March 24th, 2007 by James
Today’s Japan-related news links:
Former prime minister Nakasone has denied setting up a military brothel staffed by sex slaves during World War II, despite writing a memoir that critics say shows he did so while in the navy. [Link]
Mongolian ozeki Hakuho swatted down ozeki Chiyotaikai to stay in the lead with his 12th win with two days remaining at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Friday. Hakuho is set to face off against Asashoryu today! [Link]
The Tokyo District Court has ordered Livedoor Co. to pay a record penalty of 280 million yen ($2.4 million) for violating securities laws. [Link]
A group of Japanese scientists has released details of an ambitious proposal calling for the large-scale production of bioethanol made from cultivated seaweed. [Link]
A plain clothes police officer in Hokkaido argued with clerks at a mobile phone shop for over 8 hours, prompting the shop to consider filing a complaint. [Link]
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a high court ruling that had ordered a Tokyo ward office to accept the registration of twins born to celebrity Aki Mukai and her husband Nobuhiko Takada through host surrogacy. [Link]
Japan’s whaling fleet returned to port yesterday as the International Whaling Commission cast doubt on the value of its research, which includes harpooning minke and fin whales in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica. [Link]
A 23-year-old man dressed as a woman was arrested in Yokohama for using a counterfeit 10,000 yen bill to pay a taxi fare. [Link]
Health Minister Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday that the Japanese government will investigate the causal relationship between the influenza drug Tamiflu and abnormal behavior. The ministry has decided it will investigate some 1,800 claims of side effects. [Link]
Japan is preparing new laws to protect offshore oil and gas rigs in a move that will raise the stakes in a long-running dispute with China over maritime boundaries in the East China Sea. [Link]
A man and woman who apparently were drunk were hit and killed by a train on a crossing close to Shakujiikoen Station in Nerima Ward, Tokyo, at about 11:45 p.m. Thursday, the police said. [Link]
A former U.S. airman who was arrested three weeks ago for allegedly damaging and dumping the body of his divorced Japanese wife in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, was served with a fresh arrest warrant Friday on suspicion of strangling her last July. [Link]
Foreign Ministers of South Korea and Japan will hold a meeting next week to discuss matters of mutual interest, including North Korea’s nuclear disarmament, Seoul’s Foreign Ministry said Friday. [Link]
A panel of experts asked by Kansai Telecasting Corp to investigate a nationally broadcast entertainment show on health issues that came under fire for fabricating data said Friday the TV program had 16 similar “inappropriate” installments. [Link]
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Poor Nakasone couldn’t remember what he said in the past.
He must be ill with alzheimer’s.
Soory for him.