Japan, N. Korea arranging to hold more abduction talks later Tuesday
February 6, 2006Japan and North Korea are arranging to hold another round of talks on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the North, a Japanese delegation source said. The two nations held a session on the abduction issue on Sunday in Beijing as part of new three-track bilateral talks launched on Saturday, but failed to make major progress in their discussions, which lasted about nine hours.
Japan, N. Korea discuss nuke issue on 4th day of talks
February 6, 2006Japan and North Korea began their fourth day of talks in Beijing on Tuesday, with Japan saying it will urge Pyongyang to return to the six-party talks on the North's nuclear programs. ''We will call for an early return to the six-party (negotiations) so that the nuclear issue can be resolved,'' Tadamichi Yamamoto, Japanese ambassador in charge of the North Korean nuclear issue, told reporters before the start of the meeting.
Japanese university student missing in Wisconsin
February 6, 2006A Japanese university student attending an English language school in Wisconsin has been missing for more than a week, local police said Monday. The police are searching for Kenji Omi, 20, a sophomore at Bukkyo University in Kyoto, who was last seen at around 6:30 a.m. on Jan. 28 when he left a dormitory of the Wisconsin English as a Second Language Institute in Madison.
Asia-Pacific nations boost cooperation in fight against drugs
February 6, 2006An international conference on combating illegal drugs in the Asia-Pacific region opened in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss investigative methods and how organized crime groups are channeling profits from drug trafficking into their organizations, Japanese officials said. Some 120 delegates from 30 countries and territories, including China, Hong Kong, the United States and Russia, as well as the International Criminal Police Organization will attend the four-day conference, the 11th of its kind.
Japan, N. Korea discuss nuclear, missile issues on 4th day of talks
February 6, 2006Japan and North Korea began the fourth day of bilateral talks in Beijing on Tuesday, covering the topic of North Korea's nuclear and missile development. A bilateral panel for security issues met at a hotel in the morning for a session whose first few minutes were open to the press.
Olympics: No drugs raids planned, no prison for Olympic offenders
February 6, 2006The Italian government's chief Olympic official said Monday that police will not raid the Olympic village to search for banned substances but warned that athletes who test positive will be ''submitted to Italian criminal law.'' ''Police will not enter the village. This is not going to happen,'' reports quoted Mario Pescante as saying.
BOJ to keep easy-money in Feb., chance of April policy shift growing
February 6, 2006The Bank of Japan is expected to maintain its current ultra-loose monetary policy when the central bank's nine policymakers gather for a two-day meeting from Wednesday, but the chance of a policy shift around April is growing, analysts say. Most analysts expect the BOJ Policy Board to agree by a majority vote to maintain the quantitative easing policy centering on the current account balance target in a range of 30-35 trillion yen, during the policy meeting.
Olympics: Japan welcomed to Olympic athletes village
February 6, 2006Japan was formally welcomed to the athletes village for the Winter Olympic Games in Turin on Sunday. Delegation captain and speed skater Tomomi Okazaki, flag bearer and men's 500-meter speed skating world record holder Joji Kato and 23 others attended a ceremony at the village site.
Ski jumping: Veteran jumper Harada leaves for Turin
February 6, 2006Veteran ski jumper Masahiko Harada flew out of Japan for Turin on Monday hoping to roll back the years at the Winter Olympics. The 37-year-old Harada, a member of Japan's gold medal winning team at the Nagano Olympics and the oldest member of Japan's ski jumping team in Turin, is expected to compete in the normal hill event.