Japan News for February 17, 2007
Today’s Japan-related news links:
- Japan’s annual whaling season could be cut short if the lead ship in the Japanese fleet which was crippled by fire on Wednesday, has to dock for repairs, fisheries officials in Tokyo have said. [Link]
- Japanese publishing house Kodansha Ltd announced Friday it has decided against publishing the Japanese translation of “Princess Masako,” a book by Australian journalist Ben Hills that has drawn protests from the Japanese government, which said the book contains groundless claims. [Link]
- Japan will raise the minimum wage for disabled people and boost training programs for the growing number of people on welfare in a bid to narrow a widening gap between rich and poor, the government said Friday. [Link]
- The United States praised Japan’s Cabinet on Friday for approving sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program as specified by the U.N. Security Council. [Link]
- In a meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said China would help to resolve the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea, a major sticking point between Tokyo and Pyongyang. [Link]
- The United States should be held responsible for not releasing data on Korean victims of Japanese sexual enslavement during World War II, a Korean group said Monday, demanding the U.S. release the documents in question. [Link]
- Seiyu Ltd., the Japanese subsidiary of U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart, said its net loss totaled 55.79 billion yen ($468.8 million) in the 12 months through December, compared with a loss of 17.7 billion yen a year earlier. [Link]
