Japan News for March 20, 2007

This morning’s Japan-related news links:

• A group of French, Canadian and Japanese people led by a French language school head filed suit against the Tokyo metropolitan government on Monday demanding an apology and damages for Gov Shintaro Ishihara’s “official” remarks in 2004 the group says are insulting the French language. [Link]
• Two Japanese electric power companies admitted Monday that control rods temporarily slipped out of position at their nuclear reactors, but the accidents did not lead to a state of criticality. [Link]
• An air pollution lawsuit that has been winding its way through Tokyo courts for the past 11 years seems finally headed for a settlement after two of the nation’s biggest automakers indicated they are willing to make lump sum payments to plaintiffs. [Link]
• A Tokyo Customs inspector has been arrested for molesting a woman near a railway station in Tokyo earlier this month, according to police. [Link]
• State-of-the-art Patriot missiles will be deployed to protect key facilities in central Tokyo, such as the Diet Building and the Prime Minister’s Official Residence, under a Defense Ministry plan for emergency situations, according to sources. [Link]
• Hirotada Ototake, a sports writer born with no arms and legs who gained fame with his bestselling memoir “No One’s Perfect,” is set to become a full-time elementary school teacher, it has been learned. [Link]
• Japan and Italy signed an agreement Monday to advance bilateral cooperation on preserving cultural heritage, including archeological sites in both countries, through joint research. [Link]
• Dozens of tires on buses in a Nagoya Municipal Government Transportation Bureau depot were found punctured early Monday in an apparent vandal attack. [Link]
• Japan on Monday experienced its first partial solar eclipse in two and a half years, but experts said solar gazers had to be very attentive to catch the latest phenomenon with the naked eye. [Link]
• The Red Hot Chili Peppers have suddenly cancelled their Japan dome tour, which was scheduled for later this week. The reason given was that vocalist Anthony Kiedis (44) has come down with bronchitis. [Link]
• Historians from Japan and China began a second round of talks on the nations’ long and sometimes troubled history on Monday. The two-day meeting of 20 academics, 10 from each side, is expected to agree to take up sensitive subjects including the Nanjing Massacre for discussion in subcommittees. [Link]
• Mongolian ozeki Hakuho took sole possession of the lead Monday with a decisive win over fellow ozeki Tochiazuma at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament. [Link]
• Ampontan has blasted the Japan Times’ coverage of Governor Hideo Higashikokubaru’s recent visit to Tokyo: the Times has “reinforced their reputation among people who regularly read them as a publication utterly lacking in journalistic integrity.” [Link]

Afternoon Update:

• Tokyo Metro workers and bereaved family members gathered at six stations on Tuesday, the 12th anniversary of the AUM Shinrikyo cult’s deadly gas attacks on the Tokyo subway, to remember the 12 people who died and more than 5,500 who were injured in the attacks. [Link]
• Japan was morally responsible for forcing women to work in wartime brothels, according to a statement made to a Reuters reporter by former Japanese prime minister Tomiichi Murayama. [Link]
• A Saitama man who stabbed his mother to death here after she told him off for smoking marijuana has been arrested. [Link]
• Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) officials agreed on Tuesday that they would not raise the controversial issue of compulsory payment of N-H-K viewer fees in a bill to revise the Broadcast Law. [Link]
• UFC majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have purchased the Japanese-based PRIDE Fighting Championships for a startling-low price of $65 million. An official announcement is expected to come on Wednesday. [Link]
• Hawaii’s tourism industry is in a slump, with overall January arrivals down nearly 6 percent from January 2006 and the lucrative Japanese market down over 12 percent. The decline comes on the heels of Hawaii’s strict new smoking ban and some in the tourism industry wonder whether the smoking ban is chasing away Hawaii’s traditional clientele. [Link]
• Korean stocks are cheaper than Japanese in all industries, according to a recent announcement from the Korean Stock Exchange. [Link]
• Legendary Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki has just announced his newest film project, “Gake no ue no Ponyo,” a story involving a goldfish princess who wants to become human. [Link]
• A part-time worker was dismissed from a Wakayama facility for disabled children after she allegedly had a sexual relationship with a boy staying there, it has emerged. [Link]