TMCnet News
Kyodo news summary -4-(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Dec. 17 -- (Kyodo) _ ---------- Akatsuki may have gone off course due to engine nozzle trouble TOKYO - The space probe Akatsuki failed in its attempt to enter orbit around Venus earlier this month possibly because much of its engine nozzle was damaged and fell off, sources at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said Friday. The engine nozzle might have broken after being overheated due to glitches in the fuel supply system, the sources said. ---------- WikiLeaks founder has broken no Australian law, authorities say SYDNEY - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has breached no laws in Australia, the Australian Federal Police said Friday. Australian police began examining allegations against Australian-born Assange, 39, and his WikiLeaks whistle-blower website that has released around 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables, after the federal Attorney General's Department referred the matter to the federal police Nov. 30. ---------- French champion of 'solidarity levy' urges Japan to lead initiative TOKYO - A French champion of the so-called "international solidarity levy," such as a tax on airline ticket purchases and a proposed levy on currency transactions to raise funds to fight poverty, urged Japan to introduce an aviation tax to "continue to be a role model" in delivering aid to the poor. Philippe Douste-Blazy, a former French foreign minister who helped launch an aviation tax in 2006 in France under the government of President Jacques Chirac, said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that imposing a small tax worth $1 on air tickets would be one of the easiest ways to raise new development funds. ---------- Nov. industrial power sales in Japan up for 12th straight month TOKYO - Japan's 10 regional electric utilities' power sales to large-lot industrial users in November rose 4.7 percent from a year earlier to 23.04 billion kilowatt-hours for the 12th straight month of rise, an industry body said Friday. The upbeat sales reflected steady manufacturing activities of companies underpinned by brisk exports, the Federation of Electric Power Companies of Japan said. ---------- U.S. panel rejects Japanese company's patent claim on GPS devices NEW YORK - The U.S. International Trade Commission has issued an initial determination that global positioning system devices of Garmin Ltd. do not infringe on the patent rights of Japan's Pioneer Corp., the U.S. maker of satellite navigation devices said Thursday. The ITC rejected the complaint filed in November 2009 by the major Japanese maker of car navigation systems that Garmin's products infringe its three patents on GPS technology, according to Garmin, whose world headquarters is in Olathe, Kansas. ---------- Man slashes teens inside buses in Ibaraki, 13 injured MITO, Japan - A man slashed four people and hit others inside two commuter buses packed with students on Friday morning near JR Toride station in the city of Toride, Ibaraki Prefecture, leaving a total of 13 people with minor injuries, police and city officials said. The man, identified as Yuta Saito, 27, was seized by passengers, and the police arrested him at the crime scene on suspicion of attempted murder, according to the police. ---------- Japan adopts proactive defense policy with eye on China's rise TOKYO - Japan adopted a new defense policy outline Friday which expressed increased concerns about China's military rise and introduced a new defense posture enabling more flexible responses to threats including terrorism and North Korean missiles, while beefing up security around its remote islands. The National Defense Program Guidelines, the first for the government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, described China's military rise and other actions such as its increasing naval activities around Japan's southwestern islands as a "matter of concern for the region and the international community." ---------- Dollar narrowly trades in upper 83 yen level in Tokyo morning deals TOKYO - The U.S. dollar traded narrowly in the upper 83 yen level in thin trading Friday morning in Tokyo, taking a respite from overnight falls prompted by a drop in U.S. Treasury yields. At noon, the dollar was quoted at 83.87-89 yen against 83.83-93 yen in New York and 84.23-24 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Thursday. ---------- Japan budget aimed at insulating farmers from free trade impact TOKYO - The government is likely to count an expenditure of some 800 billion yen ($9.54 billion) in its draft budget for the next fiscal year in an attempt to improve the productivity and international competitiveness of Japanese farmers, sources close to the matter said Friday. The move comes as the government seeks to accelerate the effort to join a Pacific free trade accord in spite of opposition from the agricultural sector. The money would be spent on a government program to compensate farmers for possible losses from falling produce prices, among other purposes. (c) 2010 Kyodo News International, Inc. |