News - Tue 7 Oct 2008
Japan may bail out U.S.: economist
With Tokyo stocks plunging and the yen surging against the dollar, the financial crisis born in the United States can no longer be regarded as just a problem on the other side of the ocean. Economists are predicting that the Japanese themselves will be asked to share a huge burden with the rest of the world in the months to come. Read the full storyViews: 10
Japan punctuality lets duo go the Guinness 24-hour train distance
With some help from Mother Nature and Japan's famously punctual train system, two Americans this week unofficially broke the Guinness world record for the longest distance traveled by train in a 24-hour period. "It feels good," said 24-year-old Corey Pedersen, a Montana native now living in Seoul, after he stepped off the Limited Express Relay Tsubame that delivered him and his traveling partner, 23-year-old Mike Kim from California, to Sendai, Kagoshima Prefecture, at exactly 9:27 p.m. Tuesday. Read the full storyViews: 10
Fed OK's MUFG's Morgan stake
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The U.S. Federal Reserve said Monday it has given approval for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. to take a stake of up to 24.9 percent in struggling U.S. investment bank Morgan Stanley on a voting rights basis. Meanwhile, Japan's largest lender said it has acquired a license to operate as a bank holding company in the U.S., paving the way for MUFG to fully launch an investment banking business there. Read the full storyViews: 13
Keep interest rates low, IMF says
WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The International Monetary Fund cut its growth outlook for Japan on Wednesday and urged Tokyo to carry on with its growth-supportive monetary settings for now. In its semiannual World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said the U.S. economy appears increasingly likely to slide into a recession because of its subprime mortgage meltdown. Read the full storyViews: 30
Capula sells 5% stake to Mitsubishi
U.K. hedge fund Capula Investment Management LLP has sold a 5 percent stake to Mitsubishi Corp. as it aims to expand its sales network in Asia. The stake is a "passive investment" and won't have any management rights or board representation, Capula said. Read the full storyViews: 21
Mitsui move boosts Multigrain stake
Trading house Mitsui & Co. will invest an additional $123.75 million in the Brazilian agricultural business of Swiss-based Multigrain AG, boosting its stake enough to become one of its two largest shareholders. The trading house said Tuesday it will boost its stake to 39.35 percent from 25 percent, making it equal to that held by U.S. grain, foods and energy company CHS Inc. Read the full storyViews: 10
Toyota to cut '08 earnings estimates
Toyota Motor Corp. is planning to lower its consolidated earnings projections for this business year due to shrinking demand worldwide amid the unfolding financial crisis, sources said Wednesday. Sales are falling in emerging economies as well as the United States and Europe, while the recent spike in the yen rate vis-a-vis other currencies is eroding Toyota's export earnings. Read the full storyViews: 17
Nikkei plunges to four-year low
Tokyo stocks plunged Monday, sending the Nikkei index spiraling to its lowest level in more than four years and the Topix index to its worst finish in nearly five years. Investors remained jittery about the slowing global economy despite measures to quell the ongoing financial turmoil announced by U.S. and European authorities late last week. Read the full storyViews: 12
Panic sales send Nikkei down 9%
Tokyo stocks nosedived Wednesday, with the key Nikkei index plunging more than 9 percent to a level unseen in more than five years on panic selling amid escalating fears over the global financial crisis. "It's capitulation," said Masafumi Oshiden, a Tokyo-based fund manager at BlackRock Inc., which oversees more than $1.4 trillion. "There are lots of forced sellers. If you're a fund that's going bust, you need to close out all your positions." Read the full storyViews: 27
North Korea cuts deal to exit blacklist
The United States has told Japan it will remove North Korea from its list of terrorism-sponsoring nations by the end of the month because Washington has reached a certain degree of understanding with Pyongyang about verifying the North's nuclear programs, Tokyo sources said Thursday. Japan has demanded that the U.S. keep North Korea on the list until the hermit state makes progress on reinvestigating the fate of the Japanese nationals it abducted in the 1970s and '80s. Read the full storyViews: 12
NPT at a crossroads
The U.S. Congress has approved a nuclear deal between the United States and India that will allow the U.S. to export nuclear fuel, reactors and technologies for peaceful energy use to India. The agreement, which went into effect Wednesday when signed by President George W. Bush, is virtual recognition of India as a nuclear-weapons state, thus undermining the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty regime set up in 1970. The five nuclear-weapons states that are parties to the NPT - U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China - are not to assist non-NPT nations in developing nuclear power. India never signed the NPT, but exploded nuclear devices in 1974 and 1998. The 1974 nuclear test prompted the... Read the full storyViews: 12
Foreigners' airport stakes may rise
The transport ministry has decided against introducing a regulation to limit foreign equity ownership in Japanese airport companies, sources said Thursday. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry will consider allowing greater foreign ownership in airport operators based on the principle that they will not "discriminate between domestic and foreign ownership," the sources said. Read the full storyViews: 28
Death penalty stands in double-killing
The Tokyo High Court on Thursday upheld a lower court death sentence against a Chinese man convicted of robbing and murdering a Tokyo noodle company owner and his wife in 2002. The crime by Xie Yidi, 31, "was cruel and inhuman," presiding Judge Masaru Suda said, rejecting the defendant's appeal. "Although he shows remorse, the death sentence is unavoidable." Read the full storyViews: 15
Official guilty of bribe-taking avoids prison
The Tokyo District Court gave a former senior education ministry official a suspended prison sentence Tuesday for takingViews: 24
Supreme Court rejects bid for benefits by disabled plaintiffs
The Supreme Court on Monday again sided with the government in its refusal to provide disability pension benefits to three people who became disabled while college students and before they had joined the program. The three - a man and a woman in Kyoto Prefecture and a man in Okayama Prefecture in their 40s and 50s - had asserted that the state violated the Constitution by not making it mandatory for students aged 20 or older to join the "kokumin nenkin" national pension program until law revisions in 1991 and by not taking relief measures for them thereafter. Read the full storyViews: 27
SESC probes exec in Eneserve insider trading
The securities market watchdog has questioned a former executive of power producer Eneserve Corp. and searched his home and related places on suspicion he made aViews: 27
Credit to scientific pioneers
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences' announcement that a Japan-born American and two Japanese will receive the Nobel Prize in physics for 2008 is certainly uplifting news following the recent days of gloom over the impact of the credit crisis that has spread from the United States and the apparent crumbling of Japan's social welfare system. The academy next followed with the announcement that Dr. Osamu Shimomura - the first to isolate a green fluorescent protein that serves as a valuable tool for observing the behavior of specific cancer, nerve and other cells - will share the Nobel Prize in chemistry with two Americans. We heartily congratulate the trio - Dr. Yoichiro Nambu, professor... Read the full storyViews: 9
Ministry rebuts Aso editorial in N.Y. Times
The New York Times printed a letter Sunday from the Foreign Ministry criticizing an editorial that described Prime Minister Taro Aso as a pugnacious nationalist. The prestigious paper's Sept. 25 editorial, titled "The Return of Taro Aso," said the prime minister, "who is well known as a pugnacious nationalist by neighbor countries," needs to "swap nationalism for pragmatism when it comes to foreign relations." Read the full storyViews: 21
Public wariness hampers police
The National Police Agency's 2008 police white paper shows that investigators are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain information from witnesses, suspects and others during criminal investigations. Behind this is increasing public indifference to others, growing distrust of the police, and a reluctance on the part of those interviewed to disclose personal information about themselves and others - an adverse effect of the Personal Information Protection Law. As a result, the ability of society to prevent crime is declining. According to the white paper, investigators were able to make 10,464 arrests of criminal suspects in 1993 based on information gained through interviews. But... Read the full storyViews: 27
Pressures on health system
The introduction in April of the health insurance system for people age 75 or over is exerting so much financial pressure on health insurance societies that some of them have dissolved themselves. As the graying of the population progresses, the government must reconstruct and set the nation's medical services system on a sound financial base. Health insurance societies that mainly insure employees of large companies and their families, and those intended for employees of small companies, public servants and their families are now required to offer "support money" to fund the medical costs of people age 65 and over. Half of the cost of the new health insurance system is funded by tax... Read the full storyViews: 10
Index plunge signals recession risk
The government said Tuesday for a third month that the economy is "deteriorating" after an indicator of current conditions suffered its biggest ever fall. The coincident index slid to 100.7 in August from 103.5 in July, the Cabinet Office said. The 2.8 point drop was the biggest since the gauge was first compiled in 1980. Read the full storyViews: 15
New law eyed to foster alternative energy use
The government is considering amending the law aimed at promoting alternative energy in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and deal with rising energy costs, officials said Tuesday. A government panel will launch discussions Friday on how to increase the use of nonfossil energy sources, including solar, hydroelectric and nuclear power, the officials said. Read the full storyViews: 11
Asia not immune, Kuroda warns
The global financial crisis may force the Asian Development Bank to reduce next year's growth estimates for Asia's economies, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda said Thursday in Tokyo. The ADB said in September that Asia's developing economies were likely to grow 7.2 percent in 2009, down from 7.8 percent it forecast in April. But Kuroda's remark suggests further downward revisions will be in store next April, when it makes its forecasts for 2009. Read the full storyViews: 16
Founder of cheerleading squad for Hanshin Tigers dies at 83
The founder of a cheerleading squad for the Hanshin Tigers died of liver cancer last month, it was learned Tuesday. He was 83. Yutaka Matsubayashi became a devout fan of the team soon after the end of World War II, showing up at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, waving a banner to cheer the team on. Read the full storyViews: 27
Danger to the real economy
The financial crisis that originated in the United States shows no sign of abating despite congressional passage last week of a $700 billion financial rescue package. There is a danger that it could further damage the real economy. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones index finished at 9,955.50 Monday, ending below 10,000 for the first time since late October 2004, and finished at 9,447.11 Tuesday, ending below 9,500 for the first time in about five years. Panic selling also hit Asian and Europeans stock markets. In Japan, the Nikkei index finished at 9,203.32 Wednesday, marking the lowest level since June 30, 2003. Read the full storyViews: 6
Glue maker Asai faces charges for rice scam
The farm ministry said Thursday it has lodged a criminal complaint against glue maker Asai, alleging the company sold tainted rice to a wholesaler in the knowledge it would be later resold as food. Based on the complaint, Aichi Prefectural Police are expected to launch an investigation and raid Asai's Nagoya headquarters soon on the suspected violation of the Food Sanitation Law, police sources said. Read the full storyViews: 18
LDP info management is 'censorship,' DPJ says
The Democratic Party of Japan on Tuesday accused the Liberal Democratic Party of de facto censorship for pressing ministries to consult the ruling party before deciding whether to disclose internal documents requested by the opposition parties. Prime Minister Taro Aso denied during a budget committee meeting there was any censorship. Read the full storyViews: 8
Criteria for good leadership
The argument that in a time of crisis experience in government is a necessary qualification for high office has some appeal, but it is not a conclusive reason for choosing a leader. This question became a focus of Britain's two main political parties recently at their respective annual conferences. Gordon Brown, the British prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, claimed that this was no time for a novice (such as the leader of the opposition) or an apprentice (hinting at some of his rivals in the party who have been reported as plotting to remove him) to assume high office. Experience in dealing with economic problems was needed. Read the full storyViews: 13
TBS sues ABC for copying programs
TBS said Tuesday it has sued the American Broadcast Co. for airing an obstacle course program, "Wipeout," it claims is a copycat of several of its shows. In a suit filed with the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, the major broadcaster is seeking an injunction ordering ABC to stop airing the "Wipeout" series and demanding that it pay damages over the alleged infringement of TBS copyrights to "Takeshi's Castle," "Sasuke" and several other programs. Read the full storyViews: 17
Japanese duo, American win Nobel in physics
STOCKHOLM (AP) Two Japanese and an American have won the 2008 Nobel Prize for discoveries in the world of subatomic physics, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday. Japan-born American Yoichiro Nambu of the University of Chicago won half of the prize for discovering the mechanism called spontaneous broken symmetry in subatomic physics. Read the full storyViews: 6
U.S.-based Japanese scientist wins Nobel in chemistry
STOCKHOLM (AP) Two Americans and a U.S.-based Japanese scientist won the Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday for their discovery and development of a protein that literally illuminates key processes such as the spread of cancer inside living organisms. Japan's Osamu Shimomura and Americans Martin Chalfie and Roger Tsien shared the prize for their work on green fluorescent protein, or GFP, which was first found in a jellyfish, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said. Read the full storyViews: 24
12,700 foreign trainees quit their programs
Some 12,700 foreign trainees in government-promoted programs vanished or returned to their home countries during their apprenticeships in fiscal 2006 and 2007, the Board of Audit of Japan said Thursday. The trainees, mainly from developing countries, receive on-the-job training for up to three years after a one-year induction course. Read the full storyViews: 25
'New politics' of Thai opposition
SINGAPORE - Somchai Wongsawat, Thailand's 26th prime minister, has assumed the top position amid an unresolved political crisis. Unfortunately, the appointment of Somchai guarantees the continuation of massive protests by the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which accuses the new premier of being another agent of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown by a military coup in September 2006. Somchai, who happens to be Thaksin's brother-in-law, faces the uphill task of a reconciliation with antigovernment forces. Somchai must prove he is not a Thaksin surrogate and ensure that violent confrontations between PAD and progovernment supporters don't erupt again, a tall... Read the full storyViews: 23
Toddler wearing Crocs loses toe in Singapore mall escalator
SINGAPORE (Kyodo) A 4-year-old Japanese girl who was wearing Crocs Inc. rubber shoes lost her toe in an escalator at a Singapore shopping mall last month, her father said Tuesday. The father, a 35-year-old investment manager who asked not to be identified, is seeking compensation for the injuries suffered by his daughter. Read the full storyViews: 18
Much to a name in U.S. politics
SENDAI - The most important televised debate of the current American presidential campaign was held on the night of Oct. 2, and it featured not the presidential candidates themselves, as one might expect, but rather their vice presidential running mates. The debate was interesting because, while the policy positions of Barack Obama and John McCain are by now well established, the positions and personal qualities of the nominees for the position of vice president are far less well known. Surprisingly, however, the most interesting moment of this confrontation between Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden occurred just before the debate began. When the candidates strode onto the... Read the full storyViews: 27
Rightist ex-cop may get prison time
Prosecutors on Monday sought a one-year prison term for a former police officer who threw a bottle at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo in August, because he was holding a Japanese sword at the time, which violates the Firearm and Sword Control Law. "It was rightist activity conducted by a former police officer and the impact it has on society is significant," the prosecutors said at the Tokyo District Court's first hearing for Takashi Kuninobu, 36. Kuninobu belongs to a rightwing group. Read the full storyViews: 24
Accused Akihabara killer said fit for trial
Prosecutors believe the 26-year-old man arrested over the June vehicle and stabbing rampage in Tokyo's Akihabara district is mentally competent and can be charged with murdering seven people and wounding 10 others, investigative sources said Monday. Tomohiro Kato will be charged with murder and attempted murder by Friday, the deadline for his detention. Read the full storyViews: 15
Prince Charles, Camilla to visit
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, will visit Japan for five days beginning Oct. 27, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. During the official visit, the Prince of Wales will meet Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko in Tokyo, as well as Prime Minister Taro Aso, and travel to Nara and Nagano, the ministry said. Read the full storyViews: 28
Businesses reflect election jitters
Prime Minister Taro Aso's wavering on when he might call a general election and increasing speculation about a possible date are leaving many people in suspense, especially those whose businesses depend on politics. The concerns range from a chef near the Diet, to florists and publishers of politics-related books. Read the full storyViews: 11
Aso wants Diet debate to tell parties apart
Prime Minister Taro Aso suggested Tuesday he would like to hold Diet debate on extending the antiterrorism law before calling a general election to help voters distinguish between the ruling and opposition camps. Speaking at a Diet committee meeting, Aso said, "We need to show clearly what will be the focuses" that distinguish his Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan. Read the full storyViews: 24
Aso: Emergency stimulus plan needed quickly
Prime Minister Taro Aso said Thursday he has instructed the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc to compile additional pump-priming measures in response to the global financial crisis. New measures "are necessary because the outlook for the global financial situation and its impact on the real economy are extremely uncertain," he told reporters after issuing the orders to Kosuke Hori, chairman of the LDP's Policy Research Council, and his counterpart in New Komeito, Natsuo Yamaguchi. Read the full storyViews: 30
Extra budget first, general election later: Aso
Prime Minister Taro Aso said Monday he is not considering dissolving the Lower House for now, as the Diet began deliberations on theViews: 9
Rest-area dog runs unleashed
OSAKA - People who take their dogs on long expressway rides can now give them some respite by unleashing them in grassy areas exclusively established for their pleasure. These so-called dog runs have been flourishing since the government privatized the state-backed highway corporations in 2005. Since dogs face air- and train-travel restrictions, the new expressway companies are setting up canine rest areas at highway service and parking areas in an effort to increase profits. Read the full storyViews: 30
Electronics makers' investments give Kansai eco-technology boost
OSAKA - Ecology-oriented technology is flowing into the Kansai region following capital investments on the order ofViews: 11
Video parlor manager admits he turned off alarm in deadly arson
OSAKA (Kyodo) The manager of the building that housed the video parlor where 15 customers perished in an arson blaze last week has told authorities he switched off the fire alarm because he believed it was a false alarm, officials said Monday. Several customers who escaped said evacuation lights in the establishment were off at the time, prompting police to investigate whether the deaths were preventable, investigative sources said. Read the full storyViews: 14
Court OKs mover Matsumoto's bankruptcy
OSAKA (Kyodo) Matsumoto International Movers said Monday the Osaka District Court has given the company the nod on its bankruptcy application, which was filed after rehabilitation talks broke down with a major freight firm. The moving company has total liabilities ofViews: 21
Beyond the Kyoto Protocol
One of former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's notable achievements was when, as the chair of the Group of Eight summit this summer, he managed to get the G8 nations to broadly agree on efforts to fight global warming. Although the government has changed, Japan must strive with other countries to overcome individual national interests and create a pact to succeed the Kyoto Protocol. The G8 leaders agreed to consider and adopt, together with all parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the goal of achieving at least a 50 percent reduction of global emissions by 2050, but they did not mention specific medium-term national targets for 2020 or 2030. Read the full storyViews: 7
Survival now arcades' most pressing game
Once viewed as dens of delinquency, game center arcades are diversifying their entertainment fare, and in the process, attracting not only youths but families, high school girls, couples and video game fans. Basic information about game centers follows: Read the full storyViews: 20
Man arrested over beating death
OKAYAMA (Kyodo) A 24-year-old man from the city of Okayama has been arrested for allegedly killing a woman by beating her and throwing her into the sea at a port in the city, police officials said Wednesday. Kengo Kondo allegedly struck Aya Sugimoto, 24, who he was stalking, on the head around 12:40 a.m. on Sept. 27 in a parking lot near her home and then drove her to Shin Okayama port to throw her into the sea at around 1 a.m. that day, according to police. Read the full storyViews: 6
Kimutaku ? enduring heartthrob
Of Japanese male celebrities, actors Ken Watanabe of "The Last Samurai" and Masi Oka of "Heroes" are among the better-known overseas. But domestically, no one beats Takuya Kimura. Foreigners living in Japan who follow the entertainment scene undoubtedly recognize the singer-actor who goes by the nickname Kimutaku. Read the full storyViews: 30
Language barrier spurs most inns to snub foreigners: poll
Of all the hotels and inns in Japan that did not accommodate foreigners last year, more than 70 percent said they were unwilling to serve them mainly due to an inability to handle foreign languages, an Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry survey showed Thursday. The ministry conducted the poll to see how the visitors are being received in Japan. The results appear to indicate that many small facilities are unprepared to handle foreigners, despite the government's Visit Japan campaign aimed at luring 10 million annual visitors to Japan by 2010. Read the full storyViews: 23
A year after privatization
Oct. 1 marked the first anniversary of the privatization of the nation's postal service. In April 2003, the Postal Service Agency became Japan Post, a public corporation. Then, in January 2006, Japan Post created Japan Post Corp., a stock company. On Oct. 1, 2007, Japan Post Corp. became Japan Post Holdings Co., consisting of four units: Japan Post Bank Co., Japan Post Insurance Co., Japan Post Service Co. (mail delivery firm) and Japan Post Network Co. (over-the-counter services). These four firms are not yet very stable, as they struggle to find ways to survive and grow. Given this situation, opposition lawmakers are calling for a review of privatization. Read the full storyViews: 12
Nomura to lose 60% of Lehman Japan equity employees
Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest investment bank, will lose roughly 60 percent of the Japanese equity employees acquired when it purchased the Asia-Pacific business of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., three sources said. About 100 of the 170 workers in Lehman's Japan equity research, sales and electronic-trading unit plan to leave the Tokyo-based company, the sources said. The departures include two Lehman managing directors, Kazutoshi Okubo and Koichiro Chiwata, who are joining London-based Barclays PLC. Read the full storyViews: 25
Nobel winners recall postwar struggles
Nobel Prize winners Osamu Shimomura and Yoichiro Nambu both struggled in the postwar years in Japan and left for the United States, which at the time was like academic heaven for researchers to pursue their careers. In their separate interviews after Shimomura, 80, won a Nobel Prize in chemistry Wednesday and Nambu, 87, a Nobel Prize in physics Tuesday, they both spoke of the poverty and sense of defeat that prevailed throughout Japan in the postwar years. Read the full storyViews: 8
Sitdown 'rakugo' yuk fest in N.Y.
NEW YORK - The gestures were subtle, the words controlled and the comedian delivered his punch lines while seated on a cushion. But Katsura Kaishi, the traditional "rakugo" performer from Osaka, had New Yorkers laughing like any standup comic as he finished off his six-month U.S. tour in mid-September. For Kaishi, it was mission accomplished: to introduce the hilarity and enjoyment of Japan's traditional comic storytelling while dispelling the myth of Japanese sternness. Read the full storyViews: 6
Yonaguni looks to Taiwan to survive
NAHA, Okinawa Pref. (Kyodo) Residents of Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni are trying to find a way to counter its declining population by strengthening interactions with Taiwan. The remote island that is part of Okinawa is about 500 km from Naha and 2,000 km from Tokyo. Read the full storyViews: 23
Stablemaster ordered beating: sumo trio
NAGOYA (Kyodo) Three sumo wrestlers charged with assaulting a 17-year-old stablemate who later died from multiple-trauma shock pleaded guilty Tuesday at the start of their Nagoya District Court trial. Yuichiro Izuka, 25, Masakazu Kimura, 25, and Masanori Fujii, 23, admitted they beat Takashi Saito, known in the ring as Tokitaizan, but it was on the orders of their stablemaster, Tokitsukaze, whose real name is Junichi Yamamoto, 58. Read the full storyViews: 12
Black belt Putin shows off moves in promotional video for judo
MOSCOW (Kyodo) Showing off his well-known judo skills, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin gave a preview Monday of a DVD for budding martial artists that features himself as well as famous Japanese judoka. Among the masters appearing on the DVD are Olympic gold medalists Yasuhiro Yamashita and Kosei Inoue, who have been invited many times to Russia by Putin to teach locals the Japanese martial art. Read the full storyViews: 24
Woman to hang for temple slayings
MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. (Kyodo) The Morioka District Court sentenced a 46-year-old woman to death Wednesday for killing a temple priest and his mother and taking their cash. "It was a premeditated crime," presiding Judge Naoto Sasaki said, handing down the ruling on Shoko Chiba as demanded by prosecutors. Read the full storyViews: 11
Cases of abetting drunken driving exceed 1,200
More than 1,200 people were caught and 72 arrested for allegedly aiding drunken driving since the Road Traffic Law was toughened in September last year, the National Police Agency said Thursday. Both the number of drunken driving accidents and cases during the same period decreased by more than 20 percent from a year earlier, it said. Read the full storyViews: 20
Higashikokubaru opts out of race
Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru told reporters Monday he will not run in the next Lower House general election, ending speculation that he may quit his post in the middle of his four-year term in a bid to get a Diet seat. Higashikokubaru, however, did not rule out running for a Diet seat in the future. Read the full storyViews: 13
Mitsui Mining downgrades forecasts
Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., co-owner of Japan's biggest copper smelter, forecast a second year of profit declines on falling metal prices and higher energy costs. Net income will probably fall 36 percent toViews: 16
MMC chief sees rough road ahead for autos
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko said Monday that the auto industry can expect to face a harsher business environment over the next few years. Factors behind the grim outlook include global financial uncertainty, the rising cost of raw materials, and the need for greater spending on research and development, he said. Read the full storyViews: 26
Juvenile court opens up for a day
Minors are usually tried in family courts behind closed doors, but in an effort to give the public a better understanding of how these cases are handled, the Tokyo Family Court this week showcased a mock juvenile trial. The event was part of Law Day, an annual event that begins Oct. 1 and actually lasts a week, during which the legal profession holds numerous demonstrations of how the system works. Read the full storyViews: 28
Food maker pulls 'konnyaku' sweets
MannanLife Co., Japan's largest maker of "konnyaku" (devil's tongue) jelly, said it halted production and shipment of all products Wednesday after it was reported that 17 children and elderly people have choked to death on konnyaku jelly since 1995. In the most recent case, a 1-year-old boy in Hyogo Prefecture died late last month while eating the jelly. Read the full storyViews: 18
Another man slain in Philippines
MANILA (Kyodo) A Japanese man died of a single gunshot wound to the head in the central Philippines, police said Monday. Police said the victim, who was identified as Yasuaki Matsuura, 50, was shot Sunday night, allegedly by the brother of his Filipino partner, in Compostela, a town northeast of Cebu City, after heated arguments over cash. Read the full storyViews: 6
Philippines OKs FTA, foes or no
MANILA (AP) The Philippine Senate ratified a wide-ranging free-trade agreement with Japan that the government hopes will usher in huge investments but critics fear could hurt local industries and allow the dumping of toxic waste. The Senate voted 16-4 late Wednesday to ratify the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement. The pact was signed in 2006 by Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi after four years of tough negotiations. Read the full storyViews: 14
Utsumi pans rate cuts, dollar props
Makoto Utsumi, a former top currency official at the Finance Ministry, said he doesn't see the need for joint interest-rate cuts and coordinated intervention to support the dollar by the United States, Europe and Japan. "There was and will be no chance for a coordinated rate cut," Utsumi, who led Japan's currency policy from 1989 to 1991 as vice finance minister for international affairs, said in a Friday interview in Tokyo. He said joint dollar buying is unlikely "at least for the next several months." Read the full storyViews: 30
Little Tokyo looks to get back its vibes with new development
LOS ANGELES (AP) The last time Little Tokyo tried getting back to its Japanese roots, it was in the early 1980s with the Japanese Village Plaza, a warren of sweets shops, tea stands and trinket stores under sloping glazed-tile roofs. Now, on the eve of the area's most ambitious development project in decades, the historically Japanese enclave in Los Angeles has something different in mind: trendy boutiques and stylish apartments enclosed in sleek mid-rise towers. Read the full storyViews: 26
Prince Charles' visit won't be extravagant affair
LONDON (Kyodo) The visit to Japan by Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, from Oct. 27 has been scaled down due to the financial crisis, the prince's office said Tuesday. To avoid appearing extravagant, the size of his entourage for the four-day trip will be reduced from the normal figure of around 21 staff members to approximately 15. Read the full storyViews: 6
Japan localities tell U.K. their bonds are safe
LONDON (Kyodo) Japan promoted local government bonds as safe investments at a seminar in London on Monday as cities and prefectures sought new sources of funds to offset a drop in financial support caused by administrative and fiscal reforms. The event was organized by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry and the Japan Local Government Bond Association, who urged foreign investors to consider local government bonds as alternative investment vehicles amid the financial turmoil, participants said. Read the full storyViews: 21
'Pumping station' or bust
Last week I discussed two key points in dealing with the U.S. financial crisis: The first was that U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's plan to buy up bad assets is not the priority; a liquidity facility is. The second was that a "wolf-pack" psychology will prevail without a "pumping station" of liquidity to which troubled financial institutions can run and work out their assets and liabilities without fear of cash running out. I said this pumping station must be on the order of $5 trillion for the United States alone and $10 trillion to include Europe and the rest of the world. Read the full storyViews: 5
Physics laureate Maskawa back in class, albeit tardy
KYOTO - Toshihide Maskawa returned Thursday - albeit a few minutes late - to the lecture hall at Kyoto Sangyo University to teach a freshmen physics class after winning the Nobel Prize in physics. Sounding like an archetypal absent-minded professor, the 68-year-old Maskawa explained his tardiness by saying, "I must confess that my pocket watch stopped during all this fuss." Read the full storyViews: 14
Tohan manager booked for groping
KYOTO (Kyodo) The Kyoto branch manager of major book distributor Tohan Co. was arrested Thursday on suspicion of groping the same woman on commuter trains on several occasions since June, police said. Mitsuhiro Tsujino, 56, has owned up to the charge, saying, "I did it to release my stress," according to the police. Read the full storyViews: 8
Screen great Ken Ogata dead at 71
Ken Ogata, known for his energetic performances in numerous films and TV dramas, including the 1983 movie "Narayama Bushiko" ("Ballad of Narayama"), died Sunday, sources close to him said Tuesday. He was 71. It was not immediately known where or how he died. Read the full storyViews: 18
Mongolia talks slated to secure uranium as competition soars
Japan, the world's third-biggest uranium consumer, will hold talks this week with Mongolia on jointly developing ore reserves as part of efforts to secure additional supplies of the nuclear fuel. Hiroyuki Ishige, vice minister for trade, will lead a delegation of more than 50 government and company officials, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity because the trip hasn't been announced yet. The group will leave Wednesday and spend four days in Ulan Bator, the official said. Read the full storyViews: 21
Public seen tiring of hereditary politics
Japan's history is one of family dynasties, from the Emperor's 1,400-year lineage to the father-son inheritance of kabuki theater roles. And then there's the Cabinet chosen by Prime Minister Taro Aso. Aso filled 11 of 17 Cabinet positions with descendants of former lawmakers last month. That beat predecessor Yasuo Fukuda's eight such appointments in his August reshuffle, before his abrupt resignation. In 2005, Junichiro Koizumi used outsider candidates to win 68 percent of Lower House seats for the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling coalition - and then gave nine Cabinet posts to legislators' relatives. Read the full storyViews: 11
Euro slide reduces forex reserves
Japan's foreign exchange reserves fell $851 million from late August to $995.89 billion at the end of September, staying below the $1 trillion mark for the second consecutive month, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday. The country's foreign reserves, the world's second-largest after China's, dropped on sharp declines in the appraisal value of the nation's euro-denominated assets, the ministry said. Read the full storyViews: 20
Japan steps up China feed tests
Japan has stepped up inspection of Chinese-made animal feed and pet food that may be laced with a chemical that has caused a global food scare with tainted milk, agriculture officials said Monday. The farm ministry Monday ordered farm cooperatives and other industrial groups to tighten inspection of feed and pet food from China to ensure they don't contain melamine, the chemical that has sickened tens of thousands of Chinese children, ministry official Satoshi Motomura said. Read the full storyViews: 26
The truth comes too late
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was well aware that he resembled the generals who join a peace movement as soon as they retire. "I have not come here to justify my actions over the past 35 years," he said. "For a large portion of that period, I was unwilling to look reality in the eye." Olmert, who has resigned but will stay in office until a new government is formed or an election is called, gave a valedictory interview to the newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Sept. 29, and said something that no previous Israeli prime minister has said. He declared that if Israel wants peace, it must withdraw from almost all the lands it occupied in 1967. Unfortunately, it's probably too late. Not only... Read the full storyViews: 20
Japan, U.S. biz leaders optimistic
In an apparent effort to check the slide in business sentiment in the face of the global economic crisis, Japanese and U.S. business leaders sounded an optimistic note Tuesday at the end of a two-day meeting in Tokyo. "The Japanese financial system is in extremely strong shape since sorting out most of the bad loans of the past 10 years or so," Junichi Ujiie, chairman of Nomura Holdings Inc., told a news conference. "Although (the financial turmoil) will have some negative impact on the global economy, the Japanese economy will be little affected." Read the full storyViews: 17
Toyota forced to find alternative uses for U.S. workers
Idled Toyota Motor Corp. assembly-line workers in San Antonio are spending two weeks cleaning city parks, removing graffiti, painting benches and fixing fences instead of building pickup trucks. Japan's largest automaker, which counts on the United States to absorb 29 percent of vehicle production, is fighting the first annual sales slump in 13 years. Read the full storyViews: 24
Billionaire's run-down, vermin-rife estates irk Oahu neighbors
HONOLULU (AP) Neighbors of billionaire Genshiro Kawamoto are urging the Honolulu government and the Japanese Consulate to force him to clean up 20 of his properties. The City Council tentatively agreed to ask the consul general of Japan in Honolulu to talk with Kawamoto about resolving his dispute with the 1,700 members of the Kahala Community Association, The Honolulu Advertiser reported. The dispute is over unkempt yards, broken walls and vermin infestations. Read the full storyViews: 5
Distressed Chinese dairy companies get help
HONG KONG - At a time when the United States - and now Europe - is acting to rescue financial institutions such as Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch and AIG, it is interesting to note that Chinese authorities are offering a hand to distressed companies caught in the contaminated milk scandal. According to the official Xinhua news agency, the Chinese government is implementing an emergency rescue plan to subsidize dairy farmers suffering from shrinking demand since the scandal. Read the full storyViews: 17
Overseas hibakusha file suit over benefits
HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Scores of atomic-bomb survivors and their relatives sued the government Monday for compensation for what they say is mental distress caused by its refusal to pay medical benefits because they live overseas. The suit filed with the Hiroshima District Court is part of the process in which the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry would pay every hibakushaViews: 11
Motorcycle makers battle it out in Vietnam
HANOI - Red roses, field flowers, baskets of vegetables, slaughtered hogs. In Vietnam, farmers bring anything that can be loaded onto a motorcycle to market in the morning. In early evenings, bikers jam the streets as they return home. The demand for motorcycles in Vietnam is extremely high due to a dearth of public transport and low income levels that put automobiles out of reach for many. Read the full storyViews: 30
ODA requests for 2009 up 10.2%
Funding requests for foreign aid in fiscal 2009 starting next April have come toViews: 9
Japan, U.S. urged to join hands on green biz
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone called on U.S. and Japanese businesses to join hands in developing and promoting innovative technologies in such fields as clean energy and energy efficiency, as he addressed an annual U.S.-Japan Business Conference in Tokyo on Monday. "Climate change is the most important issue for the international community in the 21st century," Nakasone said in a speech. "About 70 percent of investments in environmental technology development comes from Japan and the United States. . . . The (Japanese) government too will give its maximum support." Read the full storyViews: 29
Ministers sorry for watching TV in Diet session
Economic and fiscal policy minister Kaoru Yosano and Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa have apologized to Diet leaders for watching TV on a cell phone during a House of Councilors plenary session. "I was watching the TV to see what (the session) looked like," Yosano, who owns the phone, told Takeo Nishioka, chairman of the Upper House Rules and Administration Committee, on Wednesday. Read the full storyViews: 22
Japan to advise G7 on public fund injections
Drawing on its own dealings with a past financial crisis, Japan will share its experience of massive public fund injections into the country's troubled financial institutions at an upcoming meeting of Group of Seven major economies, a senior Finance Ministry official said Wednesday. Although it is up to each country to decide how to deal with the current credit crisis, Japan's injection ofViews: 17
Yes, we have no bananas, as dieters peel away stocks
Dieting appears to be a nationwide trend. Spurred on by TV shows, people have taken various approaches, including upping their intake of "natto" fermented soybeans, which later proved fruitless, to adding agar to food. Now it's bananas. Read the full storyViews: 24
Bankruptcy debt skyrockets after Lehman failure
Debt left by soaring corporate failures nearly tripled in the fiscal first half compared with a year ago after the Japanese units of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy, a private credit research agency said Wednesday. The total debt -Views: 19
Machinery orders sink to five-year low
Core private sector machinery orders fell a larger-than-expected seasonally adjusted 14.5 percent in August from the previous month toViews: 23
Aso likens U.S. ills to '29 crash
Comparing the current financial crisis originating in the U.S. to the Great Depression, Prime Minister Taro Aso called Tuesday on lawmakers to set aside politics and concentrate on the economy. "The biggest problem is that the United States is mired in a banking system crisis," he told the House of Representatives Budget Committee. "We are now in an unprecedented, extremely difficult situation. Read the full storyViews: 23
Huge video game show kicks off
CHIBA - Tokyo Game Show, one of the world's biggest gaming events, kicked off Thursday with a record 879 software titles expected to attract 180,000 people during its four-day run. Video game console and software makers are showing off their latest lineups, including the brand-new "Final Fantasy 13" and "Monster Hunter 3", for consoles such as the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Read the full storyViews: 14
Held despite acquittal, now barred from re-entry, woman slams legal system
CHIBA (Kyodo) A Swiss woman who was detained by Japanese authorities for seven months after being acquitted of a drug charge expressed anger over the Japanese legal system in a recent written message to Kyodo News. "I was put under continuous detention because of shortfalls in Japanese law and alien policies," wrote Klaudia Zaberl. "I have been filled with despair and anger." Read the full storyViews: 21
'Economy watcher' sentiment dives
Business confidence among workers with jobs sensitive to economic conditions fell to the lowest level in nearly seven years in September, as rising food prices capped household spending, the government said Wednesday. The diffusion index of sentiment on Japan's current economic conditions among so-called economy watchers, including shop clerks, hotel employees and taxi drivers, dropped 0.3 point from the previous month to 28.0 for the sixth consecutive month of decline, the Cabinet Office said. The index is at the lowest level since October 2001, when it stood at 27.2. Read the full storyViews: 13
Economic recovery veering off, BOJ says
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa said economic recovery will probably take longer than has been expected because "downside risks" to growth are increasing. "The timing of the recovery may be delayed slightly compared with our initial expectations," Shirakawa said at a news conference after the BOJ Policy Board left the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent in a unanimous vote. Read the full storyViews: 13
AFLAC considers Alico deal
AFLAC Inc. Chairman Daniel Amos has indicated the insurer will consider acquiring Alico Japan and two other insurance firms operating in Japan under American International Group Inc. "We are interested in reviewing a proposal to acquire Alico" if such a request is made, Amos said Tuesday. Read the full storyViews: 12
Man charged with second murder
A man under indictment for the murder of a Filipino woman in Tokyo was served Wednesday with a new arrest warrant on suspicion of killing another Filipino woman, police said. Hiroshi Nozaki, 49, allegedly suffocated Elda Longakit Yoneda, a 27-year-old restaurant worker living in Soka, Saitama Prefecture, on April 22, 1999, with a futon at a condominium in Yokohama, the police said. Read the full storyViews: 15
Man reeled in for dip in Imperial moat
A 40-year-old British man was taken into custody Tuesday morning after swimming nude in the Imperial Palace moat and throwing stones at police trying to catch him. The man, a resident of Spain, was on a sightseeing trip along with seven Spanish tourists, according to the police. Read the full storyViews: 27
Dow briefly off 800 points, ends below 10,000 for 1st time in 4 yrs
The global financial crisis expanded its grip on Wall Street on Monday, sending the Dow Jones index losing more than 800 points before ending below 10,000 for the first time in four years. Panic selling that became rampant in Asia and Europe earlier in the day continued in New York. By mid-afternoon, the 30-issue Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 800 points, the largest-ever single-day drop in U.S. history, to about 9,520, marking the lowest level in about five years since October 2003 on an intraday basis.Views: 26
Gov't formally gives up appealing to top court over mortgage fraud
The Financial Services Agency on Monday formally announced that it has decided against appealing to the Supreme Court over an Osaka High Court ruling that found the state had neglected its responsibility to order a halt to the operations of a fraudulent corporate issuer of mortgage-backed securities. Financial Services Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said in a written statement, ''Although the government regrets that the court did not recognize what the state had said in the appeal court, we accept the ruling sincerely and hope to make the financial administration policies penetrate based on the user protection perspectives.''Views: 23
A-bomb survivors, kin abroad sue state for compensation
Scores of atomic-bomb survivors and their relatives living abroad sued the Japanese government on Monday to receive compensation for what they say is mental distress caused by the state's refusal to pay medical benefits because they live abroad. The suit filed with the Hiroshima District Court is part of the process in which the welfare ministry would pay every atomic-bomb survivor, or ''hibakusha,'' 1 million yen in compensation once courts recognize them as such.Views: 5
FM Nakasone calls on Japan, U.S. firms for more green technologies
Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone called on U.S. and Japanese businesses to join hands in developing and promoting innovative technologies in such fields as clean energy and energy efficiency, as he addressed an annual U.S.-Japan Business Conference in Tokyo on Monday. ''Climate change is the most important issue for the international community in the 21st century,'' Nakasone said in a speech. ''About 70 percent of investments in environmental technology development comes from Japan and the United States...The (Japanese) government too will give its maximum support.''Views: 28
Bahrain's crown prince to visit Japan for 6 days
Bahrain's Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa will visit Japan for six days from Wednesday, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Monday. Arrangements are currently under way for the crown prince and Prime Minister Taro Aso to hold talks on Wednesday, the ministry said.Views: 24
Japanese man dies of gunshot wound in central Philippines
A Japanese man died of a single gunshot wound to the head in central Philippines, police said Monday. The victim has been identified as Yasuaki Matsuura, 50.Views: 13
