Japan urges Russia to stop bomber flights

Japan urges Russia to stop bomber flights Russian bombers have flown around Japan amid a territorial dispute, Tokyo's new Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba said Friday, calling on Moscow to refrain from "provocative" military action. Gemba said he expressed Tokyo's concern about the flight of two Tupolev Tu-95MS bombers around the Japanese mainland on Thursday, in a telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. The two countries are in dispute over Russian-held islands on the fringe of the Okhotsk Sea, called the southern Kurils in Russia but also claimed by Japan, where they are collectively known as the Northern Territories.
10 Sep About 600 people visit Urakawa, Hokkaido, in late August each year to attend the two-day Bethel Festival, a hallucination and delusion competition for those suffering from alcoholism and other mental illnesses. The venue is two hours by bus from New Chitose Airport to Urakawa, in a fishing town situated near Cape Erimo. During the festival, alcoholics and patients with schizophrenia talk about hallucinations they have experienced, create a stir among the audience with their stories of failure, and sing self-deprecating songs. There are no doubt people who cannot laugh at such a competition and others who are reluctant to even mention the event. (Mainichi)
10 Sep Japan is a fortunetelling nation and so, to start, here is Truman Capote's famous line about fortunetellers . . . They lie. Which is not quite true. Actually, Capote said . . . They fib. And it wasn't really him. It was a character in one of his books. A book which almost no one has read, so it's only famous in the cobwebbed corners of my mind. But what is beyond doubt is that this nation is nutso over fortunetelling. First, you have your omikuji shrine drawings. Then you have your birthday and blood-type soothsayers. Then you have those who read luck into kanji strokes, star alignments and tea leaves. And last you have those eerie folks with the lanterns who unfold tables at the stations late at night and whisper over just you want to know. For a fee, of course. (Japan Times)
9 Sep Prior to her nine-pic retrospective at next month's 24th Tokyo International Film Festival, legendary actress Kyoko Kagawa earlier this week looked back at filmmaking from six decades ago and compared it to the modern era. At a press conference at The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Tuesday, the 79-year-old actress said the biggest difference is the lack of big studios making films today. "The studios supported the filmmakers with much money and time so that they could make masterpieces," said Kagawa, who started her career at now defunct studio Shin Toho in 1949. "But today it seems that everyone is an independent filmmaker and there is more freedom, for better or for worse. When I worked with the masters, it was intimidating, but now it is more casual." (Tokyo Reporter)
9 Sep After the waters unleashed by Japan's March 11 tsunami receded, Sakae Kushida toured the big mobile phone makers that buy his electronic components, pleading with them not to dump his firm as a supplier. He assured them his company Hirose Electric was preparing to shift some of its high-tech production to South Korea, after the tsunami wiped out the factories of a manufacturing partner in Kamaishi, an old steel town in the northeast, disrupting its supply chain. "I told them, along with my apologies, that the impact of the March earthquake had largely been resolved, that we would establish dual production sites, so please don't abandon Hirose," said Kushida, Hirose Electric's senior executive vice president. Hirose and companies like it may end up abandoning Kamaishi and other greying towns in Japan's manufacturing heartland, after the events of March 11 exposed the vulnerability of their intricate supply networks -- and the impact on the global supply chain, which seized up after the disaster. (Reuters)
8 Sep "Alibi-ya" is a uniquely Japanese service that skirts the boundaries of legality. Its typical function is to assist women in concealing their participation in the world's oldest profession by providing them, for a set fee, with a respectable identity. The alternate identity is mainly used to conceal knowledge of the women’s employment from their families. The alibi-ya, upon request, will provide women with spurious tax payment certificates and other documentation needed to lease apartments or secure loans. In recent years the service has also been alleged to create false identities for foreigners lacking legal status in Japan. Nikkan Gendai (Sep. 8) reports the first known incident of an alibi-ya being busted. (Tokyo Reporter)

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Nobel winner urges Japan to abandon nuclear power (AP)

TOKYO – Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe urged Japan's new prime minister on Tuesday to halt plans to restart nuclear power plants and instead abandon nuclear energy.

Oe cautioned Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda against prioritizing the economy over safety. Noda has said he will allow idled nuclear plants to resume operation when their safety is confirmed.

"The new prime minister seems to think that nuclear power plants are necessary for Japan's economy, and how to resume their operation is one of his key political agendas," Oe said. "We must make a big decision to abolish all nuclear plants."

Oe, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1994, said the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant six months ago caused the Japanese public to want to reduce their dependence on nuclear power, but that feeling seems to be fading.

He spoke at news conference Tuesday about an anti-nuclear petition drive, accompanied by other members of the campaign.

The group, which is demanding that the government decommission aging reactors and promote renewable energy, aims to collect 10 million signatures and submit them to the government next March.

Oe has actively supported pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigns and written books about the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Noda, who took office last Friday, becoming Japan's six prime minister in five years, has said he does not plan to build new nuclear plants and will decommission those that are aged. But he said he plans to restart plants whose safety is confirmed to relieve power shortages and help Japan's economic recovery. More than 30 of the country's 54 reactors are idled, forcing a nationwide conservation effort this summer.

The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was like "a third atomic bombing" that Japan inflicted on itself, Oe said. "We already faced the major threat of radiation from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, many children will have to live with radiation threats for 10, 20 or 30 years from now."

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Nobel winner urges Japan to abandon nuclear power - Houston Chronicle (blog)

Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe speaks during a press conference about an anti-nuclear petition drive in Tokyo. Oe urged Japan's new Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda to halt plans to restart nuclear power plants and instead abandon nuclear energy. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi)

TOKYO — Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe urged Japan’s new prime minister today to halt plans to restart nuclear power plants and instead abandon nuclear energy.

Oe cautioned Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda against prioritizing the economy over safety. Noda has said he will allow idled nuclear plants to resume operation when their safety is confirmed.

“The new prime minister seems to think that nuclear power plants are necessary for Japan’s economy, and how to resume their operation is one of his key political agendas,” Oe said. “We must make a big decision to abolish all nuclear plants.”

Oe, who won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1994, said the accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant six months ago caused the Japanese public to want to reduce their dependence on nuclear power, but that feeling seems to be fading.

He spoke at news conference today about an anti-nuclear petition drive, accompanied by other members of the campaign.

The group, which is demanding that the government decommission aging reactors and promote renewable energy, aims to collect 10 million signatures and submit them to the government next March.

Oe has actively supported pacifist and anti-nuclear campaigns and written books about the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Noda, who took office last Friday, becoming Japan’s six prime minister in five years, has said he does not plan to build new nuclear plants and will decommission those that are aged. But he said he plans to restart plants whose safety is confirmed to relieve power shortages and help Japan’s economic recovery. More than 30 of the country’s 54 reactors are idled, forcing a nationwide conservation effort this summer.

The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant was like “a third atomic bombing” that Japan inflicted on itself, Oe said. “We already faced the major threat of radiation from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Now, many children will have to live with radiation threats for 10, 20 or 30 years from now.”

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'Cove' star urges dolphin-watching, not killing (AP)

TOKYO – The star of the Oscar-winning movie about dolphin-killing in Japan had only praise for a small island off the eastern coast that thrives on snorkeling with dolphins, and he urged the rest of the country to follow that example.

Ric O'Barry was heading to Taiji, the southwestern town made notorious in the documentary "The Cove," where the annual dolphin hunt is set to start Sept. 1. But he stopped along the way at the island of Miyakejima for a look at how dolphins can be spared and used for tourism.

"It's very encouraging to see people celebrating dolphins, respecting dolphins, and I'm all for that," O'Barry said Friday. "We support them all the way."

Chikara Atsuta, an official with the tourism agency at Miyakejima, said he welcomed O'Barry's praise, and expressed hopes more people from abroad would visit the island of 2,700 people, 180 kilometers (110 miles) south of Tokyo.

"I feel so grateful," he said. "We do not hunt dolphins."

Miyakejima's dolphins live in the area so residents have even given them names. In contrast, dolphins are migratory in Taiji and so the same kind of dolphin-watching would be difficult to duplicate.

But O'Barry urged Taiji to turn to whale-watching and other forms of tourism that are kinder to animal life.

O'Barry said he will lead a prayer ceremony in Taiji for people who have died in the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster and for the dolphins about to die in the hunt. He is traveling by bus with two dozen people who are all dolphin-lovers, he said.

Wakayama Prefectural police have said some 100 riot police are carrying out drills to prepare for possible confrontation with activists as the annual dolphin hunts begins, including chasing boats and making arrests.

Members of conservationist group Sea Shepherd have carried out protests and tried to set captured dolphins free. But O'Barry and his team, who visit Taiji regularly, have not engaged in violent behavior.

O'Barry was an expert at training dolphins, such as the ones for the 1960s "Flipper" TV series, until he had a change of heart and instead devoted his life to saving dolphins.

Japan, which defends its dolphin hunt as part of culinary culture, allows about 20,000 dolphins to be caught each year, but very few Japanese have ever eaten dolphin.

Only about 2,000 dolphins are caught in Taiji every year. But the slaughter, as captured in "The Cove," directed by Louie Psihoyos, is so striking that the town has become synonymous with the practice.

In that film, fishermen on boats scare dolphins into a small cove and bayonet them. The dolphins writhe in pain and turn the waters red with blood.

"We come in peace," O'Barry told The Associated Press. "We come here to support the economy. We are spending our money."

___

Follow Yuri Kageyama on Twitter at http://twitter.com/yurikageyama

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Japan Says G-7 Eyeing Market Turmoil as China Urges Rebuilding Confidence - Bloomberg

Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Photographer: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg

Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) -- K.C. Chan, Hong Kong's secretary for financial services and treasury, talks about the measures to boost cross-border investments between the city and mainland China. China will start an exchange-traded fund linked to Hong Kong stocks and expand sales of yuan bonds in the city, Li Keqiang, the front-runner to replace Wen Jiabao as China’s premier in 2013, said at an Aug. 17 economic forum in Hong Kong. Chan also discusses Hong Kong's economy and global financial markets. He speaks with Susan Li on Bloomberg Television's "First Up." (Source: Bloomberg)

Japan called on Group of Seven nations to work closely to counter market turmoil and Asian officials sought to calm investors as stocks slumped on concern the U.S. recovery is faltering.

The G-7 needs “very close cooperation in coming weeks,” Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said in Tokyo, where the Topix index fell to a two-year low. Hong Kong financial official K.C. Chan urged investors to “stay calm” and not be “spooked by the market,” as the Hang Seng Index slumped 3.1 percent. In Beijing, Vice President Xi Jinping said his nation will avoid an economic hard landing.

Plunging equity markets are crushing consumer and business confidence, worsening the outlook for a global economy already hampered by the debt burdens of developed nations. Speculation that European banks may have insufficient capital and signs of weakness in the U.S. economy are helping to drive a stock rout that returned to Asia today.

“Business confidence is tailing off and global growth slowing, and Europe’s debt situation appears to be getting worse and worse without any coordinated policy response,” said Matt Riordan, who helps manage almost $6.6 billion in Sydney at Paradice Investment Management Pty. “The worst case is that you go back to a 2008-type financial crisis.”

In South Korea, the financial regulator urged insurers to boost capital in preparation for a potential crisis, and the benchmark Kospi index (KOSPI) plunged 6.2 percent, the most since 2008. South Korea’s exchange earlier said it temporarily halted program trading of shares on the Kospi after futures tumbled.

Asked how policy makers should respond to market turmoil, Noda referred reporters to an Aug. 8 pledge by G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors to “take all necessary measures to support financial stability and growth.” He didn’t specify any likely next step.

A past example of joint action is the intervention that temporarily weakened Japan’s currency after the nation’s March earthquake. Developed nations are hampered in stimulating their economies because of their debt burdens, and have limited or no room for interest-rate cuts after reductions that countered the financial crisis of 2008.

In Beijing, Xi told U.S. counterpart Joe Biden and business executives that global confidence must be rebuilt after “destabilizing factors” intensified. Xi said Biden briefed him on the steps America was taking to spur growth and tackle its deficit, with the Chinese leader expressing confidence in the U.S. economy’s resilience.

China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed 1 percent lower, down about 10 percent for the year.

In Hong Kong, Chan, the secretary for financial services and the Treasury, told Bloomberg Television that investors should “stay calm” and not be “spooked by the market.” Market volatility may persist as investors monitor the sovereign-debt crisis and the risk of a “double-dip” recession in the U.S., he said.

In Seoul, central bank official Min Sung Kee said that investors seem “too nervous” and are reacting “more than what I expected.” In a phone interview, Min, director general of the financial markets department, said that officials are “watching the markets 24 hours a day and we need to monitor the U.S. market more closely tonight.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net; Kate Andersen Brower in Washington at kandersen7@bloomberg.net

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On day of past defeat, Kan urges recovery

Prime Minister Naoto Kan pledged Monday on the 66th anniversary of the end of World War II that the nation would recover from the March 11 triple disaster, likening the hardship to postwar reconstruction.

For the fallen: People pray for the war dead Monday at Tokyo's Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, where the remains of unknown soldiers and civilians who died overseas during the war are buried. KYODO PHOTO

"Our nation has stood up from the ashes of war and overcome many trials and tribulations with the efforts of each and every citizen," Kan said at the Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward, where the ceremony marking the historic day of Japan's surrender was held.

"With this experience, we promise to boldly rebuild the disaster-stricken areas, as well as Japan," Kan said, while also vowing to renew the nation's pledge to never again engage in war.

The annual ceremony comes at a time when the nation struggles to recover in the aftermath of the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Tohoku region and crippled nuclear reactors in Fukushima Prefecture, causing widespread panic and economic damage estimated to climb over ¥16 trillion.

It is also likely to be Kan's last time to attend the ceremony as prime minister.

Kan is expected to step down soon after two bills he has set as a precondition for his exit, the bond-issuance bill and legislation to promote renewable energy, clear the Diet at month's end.

The event at Nippon Budokan commemorates the approximately 3 million service members and civilians who died in the war, and was attended by roughly 6,100 people.

Following a minute of silence, Emperor Akihito took to the podium and delivered a speech expressing his heartfelt sorrow over those that died in war, and called for world peace and Japan's further development.

Lower House Speaker Takahiro Yokomichi said that the sight of coastal cities wiped out from the March 11 disaster was reminiscent of the burned ruins from air raids during the war, as well as Hiroshima and Nagasaki after the atomic bombings.

"The sorrow of those who have lost their homes and had family washed away from the tsunami is no different from the sorrow wrought by the war," he said, adding that it was important that everyone remember the past and learn from its mistakes.

Yokomichi also lamented the fact that Japan has again been forced to suffer from radiation fears despite experiencing and knowing firsthand its horror from past experiences.

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