Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from April 2009

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from April 2009

Controversial Chinese IT rule to begin Fri.
April 30, 2009... Controversial Chinese IT rule to begin Fri. Akihito Teramura Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri BEIJING BEIJING--China announced Wednesday that it would introduce Friday a new regulation forcing makers of information...

Hospitals set up special 'swine flu departments'.
April 30, 2009... Hospitals set up special 'swine flu departments' Yomiuri Hospitals around the nation are preparing for a possible outbreak of swine flu by setting up special outpatient sections to examine people possibly infected with the disease....

Study shows new H5N1 strain may mutate in pigs.
April 30, 2009... Study shows new H5N1 strain may mutate in pigs Yomiuri A high proportion of pigs in Indonesia carry the highly infectious H5N1 avian influenza virus--something that could mutate into a new strain inside the pigs, according to...

Statute of limitations on civil cases called into question.
April 30, 2009... Statute of limitations on civil cases called into question Yomiuri The Supreme Court has acknowledged that a man who confessed to a murder after the 20-year statute of limitations had expired still bore civil responsibility for the...

Quarantine checks taking 2 hrs / Aroma of disinfectant fil.
April 30, 2009... Quarantine checks taking 2 hrs / Aroma of disinfectant fills airports on eve of Golden Week break Yomiuri Following the government's declaration Tuesday that a new type of influenza had emerged, quarantine inspections started aboard...

Lower house election schedule might be affected by swine f.
April 30, 2009... Lower house election schedule might be affected by swine flu Yomiuri Though the ruling and opposition parties have set up task forces on responding to swine flu amid concerns the disease could spread to Asia, the possibility has...

Flu alert obliges travelers to give personal info.
April 30, 2009... Flu alert obliges travelers to give personal info Yomiuri The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Tuesday made it compulsory for all travelers returning from overseas to Japan to provide information at airports on their health...

Shimizu stoic before tragic suicide / 'Always upbeat' TV p.
April 30, 2009... Shimizu stoic before tragic suicide / 'Always upbeat' TV personality hid difficulty of nursing elderly mother Junzo Ono, Yuki Sudo and Mayumi Terashima / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri TV personality Yukiko Shimizu, who...

Strictest antiflu efforts focused on Mexico.
April 30, 2009... Strictest antiflu efforts focused on Mexico Yomiuri Despite the confirmation of swine flu cases in several countries, the government's strictest antiflu measures apply only to Mexico, according to a basic action plan decided by the...

Steps to take to prepare for swine flu outbreak.
April 30, 2009... Steps to take to prepare for swine flu outbreak Yomiuri Amid government announcements of a new strain of swine flu spreading through Mexico and other countries, members of the public need to carefully watch news reports and react in...

EDITORIAL / Concrete steps needed to achieve N-free world.
April 30, 2009... EDITORIAL / Concrete steps needed to achieve N-free world Yomiuri It is difficult to achieve nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation merely by chanting the rhetorical slogan of a "nuclear-free world." Can Japan leave...

Fewer Japanese studying abroad.
April 30, 2009... Fewer Japanese studying abroad Jun Sugimori / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Over the past decade, the number of foreign students seeking higher education in Japan has more than doubled. In contrast, the number of Japanese...

Sophia's TEAP test to assess English skills in EFL environ.
April 30, 2009... Sophia's TEAP test to assess English skills in EFL environment Yomiuri Sophia University has announced it will develop a new type of English proficiency test that gauges how well nonnative speakers of the language will be able to...

BULLETIN BOARD.
April 30, 2009... BULLETIN BOARD Yomiuri London institute to offer briefings on teaching Japanese The Institute of International Education in London (IIEL) will offer briefing sessions on a master of arts program on teaching Japanese as a foreign...

TOEFL Booster / Learning specialized term.
April 30, 2009... TOEFL Booster / Learning specialized term Lawrence J. Zwier / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri Vocabulary is heavily tested on the TOEFL Internet-based test (iBT). About a third of the questions about any reading passage are...

KANSAI&WEST / Families still haunted by JR derailment.
April 30, 2009... KANSAI&WEST / Families still haunted by JR derailment Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--Eighty percent of people who lost a relative in the fatal derailment on the JR Fukuchiyama Line in 2005 still suffer physically or mentally as a result,...

KANSAI&WEST / First-hand accounts of living through traged.
April 30, 2009... KANSAI&WEST / First-hand accounts of living through tragedy Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--Relatives of the victims of the JR Fukuchiyama Line derailment and people who were injured in the accident offer their comments below: ...

KANSAI&WEST / Grieving mother reflects on journey toward p.
April 30, 2009... KANSAI&WEST / Grieving mother reflects on journey toward peace Yomiuri AMAGASAKI, Hyogo AMAGASAKI, Hyogo--Megumi Komae of Sanda, Hyogo Prefecture, has been pursuing a pilgrimage of 33 temples in western Japan since losing her...

KANSAI&WEST / Legendary kimono makers' works on show.
April 30, 2009... KANSAI&WEST / Legendary kimono makers' works on show Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--An exhibition of yuzen-dyed kimono made by two national treasures--the late Kako Moriguchi and his second son Kunihiko--is being held at The Museum of...

Anai nabs 1st title at All-Japan.
April 30, 2009... Anai nabs 1st title at All-Japan Yomiuri Takamasa Anai got a big confidence boost heading into this year's world judo championships--the title of being No. 1 in all of Japan. Anai defeated veteran Yasuyuki Muneta by a unanimous...

Eagles give Nomura 1,500th win.
April 30, 2009... Eagles give Nomura 1,500th win Yomiuri Tohoku Rakuten manager Katsuya Nomura became the fifth skipper in Japan pro baseball history with 1,500 career wins when he steered the Golden Eagles to a 2-1 victory over the Hokkaido Nippon...

Ishii too good for Hawks.
April 30, 2009... Ishii too good for Hawks John E. Gibson / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri TOKOROZAWA, Saitama--Kazuhisa Ishii was as good as gold to start the spring holiday period. The veteran left-hander carried a no-hitter into the...

Rookie Watanabe lifts Marinos' gloom.
April 30, 2009... Rookie Watanabe lifts Marinos' gloom Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri YOKOHAMA--Kazuma Watanabe just can't miss at home. Marinos' celebrated rookie striker scored in Yokohama once again as Watanabe led his...

Govt officially declares outbreak of new flu in N. America.
April 29, 2009... Govt officially declares outbreak of new flu in N. America Yomiuri Invoking the Infectious Diseases Law, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe on Tuesday morning declared an outbreak of a new strain of influenza in...

Murder damages 'applicable' after 26 years.
April 29, 2009... Murder damages 'applicable' after 26 years Yomiuri The Supreme Court rejected Tuesday an appeal by a man who confessed to killing a female school teacher in 1978 in which he claimed the statute of limitations had expired on a murder...

Govt announces quarantine inspections.
April 29, 2009... Govt announces quarantine inspections Yomiuri The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Tuesday it will carry out mandatory quarantine inspections aboard aircraft landing at domestic airports NARITA, Chiba--Large-scale...

Jochi Gakuin, Seibo plan April 2011 merger.
April 29, 2009... Jochi Gakuin, Seibo plan April 2011 merger Yomiuri Academic organizations Jochi Gakuin and Seibo Nursing School announced Tuesday they would start negotiations over a possible merger in April 2011. Jochi Gakuin operates Sophia...

Ex-mayor avoids prison term for rigging bids.
April 29, 2009... Ex-mayor avoids prison term for rigging bids Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--The Osaka District Court on Tuesday sentenced Hiroshi Nakatsuka, 53, former mayor of Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, to 1-1/2 years in prison, suspended for three...

Finance company concealed 500 mil. yen in income.
April 29, 2009... Finance company concealed 500 mil. yen in income Yomiuri A Tokyo-based finance company that advances funds to companies listed on emerging equity markets and speculative brokers concealed more than 500 million yen in taxable income...

U.S.-born pro go player marks 500th career victory.
April 29, 2009... U.S.-born pro go player marks 500th career victory Yomiuri Michael Redmond, a U.S.-born professional go player, marked his 500th career victory at a preliminary match in the Oza title competition, one of the seven major go...

Mukai adopts twin boys, using special system.
April 29, 2009... Mukai adopts twin boys, using special system Yomiuri TV personality Aki Mukai and her husband have successfully adopted twin surrogate boys, using a special adoption system under the Civil Code, according to her blog. Mukai said...

Musings, April 28, 2009.
April 29, 2009... Musings, April 28, 2009 Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's April 28 issue. * * * A man rues the sudden death of his younger sister at a young age, saying: "She was...

Researchers create iPS cells that glow green.
April 29, 2009... Researchers create iPS cells that glow green Yomiuri A Japanese researcher and his team at the University of Toronto have succeeded in creating a new type of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from green fluorescent protein (GFP),...

Travel agencies plagued by flu-related issues.
April 29, 2009... Travel agencies plagued by flu-related issues Yomiuri Scares over the outbreak of swine flu in North America have scuppered travel agencies hopes of a bumper Golden Week holiday period. On Tuesday, the World Health Organization...

Young man drops auto work for the life of a fisherman.
April 29, 2009... Young man drops auto work for the life of a fisherman Kentaro Ono / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri KESENNUMA, Miyagi KESENNUMA, Miyagi--A man who lost his job at a car factory has followed in his father's footsteps by...

Japan sure to become a diverse society.
April 29, 2009... Japan sure to become a diverse society Marianne R. Yoshioka and Tosh Minohara / Special to The Daily Yomiuri column Building bridges: This has become a trite adage, but it is still a particularly apt one in the case of...

ECONOMIC FORUM / Utopia: No people allowed / Human beings.
April 29, 2009... ECONOMIC FORUM / Utopia: No people allowed / Human beings cause of most of mankind's problems Takamitsu Saito Yomiuri Minoru Betsuyaku, a leading Japanese playwright, defines utopia in his book "Funpan Akuma no Jiten" (An Absurd...

EDITORIAL/ Govt must act now to prevent pandemic.
April 29, 2009... EDITORIAL/ Govt must act now to prevent pandemic Yomiuri It must be an anguished decision. The World Health Organization on Monday raised its global alert level as a result of swine flu--which has spread from Mexico to other...

Firms get a handle on brand-name bag rental.
April 29, 2009... Firms get a handle on brand-name bag rental Takeyuki Hitokoto / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Online shops that rent brand-name bags are proving popular among fashion-conscious people who want to use the luxury items for...

Japan firms halt output, nix business trips over flu.
April 29, 2009... Japan firms halt output, nix business trips over flu Yomiuri Following the World Health Organization's decision to raise the swine flu pandemic alert level, Japanese firms have taken action to counter a possible domestic swine flu...

SMFG agrees deal with Citi to buy Nikko Cordial.
April 29, 2009... SMFG agrees deal with Citi to buy Nikko Cordial Yomiuri Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has reached a basic agreement with Citigroup Inc. to buy Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. and major operations of Nikko Citi Group Ltd., it was...

SCRUM DOWN / RWC would celebrate the past.
April 29, 2009... SCRUM DOWN / RWC would celebrate the past Rich Freeman / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri It seems appropriate that Japan's presentation to the International Rugby Board on May 13 to host either the 2015 or 2019 Rugby World...

Wild Lions get past error-prone Hawks.
April 29, 2009... Wild Lions get past error-prone Hawks John E. Gibson / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri TOKOROZAWA, Saitama--Not many were laughing at after a game filled with a comedy of errors. In fact, the winners wore an awkward smile...

Space policy to shift focus to practical use.
April 28, 2009... Space policy to shift focus to practical use Yomiuri A panel of experts reporting to the government's space development policy team approved Monday a draft basic plan on space development, in which they call for a shift of focus from...

Govt sends Tamiflu to Mexico.
April 28, 2009... Govt sends Tamiflu to Mexico Yomiuri To help Japanese citizens in Mexico, the Foreign Ministry sent enough flu medicine Monday for 2,300 people along with 8,400 masks, according to the ministry. It is estimated there are about...

Vaccine 'available by autumn'.
April 28, 2009... Vaccine 'available by autumn' Yomiuri The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry on Monday said the government likely will be able to start providing vaccine as early as autumn against the strain of swine flu currently spreading in...

Prosecutors to indict Maizuru murder suspect.
April 28, 2009... Prosecutors to indict Maizuru murder suspect Yomiuri KYOTO KYOTO--Prosecutors have decided to indict Katsumi Naka on suspicion of killing 15-year-old Miho Kosugi and abandoning her body in Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, in May,...

IN THE NEWS / New post excites youthful UNICEF Tokyo head/.
April 28, 2009... IN THE NEWS / New post excites youthful UNICEF Tokyo head Noriko Sakakibara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Junko Kunugi, the first female Japanese head of the UNICEF in Tokyo, one of three regional UNICEF headquarters...

Swine flu impact felt in Japan / Japanese firms with overs.
April 28, 2009... Swine flu impact felt in Japan / Japanese firms with overseas interests monitoring situation carefully Yomiuri The repercussions of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico and the United States already are being felt in Japan as companies...

Osaka Pref. bristles at TBS' road-sweeping 'expose'.
April 28, 2009... Osaka Pref. bristles at TBS' road-sweeping 'expose' Yomiuri A TBS TV program aired staged footage of a street-sweeping vehicle operated on behalf of Osaka prefectural government skipping an area of prefectural road at an intersection...

After 40 years, quake panel seeks new path.
April 28, 2009... After 40 years, quake panel seeks new path Atsushi Miyazaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Coordinating Committee for Earthquake Prediction (CCEP), and its...

More universities creating sports-related faculties.
April 28, 2009... More universities creating sports-related faculties Yomiuri The number of universities that have established sports-related faculties and departments has jumped in recent years, with 63 such faculties operating in fiscal 2008, up...

Dynastic politics at issue in poll / DPJ to point out many.
April 28, 2009... Dynastic politics at issue in poll / DPJ to point out many LDP lawmakers 'inherited' their seats Yomiuri Imposing restrictions on "hereditary" candidacy has emerged as a contentious issue likely to receive close attention during...

EDITORIAL / Dual-use satellite system should be promoted.
April 28, 2009... EDITORIAL / Dual-use satellite system should be promoted Yomiuri A draft of the nation's first basic plan for space development emphasizes the policy of using space development to further national security and as a diplomatic tool....

Subsidies set to spread home solar power use.
April 28, 2009... Subsidies set to spread home solar power use Yomiuri The restoration of a government subsidy scheme to encourage ordinary households to install solar power generation systems is expected to bring about a sharp increase in homes being...

The Japanese and the English Language / English offers mo.
April 28, 2009... The Japanese and the English Language / English offers mothers control over careers Saori Kan / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri In Japan, women who take a break from their job to look after their newborn children sometimes...

The Japanese and the English Language: English for Career.
April 28, 2009... The Japanese and the English Language: English for Career Development / Good written English a key skill Saori Kan / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri With the rapid progress of globalization, the English language is playing a...

The Japanese and the English Language / Academic English s.
April 28, 2009... The Japanese and the English Language / Academic English skills useful in daily life Keiko Watanabe / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Spending time writing essays using the logic and rhetoric used in English academic papers...

The Japanese and the English Language / 'English, I love y.
April 28, 2009... The Japanese and the English Language / 'English, I love you and I hate you' Keiko Watanabe / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri The title of the book "Eigo no Bakayaro!" should not be misconstrued. "Bakayaro" means "stupid" or...

The Japanese and the English Language / Creating healthy d.
April 28, 2009... The Japanese and the English Language / Creating healthy dialogue Hiroko Ihara / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri As anyone who has found themselves acting as interpreter between a non-Japanese friend and a Japanese doctor well...

Indirectly Speaking / Keeping it simple but structured.
April 28, 2009... Indirectly Speaking / Keeping it simple but structured Mike Guest Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri Two months ago (March 3) in this column I wrote about my son answering the question, "Which jacket is yours?" on a middle...

Carp pick up ex-Lions' power hitter McClain.
April 28, 2009... Carp pick up ex-Lions' power hitter McClain The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri The Hiroshima Carp on Monday announced they had signed former Seibu Lions infielder Scott McClain to a one-year contract. The deal is reportedly worth 20...

'Washing bear' a hygiene-conscious eater.
April 28, 2009... 'Washing bear' a hygiene-conscious eater Yomiuri KYOTO KYOTO--A Kyoto University researcher has found that the common raccoon, known for washing-like movements with its paws, removes toxins from its prey before eating it by...

Job-training camps planned for rejected graduates.
April 28, 2009... Job-training camps planned for rejected graduates Yomiuri Fifty-day job-training seminars to help college graduates land corporate jobs after they have had other offers withdrawn due to the ailing economy will be held in three...

Akita Univ. dispatches research group to Botswana.
April 28, 2009... Akita Univ. dispatches research group to Botswana Yomiuri AKITA AKITA--Akita University on Monday sent a research team to Botswana as part of cooperative measures to foster engineers at the resource-rich country's planned...

Escaped suspect cajoled cop to drink drugged tea.
April 28, 2009... Escaped suspect cajoled cop to drink drugged tea Yomiuri MITO MITO--A senior police officer at Mito Police Station who fell asleep after drinking tea laced with sleeping pills, allowing a suspect to escape Friday, reportedly...

Goeido rises to sekiwake.
April 28, 2009... Goeido rises to sekiwake The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri No pressure, but if Goeido can't hack it at sekiwake, then the Osaka native will be the latest in a long line of dashed Japanese hopes. The 23-year-old was promoted to...

U.S. said studying ground-based SM-3 missile system.
April 27, 2009... U.S. said studying ground-based SM-3 missile system Satoshi Ogawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri WASHINGTON WASHINGTON--The U.S. Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has started studying a new missile...

Suspect escapes police after officer nods off.
April 27, 2009... Suspect escapes police after officer nods off Yomiuri MITO MITO--A 24-year-old man escaped from Mito Police Station on Friday after a senior policeman fell asleep while questioning him on suspicion of theft, having consumed tea...

Copy of lay judge summons released.
April 27, 2009... Copy of lay judge summons released Yomiuri The Supreme Court has publicly released a copy of the documents that will be sent to people nominated to sit on court benches as lay judges at each district court and its branches under the...

Toppled crane wasn't fitted with safety device.
April 27, 2009... Toppled crane wasn't fitted with safety device Yomiuri The crane that tipped over onto a national highway at a construction site in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on April 14, injuring six people, was not equipped with a safety device to...

Govt responds to swine flu threat.
April 27, 2009... Govt responds to swine flu threat Yomiuri An outbreak of a virulent strain of swine flu in Mexico and the United States is causing mounting concern in Japan. Some travel agencies plan to cancel their tours to Mexico, and the...

Common-law husband admits abusing girl.
April 27, 2009... Common-law husband admits abusing girl Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--The common-law husband of the mother of Seika Matsumoto, 9, whose body was found earlier this month in Nara, has admitted physically abusing the girl, police sources...

Woman admits serial thefts of pricey kimono.
April 27, 2009... Woman admits serial thefts of pricey kimono Yomiuri An Osaka woman was arrested on April 14 on suspicion of stealing a kimono at a department store in Ginza, Tokyo, in October and has admitted stealing and pawning kimono for the past...

Govt to provide 4 bil. yen for antipiracy efforts.
April 27, 2009... Govt to provide 4 bil. yen for antipiracy efforts Yomiuri The government is likely to incorporate about 4 billion yen into the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, which is to be endorsed at a Cabinet meeting Monday, to fund antipiracy...

Damage-claim limit on deaths may rise from 20 years to 30/.
April 27, 2009... Damage-claim limit on deaths may rise from 20 years to 30 Yomiuri A government expert committee studying how to revise the Monetary Claims Law tentatively has suggested the statute of limitations on claiming civil damages for an...

Korean actor charged over smuggled narcotics.
April 27, 2009... Korean actor charged over smuggled narcotics Yomiuri SEOUL SEOUL--The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency sent papers on popular South Korean actor Joo Ji Hoon on Saturday on charges of taking narcotics smuggledCopyright 2009 The...

Kawamura wins Nagoya mayoral race.
April 27, 2009... Kawamura wins Nagoya mayoral race Yomiuri NAGOYA NAGOYA--Former House of Representatives member Takashi Kawamura, an independent candidate backed by the Democratic Party of Japan, won the Nagoya mayoral election Sunday. ...

Cuts in local govts' public works costs urged.
April 27, 2009... Cuts in local govts' public works costs urged Yomiuri A government panel in charge of helping expedite the decentralization of power from the central government to local governments has called for freeing local entities from the...

'Metabolic' waistlines spark bike boom.
April 27, 2009... 'Metabolic' waistlines spark bike boom Kentaro Sugino / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri An increasing number of company employees are enjoying riding hybrid-style sport bicycles--a cross between a mountain bike and a racing...

EDITORIAL / Nation must prepare for swine flu pandemic.
April 27, 2009... EDITORIAL / Nation must prepare for swine flu pandemic Yomiuri News of a swine flu outbreak has taken the world off guard. The new strain of flu has been infecting an increasing number of people, mainly in Mexico, and has killed...

Little GIANTS of business / Firm's mettle, ideas lead to s.
April 27, 2009... Little GIANTS of business / Firm's mettle, ideas lead to success Mitsuhiko Totsuka / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri NAGOYA--Containers made of a stainless steel and titanium alloy developed by Morimatsu Industry Co. have...

Lack of growth plans pushed Shinsei, Aozora into talks.
April 27, 2009... Lack of growth plans pushed Shinsei, Aozora into talks Yomiuri The key factors behind the start of merger talks between Shinsei Bank and Aozora Bank are the two banks' failure to draw up specific plans for growth and their falling...

Dragons' Kawai shuts down Giants.
April 27, 2009... Dragons' Kawai shuts down Giants John E. Gibson Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri Dragons' Kawai shuts down GiantsBy John E. Gibson Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter The Chunichi Dragons are still piecing together a rotation...