Japan News for June 19, 2007

This morning’s Japan-related news links:

Japanese Politics Suck: More than 80 percent of Japanese voters feel that political parties have failed to play the roles expected from the public, and a whopping 92 percent want politics to change, a survey showed Monday. [Link]

Sale Is Off: A pro-Pyongyang organization’s questionable sale of its Tokyo headquarters building and its land to a company headed by a former head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency has been cancelled, the group’s attorney said Monday. [Link]

Nork Debt: The pro-Pyongyang General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) was ordered Monday to repay some 62.7 billion yen in debts to Resolution and Collection Corp. [Link]

Social Insecurity: A record high 76 percent of respondents to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey said they did not trust the national pension system, indicating strong distrust of the system following the revelation of record-keeping errors in pension management. [Link]

Suspended: The House of Representatives Discipline Committee decided Monday to suspend Democratic Party of Japan member Akira Uchiyama from the chamber for 30 days in punishment for interfering with the proceedings of a committee meeting on pension bills last month by pinioning the arms of the panel chairman and pulling him from his seat. [Link]

House Resolution Coming: The US House Foreign Affairs Committee has decided to put to a vote on June 26 a resolution to seek a clear apology from Japan over the sexual exploitation of Asian women by Japan’s military during World War II, a committee official said Monday. [Link]

Censored: NTV excised footage of a lawyer appearing on one of its programs Sunday night because he planned to announce his candidacy for the upcoming House of Councillors election, the network said Monday. [Link]

Tunnel Settlement: The Japanese government agreed to a negotiated settlement with hundreds of former tunnel workers who contracted lung disease while working on state-ordered projects, news reports said Monday. [Link]

Anti-Death Penalty: An 81-year-old former death-row inmate is spearheading a campaign to abolish the death penalty in Japan, amidst mounting fears that more people, especially the wrongly accused, may soon be sent to the gallows. [Link]

Chinese Protest: A small-scale protest was staged outside the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Monday against former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui’s recent trip to Japan. About 15 men belonging to a group called the Patriots’ Association took part in the demonstration. [Link]

Horrible Father: Police on Monday arrested a 39-year-old man for beating his 3-year-old stepson, leaving the boy unconscious, in Saitama on Sunday. The man, identified as Takemi Endo, 39, allegedly beat the boy, Hiroki, three times about his head around 10:30 p.m. Sunday night, for eating noodles without permission. [Link]

Anti-Piracy: The Indonesian Police will have three new Japan-made patrol boats late this year and will use them to deal with crimes like piracy in Malacca Straits, where Japanese ships frequently pass the area, a Japanese official has said. [Link]

Mech Legs: Natural disasters are never far away in Japan, so it’s comforting to know that Matsushita/Panasonic has decided to commercialise the latest version of its robotic rescue exoskeleton there, starting in August. [Link]

Afternoon Update:

Women’s Rights? Japan boasts gender equality laws comparable to those in other industrialized nations but still lags behind in terms of women’s social advancement, evident in the small number of female managers and legislators, a government report said Tuesday. [Link]

Support Drop: For the first time, more than half of voters do not support Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet, according to an Asahi Shimbun survey taken over the weekend. [Link]

Morinaga’s Legacy: The rate of traffic deaths among victims who consumed arsenic-laden powdered milk made by Morinaga Milk Industry in the 1950s is higher than usual, it was discovered from an epidemiologic analysis by Osaka Medical Center for Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases. [Link]

Smart Loans: A financial services firm in Japan has begun offering lower mortgage interest rates to “intelligent” customers (people who have good English or computer skills, and work in “high-value” areas such as the law). [Link]

DPJ Majority? Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa said Monday he wants to see his party win 55 seats or more in the upcoming House of Councilors election, revising upward his previous goal of at least 50. [Link]

Path To Freedom: DPRK Studies has posted information on the probable route North Korean defectors recently took to Japan, as well as a detailed timeline on their journey. [Link]

Sharing Oil: South Korea and Japan have signed a deal to cooperate in sharing oil reserves, South Korea’s Commerce, Industry and Energy Ministry said Monday, paving the way for the two oil importers to jointly deal with any crisis. [Link]

Charges: Prosecutors plan to charge a former head of the Public Security Intelligence Agency with making false descriptions in official documents over a controversial deal concerning the sale of the Tokyo headquarters of a pro-Pyongyang organization and its land, it has been learned. [Link]

Secure Shinkansen: Passengers on new Shinkansen bullet trains will be scrutinized by a saturation security camera system, in a drastic response by rail officials to a spate of violent assaults. [Link]

Superstition Awareness: In a bid to build public awareness, Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency has collected hundreds of folk beliefs associated with calamities in the disaster-prone nation. [Link]

Osim Japan: Ivica Osim named Japan’s provisional squad for the Asian Cup finals at JFA House on Monday evening, and the national team coach couldn’t find room in his 30-strong list for Europe-based players Koji Nakata and Junichi Inamoto. [Link]

Slap On The Wrist: A former senior executive of French fashion house Christian Dior in Japan was convicted Monday on drug charges but allowed to walk free after he showed remorse. [Link]

Gay DPJ: In a country that lags behind the rest of the industrialized world in terms of gay rights, Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) candidate Kanako Otsuji’s bid for the Upper House this July promises to make waves. [Link]

Salaryman Chocolate: Morinaga & Co., Ltd. started selling “MACA Chocolate”, the first batch of chocolate targeted at businessmen in their 30’s to 40’s, from June 12, 2007. [Link]

Balding Oyajis: One in four older Japanese men uses hair restoring products, according to a recent survey. [Link]

Debito Speaks: Activist Arudou Debito is coming to Tokyo to give speeches from June 22nd until June 26. He has posted details on his blog. [Link]