Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from December 2008, page 7

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from December 2008

Kaguya moon images posted on YouTube.
December 7, 2008... Kaguya moon images posted on YouTube Yomiuri Twenty high-definition videos of the moon recorded by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's lunar probe Kaguya have been posted on the video-sharing Web site YouTube Japan. The...

Political efforts on employment face limits / Govt, ruling.
December 7, 2008... Political efforts on employment face limits / Govt, ruling parties focus on keeping 1.4 million in work as job prospects Katsumi Takahashi, Takeo Azuma and Takashi Shimomiya Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri As the...

EDITORIAL / Quiet environment key for screening textbooks/.
December 7, 2008... EDITORIAL / Quiet environment key for screening textbooks Yomiuri When it comes to the issue of authorizing school textbooks, the most important thing is for the government not to cave in to external pressure and intervention in the...

Tabuse's Brex pound Mitsubishi Electric.
December 7, 2008... Tabuse's Brex pound Mitsubishi Electric Yomiuri Takuya Kawamura and Ken Tanaka each scored 15 points and Yuta Tabuse and Randy Orr each chipped in with 13 as the Link Tochigi Brex downed the Mitsubishi Electric Dolphins 79-58 in...

Eagles sign 2 mound imports.
December 7, 2008... Eagles sign 2 mound imports Yomiuri The Tohoku Rakuten Eagles on Sunday announced they had acquired a pair of right-handeders, including Darrell Rasner, who pitched with the New York Yankees the past two seasons. The 27-year-old...

Scandal forces Okubo to quit as Lions coach.
December 7, 2008... Scandal forces Okubo to quit as Lions coach Yomiuri Hiromoto "Dave" Okubo has resigned as batting coach for the Japan Series champion Saitama Seibu Lions, it was learned Saturday. A female friend accused Okubo of striking her the...

Marksaeng moves into share of lead.
December 7, 2008... Marksaeng moves into share of lead Jim Nishi / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri A day after the wind almost blew Prayad Marksaeng out of contention, the Thai golfer took advantage of superb playing conditions to charge into...

Hill leads from front as Brave Lupus rout Atlastars.
December 7, 2008... Hill leads from front as Brave Lupus rout Atlastars Rich Freeman / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri Toshiba Brave Lupus flyhalf David Hill came into Saturday's game against Yokogawa Musashino Atlastars averaging just under 20...

Antlers snag 2nd straight J.League title.
December 7, 2008... Antlers snag 2nd straight J.League title Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri History didn't repeat itself, but Kashima Antlers did. Antlers won the J.League championship for the second straight season on...

JEF's great escape consigns Verdy to J2.
December 7, 2008... JEF's great escape consigns Verdy to J2 Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri Tokyo Verdy's return to J1 turned out to be brief. Verdy's rocky 2008 campaign ended on Saturday at Ajinomoto Stadium with a home...

Emergency care--the crisis in obstetrics/Doctors, nurses o.
December 6, 2008... Emergency care--the crisis in obstetrics/Doctors, nurses overworked, understaffed Yomiuri This is the final installment of a three-part series about problems with the nation's obstetric and neonatal medical care. The Yomiuri...

Revised Nationality Law enacted.
December 6, 2008... Revised Nationality Law enacted Yomiuri A revised Nationality Law was enacted Friday, paving the way for a child born outside wedlock to a Japanese man and a non-Japanese woman to obtain Japanese nationality if the father recognizes...

All national univ. hospitals to get ICUs for newborns.
December 6, 2008... All national univ. hospitals to get ICUs for newborns Yomiuri Intensive care units for newborn babies will be established at all national university hospitals over the next four fiscal years, the Education, Science and Technology...

Error delays plane carrying SMAP members.
December 6, 2008... Error delays plane carrying SMAP members Yomiuri An aircraft carrying members of the pop group SMAP was turned back at New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido on Thursday after starting to taxi into position for takeoff because of concerns...

Law revision sparks family joy.
December 6, 2008... Law revision sparks family joy Yomiuri Families seeking Japanese nationality for children born out of wedlock to Japanese fathers and foreign mothers were overjoyed at the passing of a revision to the Nationality Law on Friday. ...

Koizumi 'stole cash from Saitama victims'.
December 6, 2008... Koizumi 'stole cash from Saitama victims' Yomiuri The man rearrested on murder and attempted murder charges involving knife attacks at the homes of two former health ministry officials has admitted he took cash from wallets at the...

Driver held after car hits kids, killing 1.
December 6, 2008... Driver held after car hits kids, killing 1 Yomiuri SAITAMA SAITAMA--A 63-year-old woman was arrested after her car allegedly hit a group of primary school students, killing one girl and slightly injuring four others on a street...

Prefectural antiflu steps to be disclosed on Internet.
December 6, 2008... Prefectural antiflu steps to be disclosed on Internet Yomiuri A ruling parties working group looking into measures to be taken against new strains of flu has decided to disclose via the Internet the preparations made by each...

Between the lines of 'Genji'.
December 6, 2008... Between the lines of 'Genji' Yomiuri NARA NARA--Two woodblocks used to print an explanatory companion guide to "The Tale of Genji," the world's oldest surviving full-length novel, in the Edo period (1603-1867) have been found in...

Musings.
December 6, 2008... Musings Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 2 issue. * * * I cannot forget the jewel-like remarks by Paralympics gold medalist Tomoya Ito I came across when I...

Osaka schools split on student cell phone ban.
December 6, 2008... Osaka schools split on student cell phone ban Atsushi Yoshihara, Shoichi Yamashitaand Shigetaka Mori Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri A planned new regulation to be introduced by the Osaka prefectural government that would...

Firms' fortunes rise, fall on yen / Fishing, pearl sectors.
December 6, 2008... Firms' fortunes rise, fall on yen / Fishing, pearl sectors lament strong currency, but travel taking off Hironari Akiyama, Tadaaki Inoue and Hiroko Toda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri The sharp rise in the value of the...

EDITORIAL / New job-creation steps must be launched soon.
December 6, 2008... EDITORIAL / New job-creation steps must be launched soon Yomiuri Restructuring measures undertaken by corporations and an increase in bankruptcies have been worsening the employment situation. To remedy this state of affairs, a...

Washington preparing for post-Kim regime.
December 6, 2008... Washington preparing for post-Kim regime Yoshinari Kurose Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent Yomiuri WASHINGTON WASHINGTON--Working on the assumption that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's health is worse than first thought,...

NIIGATA / Rakugo eyed for revitalization / Young entrepren.
December 6, 2008... NIIGATA / Rakugo eyed for revitalization / Young entrepreneurs try to brighten up fire-hit downtown district Yomiuri Hit by a fire that destroyed 10 buildings in the downtown area of Sanjo, Niigata Prefecture, in October, as well as...

IBARAKI / Shopping street harnesses wind to woo customers/.
December 6, 2008... IBARAKI / Shopping street harnesses wind to woo customers Yomiuri Strong winds that sweep down a department store building in Mito have long been a nuisance for shopkeepers on one of the city's main shopping streets. But some people...

FUKUSHIMA / Firing squad restores old kiln.
December 6, 2008... FUKUSHIMA / Firing squad restores old kiln Yomiuri A noborigama climbing kiln recently was brought back to life for the first time in 14 years in Kitakata, Fukushima Prefecture, firing about 5,000 bricks and other ceramics. Most...

Kashima keeping focus.
December 6, 2008... Kashima keeping focus Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri Kashima Antlers basically need a draw with relegated Consadole Sapporo this afternoon to defend the J.League title. But after what Yokohama FC did to...

Chono turns down lucrative Lotte offer.
December 6, 2008... Chono turns down lucrative Lotte offer Yomiuri Hisayoshi Chono turned his back on the Chiba Lotte Marines and plans to hold out for a chance to march with his favorite team. The slugging outfielder on Friday turned down a...

STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH: Japan rugby doing nothing.
December 6, 2008... STRAIGHT FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH: Japan rugby doing nothing wrong By John Kirwan / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri It seems you can't please all the people all of the time. Although Japan recently won back-to-back tests...

Teen Ishikawa 2 shots off pace at Nippon Series.
December 6, 2008... Teen Ishikawa 2 shots off pace at Nippon Series Mitsunori Toda / Daily Yomiuri Sportwriter Yomiuri Overcoming gusting winds and early bogeys, teen phenom Ryo Ishikawa shot a 1-under-par 69 Friday to move within two shots of the...

Emergency care the crisis in obstetrics/Patients 'should b.
December 5, 2008... Emergency care the crisis in obstetrics/Patients 'should be accepted without fail' Yomiuri This is the second installment of a three-part series about problems with the nation's obstetric and neonatal medical care. The Yomiuri...

Nippon Oil to merge with Nippon Mining.
December 5, 2008... Nippon Oil to merge with Nippon Mining Yomiuri Nippon Oil Corp., the nation's largest oil distributor, and Nippon Mining Holdings Inc. will merge their operations next year to become the world's eighth-largest oil company, the firms...

Patent Office to extend trademark protection to sound, mov.
December 5, 2008... Patent Office to extend trademark protection to sound, moving images Yomiuri The Patent Office plans to accept applications to register sound and moving images as trademarks, sources close to the government said Thursday. With...

1 mil. yen mulled for firms regularizing temporary staff.
December 5, 2008... 1 mil. yen mulled for firms regularizing temporary staff Yomiuri A ruling parties project team decided Wednesday to introduce a system by which the government would provide financial assistance for firms hiring temporary workers as...

Pension record statement sent to dead woman.
December 5, 2008... Pension record statement sent to dead woman Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--A woman of Daito, Osaka Prefecture who died 15 years ago was sent a Social Insurance Agency statement in September requesting confirmation of her pension payment...

New system to allow taxi cuts in some areas.
December 5, 2008... New system to allow taxi cuts in some areas Yomiuri The Construction and Transport Ministry likely will set up a system to cut the number of taxis in areas with a surplus of cabs in a bid to ease competition, the ministry said...

Osaka Pref. eyes cell phone use ban in schools.
December 5, 2008... Osaka Pref. eyes cell phone use ban in schools Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--Students will be prohibited from using cell phones at the majority of public primary, middle and high schools in Osaka Prefecture from the next school year,...

Koizumi rearrested over murder / Police say DNA evidence l.
December 5, 2008... Koizumi rearrested over murder / Police say DNA evidence links suspect to double murder, serious assault Yomiuri Takeshi Koizumi, who had previously been arrested on suspicion of violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law, was...

Trucks collide; driver dies after vehicle dragged for 20 k.
December 5, 2008... Trucks collide; driver dies after vehicle dragged for 20 kilometers Yomiuri MITO MITO--Police on Wednesday arrested a 58-year-old truck driver on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Law by dragging for 20 kilometers another...

SIA staffers fingered in data manipulation.
December 5, 2008... SIA staffers fingered in data manipulation Yomiuri About 140 pension recipients who have so far received visits from Social Insurance Agency officials have indicated the possible involvement of SIA staffers in the fabrication of...

Ruling coalition agrees on automobile tax cuts.
December 5, 2008... Ruling coalition agrees on automobile tax cuts Yomiuri The Liberal Democratic Party and ruling coalition partner New Komeito on Thursday worked out a plan to cut automobile-related taxes, including the automobile weight tax, for...

Survey: Autopsies mystery to most families.
December 5, 2008... Survey: Autopsies mystery to most families Yomiuri About 70 percent of people whose family members underwent court-ordered autopsies did not understand why they were done because of insufficient explanations from the police and...

Aso administration seen straying off track.
December 5, 2008... Aso administration seen straying off track Takeshi Endo and Hajime Furukawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri Negotiations within the government and ruling parties, which led to the Cabinet's endorsement Wednesday of a...

Victims gain more say in court.
December 5, 2008... Victims gain more say in court Fumio Tanaka, Aki Nakamura and Makoto Inagaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri A system that allows people directly affected by a crime to question defendants and offer opinions in criminal...

New court role may temper sentencing.
December 5, 2008... New court role may temper sentencing Yomiuri Mock trials held in preparation for the participation of victims of crime and bereaved family members in court proceedings as part of the lay judge system showed a tendency for more...

EDITORIAL / What came of road tax funds transfer pledge?
December 5, 2008... EDITORIAL / What came of road tax funds transfer pledge? Yomiuri It appears that the government's pledge to put road-related tax revenues into the general account from fiscal 2009 will effectively be an empty promise. The...

A STUDY OF BRANDS / Kartell's chic furniture sets the stan.
December 5, 2008... A STUDY OF BRANDS / Kartell's chic furniture sets the standard Yomiuri Kartell S.p.A. of Italy has established itself as a leading global furniture brand by imbuing plastic home furnishings with chic, artistic appeal. In this 20th...

IBM union slams 'axing of 1,000 staff'.
December 5, 2008... IBM union slams 'axing of 1,000 staff' Yomiuri A formal protest is being submitted to the management of IBM Japan Ltd. over recent moves by the company to proceed with the large-scale laying off of regular workers due to the effects...

It's a wrap: The year's top hits and your best bets for ho.
December 5, 2008... It's a wrap: The year's top hits and your best bets for holiday gifts appearances a giant eyeball, this digital microscope hooks up to a television to give you a close-up view of your world Yomiuri So, it's that time of year...

COMICS REVIEW / Aranzi Hour unexplainably cute...and succe.
December 5, 2008... COMICS REVIEW / Aranzi Hour unexplainably cute...and successful Kumi Matsumaru / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri The Complete Aranzi Hour By Aranzi Aronzo Translated by Jessica Hatakeda Vertical, Inc., 256 pp,...

Miyazaki's feelings mixed on nostalgia.
December 5, 2008... Miyazaki's feelings mixed on nostalgia Tom Baker / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Nostalgia is one of the moods frequently associated with the works of anime director Hayao Miyazaki, but in a lengthy press conference late...

THROUGH OTAKU EYES / Yamada finds new approach to Tokiwa-s.
December 5, 2008... THROUGH OTAKU EYES / Yamada finds new approach to Tokiwa-so mangaka Kanta Ishida / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Beatitude, the latest manga by Naito Yamada, is a shocking work for people like me who are in their late 40s...

TROUBLESHOOTER / I don't think I can ever feel happy.
December 5, 2008... TROUBLESHOOTER / I don't think I can ever feel happy Yomiuri Dear Troubleshooter: I'm a male company employee in my 50s. I married when I was in my mid-20s, but divorced 10 years later. I raised two children alone. At the end of...

TROUBLESHOOTER / Did my husband have 30-year affair?
December 5, 2008... TROUBLESHOOTER / Did my husband have 30-year affair? Yomiuri Dear Troubleshooter: I'm a woman in my 60s. After my husband died of illness earlier this year, I discovered he had an affair with a woman who worked with him at the...

Board with life?
December 5, 2008... Board with life? Cristoph Mark / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri It all starts seven stories up, thousands of people looking on, waiting for the coming jump. It may seem like suicide when they fling themselves skyward, but...

Pixar pulls its punches.
December 5, 2008... Pixar pulls its punches Tom Baker / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Wall-E 3 stars out of five Dir: Andrew Stanton Cast: Fred Willard and voices of Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight and Jeff Garlin There will come a...

Stones flick bright, if not vibrant.
December 5, 2008... Stones flick bright, if not vibrant Stephen Taylor / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Shine a Light 3 stars out of five Dir: Martin Scorsese Cast: The Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera, Buddy Guy, Jack White ...

TELEVIEWS / 2008: The year of surprisingly good actresses/.
December 5, 2008... TELEVIEWS / 2008: The year of surprisingly good actresses Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist Yomiuri Welcome to the Tellies 2008! The Tellies (Televiews Awards for TV Excellence) are my purely personal picks of the year's best...

Terayama's play exceeds language.
December 5, 2008... Terayama's play exceeds language Stephen Taylor / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Twenty-five years since the premature death of multitalented artist Shuji Terayama (1935-1983), APB Tokyo, a theater company based in the...

'Flowering Tree' spans Asian, Western worlds.
December 5, 2008... 'Flowering Tree' spans Asian, Western worlds Hiroko Oikawa / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri A Flowering Tree--an opera based on 2,000-year-old south Indian folk tale and poetry--is not only timeless but also transcends...

So much fungus among us.
December 5, 2008... So much fungus among us Cristoph Mark / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Life would be devoid of so many pleasures if it weren't for bacteria. There would be no mushrooms, no alcohol, no miso or natto, no cheese...well, there...

Finding positives in aftermath of Mumbai.
December 5, 2008... Finding positives in aftermath of Mumbai Ramesh Thakur / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri In recent times, India has been second only to Iraq as the scene of terrorist outrages, averaging over 1,000 terrorist killings...

BayStars catch Noguchi.
December 5, 2008... BayStars catch Noguchi Yomiuri The Daily Yomiuri Veteran catcher Toshihiro Noguchi joined the Yokohama BayStars on Thursday after leaving the Hanshin Tigers as a free agent. The 37-year-old who hit .191 in 55 games for the...

Tokyo back in Bledisloe running.
December 5, 2008... Tokyo back in Bledisloe running The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill said Thursday that he hoped Tokyo would host the next overseas Bledisloe Cup game between the Wallabies and the All...

Yokoo blows chance of a 59 on 18th at Nippon Series JT Cup.
December 5, 2008... Yokoo blows chance of a 59 on 18th at Nippon Series JT Cup Jim Nishi / Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri Kaname Yokoo had everything going right for 17 holes. Unfortunately he still had to play the par-3 18th at the Tokyo...

EMERGENCY CARE--THE CRISIS IN OBSTETRICS / Lack of NICU in.
December 4, 2008... EMERGENCY CARE--THE CRISIS IN OBSTETRICS / Lack of NICU incubators disturbing Yomiuri This is the first installment of a three-part series about problems with the nation's obstetric and neonatal medical care. In an attempt to...

4 held over cannabis imported from Nepal.
December 4, 2008... 4 held over cannabis imported from Nepal Yomiuri Four men were arrested Tuesday for allegedly smuggling cannabis resin into the country from Nepal, the Saitama police said. According to the police, Shiro Funabashi, 56, a company...

45,000 pension letters found at Osaka station.
December 4, 2008... 45,000 pension letters found at Osaka station Yomiuri About 120,000 posted items, including about 45,000 pension statements issued by the Social Insurance Agency, were left undelivered at JR Umeda cargo station in Osaka for more than...

Mother, daughter die in Saitama Pref. house fire.
December 4, 2008... Mother, daughter die in Saitama Pref. house fire Yomiuri SAITAMA SAITAMA--The bodies of two people were found in the ruins of a three-story wooden house in Shiki, Saitama Prefecture, that was gutted by fire early Wednesday. ...

2 female 'drink spikers' held over theft.
December 4, 2008... 2 female 'drink spikers' held over theft Yomiuri Two women have been arrested on suspicion of stealing from men after making them drink to excess in Ginza, Tokyo, and police have searched six restaurants suspected of providing...

Man held over extortion of MPD officer.
December 4, 2008... Man held over extortion of MPD officer Yomiuri The Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday arrested a man for allegedly extorting 5 million yen from an MPD police officer in return for staying silent about the officer's breaking...

Ex-J.League player held over brokerage of sexual act by gi.
December 4, 2008... Ex-J.League player held over brokerage of sexual act by girl Yomiuri NAGOYA--A former J.League soccer player and another man have been arrested on suspicion of having a female middle school student commit an obscene act in October...

'Illegally tied' psychiatric patient died from injuries.
December 4, 2008... 'Illegally tied' psychiatric patient died from injuries Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--A 48-year-old patient at a psychiatric hospital in Kaizuka, Osaka Prefecture, died from injuries he suffered while bound to a bed, a measure of...

Measles vaccination rate for students still low.
December 4, 2008... Measles vaccination rate for students still low Yomiuri The measles vaccination rate among first-year middle school and third-year high school students remains low at about 50 percent, as of the end of September, according to a...

Govt panel concludes draft on decentralization.
December 4, 2008... Govt panel concludes draft on decentralization Yomiuri The government committee for the promotion of decentralization of government regulation drew up proposals Tuesday on abolishing or altering provisions in laws and ordinances...

Ozawa's call for 'election cabinet' causes stir.
December 4, 2008... Ozawa's call for 'election cabinet' causes stir Yomiuri Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa's remark suggesting the next cabinet should be an "election administration cabinet" in which all parties participate is causing a...

Storm brewing in LDP over fiscal policy.
December 4, 2008... Storm brewing in LDP over fiscal policy Yomiuri A proposal by Liberal Democratic Party leaders to study lifting the ceiling on budgetary requests for fiscal 2009 is causing a stir within the government and LDP. The proposal,...

EDITORIAL / Govt right to be flexible over fiscal targets/.
December 4, 2008... EDITORIAL / Govt right to be flexible over fiscal targets Yomiuri The government and ruling coalition parties will not be able to meet the people's expectations if they follow an inflexible blanket policy of restraining or even...

Bulletin board.
December 4, 2008... Bulletin board Yomiuri TUJ to host 2 lectures on U.S. politics, Japanese business Temple University, Japan Campus (TUJ), will host a lecture to look into how U.S. President-elect Barack Obama succeeded in winning the...

Information limited on FLES programs.
December 4, 2008... Information limited on FLES programs Keiko Watanabe / Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri Should nonnative speakers begin learning English from a very early age? Should oral-based communication activities be the focus of...

TOEFL Booster / Integrated writing tips.
December 4, 2008... TOEFL Booster / Integrated writing tips Lawrence J. Zwier Special to The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri The TOEFL iBT (Internet-based test) asks you to write in two different situations. Every iBT asks for this--two pieces of writing,...

All-powerful pull of Kiyomizudera/Kyoto temple equally rev.
December 4, 2008... All-powerful pull of Kiyomizudera/Kyoto temple equally revered by worshippers, tourists and local residents@$: Akino Yoshihara Daily Yomiuri Staff Writer Yomiuri KYOTO The 10th installment of the "Touring Ancient Temples"...

Ogata pulls out of Fukuoka.
December 4, 2008... Ogata pulls out of Fukuoka The Daily Yomiuri Yomiuri Former world bronze medalist Tsuyoshi Ogata has withdrawn from this weekend's Fukuoka International Marathon due to a right leg injury, organizers announced Wednesday. ...