The Ham radio has a digital text message system called APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System. It is 21 years old and after the Japan nuclear disaster, data fields were added to the format of the messages. There are 6+ station in Japan and 2 in the US that are using the new format. The reason this reporting is important, it does not use the Internet for the Radiation Reporting Station, it uses the Ham Radio Freq. of 2 meter or 30 meters. As a chart member, it is added to your Chart membership webpage. Just click on APRS and unclick all the other choices. I hope it builds trust in these Japan stations, they are not control by the government. Have fun with this new feature.
Harlan, netc.com