News - Fri 14 Dec 2007
MMC defect-aware execs guilty of negligence but avoid prison
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) The Yokohama District Court handed suspended prison terms Thursday to two former senior officials of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. for neglecting to take action to prevent a defect-linked...Views: 1
MSDF officer held in Aegis secrets leak
YOKOHAMA (Kyodo) A 34-year-old Maritime Self-Defense Force officer was arrested Thursday for allegedly taking highly confidential data on the U.S.-designed Aegis defense system from a computer system...Views: 0
Toyota chief projects 3% rise in U.S. sales on new '08 models
WASHINGTON (AP) Toyota Motor Corp. expects its vehicle sales in the United States to grow by about 3 percent in 2008 on the strength of more than a dozen new or updated vehicles, a top company...Views: 0
Pair face charges for sending child pornography DVD to U.S.
Two men accused of exporting a DVD containing child pornography to the United States have been referred to public prosecutors on suspicion of violating the law against child pornography and the Customs Law, police said.Views: 0
Former Mitsubishi officials found guilty in pedestrian death
TOKYO (AP) -- Two former employees of Mitsubishi Motors were found guilty of professional negligence Thursday in a death of a pedestrian crushed by a wheel falling off a truck that was later recalled by the Japanese automaker.Views: 0
Scientists create genetically modified 'mighty' mouse
TOKYO (AP) -- The age-old animosity between cats and mice could be a thing of the past with genetically modified mice that Japanese scientists say show no fear and shed new light on mammal behavior.Views: 0
MSDF commander arrested over suspected classified data leak
TOKYO (AP) -- Police arrested a Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) officer Thursday for allegedly leaking sensitive defense technology that the U.S.Views: 0
Russia seizes 4 Japanese fishing boats in disputed northern waters, Japan says
TOKYO (AP) -- Japan said Thursday that Russia had seized four Japanese fishing boats in disputed waters between the two countries, fuming that the detention was unacceptable and demanding an explanation from Moscow.Views: 0
Plaintiffs snub hepatitis settlement
Thirteen people infected with hepatitis C from tainted blood products who are suing the state and drugmakers rejected an Osaka High Court compromise settlement Thursday apparently because not all the...Views: 0
'73 de facto firing OK: top court
The Supreme Court on Thursday supported the government's dismissal of a post office worker in 2000 over a conviction for his role in a Vietnam War demonstration as a student in 1972.Views: 0
Opposition camp turns down proposal to extend Diet again
The opposition parties rejected a ruling bloc proposal Thursday to keep the Diet open for another month in a symbolic gesture reflecting its resolve to block a new antiterrorism bill coveted by Prime...Views: 0
Tax proposals extend breaks, avoid hike in consumption tax
The Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc on Thursday released tax reform proposals for fiscal 2008, including a two-year extension for tax breaks on capital gains, that indicate it is...Views: 0
Character for 'fake' chosen as kanji of the year as food scandals rock Japan
The kanji for "nise," meaning "fake," has been chosen as the character of the year for 2007, following a series of food scandals in which products were mislabeled.Views: 0
Industrial output revised to 1.7%
The government revised upward Japan's October industrial output data Thursday, saying production increased a seasonally adjusted 1.7 percent from September, compared with 1.6 percent in the...Views: 0
Diet headed for double overtime
The government and ruling parties plan to extend the current extraordinary Diet session for a second time beyond its expiration Saturday. Since a decision on such an extension by the Lower House,...Views: 0
First war orphans' class action ends as plaintiffs drop suit
The first of over a dozen class action lawsuits being waged across Japan by World War II orphans left in China came to a conclusion Thursday when a group of plaintiffs dropped their suit against the government at the Tokyo High Court.Views: 0
TCI latest fund to seek better returns from companies
The Children's Investment Fund Management Ltd., the U.K.-based activist fund with more than $10 billion (Views: 0
Sorting out political fliers
Reversing a lower court ruling, the Tokyo High Court has found a Buddhist monk who distributed political fliers at a Tokyo condominium complex guilty of trespassing. Although the ruling only fined...Views: 0
State drafts first safety guide for lithium-ion batteries
Responding to a number of incidents in which batteries have overheated or caught fire, the government has worked out its first set of guidelines for lithium-ion battery safety, according to industry...Views: 0
Fukuda assures NATO chief of efforts to restart mission
Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told visiting NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer on Thursday that Japan is trying to resume its naval refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, which supports...Views: 0
Kepco to revive plan to use MOX fuel
OSAKA (Kyodo) Suspended since a fatal accident in 2004, Kansai Electric Power Co. will resume a plan to use plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel to generate power at a reactor in Takahama,...Views: 0
A tycoon's field of dreams
On Oct. 16 a Japanese media tycoon was awarded the Newspaper Culture Prize by the Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association (JNPEA) at its 60th general meeting in Nagano.Views: 0
MMC to recall 10,000 Outlanders
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Thursday it will recall 10,123 units of the Outlander sport utility vehicle to repair a component that affixes the muffler cutter to the exhaust muffler.Views: 0
Tokyo Star to get new owner
Japanese investment fund Advantage Partners is in the final stage of negotiations to buy a majority stake in Tokyo Star Bank from U.S. investment fund Lone Star for aroundViews: 0
71-y.o. bus driver busted for molesting elementary schoolgirl
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- A 71-year-old bus driver from Ishinomaki has been arrested for molesting an elementary schoolgirl, police said.Views: 0
Jewelry store unveils solid gold calendar
FUKUOKA -- A jewelry store in Fukuoka has unveiled a solid gold calendar priced at 30 million yen, as the price of gold continues to rise.Views: 0
Top banks asked to back rescue fund
Citigroup Inc. and other U.S. financial institutions have sounded out Japan's top three banking groups about creating a rescue fund to prevent the subprime mortgage turmoil from expanding, according...Views: 0
ANA to set up global budget carrier
All Nippon Airways Co. plans to set up an international low-cost airline possibly in business 2009 to cope with increasing competition stemming from the planned expansion of takeoff and landing slots...Views: 0
Elderly man's body found in house burned down by fire
AGEO, Saitama -- The body of a man was found in the charred remains of a house here that was burned down on Thursday.Views: 0
Man sacked 27 years after Vietnam War protest arrest loses fight to get job back
A post office worker who was sacked in 2000 over a sentence he received 27 years earlier following an anti-Vietnam War protest lost his fight against the dismissal on Thursday as the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.Views: 0
40 more war-displaced agree to drop suit
A group of 40 Japanese who, as children in the closing days of the war were left behind in China, withdrew their lawsuit Thursday that demanded government compensation for its alleged failure to...Views: 0
'Hiroto,' 'Hina' most popular baby names in Japan for 2007
"Hiroto" and "Hina" topped Japan's favorite names for newborn babies this year, a survey by Benesse Corp. has shown.Views: 0
