Japan News for June 16, 2007
Today’s Japan-related news links:
World’s Oldest: A 111-year-old man, Tomoji Tanabe, living in Miyakonojo, Miyazaki Prefecture, has been listed by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest male, the city government said Friday. [Link]
China Orphans Lose: Two courts rejected compensation suits filed against the government by dozens of Japanese who were abandoned in China as children following Tokyo’s defeat in World War II. [Link]
Election Delay: The polling day for the House of Councillors election may be postponed to July 29 from the proposed date of July 22 as the government and ruling coalition parties are considering a 12-day extension of the current Diet session to pass a set of bills to reform the public servant system, on which Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has placed top priority. [Link]
Saving NOVA? Several companies in various industries, including retail firms, have offered capital and business alliances to Nova Corp., the nation’s largest English language school chain, Nova President Nozomu Sahashi said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun Friday. [Link]
Scary Toothpaste: The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Friday the harmful substance diethylene glycol had been found in toothpastes imported from China by two firms. [Link]
Rice-Based Vaccine: Researchers in Japan say they have created a new rice-based based vaccine that could provide developing countries with a cheap and effective treatment against cholera. [Link]
Bankrupt Koreans: A company affiliated with the pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) that owns the building housing Chongryon’s Osaka headquarters and its land has entered personal bankruptcy proceedings. [Link]
Cancer Battle: The government on Friday released a basic plan to combat cancer, featuring measure to reduce the cancer death rate by 20% in the next 10 years for people under 75. Based on the plan, each prefecture will be required to draft their own plan to fight cancer by next spring that takes into account regional differences. [Link]
Eldery Tax Evasion: The Japan Senior Citizens Welfare Organization, established to help the elderly, failed to declare 3.7 billion yen ($30 million) in taxable income over the three-year period to March 2006, sources said Thursday. [Link]
Nova Criticism: Students and former employees of the Nova Corp. language school chain were critical of the company’s practices in light of its suspension Wednesday for six months from recruiting students on long-term contracts. [Link]
3,000,000: The number of mentally handicapped people in Japan has topped 3 million for the first time, a report officiated by the government on Friday shows. [Link]
Lucky Taiwanese: The Japanese House of Representatives has approved an amendment to Japan’s driving laws which will allow those holding Taiwanese driver’s licenses to drive on Japan’s roads. [Link]
Rocky: Japanese fisheries officials have launched an ambitious project to grow coral around the Okinotorishima islets in the Pacific Ocean to bolster a reef and its claims and in a territorial dispute with China. [Link]
Open Up: The US ambassador called on Japan to deregulate and open its market to more foreign investment and trade on Friday, saying the world’s two largest economies would both benefit. [Link]
Hybrid Fears: South Korea downplayed on Friday concerns about a potential influx of U.S.-made Japanese hybrid cars, hours after a local newspaper reported tariffs on the hybrid models will be immediately eliminated if a bilateral free trade agreement goes into effect. [Link]
Lost Tractors: The Internal Affairs Ministry on Friday submitted to a Cabinet meeting a report on how ministries try to cut costs of clerical necessities and business trips, highlighting widespread cost inefficiencies and sloppy bookkeeping. Included in the report were scores of missing PCs and 2 lost tractors. [Link]
Pollution Solution: The Japanese government Friday presented plans to diffuse automobile exhaust emissions in the capital, the final piece in the puzzle to bring relief to plaintiffs with respiratory diseases caused by air pollution. [Link]
Blackmailing BoA: A Korean college student was arrested in Seoul on Friday on charges of blackmailing SM Entertainment, the Korean management agency of pop singer BoA. [Link]
Adult Diaper Sale: Procter & Gamble Co. will sell its Japanese adult diaper business to Daio Paper Corp. , exiting a market that is growing 5-10 percent each year as the population grays. [Link]
Firefighter Chikan: A firefighter belonging to the Tokyo Fire Department was arrested for molesting a high school girl on a train while on his way to work on Friday. [Link]
