Japan: I reassure you right now, Kaori Yuki and her family are all right. Only two hours after the first earthquake on Friday 11 did she post pictures of her flat here. When you see how messy is her office on March 12, you understand better the direct consequences of the quake on her work (among other things). Yuki sensei is particularly active on Twitter these last days as well as on her blog, which she reuses since March 10. Her signing session scheduled on March 27 in Tokyo has been cancelled, however the persons who already purchased a ticket will receive a signed book and a little flower knitted by Kaori Yuki herself. Some general links:

• On Anime News Network, an updated list of mangakas and other people who are found active online since March 11.
• By Kaze, an obvious but useful remark about delays that will occur in France because of the recent events (French only).
• On Manga-News, examples of support messages from mangakas. Here are those from ARIA.
• EDIT 24/03: On ganbare-nippon.fr, a summary of the possible donations in France, especially through French publishers and their artists (English & French).

France: the tournament of the best shoujo released in France in 2010 and organised by Manga-News ended yesterday. Dengeki Daisy won in front of Heart no Kuni no Alice. Orchestre Royal de Guignols did well by reaching semi-final. The title won each stage by a few voices only, though. In my opinion, NKG got the right place in this vote. After all, it's not so much your typical shoujo. I also hoped to see Cat Street in a better position but NKG was its opponent so I just couldn't vote for it, so typical...