Japan News for August 01, 2007

Japan-related news links for today:

Voters Want Abe Out: Even as Shinzo Abe vowed again Monday to stay the course as prime minister, 56 percent of those asked in an Asahi Shinbun exit poll want him out. [Link]

Calm Response: The Japanese government has calmly responded to the U.S. House of Representatives’ passing of a resolution demanding that Japan apologize over the issue of military comfort women during World War II, but some officials appeared disappointed with the U.S. move. [Link]

Incoming Typhoon: Typhoon Usagi, or the “Rabbit” Typhoon as translated from Japanese, is forecast to approach Japan, making landfall sometime early on Thursday 2nd August. [Link]

Corruption In Osaka: Hirakata Mayor Hiroshi Nakatsuka was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of involvement in bid rigging for a project to build a municipal waste disposal factory in the city in 2005. [Link]

Consumer Protection: To protect consumers from malicious sales and faulty products, the National Consumer Affairs Center (NCAC) will be given the power to order business operators to appear for questioning and submit documents. [Link]

Sealed: Police on Tuesday identified a body found in a concrete-filled steel drum in Kanagawa as that of a 48-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture. [Link]

Abusive Boss: A Japanese section chief at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ’s unit in Shenzhen, China, has been dismissed from his post for slapping a Chinese subordinate in the face. [Link]

Dangerous Dorama: A 26-year-old worker was injured at a studio warehouse here after a 100 kilogram prop that was part of a TV Asahi drama set fell on him. [Link]

Clooney In Japan: Hollywood heartthrob George Clooney told reporters in Tokyo on Tuesday that friendship played an important part in his enjoyment of making “Ocean’s Thirteen,” the latest in the hit series of movies about a band of brigands and other no-gooders. [Link]

Damp Japan: 47% of Japanese are often discomforted by dampness, according to a MyVoice survey on household dampness. [Link]

Debt Clock: The Ministry of Finance is apparently going to post a “debt clock” on its homepage. The clock will show how the amount of long term debt Japan is burdened with. [Link]

Cleaning Up: Osaka is to host the World Athletics Championships later this month, but the lead-up to the event has seen the city’s cops sprinting faster than anybody else as they dash to crackdown on sex services that may present an inappropriate face to the outside world. [Link]