Snow-related death toll tops 100
January 16, 2006The death toll from snow-related accidents and illnesses topped 100, with six people dying or discovered to have died Monday due to snow, since heavy snow began blanketing wide swaths of the western and northern parts of the country last December. The latest death toll of 101 is the highest number since 131 people died in the 1983-1984 snow season, according to a Kyodo News survey.
Mobile tech. devised to show routes to safety in case of disaster
January 16, 2006Mitsubishi Electric Corp., NTT DoCoMo Inc. and Pasco Corp. said Monday they have jointly developed a technology to provide cellphones and other mobile terminals with three-dimensional, real-time information on routes for escape to safety in the case of natural disasters such as earthquakes. The new technology is based on an advanced data-compression technology, which has made it possible to distribute 3D information via mobile terminal, and utilizes Pasco's aerial photographic surveying technology.
Police arrest ex-Mizuho Bank employee in embezzlement case
January 16, 2006The Metropolitan Police Department arrested a former Mizuho Bank employee Monday on suspicion of embezzling 22 million yen from customers' savings accounts, part of 1.34 billion yen allegedly misappropriated by the suspect, sources close to the investigation said. Masashi Sasaki from Higashiyoka, Saga Prefecture, 45, is suspected of stealing the money from 25 customers, saying the funds were to be transferred from their ordinary accounts into higher-yielding time deposits, the sources said.
Arrested man faces extra charge of aiding illegal entry to Japan
January 16, 2006Police plan to serve a fresh arrest warrant on a former employee of Asiana Airlines on Monday on suspicion of helping foreigners enter Japan illegally by using his airport pass, sources close to investigation said. The man, 38, is suspected of helping a 27-year-old Chinese woman enter Japan at Narita airport on March 22 last year via a gate reserved for airport staffers by giving her his pass and personal identification number, the sources said.