TMCnet News
Kyodo news summary -5-+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)TOKYO, April 20_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Rini sworn in as Solomons' premier after violence SYDNEY - Snyder Rini was sworn in as the Solomon Islands' prime minister Thursday, despite fears the event could trigger further violence. Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty told reporters in Canberra the swearing-in had gone ahead without incident. ---------- Gov't resolved to continue efforts to cope with oil price hikes TOKYO - Senior Japanese government officials renewed their pledge Thursday to continue their efforts to mitigate adverse effects of surging oil prices on the country's businesses, after prices of oil futures hit another round of record highs overnight in overseas markets. Directors general-level officials from 12 ministries agreed to steadily implement their policies to stem negative impact on Japan's economy, such as financially supporting energy conservation efforts by affected sectors such as transportation, fisheries and horticulture, government officials said. ---------- Stray boy found to be Thai, flies back to Thailand with father UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - A boy who had been under protection as a stray child in eastern Japan flew home Thursday to Thailand with his father after being identified as the son of a Thai man who had been questioned for allegedly overstaying his visa in Japan, officials of a Japanese child counseling center said. The 5-year-old boy was reunited with his father for the first time in a year at the Justice Ministry's Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau on Wednesday. ---------- Japan's defense chief to visit U.S. Friday for realignment talks TOKYO - Japanese Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga plans to visit the United States from Friday to negotiate with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld over how much Japan should shoulder for the cost of relocating U.S. Marines to Guam, government sources said Thursday. The sources said Nukaga believes he needs to make the trip in order to break the deadlock between the two sides over Japan's share of the cost of moving 8,000 U.S. Marines out of Okinawa Prefecture, as the two countries have failed to reach an agreement after several rounds of senior working-level talks. ---------- Pyongyang weighs in on Seoul-Tokyo isle dispute TOKYO - North Korea on Thursday accused Japan of laying claim to a pair of South Korean-controlled islets, now at the center of an escalating dispute between Tokyo and Seoul, as part of its "ambitions for territorial expansion." The state-run Korean Central News Agency slammed "the Japanese reactionaries' evermore undisguised attempt to grab Tok Islet, part of the inviolable territory of Korea." ---------- Mothers of slain Briton, Australian call for life term for Obara TOKYO - The mothers of British and Australian women who died in Japan in 2000 and 1992 testified at the Tokyo District Court on Thursday, seeking life imprisonment for Joji Obara, who was indicted for raping and fatally drugging their daughters. Jane Steare, the mother of Lucie Blackman, demanded that the court "hand down the most severe sentence in its power." Life imprisonment is the heaviest punishment a court may give to Obara under law. ---------- Singapore parliament dissolved, general election set for May 6 SINGAPORE - Singapore dissolved its unicameral parliament on Thursday to pave the way for a general election on May 6, according to government statements. Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has decided to call for an early general election to take advantage of the current economic upswing although the five-year term of parliamentarians runs until mid-2007. ---------- Indian special envoy meets king amid reports of shooting in Nepal KATHMANDU - A special envoy of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with Nepalese King Gyanendra at the royal Palace in Kathmandu on Thursday afternoon as thousands of anti-monarch demonstrators gathered on the outskirts of the capital. Government-run Nepal television showed clips of the emissary, Karan Singh, shaking hands with the embattled monarch. ---------- China hopes Japan, S. Korea can solve row over maritime survey BEIJING - China hopes Japan and South Korea will be able to solve their dispute over Tokyo's planned maritime survey around a disputed pair of islets, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday. "We hope South Korea and China can properly solve the problems between them through negotiations," Qin Gang said at a regular press briefing. ---------- Police to use every law to tackle quake-resistance data scam TOKYO - Police will use every possible law to tackle the earthquake-resistance data fabrication scandal, the National Police Agency head said Thursday. "We will use every law (to detect the illicit activities)," NPA Commissioner General Iwao Uruma told a press conference. "The investigation team on the data fabrication is working under this principle." |