Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri articles from December 2008

Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri archives from December 2008

UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT --Irreparable losses-- / Kill.
December 31, 2008... UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT --Irreparable losses-- / Killers' aging parents bear a heavy burden Yomiuri This is the ninth installment of Part II of the series of articles focusing on capital punishment in Japan. The parents of...

Nishimatsu eyed over dubious political donations.
December 31, 2008... Nishimatsu eyed over dubious political donations Yomiuri Nishimatsu Construction Co. donated about 478 million yen to ruling and opposition politicians until 2006 through two shady political organizations headed by former Nishimatsu...

Youth arrested over assault of mom.
December 31, 2008... Youth arrested over assault of mom Yomiuri CHIBA CHIBA--A 17-year-old high school student was arrested Monday on suspicion of injuring his 47-year-old mother by striking her at their home in Chiba, where she was pronounced dead...

2 bodies found after Nagano Prefecture fire.
December 31, 2008... 2 bodies found after Nagano Prefecture fire Yomiuri NAGANO NAGANO--Two bodies were recovered from the remains of a two-story wooden home in Otakimura, Nagano Prefecture, that burned down Monday night, prefectural police said....

Loan shark money missing / More than 5 billion yen extorte.
December 31, 2008... Loan shark money missing / More than 5 billion yen extorted by syndicate unaccounted for Shunichi Seki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Police are uncertain of the whereabouts of more than 5 billion yen in unlawful profits...

Japan won't join intl eco-agency.
December 31, 2008... Japan won't join intl eco-agency Yomiuri The government has decided not to join the International Renewable Energy Agency, a multinational organization tasked with the promotion of solar, wind and other forms of bioenergy to be...

9.1 billion yen in welfare wrongly received in fiscal 2007.
December 31, 2008... 9.1 billion yen in welfare wrongly received in fiscal 2007 Yomiuri There were 15,993 cases of illegal welfare receipt totaling more than 9.1 billion yen nationwide in fiscal 2007, according to a Yomiuri Shimbun survey. Both...

Woman sings for murdered sister.
December 31, 2008... Woman sings for murdered sister Yomiuri FUKUOKA FUKUOKA--A woman whose younger sister was killed by a man who allegedly murdered two other women in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2004 and 2005, has written a song describing her feelings...

Musings / Dec. 30, 2008.
December 31, 2008... Musings / Dec. 30, 2008 Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 30 issue. * * * "Be mute and silent, like a cow." Author Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) wrote these...

French actress' photos capture Hiroshima in '58.
December 31, 2008... French actress' photos capture Hiroshima in '58 Kyoji Maeda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Recently unearthed photographs taken by French actress Emmanuelle Riva during the shooting of the film "Hiroshima Mon Amour" half...

Docomo to retail e-photo frame.
December 31, 2008... Docomo to retail e-photo frame Yomiuri NTT Docomo Inc. plans to launch in spring a digital photo frame service for family use with which photos taken with a mobile phone can be sent to an electronic photo frame that displays the...

New party for New Year?
December 31, 2008... New party for New Year? Osamu Kawakami and Yukiko Ishikawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri Differences simmering within the Liberal Democratic Party are increasingly likely to spur moves for a new round of political...

EDITORIAL / Don't stray from accord on Futenma relocation/.
December 31, 2008... EDITORIAL / Don't stray from accord on Futenma relocation Yomiuri The realignment of U.S. forces stationed in Okinawa Prefecture is finally about to enter the implementation phase. It is important that an agreement made between Japan...

Lawson to buy 150 electric cars.
December 31, 2008... Lawson to buy 150 electric cars Yomiuri Major convenience store chain operator Lawson Inc. plans to replace 150, or about 10 percent, of its commercial vehicles with electric vehicles in the summer of 2009. Lawson also is...

Job situation worsening faster than govt forecast.
December 31, 2008... Job situation worsening faster than govt forecast Makoto Miyazaki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri The unemployment situation in the country is worsening faster than forecast, according to economists and a nonprofit...

Aura of invincibility/ Defending champ Komazawa University.
December 31, 2008... Aura of invincibility/ Defending champ Komazawa University aims for 7th title in 10 years Yomiuri Based solely on experience, Komazawa University should have no trouble defending its Tokyo-Hakone Collegiate Ekiden title. The...

RANTZ 'N' RAVES / Taking the jalopy for a last spin.
December 31, 2008... RANTZ 'N' RAVES / Taking the jalopy for a last spin Ken Marantz / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri When American middle distance great Steve Scott was on the last legs of his career, he emphasized that remaining competitive as...

Unmasking capital punishment / Victim's kin questions poin.
December 30, 2008... Unmasking capital punishment / Victim's kin questions point of executions Yomiuri This is the eighth installment of Part II of the series of articles focusing on capital punishment in Japan. As his body lay in the coffin, the...

LDP's Kato, Yamasaki eye new party.
December 30, 2008... LDP's Kato, Yamasaki eye new party Yomiuri With an eye to forming a new party ahead of an expected House of Representatives election, former Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Koichi Kato, former LDP Vice President Taku...

Cram school lessons taught at middle school.
December 30, 2008... Cram school lessons taught at middle school Yomiuri Cram school teachers have started teaching special winter-holiday lessons to third-year students at Ryogoku Middle School in Sumida Ward, Tokyo. Seventy of the 199 third-year...

Jobless man held over abandoning dad's body.
December 30, 2008... Jobless man held over abandoning dad's body Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--A 39-year-old unemployed man of no fixed address was arrested Sunday on suspicion of abandoning the body of his father at his home in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture,...

Car runs into garden, hits, kills woman, child.
December 30, 2008... Car runs into garden, hits, kills woman, child Yomiuri MIHARA, Hiroshima MIHARA, Hiroshima--A 41-year-old woman and her 4-year-old daughter were hit and killed by a car that crashed into their garden in Mihara, Hiroshima...

Taxi driver stabbed to death, robbed.
December 30, 2008... Taxi driver stabbed to death, robbed Yomiuri KOBE KOBE--A 54-year-old taxi driver was found stabbed to death in a parking lot in Inamimachi, Hyogo Prefecture, early Monday. A passerby found the body of Saburo Nagata, of...

MRJ jet safety auditors to be doubled / Transport ministry.
December 30, 2008... MRJ jet safety auditors to be doubled / Transport ministry keen to stress safety in bid to boost overseas airplane sales Yomiuri The Construction and Transport Ministry has decided to increase from 17 to 40 the number of full-time...

2 killed after truck rear-ends car.
December 30, 2008... 2 killed after truck rear-ends car Yomiuri OKAYAMA OKAYAMA--Two people were killed when the car they were in was rear-ended by a truck on the Seto-Chuo Expressway in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, Monday morning, prefectural...

High school teachers see workload growing.
December 30, 2008... High school teachers see workload growing Yomiuri About half of high school teachers expect their workload to increase, according to a nationwide survey conducted by The Yomiuri Shimbun on the education ministry's proposed teaching...

Pushy tourists prove bothersome for maiko.
December 30, 2008... Pushy tourists prove bothersome for maiko Yomiuri KYOTO KYOTO--Residents and owners of restaurants in the Gion Kobu entertainment district of Kyoto have begun patrolling the area to protect geiko and maiko, apprentice geiko,...

ECONOMIC FORUM / Budget drafting way off the mark / Tabula.
December 30, 2008... ECONOMIC FORUM / Budget drafting way off the mark / Tabulations made from outdated projections spell trouble for FY09 Masaki Masuda Yomiuri Amid a deepening recession, the government has presented its draft of the fiscal 2009...

Ishiba seeks review of rice control policy.
December 30, 2008... Ishiba seeks review of rice control policy Yomiuri Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shigeru Ishiba has said the government might review its policy of restricting rice cultivation, which is used to maintain rice prices....

Leap second to be added on New Year's Day.
December 30, 2008... Leap second to be added on New Year's Day Yomiuri The civil time will be adjusted in the morning on New Year's Day by adding one second for the first time in three years. Engineers and other officials at some transportation and...

EDITORIAL / Use govt safety net to keep credit flowing.
December 30, 2008... EDITORIAL / Use govt safety net to keep credit flowing Yomiuri There is a growing concern that regional financial institutions will make little use of a system to inject public funds into them after the revised Financial Function...

Fast Retailing sees opportunity in recession.
December 30, 2008... Fast Retailing sees opportunity in recession Masufumi Miyoshi Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Fast Retailing Co., which operates the Uniqlo chain of casual wear stores, has created many popular products at a time when other...

Nonlife insurance tie-up likely / Merger of 3 of 6 major f.
December 30, 2008... Nonlife insurance tie-up likely / Merger of 3 of 6 major firms seen as way to endure economic woes Shigeru Yamada and Kojiro Sekine Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers Yomiuri The nation's largest nonlife insurance company could be...

Gamba leaves it late: Extra-time winner against Marinos ea.
December 30, 2008... Gamba leaves it late: Extra-time winner against Marinos earns Asian champs Emperor's Cup final spot against Reysol Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri Gamba Osaka must beat Kashiwa Reysol in the Emperor's Cup...

UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IRREPARABLE LOSSES / 'Letter.
December 29, 2008... UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: IRREPARABLE LOSSES / 'Letters can't change how we feel' Yomiuri This is the seventh installment of Part II of the series of articles focusing on capital punishment in Japan. Kyohei Ezaki, 64, has...

Construction contractor falsified daily worker's health re.
December 29, 2008... Construction contractor falsified daily worker's health records Yomiuri YOKOHAMA--A construction contractor in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, falsified a medical certificate for a tuberculosis-infected worker and had him work at a...

Major nonlife insurers in merger talks.
December 29, 2008... Major nonlife insurers in merger talks Yomiuri Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Holdings, Aioi Insurance Co. and Nissay Dowa General Insurance Co., the nation's second, fourth and sixth largest nonlife insurance companies...

Govt may review primary balance goal.
December 29, 2008... Govt may review primary balance goal Yomiuri The government plans to review its goal to turn the primary balance of the central and local governments into the black in fiscal 2011, according to Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge...

Pet tax to be discussed by LDP Diet members.
December 29, 2008... Pet tax to be discussed by LDP Diet members Yomiuri The introduction of a pet tax to promote animal protection is likely to be discussed shortly by the Liberal Democratic Party's federation of Diet members, it has been learned. ...

Ministry eyes curbs on sales of drugs online.
December 29, 2008... Ministry eyes curbs on sales of drugs online Yomiuri The health ministry likely will early next year revise a ministerial ordinance regulating mail-order and Internet sales of nonprescription drugs before the revised Pharmaceutical...

Fibrin glue deal talks stalled / Plaintiffs claiming subst.
December 29, 2008... Fibrin glue deal talks stalled / Plaintiffs claiming substance caused hepatitis infections uncompensated Yomiuri Settlement talks have reached an impasse for plaintiffs involved in lawsuits against the government over claims they...

2 climbers missing after avalanche.
December 29, 2008... 2 climbers missing after avalanche Yomiuri NAGOYA NAGOYA--Two men are missing after an avalanche Saturday on Mt. Nukedodake in the Northern Japanese Alps in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture. Missing are Yoshihito Kuwahara, 48, a...

Man found on seabed after boat runs aground.
December 29, 2008... Man found on seabed after boat runs aground Yomiuri NAGOYA NAGOYA--An empty 11-ton fishing boat was found to have run aground in Tahara, Aichi Prefecture, early Sunday, and its owner was discovered later in the day about a...

Govt, U.S. to sign accord on relocation of marines.
December 29, 2008... Govt, U.S. to sign accord on relocation of marines Yomiuri The government and the United States will soon sign an accord over the relocation of U.S. marines from Okinawa Prefecture to Guam that will include a clause prohibiting...

Govt to name, shame firms that pull student job offers.
December 29, 2008... Govt to name, shame firms that pull student job offers Yomiuri In an effort to encourage companies to honor job offers made to graduating students, the government has compiled draft standards for publicizing the names of firms that...

Coupon ban cuts ministry taxi costs by 80%.
December 29, 2008... Coupon ban cuts ministry taxi costs by 80% Yomiuri Taxi expenses incurred by the Construction and Transport Ministry fell by almost 80 percent between late June and early November compared to the same period last year after its...

Ginza clubs feel chill wind of global recession.
December 29, 2008... Ginza clubs feel chill wind of global recession Yomiuri The shuttering in September of an exclusive club in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district, which closed after its property was seized by the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, is a...

Bureaucrats stiff-arm Aso / Prime minister's attempts to w.
December 29, 2008... Bureaucrats stiff-arm Aso / Prime minister's attempts to woo officials have little success Yutaka Ito and Takeo Azuma / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Bureaucrats have started to keep the administration of Prime Minister...

EDITORIAL / Govt must push for better caregivers' pay.
December 29, 2008... EDITORIAL / Govt must push for better caregivers' pay Yomiuri The nation's nursing care insurance system seems to face a crucial stage. Government-set fees for nursing care services, which are revised every three years in...

Workforce welcomes skilled foreigners Foreign graduates pu.
December 29, 2008... Workforce welcomes skilled foreigners Foreign graduates pursued by firms that see international staff as key to expansio Hiroyuki Kaneda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri An increasing number of foreign university students...

Consumers spending less at department stores.
December 29, 2008... Consumers spending less at department stores Kensuke Nakazawa / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri As the recession takes a stronger grip on the economy, consumers are cutting back on their year-end shopping. Many...

Daiwa Scarlet becomes 1st filly to win Arima Kinen in 37 y.
December 29, 2008... Daiwa Scarlet becomes 1st filly to win Arima Kinen in 37 years Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri FUNABASHI, Chiba Having run out of horses to beat in Japan, Daiwa Scarlet is going abroad in search of some...

Today could be a day of goodbyes for the Philadelphia Eagl.
December 29, 2008... Today could be a day of goodbyes for the Philadelphia Eagles Phil Sheridan The Philadelphia Inquirer MCT PHILADELPHIA Sometimes you know. Julius Erving announced that the 1986-87 season would be his last, and it became a...

UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Irreparable losses / Bereave.
December 28, 2008... UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT: Irreparable losses / Bereaved couple feel they've been handed a life sentence Yomiuri This is the sixth installment of Part II of the series of articles focusing on capital punishment in Japan. ...

Govt likely to drop plan to procure F-22 planes.
December 28, 2008... Govt likely to drop plan to procure F-22 planes Yomiuri The government likely will drop its plan to introduce the U.S.-made F-22 Raptor stealth fighter to replace its aging F-15 fleet, and will instead concentrate on three other...

More hospitals charging extra for off-hours care.
December 28, 2008... More hospitals charging extra for off-hours care Yomiuri A total of 123 medical institutions have introduced a policy of levying additional charges on mildly ill outpatients who visit for emergency care at night or on holidays, to...

Judge orders manga artist to pay 2.2 mil. yen over plagiar.
December 28, 2008... Judge orders manga artist to pay 2.2 mil. yen over plagiarism claim Yomiuri The Tokyo District Court has ordered renowned manga artist Reiji Matsumoto to pay 2.2 million yen in compensation for defaming popular singer-songwriter...

2 elderly women killed in fire at care facility.
December 28, 2008... 2 elderly women killed in fire at care facility Yomiuri IWAKI, Fukushima IWAKI, Fukushima--Two elderly women died and another was in critical condition after a fire broke out at an aged care facility in Iwaki late Friday. ...

Research team finds undersea earthquake 'mountains'.
December 28, 2008... Research team finds undersea earthquake 'mountains' Yomiuri Undersea mountains several thousand meters high have been discovered subducted under a tectonic plate that constitutes the sea bottom off the Boso Peninsula in the...

Man wanted over death of pregnant woman in Kobe.
December 28, 2008... Man wanted over death of pregnant woman in Kobe Yomiuri KOBE KOBE--The body of a heavily pregnant woman has been found in a cooler box at a transportation firm's storehouse in Kobe, and police obtained Friday an arrest warrant...

Govt releases Takeshima book in 7 new languages.
December 28, 2008... Govt releases Takeshima book in 7 new languages Yomiuri The Foreign Ministry has published a booklet on Japan's territorial claim over the disputed Takeshima group of islets in seven more languages to raise international awareness of...

Committee backs using fertilized eggs in research.
December 28, 2008... Committee backs using fertilized eggs in research Yomiuri A joint special ministerial committee has formally decided to allow scientists to produce fertilized eggs for research in reproductive assistance medicine. The decision...

Docs' charges dropped over failed transplant.
December 28, 2008... Docs' charges dropped over failed transplant Yomiuri KYOTO KYOTO--Prosecutors have decided not to indict three doctors in connection with the death of a 30-year-old woman who had a lung transplant using a lungCopyright 2008 The...

Firms fail to provide contact numbers / Increasingly frust.
December 28, 2008... Firms fail to provide contact numbers / Increasingly frustrating patrons by only conducting customer service via e-mail Yomiuri To the chagrin of consumers, an increasing number of companies and organizations have been failing to...

Japan lagging in international piracy fight.
December 28, 2008... Japan lagging in international piracy fight Shozo Nakayama Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri Prime Minister Taro Aso's order to Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada on Friday to thrash out details of a possible deployment of...

Deletion of Hashimoto e-mails causes concern.
December 28, 2008... Deletion of Hashimoto e-mails causes concern Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--Senior officials of the Osaka prefectural government have deleted instructions e-mailed by the governor about administrative matters in a questionable effort to...

EDITORIAL / 2008 saw a recession that rocked the world.
December 28, 2008... EDITORIAL / 2008 saw a recession that rocked the world Yomiuri The year is drawing to an unusually depressing end. 2008 will be remembered as a year that witnessed a world recession akin to the Great Depression of 1929. The...

Insufficient party governance at heart of Aso crisis.
December 28, 2008... Insufficient party governance at heart of Aso crisis Takeshi Sasaki / Special to The Yomiuri Shimbun Yomiuri With its approval rating plummeting to little more than 20 percent only two months after its inauguration, Prime...

Coloring outside the lines: Osakan men brightening their w.
December 28, 2008... Coloring outside the lines: Osakan men brightening their wardrobes Kimie Nishimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri OSAKA Dark coats and jackets were set to be in the mainstream of men's fashion this winter--or so I...

Daiwa Scarlet odds-on favorite for Arima Kinen.
December 28, 2008... Daiwa Scarlet odds-on favorite for Arima Kinen Shintaro Kano / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri A year of thoroughbred racing will come to an end this afternoon at Nakayama as another star-studded field is in place for the 53rd...

Sunk by scandals / London tour promoter says image problem.
December 28, 2008... Sunk by scandals / London tour promoter says image problem, not economic crisis, behind cancellation James Hardy / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter Yomiuri The tanking world economy can be blamed for many things, but not the...

UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT--Irreparable losses--/Victim'.
December 27, 2008... UNMASKING CAPITAL PUNISHMENT--Irreparable losses--/Victim's family ambivalent on death penalty Yomiuri This is the fifth installment of Part II of the series of articles on capital punishment in Japan. The Yomiuri Shimbun ...

85,000 to lose nonregular jobs by March.
December 27, 2008... 85,000 to lose nonregular jobs by March Yomiuri About 85,000 nonregular workers have lost or will lose their jobs through March, nearly tripling a previous estimate from less than a month ago, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry...

Payments for nursing care to rise 3%.
December 27, 2008... Payments for nursing care to rise 3% Yomiuri Government-set fees for nursing care services for fiscal 2009 will be raised by 3 percent overall in an effort to improve the situation of caregivers, a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry...

McDonald's beefed up crowd for burger debut.
December 27, 2008... McDonald's beefed up crowd for burger debut Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--About 1,000 of 15,000 customers who flocked to an Osaka outlet of McDonald's Co. (Japan) Tuesday for the Kansai debut of the Quarter Pounder hamburger were found...

Women to serve on MSDF destroyers.
December 27, 2008... Women to serve on MSDF destroyers Yomiuri The Maritime Self-Defense Force has decided to allow female members to assume duties aboard destroyers, ending its current practice of assigning them to ground-based logistic support tasks,...

Govt to set up iPS cell information database.
December 27, 2008... Govt to set up iPS cell information database Yomiuri The Education, Science and Technology Ministry will start building a database of information on induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells next fiscal year, it has been learned. By...

62 recover right to get pensions after data found.
December 27, 2008... 62 recover right to get pensions after data found Yomiuri Sixty-two people whose recorded pension premium payment period had been short of the period eligible to receive pensions recovered their right to receive pensions between May...

GSDF failed to report lost files / Defense training school.
December 27, 2008... GSDF failed to report lost files / Defense training school admits losing 63 secret documents since '06 Yomiuri The Ground Self-Defense Force took up to two years to tell the defense minister it had lost 63 classified documents since...

Last day for Isuzu temp workers.
December 27, 2008... Last day for Isuzu temp workers Yomiuri UTSUNOMIYA--Major truck maker Isuzu Motors Ltd. terminated about 820 temporary workers' contracts Friday, the last working day of the year for many public offices and private companies. ...

IN THE NEWS / Grief center a blessing for those in need.
December 27, 2008... IN THE NEWS / Grief center a blessing for those in need Takehiko Okada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer Yomiuri OSAKA OSAKA--St. Thomas University visiting Prof. Sister Yoshiko Takaki has long provided care for those who have...

Climate talks at a standstill? / Intl negotiations on gas.
December 27, 2008... Climate talks at a standstill? / Intl negotiations on gas emissions will enter crucial stage in 2009 Hiroko Kono / Yomiuri Shimbun Senior Writer Yomiuri Multinational negotiations to cut greenhouse gas emissions will come a step...

Musings / December 23, 2008.
December 27, 2008... Musings / December 23, 2008 Yomiuri The following is a translation of the Henshu Techo column from The Yomiuri Shimbun's Dec. 23 issue. * * * I once listened to Shoichiro Toyoda, honorary chairman of Toyota Motor Corp.,...

EDITORIAL / Send MSDF to fight piracy off Somalia soon.
December 27, 2008... EDITORIAL / Send MSDF to fight piracy off Somalia soon Yomiuri It may be unavoidable for Japan to send Maritime Self-Defense Force vessels to fight piracy off Somalia in accordance with existing law, if a new law for this purpose...