Livedoor chief Kumagai likely to be arrested
February 21, 2006Prosecutors have apparently decided to arrest Livedoor Co.'s representative director, Fumito Kumagai, on suspicion of involvement in falsifying the company's financial figures for the business year through September 2004, prosecution sources said Wednesday. Kumagai took up the post to represent the company on Jan. 24, a day after former Livedoor President Takafumi Horie and three other executives were arrested over alleged securities law violations.
Japan trade minister begins day of meetings with Chinese officials
February 21, 2006Japanese trade minister Toshihiro Nikai met with his Chinese counterpart Bo Xilai Wednesday morning, beginning a day of talks with senior Chinese officials that will include the highest-level bilateral dialogue in over five months. Nikai is scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and State Councilor Tang Jiaxuan in the afternoon, according to diplomats involved in the matter.
Livedoor's representative director Kumagai to be arrested
February 21, 2006Livedoor Co.'s representative director, Fumito Kumagai, will be arrested on suspicion of involvement in falsifying the company's financial figures for the business year to September 2004, prosecution sources said Wednesday. Kumagai took up the post to represent the company on Jan. 24, a day after former Livedoor President Takafumi Horie and three other executives were arrested over alleged securities law violations. ==Kyodo
NEC Electronics to shut semiconductor plant in Ireland
February 21, 2006NEC Electronics Corp. said Tuesday it will shut down its semiconductor plant in Meath, Ireland, at the end of September due to high operating costs. ''The international semiconductor market in which we operate is extremely competitive,'' said Hideto Goto, executive vice president in charge of manufacturing at NEC Electronics, adding, ''We could not justify the high cost of keeping it open.''
Olympics: Viewer rating for women's figure skating reaches 11.1%
February 21, 2006The audience rating early Wednesday for the women's figure skating at the Turin Olympic Games reached an unusually high 11.1 percent in both the Kanto and Kansai regions, Video Research Ltd. said. Video Research recorded the rating between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. shortly after the start of the women's short program in which Japanese skaters Shizuka Arakawa, Fumie Suguri and Miki Ando competed.
Olympics: Viewer rating for women's figure skating reaches 11.1%
February 21, 2006The audience rating early Wednesday for the women's figure skating at the Turin Olympic Games, carried live by the public broadcaster NHK, reached an unusually high 11.1 percent in both the Kanto and Kansai regions, Video Research Ltd. said. Video Research recorded the rating between 4:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. shortly after the start of the women's short program in which Japanese skaters Shizuka Arakawa, Fumie Suguri and Miki Ando competed.
Livedoor's Horie to be served fresh arrest warrant probably Wed.
February 21, 2006Former Livedoor Co. President Takafumi Horie and three other former executives of the company are expected to be served with fresh arrest warrants, probably Wednesday, on suspicion of falsifying the company's financial figures for the business year to September 2004, prosecution sources said Tuesday. The new warrants will enable the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office to detain the 33-year-old Horie and the three others, who have been in custody over alleged securities law violations since Jan. 23, for further questioning.
At least 21 killed in car bomb attack at Baghdad market: report
February 21, 2006At least 21 people were killed and 25 wounded in a car bomb attack at a Baghdad market on Tuesday in one of the worst attacks for weeks, the Reuters news service reported. An Interior Ministry official was quoted as saying the 25 wounded were nearly all civilians, while a hospital source said medics were treating at least 32 people injured in the explosion.
DPJ looks into new info on links between Livedoor, LDP's Takebe
February 21, 2006Democratic Party of Japan President Seiji Maehara said Tuesday his party is considering revealing new information about the links between Internet firm Livedoor Co. and Tsutomu Takebe, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. ''Livedoor's case is a deep-rooted issue. At the core of the issue are links with LDP Secretary General Takebe...Our party is scrutinizing fresh information,'' Maehara told a news conference.
Livedoor shareholders to seek damages from Horie for losses
February 21, 2006Some Livedoor Co. shareholders plan to sue former President Takafumi Horie and other former top managers of the company around September to seek damages, saying they have suffered huge losses in purchasing its equities in the wake of allegations that the Livedoor group was involved in accounting fraud, lawyers said Tuesday. The investors will also demand damages from Livedoor and Livedoor Marketing Co. through the lawsuit to be filed with the Tokyo District Court, the lawyers said.
3 defense officials served with new arrest warrants over bid rigging
February 21, 2006Prosecutors served fresh arrest warrants Tuesday on three current and former Defense Facilities Administration Agency officials on suspicion of leading bid rigging in projects at U.S. bases in Yamaguchi and Nagasaki prefectures in fiscal 2003, investigative sources said. The move came a day after the three men -- Takayoshi Kawano, 57, who previously held the third-highest post at the agency as technical councilor, his predecessor Mamoru Ikezawa, 57, and Takashige Matsuda, 53, an official in the agency's general affairs department -- were indicted for playing leading roles in rigging bids for tenders for air-conditioning projects ordered by the agency.
China Premier Wen to meet with Japan trade minister Nikai in Beijing
February 21, 2006Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will meet with Japanese trade minister Toshihiro Nikai during the Japanese minister's three-day visit to Beijing from Tuesday, China's Foreign Ministry said. It will be the first time for a Chinese leader to meet with a high-ranking Japanese government or ruling party figure since Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last visited the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine in October last year. ==Kyodo