Japan News for March 21, 2007

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    Today’s Japan-related news links:

    • Japan’s short but much-anticipated cherry blossom season has officially begun, weather officials announced. [Link]
    • North Korea accused Tokyo of trying to scuttle nuclear disarmament talks and said it does not want energy aid from Japan as a part of a deal to end Pyongyang’s nuclear weapons programme, its media reported on Tuesday. [Link]
    • Japan’s defense minister, under fire for calling the U.S. invasion of Iraq a “mistake,” said Tuesday he would like to visit the strife-torn country before Tokyo decides whether to extend its air force mission there. [Link]
    • Tokyo Electric Power Co on Tuesday joined a list of Japanese power companies that have had unreported problems with nuclear reactor control rods as the government called for requiring those companies to report even minor trouble to help forestall a major accident. [Link]
    • A Bombardier plane whose landing gear failed as it was about to touch down at Kumamoto Airport landed safely after the pilot manually lowered the wheels, just one week after another Bombardier plane landed without its front landing gear. [Link]
    • Japan Airlines Corp. (JAL) avoided a planned one-day strike after reaching a settlement with its unions in the early hours of Tuesday. [Link]
    • Mongolian ozeki Hakuho muscled out rival ozeki Kaio to maintain his lead at 9-1 with five days remaining at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Tuesday. [Link]
    • Japan said Tuesday it will license a private radio station to broadcast messages of support to potential Japanese abduction survivors living in communist North Korea. [Link]
    • A 42-year-old man was arrested Tuesday for allegedly firing his rifle at a 11-story condominium from his nearby home in Kyoto and damaging the building on three occasions last month. The man was frustrated about the condominium blocking his sunlight. [Link]
    • 2-Channel’s Admin Nishimura Hiroyuki, now millions of dollars in the hole in terms of court penalties, just keeps the ball right on rolling. According to March 20’s Yomiuri, he won’t follow court orders unless there’s the threat of execution. [Link]
    • Miki Nakatani, who starred in the movie “Memories of Matsuko,” on Tuesday won the best actress in the first Asian Film Awards, an initiative started this year to promote filmmaking in Asia. [Link]
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