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Kyodo Top12 News (10:15)(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- N. Korean missiles fired to counter U.S.-S. Korea drills: lawmakers TOKYO/BEIJING - North Korea recently fired missiles into the Sea of Japan to counter upcoming military exercises between South Korea and the United States, not to send a message to Japan, a group of Japanese opposition lawmakers said Monday following a visit to Pyongyang. "We asked if the missiles were fired because of Japan. They said that wasn't the case," lawmaker Taro Yamada told reporters at Beijing's international airport on his return from North Korea, where he and other legislators met with veteran North Korean diplomat Kang Sok Ju. He said Kang, who has strong influence over Pyongyang's foreign policy, described the launches as "countermeasures" against the annual South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, which are scheduled to start Wednesday. ---------- Police may arrest system engineer involved in Benesse data leak TOKYO - Police may arrest a system engineer who has admitted to involvement in a massive customer data leak at Benesse Holdings Inc., as investigative sources said Monday the police plan to launch a formal investigation into the engineer as early as this month. The temporary employee worked at a contractor for Synform Co., a Benesse affiliate which provided database management services for the company, the biggest provider of correspondence education for children in Japan. While questioned by the police, the employee admitted to removing the data because of money, the sources said. The employee is suspected of violating the unfair competition prevention law, which bans unauthorized use or disclosure of trade secrets. ---------- KDDI, Sumitomo to enter Myanmar mobile phone market with local partner YANGON - KDDI Corp. and Sumitomo Corp. plan to operate a mobile phone service in Myanmar in partnership with the state-run Myanma Posts and Telecommunications, sources close to MPT said Monday. The parties are expected to sign an agreement on the joint operation in the country's administrative capital Naypyitaw on Wednesday, according to the sources. They had initially planned an agreement by May after MPT's decision last year to partner KDDI, a major Japanese mobile phone carrier, but negotiations were extended over budget and human resources issues, the sources said. The joint initiative would likely involve several billion U.S. dollars in investment, mostly on building and expanding telecom infrastructure in the country where only a fraction of its 60 million people has access to mobile phones. ---------- Abe's foreign policy draws mixed reactions in Asia: U.S. poll WASHINGTON - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's foreign policy is distrusted by people in China and South Korea but viewed favorably in countries involved in territorial rows with Beijing, a U.S. research agency said Monday. According to a Pew Research Center poll, confidence in Abe stayed very low in Japan's two neighbors but many respondents in Vietnam and the Philippines said they trust the Japanese leader. Abe is "quite well respected in a number of other Asian countries, with half or more in five of 10 trusting him in world affairs," the poll said. ---------- Japan, U.S. resume series of talks on farm tariffs, autos WASHINGTON - Trade officials from Japan and the United States resumed a series of meetings Monday on tariffs on agriculture produce under a Pacific Rim free trade pact and bilateral trade of automobiles. The officials met to follow up the results of a meeting of chief negotiators of the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership initiative, which ended Saturday in Ottawa without making any breakthroughs. Hiroshi Oe, deputy chief TPP negotiator of Japan, and Wendy Cutler, acting deputy U.S. trade representative, began a two-day meeting Monday on the long-standing issue of Japan's exceptional tariffs on some farm products under the TPP. One of the sticking points in the Japan-U.S negotiations is Japan's tariffs on beef and pork. ---------- Mitsubishi Aircraft receives order for regional jet from U.S. carrier+ FARNBOROUGH, England - Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. has signed a deal with Eastern Air Lines Group Inc. of the United States to supply up to 40 of its MRJ regional jet under development, Teruaki Kawai told reporters Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow under way in a London suburb. The Miami-based airline, attempting a comeback under a new owner, is placing a firm order for 20 MRJ90, a 90-seat class plane, and an option to buy 20 more under a memorandum of understanding. A definitive agreement is expected in the near future, with deliveries scheduled to start in 2019, the Japanese aircraft builder said. ---------- Abe says will reflect on election loss by LDP-backed candidate TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday he will reflect on the previous day's gubernatorial election loss by his Liberal Democratic Party-backed candidate in Shiga Prefecture, western Japan. "I'd like to fully reflect on it and then have the government and the ruling bloc work together to come up with policies for our citizens," Abe said in a meeting between the government and the two-party ruling coalition. With the support of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Taizo Mikazuki beat Takashi Koyari, who was backed by the LDP and its junior coalition partner, the New Komeito party, on Sunday. Mikazuki also received support from outgoing Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada, who is known for her antinuclear stance. ---------- N. Korea fires about 100 artillery rockets into Sea of Japan SEOUL - North Korea fired about 100 artillery rockets on Monday from its east coast near the border with South Korea, a South Korean military official said. The official of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said the rockets were fired shortly before noon as part of what appeared to be a military drill. They fell into North Korean territorial waters, between 1 and 8 kilometers north of the Koreas' de facto maritime border. In Seoul, the Defense Ministry warned that the South Korean military will deliver a "swift retaliatory strike" if North Korean artillery rockets land south of the de facto maritime border. "Our armed forces maintain a high level of readiness to take a strong response to any type of provocations from North Korea," the Defense ministry said in a statement. ---------- Minesweeping possible in M. East under collective self-defense: Abe TOKYO - Japan can send troops to the Middle East for minesweeping without a cease-fire, as a reinterpretation of the Constitution will expand their overseas role in a major security policy shift, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday. During the first Diet debate since Abe's Cabinet approved the change on July 1, Abe said the country's use of the right to collective self-defense would be subject to stricter conditions than international standards, and Japan's "exclusively defense-oriented policy" would not change. "We will maintain our basic policy that is committed exclusively to defense. It does not mean that we will be allowed to use the same level of collective self-defense as other countries," Abe told the House of Representatives Budget Committee. ---------- Soccer: Brazil World Cup "special," "exceptional," Blatter says RIO DE JANEIRO - FIFA President Sepp Blatter described the 2014 World Cup as "special" and "exceptional" a night after the tournament ended with Germany winning their fourth championship. Organizational concerns loomed over the 20th finals ahead of the competition but after 64 matches, Brazil came away with largely positive reviews, with many saying it was one of the best World Cups ever. Blatter agreed, attributing the success largely to the high standard of football displayed by the 32 teams. "It was my 10th World Cup, fifth as president and it was a special World Cup," Blatter said on Monday. "What makes this special is the quality of football -- the intensity of the games." ---------- Tokyo stocks open higher, dollar hovers in mid-101 yen range TOKYO - Tokyo stocks opened higher Tuesday as market sentiment was buoyed by overnight gains on Wall Street. At 9:15 a.m., the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average was up 96.74 points, or 0.63 percent, from Monday at 15,393.56. The broader Topix index was 9.63 points, or 0.76 percent, higher at 1,275.09. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar hovered in the mid-101 yen range in early Tokyo trading Tuesday. At 9 a.m., the dollar fetched 101.53-54 yen compared with 101.50-60 yen in New York and 101.47-48 yen in Tokyo at 5 p.m. Monday. The euro was quoted at $1.3622-3622 and 138.31-32 yen against $1.3614-3624 and 138.24-34 yen in New York and $1.3635-3636 and 138.36-40 yen in Tokyo late Monday afternoon. ---------- Weather for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather for Tuesday: Tokyo=fair, occasionally cloudy; Osaka=cloudy, occasionally fair; Nagoya=fair, then cloudy; Sapporo=fair, occasionally cloudy; Sendai=fair, then cloudy; Niigata=cloudy, occasionally fair; Hiroshima=cloudy; Takamatsu=cloudy, occasionally rain; Fukuoka=rain; Naha=fair. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |