GSDF resumes snow removal in isolated areas
January 11, 2006The Ground Self-Defense Force troops resumed clearing snow Thursday along a key route linking a Niigata town and a Nagano village, which have been isolated since Sunday, while the bad weather hampered rescue operations using police helicopters. In the town of Tsunan, Niigata Prefecture, nine elementary and junior high schools held ceremonies to mark the beginning of the school term, two days later than scheduled.
Death toll from snow-related incidents reaches 77
January 11, 2006The death toll from snow-related incidents in Japan since the snow season began in December rose to 77 after a 75-year-old man died early Thursday after being buried in snow, according to data compiled by Kyodo News. Yasutaro Oba was found Wednesday buried under the snow, which fell from the roof of his house in Mamurogawa, Yamagata Prefecture, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
Internal data indicates Aneha may have given false Diet testimony
January 11, 2006In-house information provided on Wednesday by a bankrupt construction firm linked to the building-code violation scandal indicates that former architect Hidetsugu Aneha may have given false Diet testimony to a lower house committee in December over his involvement in the scandal. Data from Kimura Construction Co., made available to Kyodo News, shows that Aneha, 48, had not been ordered by the construction company to provide structural data for condominiums or hotels before 1998, the period when the former architect claims to have started fabricating quake resistance data.
Rescued newborn baby leaves Sendai hospital
January 11, 2006Shu Yamada, a newborn baby boy who was rescued unhurt last weekend some 50 hours after he was snatched from a hospital in Sendai, was discharged from the Sendai City Hospital on Wednesday. Shu, 11 days old at the time, was snatched from the Hikarigaoka Spellman Hospital at around 3:40 a.m. Friday after a man falsely claimed a fire had started there.
Complaint to be filed against 'law-evading' inhalant drug importer
January 11, 2006The health ministry has decided to file a criminal complaint against a Tokyo-based importer for allegedly selling a drug that has similar effects to illegal ones, such as hallucinations, ministry officials said Wednesday. The stringent move came after the company failed to follow the ministry's instruction in October not to sell the drug called Rush (isobutyl nitrite), claiming that it is imported as a ''video head cleaner, not a drug.''
GSDF troops begin removing snow in isolated village in Nagano Pref.
January 11, 2006Ground Self-Defense Force troops entered Sakae, Nagano Prefecture, on Wednesday morning via a helicopter, where some 300 people have been isolated due to heavy snow, for snow removal operations. A total of 45 troops removed snow from the roofs of houses in order to prevent them from collapsing and cleared snow from National Route 405, which links the village with other communities but has been blocked.