News for December 04, 2006
Some Japan-related news this morning:
-Japan will pay compensation to former leprosy sufferers in South Korea who were forced into isolation during Tokyo’s colonial rule.
-Japan is struggling to maintain its international energy deals. Will we run out of oil?
-Two top officials at Japan’s Health Ministry are to start a blog about their efforts to lose weight, including pictures of their bellies, as part of a campaign to encourage healthy lifestyles.
-Mohamed Elbaradei, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, warned on Sunday that it would be a “terrible mistake” for Japan to develop nuclear weapons in the wake of North Korea’s atomic test. Thanks, but the Japanese government has already repeatedly said it would not develop nuclear weapons…
-Pollstar takes a look at trans-gender musicians in Japan.
-A series of activities have been and will be held to mark the 35th anniversary of the normalization of China-Japan relations in 2007, according to the People’s Daily.
-Claytonian shows off his Wii.
Afternoon update:
-There was a small earthquake in Chiba this morning. I can’t say I noticed it here in Saitama.
-The Osaka High Court judge that handed down a ruling a few days ago that dealt a blow to the government’s Juki Net citizen registration system was found dead in his home yesterday, in what was believed to be a suicide. Let the conspiracy theories begin!
-The upcoming Chinese film “Gai Shanxi and Her Sisters,” will tell the story of two Japanese women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese forces during WW2. The director has claimed that in creating the film recounting how Imperial Japanese Army soldiers kidnapped Chinese women for their own sexual bidding, he was trying to cash in on Chinese hatred of Japan revisiting an ignored history that needed to be told.
-The People’s Daily has reported that Japanese athletes are not perfoming well in the Asia games because their government does offer them “bounties” for winning medals.
-Shinzo Abe has inherited Koizumi’s sense of history, claims a Yomiuri Shinbun editorial.
-The government has decided to continue its policy of promoting economic development in northern Okinawa in fiscal 2007 as part of efforts to facilitate a smooth relocation of America’s Futenma air base within the prefecture.
-The government’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency has decided to offer the nation’s hotels and inns free software to enable them to email fire alerts to guests’ cellphones, in case some guests fail to notice the conventional alarm system going off.
-A Lower House committee has approved a bill to ease restrictions on political donations from foreign-affiliated organizations and companies. Let the foreign contribution scandals begin!
-A photo taken by Tokyo based photographer Ron Beaubien was recently awarded the grand prize and 300,000 yen ($2,600 US) in the All Japan Kendo Federation’s 10th Kendo Photo Contest. Cool photo!
