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Kyodo Top12 News (16:15)
[July 30, 2014]

Kyodo Top12 News (16:15)


(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Japan agrees with Colombia to enhance ties with Pacific Alliance BOGOTA - Japan has agreed to strengthen its ties with the Pacific Alliance, a forum for economic cooperation comprising Colombia and three other Latin American countries, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday after talks with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos. The two leaders also agreed to "accelerate negotiations" toward concluding a free trade agreement between Japan and Colombia, Abe told a joint press conference. The Pacific Alliance was created in June 2012 and also includes Mexico, Peru and Chile. Japan has observer status with the group, which it sees as having potential as a supplier of natural resources and foodstuffs. "We hope to make a major advance in the relationship between Japan and Latin America" through cooperation with the Pacific Alliance and other groups, said Abe, who is the first Japanese prime minister to visit Colombia.



---------- Japan begins antipiracy campaign against 300 Internet sites TOKYO - The Japanese government and producers of manga and animation began an antipiracy campaign on Wednesday, demanding some 300 piracy Internet site operators delete their infringing content within the next five months. The project aimed at cracking down on piracy is targeted at around 580 manga and animation items that have been copied illegally. They could resort to legal action if the operators do not respond to calls to delete them, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said. The targeted sites are located in several countries, including China and South Korea. A survey conducted by the government in 2012 showed the damage to Japanese industries in four major Chinese cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chongqing -- is estimated at around 560 billion yen each year.

---------- U.S. announces additional sanctions on Russia WASHINGTON - The United States announced Tuesday that it will impose additional sanctions on Russian energy, arms and financial sectors to increase pressure on Moscow to end its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. "Today, and building on the measures we announced two weeks ago, the United States is imposing new sanctions in key sectors of the Russian economy -- energy, arms and finance," President Barack Obama told a press conference. "We're blocking the exports of specific goods and technologies to the Russian energy sector, we're expanding our sanctions to more Russian banks and defense companies, and we're formally suspending credit that encourages exports to Russia and financing for economic development projects in Russia," he said.


---------- Abbott skips new sanctions on Russia, says focus still on victims SYDNEY - Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott ruled out new sanctions on Russia on Wednesday, with his government focusing on operations to retrieve the bodies of the deceased from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 shot down in the Ukraine almost two weeks ago. "Our focus is not on sanctions, our focus is on bringing home our dead as quickly as we humanly can," Abbott said. He said the Australian focus is to enter the crash site, perform a recovery mission and "get out," a view he has reiterated numerous times since the plane was shot down. Abbott's comments come as the United States and Europe announced tough new sanctions on Russia overnight following their support of rebels in Ukraine, a group believed responsible for the downing of the commercial plane, killing all 239 people on board.

---------- Khmer Rouge court begins new hearing on genocide against ex-leaders PHNOM PENH - The U.N.-supported tribunal for trying former Khmer Rouge leaders began Wednesday in Cambodia, a second hearing against the regime's ex-leaders focusing mainly on genocide. The first case was concluded in October last year and the verdict will be announced Aug. 7. Nil Non, presiding judge of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, opened the hearing Wednesday and read the charges focusing on genocide and other related crimes including forced marriage and rape. The new hearing is against the two remaining senior Khmer Rouge leaders, Nuon Chea, known as Khmer Rouge Brother No. 2, and then Head of State Khieu Samphan.

---------- Toyota set to become world's top car seller in 1st half of 2014 TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its global auto sales reached a record 5.09 million units in the first half of 2014, likely making it the world's best-selling automaker in the period for the third consecutive year. The sales volume, including Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. vehicles, gained 3.8 percent from a year earlier in the January to June period, supported by strong performances in North America and China as well as brisk demand in Japan before the consumption tax hike in April. The figure eclipsed the previous record of 4.98 million units set in the first half of 2012, and hit the 5 million unit level for the first time.

---------- Shiseido begins pre-sale of cosmetics developed for global market OSAKA - Shiseido Co. on Wednesday began preliminary sales of a skin product strategically developed for the international market, as part of a campaign by the major Japanese cosmetics company's new president to lift its global profile. The Shiseido brand, together with the domestically strong Elixir and MAQuillAGE, are at the forefront of the international push by President Masahiko Uotani, the former president of Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. who took over leadership at Shiseido in April. At Hankyu Department Store's Umeda Main Store in Osaka, Uotani joined a marketing team at the brand booth Wednesday morning to promote the newly launched Shiseido ULTIMUNE Power Infusing Concentrate skin essence. "With all the employees united, let's show off new Shiseido to delight our customers," said Uotani to the marketing team before the store's opening.

---------- Toyota to invest in resort facility under reconstruction NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. plans to invest 1.08 billion yen in a subsidiary of Tokyo-based travel agency H.I.S. Co. to reconstruct a marine resort facility in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, industry sources said Wednesday. Toyota has been engaged in operating the resort facility, Laguna Gamagori, and will cooperate in its reconstruction, they said. The largest Japanese automaker will make the investment when the H.I.S. unit, Laguna Ten Bosch Co., privately issues new shares next January. Toyota will own a one-third stake in Laguna Ten Bosch, which will take over the facility from ailing Gamagori Marine Development Co. that incurred a net debt of 7.8 billion yen for the year that ended March 2013.

---------- Tsunami-swept signboard washed up in Hawaii returns home MORIOKA, Japan - A signboard that was swept out to sea after the 2011 earthquake-tsunami disaster before washing up on a Hawaiian island returned Wednesday to its home village in northeastern Japan's Iwate Prefecture. The 2.9-meter-wide, 30-centimeter-long signboard of a public housing complex in the village of Tanohata was sent back from Oahu Island, some 6,000 kilometers away from the community, to the village office, where it was welcomed by about 20 officials. Last October, Hawaiian authorities notified the Japanese Consulate General in Honolulu of the discovery of the wooden signboard. It was airlifted to Sendai airport last Friday and carried to the village by truck.

---------- Yoko Ono asks youth to spread Hiroshima A-bomb peace message to world HIROSHIMA - Artist Yoko Ono on Wednesday urged youngsters gathered at a peace event in Hiroshima to help teach the world about the experiences of the city that was devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb attack in 1945. The 81-year-old widow of former Beatle John Lenon, told the roughly 300 participants, "'No more Hiroshima' is a global issue. I want you to spread the experiences of Hiroshima to the world as much as possible." The event was planned by college students in the western Japan prefecture who believe it is young generations' responsibility to build a peaceful world by inheriting their forebears' experiences, according to organizers. Terue Toda, 82, a victim of the atomic bombing, lamented the current situation, saying at the event, "Many people seem to be forgetting" the A-bomb attack.

---------- Tokyo stocks edge higher, dollar trades in lower 102 yen level TOKYO - Tokyo stocks gained slightly Wednesday as buying backed by strong corporate results and a weaker yen offset selling to lock in recent gains. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 28.16 points, or 0.18 percent, from Tuesday at 15,646.23. The broader Topix index finished 1.83 points, or 0.14 percent, higher at 1,292.24. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the lower 102 yen zone. At 4 p.m., the dollar fetched 102.15-16 yen compared with 102.07-17 yen in New York late Tuesday afternoon. The euro was quoted at 136.96-97 yen against 136.88-98 yen in New York.

---------- Weather forecast for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather forecast for Thursday: Tokyo=cloudy, occasionally fair; Osaka=cloudy, occasionally fair; Nagoya=cloudy, occasionally fair; Sapporo=cloudy, occasionally fair; Sendai=fair, then cloudy; Niigata=fair, then cloudy; Hiroshima=cloudy, occasionally fair; Takamatsu=cloudy, occasionally fair; Fukuoka=cloudy; Naha=cloudy, occasionally rain.

(c) 2014 Kyodo News

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