparative scale.

The situation around Fukushima

• 12 miles the radius of the evacuation zone around Fukushima — residents could face fines or jail if they enter
• 19 miles the radius around Fukushima where the government recommends residents leave source

• » Letting residents come back: While authorities let some residents return to their homes for a brief period yesterday (a mere two-hour window, by the way), they may not have another chance. MSNBC has photos from the pretty freaky scene. “I’m sorry there’s nothing I can do for you,” said dairy farmer Hiroaki Hiruta, who had to leave his 130 cows to fend for themselves within the radiation zone. He had visited to feed them every single day, but no longer can due to the newly-enforced regulations. It’s unclear if there will be a next time for Hiruta to visit his cows, or if that “next time” will come anytime in the near-future. (photo by DVIDS on Flickr)

• negative Departing Nevada Sen. John Ensign has the stink of scandal on him, after he had an affair with his staffer’s wife, and then tried to bribe the staffer with another job in an effort to cover the mess up.
• positive This is a good thing for the Republican Party, however, because it means they can appoint someone new to Ensign’s job — making it easier for that person to stay put in 2012. source

• » A suggestion: Not Sharron Angle. Anybody but her, Nevada. Not Sharron Angle.

• There was no provocation. There were forces being deployed since last night. When people went out in Homs, the security forces stepped out . . . and immediately started shooting.
• INSAN director Wissam Tarif • Describing the scene in the central Syrian city of Homs, where protesters were met by security forces who opened fire. At least seven were killed throughout Syria. In other towns, like Damascus, police took cell phones away from protesters, so the couldn’t shoot video or take photos of the protests. Fridays have been the traditional day of protest in Syria; they also double as a day of prayer. source

• We don’t have the presidential candidates right now. The field hasn’t materialized yet, so we’re out there doing it ourselves.
• Rep. Paul Ryan • Speaking yesterday at a town hall meeting in Clinton, Wis., where he noted that he had no plans to run for president. (We’ve said our peace, bro. You’re making a mistake.) Earlier in the week, Ryan was at the tail end of a chorus of boos, at a town hall in Milton, Wis., for his stance on tax cuts for the wealthy. But as Dave Weigel notes, other members of Congress who voted for Ryan’s budget plan didn’t face anything even resembling the rage-filled summer of 2009, where Barney Frank compared a woman to a “dining room table.” Guess those angry people have to start trying harder. (thanks handlebarr) source

• Meet the new Four Loko: Our friends at Pabst may not promote the heck out of PBR, at least obviously, but they are promoting this Colt 45 derivative really heavily, using Snoop Dogg to push Blast onto unsuspecting youths who missed out on Billy Dee WIlliams. The drink, which doesn’t have caffeine, does have 12 percent alcohol concentration — enough for Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to compare a single can to a six-pack of beer. It’s not Loko. It’s a Blast. source

• Mattel suffers surprise defeat in court: The toy juggernaut waged a seven-year legal battle with MGA, a much-smaller company. At stake was claim to the Bratz empire, the line of glammed-up dolls that during the middle of the last decade was worth over $1 billion. MGA won today by jury verdict; they found Mattel had misused MGA’s trade secrets (MGA accused Mattel of entering toy fairs with fake credentials). The price for Mattel is $88.4 million, which is a lot to lose over nabbing a concept as elementary and obvious as Bratz. source

• What’s it look like inside Fukushima Daiichi? Well, at least some of it looks like this, This footage from TEPCO shows a couple of robots that are working in one reactor — even though it’s not especially illuminating from an information standpoint, it’s yet very haunting footage. source

• $13 million to run the New York Times paywall in 2011 source

• » This is a hefty figure. And it’s not the whole enchilada — the Times spent a lot getting it together, on top of the incremental costs involved. But it doesn’t necessarily spell problems for the new system — the Times has netted about 100,000 digital subscribers since instituting the paywall, reportedly enough to break even on the operating costs after the first quarter of 2011. That said, we suspect not many casual observers expected this high a cost would be absorbed simply to keep up the paywall, and having the spoils of your first 100,000 subscribers be a financial wash is something we doubt the Times relishes. But we think people need to give this time.

• Gary Johnson saddles up: The former New Mexico governor made it official today — he’ll be running for the GOP nomination in 2012. Johnson’s cut from a libertarian cloth, but has the sort of ideological tether to that philosophy that may make some traditional, establishment Republicans antsy; Johnson is in favor of legalizing marijuana, for example, and contradicts the party’s usual hard-line stance on Mexican border security and fence-building (a pitch which prompted CPAC to awkwardly “play him off” the stage). Given his stance on legalizin’ it, though, we wish he’d gone full-bore and announced his candidacy yesterday. source

• Libyan rebels claim Tunisian border post: The deputy leader of the rebel forces that seized this strategic piece of land, giving his name as Youssef, said they had killed about ten pro-Gaddafi soldiers in the process, and injured twenty-five. Their ability to hold this post is key, as open access to Tunisia allows more freedom of movement (Tunisia is likely now concerned about being able to support the increased influx of refugees, which should have a much easier time migrating), and gives them a new avenue to receive medical supplies. source