http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/japan-news/ en-us Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:25:48 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048219/posts The rector who presided at the controversial 'gay marriage' of two priests has caused fresh outrage by conducting £1,800 'white wedding' services for Japanese tourists. The Rev Martin Dudley has benefited from a craze for Western-style ceremonies among Japanese couples - many followers of Shintoism or Buddhism - by blessing their unions in his London church. The blessings - which feature traditional music, a white bridal dress, prayers and Bible readings, bouquets and confetti - are not banned by the Church of England but critics say they undermine the dignity of marriage. Daily Mail (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048219/posts#comment Sun, 20 Jul 2008 01:25:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047889/posts <p>A strong earthquake struck off Japan's eastern coast Saturday, shaking buildings and prompting a tsunami warning, witnesses and meteorological agencies said.</p> <p>There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage after the 6.6 magnitude quake, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.</p> <p>The U.S. Geological Survey put the strength of the initial temblor at 7.0 and said it was followed by a 5.3 aftershock.</p> Canadian Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047889/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:46:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047881/posts Japan has issued a tsunami warning in northeast Japan after an earthquake measuring 7.0 in magnitude struck off the coast of the main island of Honshu. There are no initial reports of damage from the quake. The epicentre was off the coast of Fukushima prefecture, the same area as a June 14 quake which killed at least 10 and left as many again missing. Alerts are in place for Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. radioaustralia.net http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047881/posts#comment Sat, 19 Jul 2008 04:10:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046294/posts Seventy-seven percent of people in Japan think that the statute of limitations on murders should be abolished, a Mainichi poll has found. Mainichi Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046294/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 14:08:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045330/posts (IsraelNN.com) The Arabic Al Jazeera television network has given its viewers an inside look at Hizbullah tunnels used in the Second Lebanon War, which the network noted was a military failure for Israel. The video clips revealed that the tunnels were equipped with showers, kitchens and "were planned like a house," according to the program's anchorman Ghassan Bin Jiddu. One clip showed a restroom with a water tank and a fan for ventilation. Bin Juddo explained that it took eight months to a year to complete a tunnel. Arutz 7 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045330/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:17:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044657/posts Japan will conduct its first test-firing of a land-to-air missile interceptor in the United States in September to ensure that a missile shield for the Japanese capital will function properly if it falls under attack, the Defense Ministry said. The PAC-3 Patriot interceptor will be fired at White Sands Missile Range in the state of New Mexico during the week of Sept. 15, according to a ministry statement obtained Saturday. The test comes as Japan and the U.S. accelerate their joint missile defense program following North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests in 2006. The planned test “aims to confirm the... Japan Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044657/posts#comment Sun, 13 Jul 2008 03:37:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043329/posts TOKYO (Reuters) - Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) will switch gears and produce the Prius hybrid instead of the less fuel-efficient Highlander sport utility vehicle at its planned Mississippi factory, the Nikkei business daily reported on Thursday. The world's biggest automaker is also likely to suspend production at one of two assembly lines at its Indiana factory, where it builds the Tundra pickup and Sequoia SUV, by year-end for at least six months, the paper said. Citing company sources, it said the move was in response to falling demand for those models and would amount to a production cut of 50,000... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043329/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jul 2008 11:11:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042677/posts President Bush met this morning with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany at the G8 Summit in the Windsor Hotel Toya Resort and Spa Toyako, Japan First Lady Laura Bush visited with the other First Ladies the Makkari farming village in Hokkaido Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed a preliminary missile defense treaty with Czech Republic's Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg,On another topic. The President’s approval rating remains at 32 percent while the approval rating of Congress fell to 9 percent Enjoy your visit to Sanity Island White House and other sources http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042677/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 00:54:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042523/posts Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda on Tuesday agreed to resolve a decades-old territorial row "as soon as possible," Japanese officials said. "Unless we resolve the territorial issue, people's feelings towards each other in our countries will not improve," Fukuda told Medvedev in talks on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of Eight powers, a Japanese official said. Medvedev was quoted as telling Fukuda: "If the territorial issue is resolved, bilateral relations will improve to the highest level." Russia and Japan have never signed a peace treaty to formally end World War II due... Google News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042523/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jul 2008 19:41:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042479/posts Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd exhibited "Plug-in Stella Concept," a new electric vehicle, at the G8 Hokkaido-Toyako Summit. Fuji Heavy Industries brought five of the vehicles to the site of the summit and showcased them to government officials and journalists from all over the world. The company plans to commercialize an electric car in 2009. The Plug-in Stella Concept is based on "Stella," the company's practical wagon-type kei car. The main characteristic of the vehicle is that it has a secondary battery in the lower part of the vehicle, securing as much interior space as the Stella. The secondary battery... techon.nikkeibp.co.jp http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2042479/posts#comment Tue, 8 Jul 2008 17:43:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041774/posts Top-end versions of the Toyota Prius hybrid are set to receive rooftop solar panels. News agency Reuters reports that the Japanese giant intends to install solar cells in order to power the air conditioning unit. Silicon prices are currently rising, pushing up the cost of solar panels. At this stage, it is unclear how much the solar-panelled versions would cost. The third generation of Toyota Prius with a petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is due to reach the market in 2009. Over 1 million Prius cars have been sold, with the strong demand for 'green' vehicles accelerating thanks to high oil... www.newcarnet.co.uk http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2041774/posts#comment Mon, 7 Jul 2008 12:40:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039525/posts US has means to verify North Korea statement -Rice (Adds amount of plutonium, other details) By Susan Cornwell KYOTO, Japan, June 26 (Reuters) - The United States believes it has the means to verify North Korea's estimate of its nuclear programmes, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday. North Korea was expected to declare between 30-50 kg (66-110 lb) of plutonium in the document, given to the Chinese government on Thursday, a senior U.S. administration official said separately, but added that "our estimates are greater". Verification, which meant calculating and resolving differences in estimates, could take "months and... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2039525/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jul 2008 01:59:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038646/posts The "HUVO" electric vehicle weighing 150kg: The resin parts were manufactured by RP systems. HUVO's body frame Topia Corp, a company engaged in designing and prototyping automobiles, prototyped a single-seater electric vehicle "HUVO," which weighs only about 150kg (330 lb). The vehicle was exhibited at the booth of Marubeni Information Systems Co Ltd in the 19th Design Engineering & Manufacturing Solutions Expo (DMS), which is an IT solution exhibition for manufacturers and runs from June 25-27, 2008, at Tokyo Big Sight. The HUVO was developed by using Topia's proprietary design and production technologies, the company said. If a vehicle... techon.nikkeibp.co.jp http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2038646/posts#comment Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:13:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036895/posts (CNSNews.com) - "We will trust you only to the extent that you fulfill your promises," President Bush warned North Korea on Thursday. The president announced at the White House that in response to North Korea meeting a key deadline to declare its nuclear activities, the United States will lift some trade sanctions against the communist state and rescind North Korea's designation as a state sponsor of terror. North Korea handed over a long-awaited declaration of its nuclear programs to Chinese officials on Thursday. President Bush noted that North Korea has begun disabling its nuclear facility at Yongbyon; and on Thursday,... CNSNews http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2036895/posts#comment Thu, 26 Jun 2008 19:30:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034172/posts TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese police on Friday arrested two Greenpeace members who had alleged corruption in the country's controversial whaling programme, accusing the activists of stealing whale meat. Police raided five locations, including the international environmental group's Japan headquarters in Tokyo, officials said. Police arrested Junichi Sato, 31, a prominent voice in the media against whaling, and fellow Greenpeace member Toru Suzuki, 41, a police spokesman said. Last month, Greenpeace said a lengthy investigation revealed that whalers on the taxpayer-backed hunt had taken home meat and sold it on the black market. It intercepted one box of meat and... Agence France Presse and Google http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034172/posts#comment Sat, 21 Jun 2008 01:38:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033367/posts Japanese professionals in their thirties are killing themselves at unprecedented rates, as the nation struggles with a runaway suicide epidemic. Newly published figures show that 30,093 people took their own lives in 2007 — a 2.9 per cent increase in a year — leaving the country as the most suicide-prone anywhere in the developed world and rendering government efforts to combat the problem a failure. Suicide rates remained highest among men — at 71 per cent of the total — and very high among Japan’s rising population of over-60s. Geographically, most suicides took place in the prefecture of Yamanashi, where... TimesOnline (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033367/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:49:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033108/posts Japan and China have agreed to jointly develop part of the gas deposits in the East China Sea, a major breakthrough in a long-standing dispute between the two countries, the Japanese government announced Wednesday. Tokyo and Beijing will jointly explore undersea gas deposits at two of the main potential sites in disputed areas of the East China Sea, their first concrete agreement on the ownership and exploration rights to the undersea resources, the Foreign Ministry said. The agreement is part of recent efforts by the two countries to boost relations, which have warmed considerably in the past two years. Control... Japan Today http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2033108/posts#comment Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:19:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032864/posts TOKYO (AFP) - Former US presidential contender Mike Huckabee urged his fellow Republicans on Wednesday not to denigrate Democrat Barack Obama, saying they should celebrate the historic moment of a black candidate. "Republicans will make a fundamental if not fatal mistake if they seek to win the election by demonising Barack Obama," Huckabee told a news conference on a visit to Tokyo. The former Arkansas governor said that, having grown up in the segregated South, he never thought he would see an African-American win the nomination of a major party for the US presidency. "I do not want to have... AFP on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032864/posts#comment Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:08:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032853/posts She's big-busted, petite, very friendly and she runs on batteries. Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032853/posts#comment Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:44:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032160/posts Japan hangs 3 convicted murderers By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press writer 9 minutes ago A serial killer who mutilated the bodies of four young girls and reportedly drank the blood of one of his victims was among three convicted murderers executed in Japan on Tuesday for crimes an official called indescribably cruel. Tsutomu Miyazaki, 45, whose rash of grisly killings in the late 1980s triggered calls for tighter restrictions on violent pornographic videos, was hanged at a detention center in Tokyo, Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said. Miyazaki burned the body of one 4-year-old and left her bones on her parents'... AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032160/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 08:29:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032132/posts TOKYO (AFP) — Japan on Tuesday executed three people including notorious serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, a fetishist convicted of murdering four little girls and eating some of their bodies, officials said. Miyazaki, 45, was nicknamed the "killer nerd" for his obsession with sexual cartoons and pornography. But defence lawyers contended he was mentally ill and could not be held fully responsible for his actions. Japan is the only major industrialised nation other than the United States to apply the death penalty and has been stepping up the pace of executions, which enjoy wide public support. "We are carrying out executions... AFP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032132/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 04:43:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031739/posts TOKYO — Nine Taiwanese coast guard vessels entered Japanese waters Monday near disputed islands in the East China Sea to accompany a ship of protesters angry over the sinking nearby of a Taiwanese fishing boat, officials said. Japan immediately denounced the incident as a violation of its territorial waters, amid a spike in tensions over the islands, known as Diaoyutai in Chinese and Senkaku in Japanese. Officials in Taiwan called it a mission to uphold its sovereignty over the disputed territory. The vessels and the protest ship were in Japanese waters for about two and a half hours near the... Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031739/posts#comment Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:26:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031553/posts OSAKA, Japan (Reuters) - The weak U.S. dollar and oil speculators took centre stage as Group of Eight finance ministers gathered in Japan on Friday to grapple with surging inflation and a slowing global economy. ADVERTISEMENT As soaring energy costs stirred protests from Malaysia to Spain, the world's most powerful governments talked up a link between a dollar slide and a doubling of oil prices in 12 months. Their communique at the end of their meeting on Saturday will describe commodity prices as a "serious challenge" to economic growth, a G8 source told Reuters. The G8 countries, mostly importers of... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031553/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 21:48:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031264/posts TAIPEI - TAIWAN announced on Saturday it was recalling its de facto envoy to Japan over Tokyo's handling of an incident in which a Taiwanese fishing boat sank after colliding with a Japanese patrol vessel. The incident occurred early on Tuesday near uninhabited islands in the East China Sea known as the Senkaku in Japanese and the Diaoyu in Chinese. Japan administers the disputed chain, which lies near rich energy deposits, but it is also claimed by Taipei and Beijing. According to Taiwan's foreign ministry, Japanese authorities found that the captains of both the Japanese coast guard vessel and the... Straits Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031264/posts#comment Sun, 15 Jun 2008 01:48:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031014/posts The burst of the bubble in 1990 shook up Japan's confidence in the efficacy of its old ways. Western ideas and brands have flowed into the breach, profoundly altering the Japanese society. The bad has come with the good. Freedom to compete has, for the first time since the 1930s, created winners and losers. More personal freedom has given young Japanese options of living as para (2) in a make-believe world of manga and anime comics, or raising $2000 designer chihuahuas instead of children. Consumerism has replaced citizenism. Standards have been lowered in areas ranging from public education to manners... Brussells Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2031014/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 12:11:50 GMT