Japan News for June 21, 2007
Today’s Japan-related news links:
Spa Raid: Police raided Unimat Beauty and Spa Inc, the operator of a woman-only spa facility in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, and related locations on Wednesday over an explosion the previous day which killed three women and injured eight other people. [Link]
Water Shortage? Fears of a water shortage are spreading across the country as the Japanese archipelago has had little rain since last winter. [Link]
Chongryon’s Fall: The General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon) and pro-Pyongyang residents living in Japan are at a critical crossroads following the cancellation of the sale involving Chongryon’s Tokyo central headquarters and the ruling against the organization in a lawsuit filed by the Resolution and Collection Corporation on Monday. [Link]
52-Pages: The government adopted a 2007 economic policy package Tuesday that critics say reads like a grand wish list short on specifics, skips any hard talk about taxes until after the July election and merely vows to resolve the pension system debacle. [Link]
Caused By Methane: Underground methane gas that flowed into a Tokyo spa facility may have built up in the structure and caught fire, triggering an explosion that killed three people and injured three others on Tuesday, a researcher said. [Link]
2 More Years: The House of Councillors on Wednesday enacted a special measures law designed to enable an extension of Japanese air troops’ mission in Iraq by two years with a majority endorsement from lawmakers of the governing Liberal Democratic Party and its coalition partner the New Komeito party. [Link]
Emigration Anniversary: The 99th anniversary of the start of Japanese emigration to Brazil was commemorated by festive memorial services Monday, generating anticipation ahead of the centennial anniversary next year. [Link]
Arrested: French police arrested a 20-year-old man on Monday on suspicion of an assault resulting in the death of a 31-year-old Japanese female student in Nantes, western France. [Link]
Expensive Biz: Cool Biz, the government’s campaign to combat global warming by getting people to wear thinner clothes during summer, is costing taxpayers up to 76,300 to employ an advertising agency worker per day, an opposition legislator revealed at a Diet committee meeting. [Link]
Translator Shout-Out: A French translator in Shizuoka Prefecture played an important role in helping Naomi Kawase’s “Mogari no Mori” (“The Mourning Forest”) win the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. [Link]
Bullying Online: School officials in Tochigi said Tuesday that photos of a female student being bullied had been circulated on the Internet. The images show a girl surrounded by other students who lift up her skirt. [Link]
Inconvenience: A man died after jumping in front of an oncoming train at a railway station in downtown Tokyo on Wednesday morning, inconveniencing about 14,000 passengers, police and the railway operator said. [Link]
Dangerous Heaters: Halogen heaters made in South Korea have caused 65 accidents but no injuries since 2001, and customers should contact the Osaka-based importer to get them fixed for free, a government-backed industry watchdog said. [Link]
Kiwi Beef: International fast-food franchise Burger King will use beef imported entirely from New Zealand as it returns to the Japanese market in the next couple of years. [Link]
TB Carrier: Around 100 babies will be tested for tuberculosis at a hospital near Tokyo after a Japanese man who was unknowingly infected with TB repeatedly visited the maternity ward there to see his newborn. [Link]
KidsBeer: Ampontan reports on the children’s “beer” drink known as KidsBeer, detailing its history and what it actually contains. [Link]
Dumb: A member of the Jehovah’s Witnesses sect died recently after losing a lot of blood when giving birth by cesarean and refusing a blood transfusion, officials at Osaka Medical College revealed Tuesday. [Link]
“Beef” At Co-Op: Major foodstuffs company Katokichi Co. and the Japanese Consumers’ Cooperative Union (Co-Op) both halted supplies from Hokkaido’s Meathope Co. Wednesday amid growing suspicion it mixed cheap pork with beef in its beef croquettes. [Link]
NOVA Complaints: Nova Corp. teachers and other employees in Tokyo criticized the company Tuesday, saying the troubled chain of foreign-language schools must improve its business not just so it becomes more honest with customers but also for the sake of its workers. [Link]
Big in Bahrain: Bahrain is not a country where it is common to encounter Japanese, but even there interest in “anime” has been encouraging young people to learn more about Japan, as well as to study the language. [Link]
Glico Man Changes: The male figure of Ezaki Glico Co.’s well-known neon lighting, the symbol of Osaka’s Dotombori street, will change his wear: donning off his familiar running shirt and putting on the uniform of Japanese athletes competing in the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics. [Link]
They’re Not Dolls: Figurines based on characters in television cartoons and popular movies are becoming collectibles in Japan – among people of all ages. [Link]
Sharp Taste: Some 10 sewing needles were found in customer meals at a hotel in Kitami, eastern Hokkaido, police said Tuesday. No one was hurt. [Link]
Eldery Criminal: An elderly man was arrested for stealing 17 watermelons from a farm in Chiba Prefecture in the early hours of Wednesday. [Link]
Anti-Slavery: An Ibaraki Prefecture man who injured a woman while offering himself to become her slave has been arrested. [Link]
Golden Boys: Three men from Fukuoka Prefecture have been arrested in connection with the snatching of a 100-kilogram block of gold bullion worth 250 million yen from a museum in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, in March. [Link]
It’s Not Complimentary? A man arrested for stealing bedding from a love hotel in Ibaraki where he stayed with his pregnant wife has told investigators that he wanted to use the goods at home. [Link]
