Japan News for May 07, 2007

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    This morning’s Japan-related news links:

    • Japan pledged US$100 million in grants to the Asian Development Bank on Sunday to combat global climate change and promote greener investment in the region, and called for a beefed-up international agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions. [Link]
    • The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) lashed out at Japan on Saturday for trying to retrogressively revise its constitution, warning that Japan is becoming a war state. [Link]
    • Japanese electric power companies plan to establish eight plants fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the next five years, a move aimed at slashing carbon dioxide emissions. [Link]
    • Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Kyodo News on Friday that the demand for logistical support extended by Japanese air troops will not last long, saying there will be no need for them “by the end of this year.” [Link]
    • Transport facilities were crowded Sunday nationwide as the “return rush” of those who spent the “Golden Week” holidays in their hometowns or tourist spots peaked. [Link]
    • The office of the operator of the Expoland amusement park in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, has been raided by authorities after a roller-coaster accident in the park killed a woman and injured 19 people on Saturday. [Link]
    • US delegates plan to lock horns with China and Japan over protecting tigers, whales and elephants, while lobbying to remove bobcats from endangered lists next month. [Link]
    • A car crashed head-on with a minivan driven by a foreigner on a road in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, Saturday morning, killing a 36-year-old Brazilian man in a rear seat of the van. [Link]
    • Japanese national has been arrested for allegedly maltreating a commercial sex worker who had refused to have sex with him inside of a motel in the Philippines. [Link]
    • Sumo ozeki Tochiazuma has decided to bring the curtain down on his injury-scarred career because of concerns over his physical condition. [Link]
    • A team of international legal experts says Australia could take Japan to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea or the International Court of Justice to stop its whaling program. [Link]
    • New York Yankees outfielder Hideki Matsui marked his 2,000th career hit in Sunday’ game against the Seattle Mariners. [Link]
    • Morning Musume leader Hitomi Yoshizawa graduated from Morning Musume at the final day of “Morning Musume Concert Tour Spring 2007 – Sexy 8 Beat” concert. [Link]
    • As the spring sun continues to rise earlier and earlier, there are likely not a few readers muttering to themselves, “If only Japan would adopt daylight saving time, then some of this early morning light could be put to better use.” Few seem to be aware that Japan practiced a form of daylight saving time until the late 19th century… [Link]

      • Afternoon Update:

      • An amusement park in Osaka where a roller coaster derailed on Saturday, killing a passenger and injuring 19 others, had failed to replace any of its axles for 15 years, leading investigators to suspect that the metal axles were worn out. [Link]
      • Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have reportedly broken their deadlock over free-trade issues during a meeting in Brunei. [Link]
      • Debate is intensifying within the Japanese government over whether it should meet demands for an increase in the education budget for fiscal 2008, or first require the Education, Science and Technology Ministry to follow through on restructuring the education system. [Link]
      • An amusement park in Kumamoto has shut down a roller coaster similar to one in Osaka Prefecture that went off the rails on Saturday, killing a 19-year-old woman. [Link]
      • Kazuo Kitamura, a veteran actor of the Bungakuza theatrical troupe who appeared in numerous Japanese films and TV dramas, died of pneumonia at a Tokyo hospital on Sunday, his family said. He was 80. [Link]
      • Japan’s Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry is considering an increase in fees for radio wave use by television broadcasters in fiscal 2008. [Link]
      • A man in Toyama Prefecture who abandoned the body of his father in an irrigation canal because he couldn’t afford to pay for a funeral for him has been arrested. [Link]
      • Honda Korea announced on Sunday that it has set a Korean record for the fastest time to hit the 10,000 sales milestone for a single car model. [Link]
      • Attention American shoppers: You will soon be able to buy low-quality North Korean liquor! [Link]
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