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Kyodo news summary -4-+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Feb. 4_(Kyodo) _ ---------- Japan agrees to chair U.N. Sanctions Committee on Iran: sources NEW YORK - Japan has accepted a request by three U.N. Security Council permanent members to chair a U.N. Sanctions Committee on Iran, U.N. diplomatic sources said Tuesday. Japan was initially reluctant to assume the 2009 chairmanship of the U.N. committee on Iran's nuclear issue but agreed to take the post at a Security Council meeting on Jan. 6 in response to strong requests from the United States, Britain and France, the sources said. ---------- U.S. Secretary of State Clinton to visit Japan on Feb. 16 TOKYO - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit Japan on Feb. 16, Japanese government sources said Wednesday. During her two-day visit, Clinton will meet with Prime Minister Taro Aso and Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone for talks on North Korea's nuclear ambitions and past abductions of Japanese nationals, as well as Afghan reconstruction and the global financial crisis, the sources said. ---------- 8 pilot whales die after being stranded in mangroves off Bali JAKARTA - Eight short-finned pilot whales with body lengths between 2 and 3.5 meters have been found dead in mangroves on Serangan Island off the Bali provincial capital of Denpasar, an Indonesian news report said Wednesday. According to Budi Utomo, an official at Bali's natural conservation agency, it is the most whales to have been stranded in waters surrounding the resort island in recent memory, the newspaper Kompas reported. ---------- Man dies after being refused admission by 14 hospitals KOBE - A 69-year-old man injured in a traffic accident in Hyogo Prefecture died last month after being refused admission by 14 hospitals, a local fire department said Wednesday, revealing yet another case indicating Japan's emergency medical care is in a grave situation. The man collided with a motorcycle when he was riding a bicycle in Itami at around 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 20. After arriving at the scene five minutes later, rescue workers provided first aid while seeking a hospital for about one hour. ---------- Plaintiff with gender identity disorder wins damages suit in rare ruling OKAYAMA, Japan - A person with gender identity disorder, who was born as a woman but has lived as a man, won 25.5 million yen compensation, based on the average wage of male workers, in a damages suit over brain damage caused by a traffic accident, legal sources said Wednesday. The plaintiff in his 30s suffered brain damage after being hit by a car in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, in August 2003, and filed the suit against the driver at the Kurashiki branch of the Okayama District Court, arguing the damages should be estimated on the premise that the plaintiff is a male. ---------- Professors receive money from students for reviewing doctoral theses TOKYO - Thirty-three Tokyo Medical University professors involved in reviewing doctoral theses received money from degree earners between the 2005 and 2007 academic years, it said Wednesday. It was common practice at the university for degree earners to provide 100,000 yen each to three professors for reviewing a thesis, according to the university. Copyright ? 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. |