Tokyo stocks drop in morning, led by high-tech losses
January 15, 2006Tokyo stocks declined Monday morning as investors sold high-tech issues to take profits following their recent strong gains, and ahead of earnings reports by U.S. high-tech firms later this week. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average dropped 148.89 points, or 0.90 percent, in the morning, to 16,306.06. The Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange fell 8.36 points, or 0.50 percent, to 1,673.33.
Nonresidents' net buying of Japan stocks hits record high in 2005
January 15, 2006Net purchases of Japanese stocks by nonresident investors hit a record high of 12,624.1 billion yen in 2005 as their net buying exceeded 1 trillion yen for the sixth consecutive month in December, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The data underscored that nonresident investors played the leading role last year in pushing up prices of Japanese stocks as they remain bullish on Japan and amid growing expectations that the country will soon emerge from deflation. The key Nikkei Stock Average on the Tokyo stock market posted a 40 percent rise in 2005.
Japan, U.S. to jointly test Japanese technologies for interceptor
January 15, 2006Japan and the United States plan to conduct a joint test in March off Hawaii of Japanese-developed technologies for an advanced interceptor missile under a joint project to develop a ballistic missile defense system, sources familiar with Japan-U.S. relations said Sunday. The technologies to be tested are a nosecone and infrared sensor for a larger and upgraded version of the Standard Missile-3 interceptor to be deployed on Aegis destroyers to defend against ballistic missiles.
Tennis: Bad day for Japan's women at Australian Open
January 15, 2006Japanese ace Ai Sugiyama crashed out of the Australian Open on the first round of the women's singles on Monday after a straight-sets defeat to Spain's Conchita Martinez Granados. Sugiyama, the No. 26 seed, went down 6-4, 6-3 to her unseeded opponent at Melbourne Park after compatriots Akiko Morigami and Saori Obata also fell at the first hurdle.
Police arrest ex-Mizuho Bank employee in embezzlement case
January 15, 2006The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a former Mizuho Bank employee Monday on suspicion of embezzling 22 million yen from customers' savings accounts, part of 1.3 billion yen allegedly misappropriated by the suspect, sources close to the investigation said. Masashi Sasaki from Higashiyoka, Saga Prefecture, 45, is suspected of taking out money from such accounts, saying the funds were to be transferred into higher-yielding time deposits, the sources said.
Death toll from snow-related incidents rises to 94
January 15, 2006Four people died from snow-related incidents in Yamagata, Tottori, Gifu and Akita prefectures on Sunday, bringing the number of fatalities to 94 in the nation since the heavy snow began lashing extensive areas of western and northern Japan last December. The tally is the worst since a total of 131 people died in snow-related incidents in the 1983-1984 snow season, according to a Kyodo News survey.
Gov't grants Kurdish man stay permit after 3-year court battle
January 15, 2006The Justice Ministry has given a 39-year-old Kurdish man from Iran a one-year stay permit after a three-year court battle in which the man asked a court to invalidate a ministry order to deport him, his lawyers said Sunday. Tibash Hossein, who arrived at Kansai International Airport with a false passport on April 5, 2002, was denied entry by immigration officials. He was ordered deported three days later.
Boy missing since early December found dead in Nagano lake
January 15, 2006An 11-year-old boy from Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, missing since Dec. 3 was found dead Sunday in Lake Suwa, police said. The police said they believe Ryuo Horiuchi, a fifth-grade primary school pupil, was not involved in any foul play. No external injuries were found on his body, which was found floating on the lake Sunday afternoon.
Ruling party backs Arroyo's plan to rewrite constitution
January 15, 2006The ruling Lakas party has backed President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's plan to rewrite the Constitution to shift to a parliamentary system of government and serve out her term until 2010. ''Without objection, the national directorate approved a resolution firmly in support of the fulfillment by (Arroyo) of her present constitutional mandate to serve in office until 2010,'' the party said in a statement issued Sunday.
One in 5 Iraqis in Muthana oppose Japanese troop presence
January 15, 2006A record-high percentage of residents -- one in five -- in Iraq's Muthana Province surveyed recently by Kyodo News did not support Japan's troop deployment in the southern city of Samawah and more than 20 percent were unsatisfied with the troops' reconstruction assistance. Meanwhile, almost three-quarters of the 1,000 respondents, or 73 percent, welcomed Japan's decision in December to extend the aid mission for a third year and 66 percent said they oppose Tokyo's plan to begin withdrawing the Ground Self-Defense Force troops as early as this summer.
Election drive begins in Okinawa city picked to host U.S. air station
January 15, 2006Campaigning kicked off Sunday for the Jan. 22 mayoral election in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, a city picked by the central government to host a new U.S. military airport, with all three men who filed for candidacy opposed to the hosting plan. The three are Yoshikazu Shimabukuro, 59, former chairman of the Nago city assembly, former city assembly member Yoshitami Oshiro, 65, and Munehiro Gakiya, 59, who was also head of the city assembly.
China's foreign reserves top $800 billion for 1st time
January 15, 2006China's foreign exchange reserves totaled $818.9 billion at the end of December, surpassing the $800 billion mark for the first time, according to the country's central bank. The figure marks a 34.3 percent increase from a year earlier and a fourfold rise in five years, according to figures released by the People's Bank of China.
Gov't to ask firms to unveil measures to aid child-rearing
January 15, 2006The government will ask major and midsize companies to divulge information on the steps they have taken to help employees raise children, Kuniko Inoguchi, state minister in charge of policies for reversing the falling birthrate, said Sunday. ''If those firms disclose what measures they have taken in this regard, it would give us reference material,'' Inoguchi said on a news show aired by public broadcaster NHK.