Japan News for December 28, 2006

Here are some Japan-related news/links for today:

• An earthquake near Taiwan has damaged undersea cables, disrupting internet and phone services. Any Asian readers having trouble accessing the American server this site is hosted on?
• Toyota Motor Corp Chairman Fujio Cho and Ford Motor Co President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally met last week in Tokyo, fueling rumors of an alliance between the two auto giants.
• The Wall Street Journal reports on Tomoyuki Ishikawa, a Saitama resident who has arranged thousands of x-mas lights on his house, earning him the nickname “Tokyo’s King of Holiday Lights.” Instead of being driven into bankruptcy by electricity bills, Ishikawa has turned his fame into a profitable x-mas decoration consulation business.
• The University of Tokyo said Wednesday it has fired a professor and his assistant for significantly damaging the institution’s reputation and trust through untrustworthy research papers.
• Amusing stories of stupid 9-1-1 [1-1-9] calls from Mainichi’s WaiWai column.
• The Japanese government has requested the Brazilian government to search for and prosecute a man who left for Brazil after allegedly killing a high school girl in a hit-and-run car accident in Japan in 1999.
• The government released details of post-retirement jobs of 1,263 division director-level or higher bureaucrats who retired over a one-year period until Aug. 15 this year. A total of 537, or 42.5 percent, were given lucrative jobs at public utility organizations, public corporations and other semi-governmental bodies that they once supervised.
• The Yasukuni Shrine started is revising its museum displays related to the Sino-Japanese War but will stop short of calling Japan’s actions a “war of aggression.” The officials said they cannot reveal the contents of the changes until the shrine reopens on Jan. 1.
• About 30 percent of pornographic comics for adults in Japan portray sexual acts involving children, according to a survey by the National Police Agency. Minors can buy these comics through Internet Web sites that do not verify the age of buyers. These comics also were available at convenience stores…
• - China and Japan held a second day of sensitive talks on resolving bitter disputes over their shared history but experts saw little hope the vast gulf between the giants could be bridged. The talks have ended for 2006 and will resume next year.
• Danny Choo has posted some fantastic photos he took from Tokyo Tower.
• Black people toothpaste?