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Kyodo news summary -6-(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Japan to cooperate in int'l probe into Malaysian plane crash TOKYO - Japan's top government spokesman said Friday that Tokyo will cooperate in multinational investigations into the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane carrying nearly 300 passengers and crew over eastern Ukraine. "The Japanese government strongly calls for the identification of the cause of the crash," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference. "Japan will cooperate as much as possible as countries concerned join hands." ---------- Taiwanese research ship in Japan's EEZ NAHA, Japan - The same Taiwanese marine research ship that intruded into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands on Thursday dropped an object into the waters within Japan's exclusive economic zone in the East China Sea on Friday, the Japan Coast Guard said. The Senkakus, a group of uninhabited islets administered by Japan as part of its Okinawa Prefecture, are claimed by China and Taiwan, which call them Diaoyu and Tiaoyutai, respectively. ---------- Mongolia president to visit Japan next week TOKYO - Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj will visit Japan from Monday to Thursday for talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to strengthen bilateral economic ties, the Foreign Ministry said Friday. Elbegdorj plans to meet with Abe on Tuesday, a ministry official said. The president is also scheduled to attend a business forum to be cosponsored by the Mongolian government and the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the same day. ---------- Classic comic storyteller Kosanji picked as living national treasure TOKYO - The government's Council for Cultural Affairs on Friday recommended "rakugo" classic comic storyteller Yanagiya Kosanji and six other people as Japan living national treasures. The government is expected to endorse the recommendation possibly in September, bringing the number of living national treasures in Japan to 116. ---------- Japan eyes foreign ministerial talks with U.S., S. Korea in Aug. TOKYO - Japan is considering holding a foreign ministerial meeting with the United States and South Korea on the sidelines of a regional meeting slated for early August in Myanmar, government sources said Friday. If the meeting is realized, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byung Se are expected to reaffirm close trilateral coordination in reining in North Korea's missile and nuclear weapons development, the sources said. ---------- Crown prince, family to visit Ise Shrine later this month TOKYO - Crown Prince Naruhito, his wife Crown Princess Masako and their only child Princess Aiko will make a two-day visit to Ise Shrine in Mie Prefecture from July 28, the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. The crown prince and his family will visit the shrine in central Japan, which last October completed major repair work conducted every 20 years. In a ceremony, the shrine deity was transferred to a new building. ---------- Softbank's T-Mobile buyout talks to be settled after late Aug. TOKYO - Negotiations over Softbank Corp.'s bid to acquire the fourth-largest U.S. mobile carrier T-Mobile US Inc. could take longer than originally expected, delaying a final agreement to after late August, industry sources said Friday. According to the sources, T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG has shown reluctance to accept a business plan submitted by the Japanese communications giant and demanded the submission of a renewed plan. ---------- Top court rules resident foreigners ineligible for welfare benefits TOKYO - The Supreme Court ruled Friday that foreigners with permanent residency status are ineligible for welfare benefits, overturning a decision by the Fukuoka High Court that had acknowledged their eligibility under the public assistance law. The decision by the top court's Second Petty Bench concerned a lawsuit filed by an 82-year-old Chinese woman with permanent residency who was born and grew up in Japan. ---------- Japan says ties with Russia remain important TOKYO - Japan said Friday its relations with Russia remain important due to regional security concerns. "The importance of Japan-Russia relations remains unchanged in an increasingly severe security environment in the Asia-Pacific region," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a regular press conference. ---------- Deadline for talks on Iran's nuclear program to be extended VIENNA - Iran and six major powers basically agreed Friday to extend the deadline for reaching a comprehensive settlement on Tehran's nuclear program from Sunday to possibly November, negotiation sources said. On Nov. 24, 2013, Iran reached a tentative agreement with the six powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States -- to curb its uranium enrichment in exchange for a partial easing of economic sanctions as a first set of measures. ---------- 181 bodies found at crash site of downed airliner in Ukraine KIEV - Ukrainian authorities said Friday that 181 bodies have so far been found in a rebel-controlled area of eastern Ukraine where a Malaysian Airlines plane with 298 people on board crashed on Thursday. Separatist rebels who control the area said they had recovered most of its black boxes, according to the Associated Press. ---------- Shiseido aims to boost group sales to 1 trillion yen in 2020 TOKYO - Shiseido Co. aims to achieve 1 trillion yen in annual group sales in 2020, up about 30 percent from the level in fiscal 2013 ended in March, the company's president, Masahiko Uotani, said Friday. To boost group sales from 762 billion yen in fiscal 2013, the cosmetics maker will introduce a system in which certain employees will be responsible for products consistently from planning, development to sales, starting from October, Uotani said at a product release ceremony. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |