TMCnet News
Kyodo news summary -2-+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 2_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Voting on in Thailand, results to decide Thaksin's future BANGKOK - Thais began voting in a general election Sunday that is likely to be among the most unusual in the country's 64 years of constitutional democracy. The Sunday poll is critical for the political future of embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who dissolved the 500-member House of Representatives and called the election three years ahead of the schedule after persistent street protests in the capital demanding he quit. ---------- DPJ's Ozawa shows eagerness to run in party presidential race TOKYO - Ichiro Ozawa, former vice president of the Democratic Party of Japan, expressed his eagerness to run in the party's presidential election this upcoming Friday during an interview broadcast on Sunday. "I will do my best, regardless of whether I would be running at the top or at the bottom," Ozawa said in an interview on Fuji TV, which was recorded Friday, shortly after DPJ chief Seiji Maehara and other top party executives announced their resignations over a scandal involving a fake e-mail. ---------- Aso again calls China's military power 'threat' TOKYO - Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday he sees China's military capabilities as posing a threat, despite having sparked an outcry from Beijing when he made similar remarks late last year. Aso said on a Fuji TV program, "What is problematic with (the Chinese military spending) is its opaqueness. Because it's not very clear what (the spending) is being used for, neighboring countries feel threatened." |