The Japan Times: News & Business

Japan and the Mekong region

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:10:00 PST

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and his counterparts from five Mekong region countries held their first summit on Friday and Saturday in Tokyo, hammering out Japan's support measures to combat climate change and narrow economic gaps within the region. The summit was held at a time when China's influence is growing in the region. Mr. Hatoyama can use the summit as a springboard for increasing Japan's influence in the region and laying the groundwork for an East Asian Community, the establishment of which he advocates.
As a result of the summit, Japan will expand financial and technological assistance to the region in line with the Hatoyama Initiative, a plan that Mr. Hatoyama announced in September in the United Nations to help developing countries cut greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Problematic 'pluthermal' era

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:11:00 PST

The 1.18 million-kW No. 3 reactor at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Genkai nuclear power plant in Saga Prefecture, which is Japan's first reactor using plutonium-uranium mixed oxide (MOX) as fuel, attained nuclear criticality last Thursday and started trial operations Monday (commerical operations are to start on Dec. 2). Thus "pluthermal" power generation has begun, but many problems remain unresolved.
MOX fuel, made of plutonium extracted from spent nuclear fuel and uranium, was primarily intended for use in a fast breeder reactor (FBR), the core of Japan's nuclear fuel-cycle plan. But the prototype FBR Monju in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, has remained shuttered since a major accident in 1995. As a secondary step, the government in 1997 decided to adopt pluthermal power generation, which burns MOX fuel in ordinary light water reactors. But mishaps delayed its start by 10 years.

A good time to remember the ANZUS alliance's fate

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:12:00 PST

HONOLULU — The headlines associated with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recent visit to Japan notwithstanding, relations between Washington and Tokyo are not as strained as they may appear . . . at least not yet. But there is no question that improper handling of a number of sensitive issues before, or worse yet during U.S. President Barack Obama's scheduled Nov. 12-13 visit to Tokyo could help weaken an alliance that the two sides have spent almost 50 years building.
The Okinawa base issue has grabbed the lion's share of the headlines over what has been portrayed as an "ultimatum" from Gates that "it is time to move on," combined with his warning that pulling apart the current (previously agreed upon) plan would be "immensely complicated and counterproductive." But Gates also pointed out that "we are very sympathetic to the desire of the new government in Japan to review the realignment road map," further noting that "we have not talked in terms of a time limit, but rather the need to progress as quickly as possible." He further noted that "modest change" on the Futenma Air Base relocation issue was a matter between Tokyo and the Okinawan government and people (who have thrice signaled acceptance of the plan).

Yet another 'Battle of Okinawa'

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:13:00 PST

CANBERRA — Elections in August gave Japan a new government, headed by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. In electing him and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), the Japanese people, like the American people less than a year earlier, were opting for change. Remarkably, however, what followed on the part of President Barack Obama's United States has been a campaign of unrelenting pressure to block any such change.
The core issue has been the disposition of American military presence in Okinawa and the U.S. insistence that Hatoyama honor an agreement known as the Guam Treaty. Under the Guam agreement of February 2009, adopted as a treaty under special legislation in May, 8,000 U.S. Marines were to be relocated from Okinawa to Guam, and the U.S. Marine base at Futenma was to be transferred to Henoko in Nago City in northern Okinawa, where Japan would build a new base. Japan would also pay $6.09 billion toward the Guam transfer cost.

KDDI may miss profit and sales targets, CFO Nagao says

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:14:00 PST

KDDI Corp. may miss its profit and revenue targets because of falling handset sales and charges to reorganize fixed-line networks, Chief Financial Officer Satoshi Nagao said.
"The revenue target may require a revision" to reflect falling sales of mobile phones, Nagao said in an interview Monday, without giving specific figures. "Even if we have to change our profit outlook, I still believe we can maintain year-on-year growth."

Stay aboard, American urges JAL

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:15:00 PST

DALLAS (AP) The CEO of American Airlines says Japan Airlines would be taking a risk and suffer financially if it breaks ties with American and joins an alliance with Delta Air Lines.
Gerard Arpey said Monday that American and its partner airlines "produce hundreds of millions of dollars of value for JAL" and want to strengthen their ties.

Cabinet OKs $5 billion aid plan for Afghanistan

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:16:00 PST

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet endorsed a plan Tuesday to extend $5 billion, or about ¥450 billion, in civilian aid to Afghanistan over five years from 2009 to help reconstruct the war-torn country.
Hatoyama is expected to convey the plan to U.S. President Barack Obama on Friday during their summit in Tokyo.

Aeon goes with plastic to hawk ¥980 Beaujolais

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:17:00 PST

Supermarket chain Aeon Co. has said it will sell Beaujolais Nouveau wines, set to be released nationwide Nov. 19, in 750-milliliter plastic bottles for as little as ¥980 at Jusco and other outlets to attract thrifty consumers.
While the French red wine from the Beaujolais region generally retails for around 2,000 to ¥3,000 in Japan, Aeon said this will be the first time it has sold the product for less than ¥1,000.

New icebreaker begins voyage to Antarctica

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:18:00 PST

Families bade farewell Tuesday as crew members embarked from Tokyo aboard the new icebreaker Shirase on an Antarctic expedition.
The 12,500-ton Shirase, the country's fourth icebreaker, departed from Harumi Pier in Chuo Ward. The ship is expected to reach the Showa Base in Antarctica in mid-December.

President eyes future visit to Hiroshima, Nagasaki

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:19:00 PST

U.S. President Barack Obama says he wants to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki — cities devastated by U.S. atomic bombs at the end of World War II — sometime during his presidency.
No sitting U.S. president has visited the two cities, largely because of the controversy it could raise at home.

Actor Morishige dies

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:20:00 PST

Renowned actor Hisaya Morishige, the first recipient of the Order of Culture in the field of popular art, died Tuesday at a Tokyo hospital, his management office said. He was 96.
A native of Osaka, Morishige started his film career after World War II and rose to stardom playing a spoiled son from a rich family in the 1955 drama "Meoto Zenzai." He appeared in both the "Shacho" and "Ekimae" series of comedy movies.

Japanese women still hitting a glass and bamboo ceiling in the boardroom

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:21:00 PST

Japan ranks 31st out of 35 countries in terms of the percentage of female board of directors, falling below Jordan, Oman and Kuwait, a U.S.-based nonprofit group said Tuesday.
According to the latest report by Corporate Women Directors International, there are only 17 women among 1,198 directors in large Japanese companies.

Mogi failed to declare ¥400 million

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:22:00 PST

TV anchor and brain expert Kenichiro Mogi failed to declare some ¥400 million in taxable income for the three years through 2008, sources said Tuesday.
The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau notified Mogi, 47, about his failure and he has reportedly submitted an amended tax return, the sources said. The bureau is expected to impose more than ¥100 million in back taxes.

Softbank's new lineup heavy on fast Wi-Fi

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:23:00 PST

Softbank Corp. unveiled 22 new mobile phone models for its winter-spring lineup Tuesday with a special focus on Wi-Fi and a new service that uses the wireless system to access the Internet.
"Today's biggest keyword is Wi-Fi. This one word," Masayoshi Son, Softbank CEO, said during a presentation in Tokyo of the new products.

UAL jet has emergency landing

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:24:00 PST

A United Airlines passenger jet flying from Beijing to Chicago made an emergency landing at Narita airport early Tuesday due to an engine problem, transport ministry officials said.
Flight 850 developed the problem at around 10:30 p.m. while flying over Russia, the officials said.

Strong undercurrent as Obama comes to test the waters

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:25:00 PST

First of two parts
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama routinely refers to "yu-ai" (fraternity) when he talks about policy, including diplomacy. But since taking office in September, he appears more focused on pursuing fraternal ties in Asia rather than boosting relations, like his predecessors, with the United States.

Ministry to increase advisers for refugees seeking appeals

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:26:00 PST

The Justice Ministry will double the number of third-party advisers it uses to examine the objections of people seeking refugee status whose applications have been turned down, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said Tuesday.
Currently, the ministry takes an average of more than two years to reach a final decision from the time an application for refugee status is filed. The upgrade in staff numbers is designed to speed up the process.

Never a dull moment when U.S. presidents come calling

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:27:00 PST

U.S. President Barack Obama will make his first Japan visit Friday and exchange views with the new Democratic Party of Japan administration of Yukio Hatoyama on global concerns.
During his two-day stay in Tokyo, Obama is expected to touch on complex bilateral negotiations, ranging from the relocation of the Futenma air base to how the two countries can work together to fight climate change.

Japan and U.S. to create high-level Futenma panel

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:28:00 PST

The Japanese and U.S. governments agreed Tuesday to form a Cabinet minister-level "working group" to explore ways to resolve the stalled relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Futenma Air Station in Okinawa, Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada announced.
Okada met with U.S. Ambassador John Roos and the two agreed to bring the matter to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible, Okada told a news conference in the afternoon.

Current account surplus rose 0.2% in September as exports improved

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:29:00 PST

The current account surplus grew 0.2 percent in September from a year earlier to ¥1.568 trillion, expanding for two consecutive months for the first time in more than a year, amid signs that exports are improving, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
The current account stayed in the black for the eighth month running as economic activity picked up around the world on the back of stimulus programs. The last time surplus expanded for two months in a row was January and February 2008.

Japan backs strong dollar: Fujii

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:00 PST

Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said Tuesday he told visiting U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that Japan supports a strong dollar policy by the United States.
During their meeting in Tokyo, Fujii and Geithner discussed the currency issue in general but did not touch on the yuan, Fujii told reporters.

Bank lending inches up 1.5%

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:31:00 PST

The average daily balance of bank lending rose 1.5 percent in October from a year earlier, the slowest growth since April 2008, as companies remained less aggressive in borrowing money for capital investment and operations, the Bank of Japan said Tuesday.
The loan balance rose for the 45th straight month to ¥402.58 trillion, but the pace of increase slowed for the 10th straight month.

Regional banks raise earnings forecasts

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:32:00 PST

Forty-five of 86 listed regional banks have revised upward their group net earnings projections for the April-September first half of fiscal 2009.
The upward revisions are attributable to their lower than expected costs involved in disposing of bad loans as corporate failures have slowed due to the government's economic stimulus measures, as well as better securities investment returns.

Police arrest Ichihashi in Osaka

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:33:00 PST

OSAKA (Kyodo) Tatsuya Ichihashi, the only suspect in the 2007 murder of a British woman, was arrested Tuesday after managing to elude police for 2 1/2 years.
The 30-year-old Ichihashi was apprehended in Suminoe Ward, Osaka, and taken into custody at Suminoe Police Station, where his identity was confirmed through fingerprints. He had altered his appearance with cosmetic surgery.

Ozawa lashes out with scathing remarks on Christianity

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:34:00 PST

Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the Democratic Party of Japan, criticized Christianity on Tuesday, saying the religion is "exclusive and self-righteous" and that Western society is "stuck in a dead end."
Ozawa also said "Islamism is also exclusive, although it's somewhat better than Christianity" regarding exclusiveness.

Obama may press Japan on child abductions

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:35:00 PST

OSAKA — U.S. President Barack Obama may take up Japan's refusal to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on parental child abductions when he meets with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Friday, two Americans involved with the issue said.
Parental child abductions generally refer to cases in which an estranged spouse takes children away from their home, or country of residence, and refuses to return them, in many cases defying court orders in the home country.

Tokyo-based photographer's office, home raided over nude photo shoot

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:36:00 PST

Police investigators searched the office and home of Tokyo-based photographer Kishin Shinoyama on Tuesday on suspicion of public indecency over the shooting of nude photos for his book of photos "20XX TOKYO."
The investigators also raided the office in Tokyo of a talent agency to which one of the two models, a 21-year-old actress, belongs.

JAL rehab plan revealed, includes DBJ bridge loan

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:37:00 PST

The government revealed on Tuesday a set of measures to keep Japan Airlines Corp. afloat, including a bridge loan by a government-linked bank and possibly a special law to reduce pension benefits for retired workers of Japan's top airline.
The government will ask the Development Bank of Japan to provide the bridge loan to JAL if the company requests it for operating money, transport minister Seiji Maehara said.