Japan News for March 10, 2007
Today’s Japan-related news links:
- Emperor Hirohito harbored grave doubts about starting war with China in 1937, fearing Japanese forces could get bogged down, and was keen to end the conflict early, according to a diary kept by a chamberlain. [Link]
- Japan said Friday it would not give in to North Korea’s attempts to isolate it from its partners in efforts to end Pyongyang’s nuclear programme after talks in Hanoi broke down. [Link]
- Farm Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka is in hot water after claiming that he spent 5 million yen on utility fees at his office in the Diet members’ building even though the government covers the cost of all utilities there. [Link]
- Environmental group Greenpeace’s anti-whaling ship Esperanza sailed into Sydney Harbour on Friday to re-supply after protesting against Japanese whalers in the Antarctic and heads on from there to Japan to pursue its protest. [Link]
- A former Shizuoka District Court judge said Friday that he thought a man who received the death penalty for a 1966 murder was “not guilty” when he was involved in the man’s trial. However, he agreed to the death sentence after the two other judges involved in the case made the decision, despite preparing a 360-page document citing reasons for the man’s innocence. [Link]
- What Japan Thinks has translated the results of a survey about top travel destinations for Japanese people. Hokkaido tops the list for domestic destinations, with Hawaii/Guam/Saipan topping the international results. [Link]
- In an effort to prevent a recurrence of the financial collapse of the Yubari municipal government in Hokkaido, a bill on restoring the finances of local governments that aims to redress financial deterioration at an early stage was submitted at the Diet on Friday. [Link]
- The inventer of Test Tube Aliens is baffled that his toy has failed to become popular in Japan. [Link]
- Cryptomundo asks the question, “Did the last Honsu Wolf really die in 1905?” [Link]
