Japan News for February 04, 2007

Today’s Japan-related news links:

• Japan has become the latest scapegoat for protectionist rhetoric in Washington, as Congress urges Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson to use this week’s meeting of G7 finance ministers to accuse Tokyo of fixing the exchange rate of the yen, the Observer reports. [Link]
• A 14-year-old middle school student who had been reprimanded by his school for bullying a classmate with other students killed himself Thursday by jumping from the eighth floor of a nine-story apartment building in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, it has been learned. A notebook was found beside him that contained a message addressed to the bullied student saying, “I’m sorry.” [Link]
• The leader of a Japanese nongovernmental organization (NGO) has been arrested in Thailand for raping a 14-year-old girl at a student dormitory run by his group. [Link]
• New Zealand is giving medical aid to a crew member of the Japanese whaling fleet who fell gravely ill in the Southern Ocean. [Link]
• Japan Airlines Corp. will introduce a watershed policy in the transport industry to exempt pilots and maintenance workers from punishment if their errors result in a fatal accident, JAL officials said Friday. [Link]
• The Chiba Prefectural Government said Friday it has confirmed that an Apa Group condominium high-rise designed by a firm whose fabricated quake-resistance data forced the closure last week of two Kyoto budget hotels also would be vulnerable to a big temblor. [Link]
• A Chewbacca impersonator was arrested after being accused of head-butting a Hollywood tour guide who warned the furry brown Wookiee about harassing two Japanese tourists, police said on Saturday. [Link]
• An ultrarightist who tried to extort money from the parents of a child involved in a quarrel with another child has been arrested, police said. Itsuo Shiozaki, 60, a senior member of a right-wing organization, is accused of attempted extortion. [Link]
• An event to turn a wall frequently targeted by graffiti vandals into a space for artists was launched in Yokohama Saturday, with 79 groups gearing up to unveil their creations. [Link]
• The infamous Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas has just been introduced to the Japanese market and immediately took the #1 spot in the charts. [Link]
• Mari posts on the cafeteria offerings of Japan’s biggest IT or high technology firms. Intel Japan has 180 yen ikura don! [Link]
• Asian History Blog Carnival #11 is now available! [Link]