Japan News for August 04, 2007
Japan-related news links for today:
Pressure On Abe: Senior members of the Liberal Democratic Party agreed at one point last Sunday that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would have to step down if the party failed to win 40 seats in the day’s House of Councilors election, according to party sources. [Link]
US-Japan Relations In Danger: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s shattering electoral defeat may threaten Japan’s support of U.S.-led operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, as an energized opposition seeks to redefine a key pillar of the country’s foreign policy — its relationship with Washington. [Link]
Minus 1,554: Japan’s population shrank to 127,053,471 as of March 31, dropping by 1,554 for its second consecutive year-on-year decline, a government report released Thursday showed. [Link]
Diet Alliance: The opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), now the largest bloc in the House of Councillors after Sunday’s election, has offered to form a parliamentary alliance with People’s New Party. [Link]
Corrupt Pension Agency: Twenty-four Social Insurance Agency employees either pocketed or erroneously received more than 130 million yen in pension payments from the public between 1995 and 2006. [Link]
Less Toxic Air: Levels of airborne soot, emitted mainly by diesel vehicles, have declined by half in downtown Tokyo over the past four years following the introduction of restrictions on such emissions, a University of Tokyo research laboratory has announced. [Link]
More CO2: Japan’s carbon dioxide emissions will jump by 2 percent this fiscal year due to the suspension of Niigata Prefecture’s quake-damaged nuclear power plant, operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) estimates. [Link]
Long Standoff: A man who took his ex-girlfriend hostage has been arrested after a 10-hour standoff in Aichi Prefecture. [Link]
Usagi Weakens: Meteorologists downgraded a powerful typhoon to a tropical storm Friday, but warned battered residents of southern Japan of continuing heavy rains and high waves. [Link]
Prison Food Sucks: Over 500 inmates at a prison in Hiroshima have contracted food poisoning. [Link]
Historical Treasures: A certification system has been established to preserve machinery and technology-related items with historical value, such as Japan’s first-generation bullet train. [Link]
Fuji Rockin: Oricon reports that a total 127,000 people attended this year’s Fuji Rock Festival, which took place in Niigata over the weekend. [Link]
Wanted: Apple iPhones? One in four Japanese iPod owners would like to buy an Apple iPhone, according to a Yahoo! Japan Value Insight survey. [Link]
Publisher Found: A Tokyo publisher is planning a Japanese-language version of an Australian book about Crown Princess Masako that the government has branded as an insult to the royal family. [Link]
Study & Surf: Australia is targeting Japanese students keen to learn English skills by offering language vacations and “study and surf” tours as added incentives to travel Down Under. [Link]
Mistaken Identity: A man in Nagoya who slashed another person on a street with a box cutter after mistaking him for his estranged wife’s partner has been arrested. [Link]
Overqualified Workers: -About 500 Yokohama city government employees are facing punishment for understating their educational backgrounds in their job applications. [Link]
When Animals Attack: A zookeeper here has been left with a fractured skull after being kicked in the head by an ostrich at the Higashiyama Zoo in Nagoya. [Link]
