Over 90 percent of Tokyo taxis banned smoking as of Monday, with taxis in Saitama and Fukui prefectures also launching a similar drive.
About 34,000 corporate-driven taxis and some 18,000 owner-driven taxis in Tokyo became non-smoking from Monday, making up about 95 percent of taxis in the capital. In neighboring Saitama Prefecture, 6,512 taxis banned smoking the same day.
The number of prefectures banning smoking in taxis is now up to 15, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The trend is expected to continue.
"More than half the complaints from passengers are about the smell of cigarettes," said a representative of a taxi company association in Tokyo. "The push toward non-smoking taxis can't be stopped," he said.
At a taxi stand in front of JR Tokyo Station, officials launched a campaign to promote non-smoking taxis on Monday morning.
"Because of my job (as a fashion consultant), I need to be free of the smell of smoke. I appreciate it," said a 29-year-old woman from Tokyo's Adachi-ku.
A 63-year-old taxi driver, who is a smoker himself, was worried about the move.
"There is no penalty for violating the ban. We cannot refuse to give a ride to passengers who want to smoke, and I cannot quit smoking, either. I hope there won't be any problems with drunken passengers (who want to smoke)," he said.
タクシー禁煙：東京、埼玉でも始まる
東京で業界団体加盟の法人約３万４０００台、個人約１万８０００台のタクシーが７日から禁煙になった。都内のタクシーの約９５％が禁煙となる。この日は埼玉と福井でも始まった。国土交通省などによると全県的なタクシー禁煙はこれで１５都県となり、今後も拡大する見通しという。
禁煙化が進む背景には、タクシーを含む交通機関の事業者に対して受動喫煙の防止に努めるよう求めた０３年５月施行の健康増進法がある。また、０５年１２月には、受動喫煙被害の責任を巡ってタクシー乗務員らと国が争った訴訟の東京地裁判決が「乗務員は分煙が不可能な密閉された車内で、乗客のたばこの副流煙を恒常的に吸わされる。全面禁煙化が望ましい」と指摘した。
７日朝、ＪＲ東京駅丸の内北口のタクシー乗り場では、関係者らがＰＲ活動を展開。足立区のアパレル販売員の女性（２９）は「仕事柄、においをつける訳にはいかなかった。助かります」と笑顔で乗り込んだ。
一方、愛煙家という乗務員（６３）は「違反しても罰則はない。吸いたい客を拒否できないし、自分もやめられない。夜は酔客ともめないといいが」と不安を募らせる。都内の法人タクシー団体「東京乗用旅客自動車協会」の広報担当者は「客がどうしても吸いたいと言えば、車を止めて車外で吸ってもらう。タクシーへのクレームの半分以上はたばこのにおい。禁煙化は止められない」と話す。【渡辺暖、高橋昌紀】
◇ ◇
埼玉では、県タクシー協会が加盟２１０社（６５１２台）のタクシーを禁煙にした。１９５の個人タクシーや協会非加盟の数社も同調するとみられ、ほぼすべてのタクシーが禁煙になる見込み。
January 7, 2008
Mainichi
Original Aricle
Showing posts with label Trans-Pacific Radio. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trans-Pacific Radio. Show all posts
Monday, January 7, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
ADVERSARIAL BENT, NOT BOWING TO AUTHORITY
Friday, Jan. 4, 2008
Waseda grad school to groom true newshounds
By ERIC PRIDEAUX
Staff writer
There is no doubt that Japan has produced its share of top-notch journalists: noted political writer Takashi Tachibana, war photographer Ryuichi Hirokawa and videographer Kenji Nagai, who was shot dead in September while reporting close up on the unrest in Myanmar, to cite but a few.
Be that as it may, scholars and media professionals say that, across the board, Japan's news industry is in need of some big fixes. With shortcomings at every stage of the journalism process, the result is news coverage so uncritical and dull that it fails to meet the needs of a democratic citizenry.
Waseda University in Tokyo wants to answer the call. In April, it will launch what it bills as Japan's "first genuine journalism graduate school," a fully accredited two-year program it hopes will fill the country's newsrooms with a new breed of reporter.
"It will happen in stepwise fashion. As reporters equipped with the necessary skills go out one by one, we hope they will change the system from the inside," said Seishi Sato, dean of Waseda's political science graduate school and one of the founders of the journalism program.
Ask media critics exactly what needs mending and you get a laundry list.
News outlets, they say, frequently pack reports with lots of data but too little context, overwhelming citizens with facts without connecting the dots. Story angles that stray too far from accepted norms are smothered at birth, sometimes by journalists themselves afraid of standing out from the crowd.
The litany continues: A foreign journalist complained that news stories in the Japanese press tend to lack focus and structure, while other readers call them too formulaic and dry. One midcareer Japanese journalist said he wants television stations to pursue more undercover exposes.
And whether their work shows up in print or on the air, reporters from all mainstream media show a worrisome tendency to bow to authority when they should challenge it, according to observers like Waseda's Sato.
"In Japan, the press club system is mighty," he said, referring to the arrangement at agencies and political parties in which power-holders parcel information to journalists on the unwritten agreement that the press toes the line. "Reporting is done within certain limits, with an eye to the relationships maintained within the clubs."
Putting it more bluntly is longtime Japan correspondent Henry Scott Stokes, a native of England who over the years has followed domestic news as Tokyo bureau chief for The Financial Times, The Times of London and The New York Times. He frequently marvels, he said, at how reluctant media outlets have been to do tough reporting.
"The great issue is how on earth to teach people to ask questions, because this demands a complete revolution in the way of thinking here," said Scott Stokes, 69, who currently writes for Economist.com and Institutional Investor.
Waseda wants that revolution to begin inside its "J-school" classes.
The outgrowth of a pre-existing training program in Waseda's political science department that focuses on science and technology reporting, Waseda's new program also draws inspiration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York and graduate-level media programs at Imperial College London and The Australian National University, among several other overseas journalism schools.
High standards will be kept, Sato said. Media instructors — veteran journalists from Japan's top media organs who presumably harbor the same dissatisfaction with the status quo as the critics — will be expected to press students to polish and repolish their work until it is suitably informative and well-composed, whether the project be a lengthy print article or video documentary.
The program will also offer lectures by Waseda professors on the history of the press, media and the Constitution, crime, the environment, public welfare, economics, foreign relations, political science and many other topics aimed at firing up students with a sense of civic mission and providing the basic knowledge to carry it out.
Some classes will be taught in English to foster international exchanges with foreign students and to prepare Japanese students for the global workplace.
The inaugural class will consist of 40 students mostly chosen by an exam last September, in which applicants were required to demonstrate English proficiency and a knowledge of media issues, according to Sato, adding that a followup exam will be given in February for special applicants.
New graduates will account for about two-thirds of the class, with the remainder professionals in midcareer. Graduates who complete a thesis will receive a master's degree.
A journalism graduate degree doesn't come cheap: The 9 1/2-month program at Columbia's J-School, for example, costs $37,600.
Tuition for the Waseda J-school program is far less expensive at ¥860,000 for the first year and ¥600,500 for the second, but cash-strapped twentysomethings might wonder whether on-the-job training is the more affordable choice.
Yasuomi Sawa, a 17-year Kyodo News staff reporter, however, sees an important role for Waseda's J-School.
As a member of the Reporting and Communications Discussion Group, comprising journalists from top Japanese news organizations seeking ways to improve their industry, Sawa has closely followed the development of Waseda's program and considers it a means of injecting needed elements of journalism from around the world into Japan.
Sawa recently spent nine months as a Reuters journalism fellow at Oxford University, where he concluded that British media were far more willing to ruffle feathers — a quality he felt fueled a healthy public dialogue.
"Someone over there said to me, 'What is the role of journalism? It is to provoke an argument.' I thought that was impressive," Sawa said.
Waseda's journalism school, he suggested, should be a laboratory allowing Japan to develop a similarly aggressive brand of journalism for itself.
"I don't think a J-school can do it all, but the opportunities are there," he said.
Scott Stokes was also optimistic about the Waseda J-School's prospects, but cautiously so.
"I think it can make a tremendous contribution. But I also think it can take 50 years to build a respected institution," he said. "It's not something they should set out to accomplish overnight."
Japan Times
Original Article
Waseda grad school to groom true newshounds
By ERIC PRIDEAUX
Staff writer
There is no doubt that Japan has produced its share of top-notch journalists: noted political writer Takashi Tachibana, war photographer Ryuichi Hirokawa and videographer Kenji Nagai, who was shot dead in September while reporting close up on the unrest in Myanmar, to cite but a few.
Be that as it may, scholars and media professionals say that, across the board, Japan's news industry is in need of some big fixes. With shortcomings at every stage of the journalism process, the result is news coverage so uncritical and dull that it fails to meet the needs of a democratic citizenry.
Waseda University in Tokyo wants to answer the call. In April, it will launch what it bills as Japan's "first genuine journalism graduate school," a fully accredited two-year program it hopes will fill the country's newsrooms with a new breed of reporter.
"It will happen in stepwise fashion. As reporters equipped with the necessary skills go out one by one, we hope they will change the system from the inside," said Seishi Sato, dean of Waseda's political science graduate school and one of the founders of the journalism program.
Ask media critics exactly what needs mending and you get a laundry list.
News outlets, they say, frequently pack reports with lots of data but too little context, overwhelming citizens with facts without connecting the dots. Story angles that stray too far from accepted norms are smothered at birth, sometimes by journalists themselves afraid of standing out from the crowd.
The litany continues: A foreign journalist complained that news stories in the Japanese press tend to lack focus and structure, while other readers call them too formulaic and dry. One midcareer Japanese journalist said he wants television stations to pursue more undercover exposes.
And whether their work shows up in print or on the air, reporters from all mainstream media show a worrisome tendency to bow to authority when they should challenge it, according to observers like Waseda's Sato.
"In Japan, the press club system is mighty," he said, referring to the arrangement at agencies and political parties in which power-holders parcel information to journalists on the unwritten agreement that the press toes the line. "Reporting is done within certain limits, with an eye to the relationships maintained within the clubs."
Putting it more bluntly is longtime Japan correspondent Henry Scott Stokes, a native of England who over the years has followed domestic news as Tokyo bureau chief for The Financial Times, The Times of London and The New York Times. He frequently marvels, he said, at how reluctant media outlets have been to do tough reporting.
"The great issue is how on earth to teach people to ask questions, because this demands a complete revolution in the way of thinking here," said Scott Stokes, 69, who currently writes for Economist.com and Institutional Investor.
Waseda wants that revolution to begin inside its "J-school" classes.
The outgrowth of a pre-existing training program in Waseda's political science department that focuses on science and technology reporting, Waseda's new program also draws inspiration from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York and graduate-level media programs at Imperial College London and The Australian National University, among several other overseas journalism schools.
High standards will be kept, Sato said. Media instructors — veteran journalists from Japan's top media organs who presumably harbor the same dissatisfaction with the status quo as the critics — will be expected to press students to polish and repolish their work until it is suitably informative and well-composed, whether the project be a lengthy print article or video documentary.
The program will also offer lectures by Waseda professors on the history of the press, media and the Constitution, crime, the environment, public welfare, economics, foreign relations, political science and many other topics aimed at firing up students with a sense of civic mission and providing the basic knowledge to carry it out.
Some classes will be taught in English to foster international exchanges with foreign students and to prepare Japanese students for the global workplace.
The inaugural class will consist of 40 students mostly chosen by an exam last September, in which applicants were required to demonstrate English proficiency and a knowledge of media issues, according to Sato, adding that a followup exam will be given in February for special applicants.
New graduates will account for about two-thirds of the class, with the remainder professionals in midcareer. Graduates who complete a thesis will receive a master's degree.
A journalism graduate degree doesn't come cheap: The 9 1/2-month program at Columbia's J-School, for example, costs $37,600.
Tuition for the Waseda J-school program is far less expensive at ¥860,000 for the first year and ¥600,500 for the second, but cash-strapped twentysomethings might wonder whether on-the-job training is the more affordable choice.
Yasuomi Sawa, a 17-year Kyodo News staff reporter, however, sees an important role for Waseda's J-School.
As a member of the Reporting and Communications Discussion Group, comprising journalists from top Japanese news organizations seeking ways to improve their industry, Sawa has closely followed the development of Waseda's program and considers it a means of injecting needed elements of journalism from around the world into Japan.
Sawa recently spent nine months as a Reuters journalism fellow at Oxford University, where he concluded that British media were far more willing to ruffle feathers — a quality he felt fueled a healthy public dialogue.
"Someone over there said to me, 'What is the role of journalism? It is to provoke an argument.' I thought that was impressive," Sawa said.
Waseda's journalism school, he suggested, should be a laboratory allowing Japan to develop a similarly aggressive brand of journalism for itself.
"I don't think a J-school can do it all, but the opportunities are there," he said.
Scott Stokes was also optimistic about the Waseda J-School's prospects, but cautiously so.
"I think it can make a tremendous contribution. But I also think it can take 50 years to build a respected institution," he said. "It's not something they should set out to accomplish overnight."
Japan Times
Original Article
Lyuba the Baby Mammoth
Yamal Peninsula, Russia
Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008
by Eric A. Powell
What counts as archaeology? It's a question we're constantly asking ourselves when we decide what stories to cover. Basically, any discovery connected to the human past made by people who call themselves archaeologists is considered fair game. And when paleontologists find the remains of our hominid ancestors, we cover that too.
That rule of thumb left this year's amazing discovery of "Lyuba" out in the cold when we assembled our list. A six-month-old baby mammoth, Lyuba was found last May eroding out of a riverbank in Russia's Yamal Peninsula by Yuri Khudi, a Nenets reindeer herder. Russian paleontologist Alexei Tikhonov and French explorer Bernard Buiges (see "Mammoth Distortions") soon learned of the find, and they quickly organized a scientific study of the remarkably well-preserved specimen, bringing in mammoth expert Daniel Fisher from the University of Michigan, among others.
The most complete mammoth carcass every found, Lyuba (named after Khudi's wife) weighs about 110 pounds and is the size of a large dog. X-rays of her body revealed heartbreaking details, like the fact that she had nascent tusks no larger than a human finger. More discoveries are likely to come in 2008, when the baby mammoth travels to Japan for CT-scanning.
Strictly speaking, Lyuba is a paleontological, not archaeological, discovery. But every piece of information she can tell us about her brief life brings us closer to re-creating her world, a landscape she shared with our Paleolithic ancestors.
http://www.archaeology.org/
Original Article
Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008
by Eric A. Powell
What counts as archaeology? It's a question we're constantly asking ourselves when we decide what stories to cover. Basically, any discovery connected to the human past made by people who call themselves archaeologists is considered fair game. And when paleontologists find the remains of our hominid ancestors, we cover that too.
That rule of thumb left this year's amazing discovery of "Lyuba" out in the cold when we assembled our list. A six-month-old baby mammoth, Lyuba was found last May eroding out of a riverbank in Russia's Yamal Peninsula by Yuri Khudi, a Nenets reindeer herder. Russian paleontologist Alexei Tikhonov and French explorer Bernard Buiges (see "Mammoth Distortions") soon learned of the find, and they quickly organized a scientific study of the remarkably well-preserved specimen, bringing in mammoth expert Daniel Fisher from the University of Michigan, among others.
The most complete mammoth carcass every found, Lyuba (named after Khudi's wife) weighs about 110 pounds and is the size of a large dog. X-rays of her body revealed heartbreaking details, like the fact that she had nascent tusks no larger than a human finger. More discoveries are likely to come in 2008, when the baby mammoth travels to Japan for CT-scanning.
Strictly speaking, Lyuba is a paleontological, not archaeological, discovery. But every piece of information she can tell us about her brief life brings us closer to re-creating her world, a landscape she shared with our Paleolithic ancestors.
http://www.archaeology.org/
Original Article
Frozen baby mammoth makes debut in Tokyo
The Yomiuri Shimbun
A frozen baby mammoth that was found in May 2007 in western Siberia was put on display in Tokyo on Wednesday, the first time it has been shown to the public anywhere in the world.
The mammoth is thought to be a 6-month-old female that lived about 37,000 years ago. The man who discovered it named it after his wife.
Lyuba, who is about 1.2 meters long and weighs about 50 kilograms, was found almost perfectly preserved in permafrost and has since attracted attention from researchers around the world.
The exhibition held at the Marunouchi Building near Tokyo Station in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has drawn large crowds.
A couple from Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, who had lined up for an hour before the exhibition opened said they were excited to see Lyuba because they had not been able to see the frozen mammoth that was displayed at the 2005 World Exposition Aichi.
The exhibition will continue until Feb. 3.
(Jan. 4, 2008)
A frozen baby mammoth that was found in May 2007 in western Siberia was put on display in Tokyo on Wednesday, the first time it has been shown to the public anywhere in the world.
The mammoth is thought to be a 6-month-old female that lived about 37,000 years ago. The man who discovered it named it after his wife.
Lyuba, who is about 1.2 meters long and weighs about 50 kilograms, was found almost perfectly preserved in permafrost and has since attracted attention from researchers around the world.
The exhibition held at the Marunouchi Building near Tokyo Station in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, has drawn large crowds.
A couple from Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, who had lined up for an hour before the exhibition opened said they were excited to see Lyuba because they had not been able to see the frozen mammoth that was displayed at the 2005 World Exposition Aichi.
The exhibition will continue until Feb. 3.
(Jan. 4, 2008)
Prison inmates dislike unstylish pajamas
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese prisoners dislike their unstylish pajamas, feel their cells are too small and want better meals, a government survey has found.
In a survey of inmates who left prison in the year to March, almost 70 percent of respondents who shared cells with others said they had too little space, while 44 percent of those in solitary confinement said their cells were too small, the justice ministry said in a report issued Wednesday.
Over half said their meals were bad and having supper at 5 p.m. was too early, while almost 75 percent wished for more bread with their meals rather than rice or noodles.
The former inmates also found their vertically striped grayish pajamas to be unfashionable. Close to half said the colors were bad, and 44 percent said the design was ugly.
About 81,300 of Japan's 127 million people were in prison as of December 31 last year, according to government data.
A United Nations committee said earlier this year that Japanese prisons were overcrowded and lacked adequate medical care.
Makoto Teranaka, secretary general of Amnesty International Japan, said the prisons are overcrowded because sentences have grown longer in recent years.
"Because prisons are a closed society, there are great human rights violations going on," he said. "It's necessary to take drastic measures based on human rights to change the conditions in prisons."
(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Mike Miller)
December 27, 2007
In a survey of inmates who left prison in the year to March, almost 70 percent of respondents who shared cells with others said they had too little space, while 44 percent of those in solitary confinement said their cells were too small, the justice ministry said in a report issued Wednesday.
Over half said their meals were bad and having supper at 5 p.m. was too early, while almost 75 percent wished for more bread with their meals rather than rice or noodles.
The former inmates also found their vertically striped grayish pajamas to be unfashionable. Close to half said the colors were bad, and 44 percent said the design was ugly.
About 81,300 of Japan's 127 million people were in prison as of December 31 last year, according to government data.
A United Nations committee said earlier this year that Japanese prisons were overcrowded and lacked adequate medical care.
Makoto Teranaka, secretary general of Amnesty International Japan, said the prisons are overcrowded because sentences have grown longer in recent years.
"Because prisons are a closed society, there are great human rights violations going on," he said. "It's necessary to take drastic measures based on human rights to change the conditions in prisons."
(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Mike Miller)
December 27, 2007
5 die in Kanto after choking on sticky rice cake
Five people died in the Kanto area on Tuesday and Wednesday after choking on sticky "mochi" rice cake, it was learned Thursday.
In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year's Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them -- a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku -- died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.
Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year's period in Japan.
餅の事故：のどに詰まらせ都内などで５人死亡
東京都内などで１日から２日にかけて、お年寄りらが餅をのどに詰まらせる事故が相次いだ。都内では５９～９２歳の男女計１３人が病院に運ばれ、２人が死亡した。
東京消防庁によると、１日午前８時半ごろには大田区の男性（５９）が、２日午前１１時ごろには足立区の男性（８３）が、それぞれ自宅で餅を詰まらせ病院に運ばれたが死亡した。
また、茨城県笠間市では、初詣で帰りで車に乗っていた栃木県小山市の無職の男性（７１）が、群馬県富岡市でも男性（７６）が自宅で、横浜市でも男性が、１日に餅を詰まらせて死亡した。
東京消防庁は「お茶や汁物と一緒に食べたり、小さく切って食べるようにしてほしい」と注意を呼びかけている。
January 3, 2008
Mainichi
In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year's Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them -- a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku -- died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.
Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year's period in Japan.
餅の事故：のどに詰まらせ都内などで５人死亡
東京都内などで１日から２日にかけて、お年寄りらが餅をのどに詰まらせる事故が相次いだ。都内では５９～９２歳の男女計１３人が病院に運ばれ、２人が死亡した。
東京消防庁によると、１日午前８時半ごろには大田区の男性（５９）が、２日午前１１時ごろには足立区の男性（８３）が、それぞれ自宅で餅を詰まらせ病院に運ばれたが死亡した。
また、茨城県笠間市では、初詣で帰りで車に乗っていた栃木県小山市の無職の男性（７１）が、群馬県富岡市でも男性（７６）が自宅で、横浜市でも男性が、１日に餅を詰まらせて死亡した。
東京消防庁は「お茶や汁物と一緒に食べたり、小さく切って食べるようにしてほしい」と注意を呼びかけている。
January 3, 2008
Mainichi
Four choke to death on 'mochi'
Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2007
Kyodo News
Four men choked to death Monday and Tuesday in Tokyo and Niigata and Ibaraki prefectures, and seven other people in the capital became critically ill after choking on traditional New Year's "mochi" rice cakes, officials said.
A 68-year-old man in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu and a 76-year-old man in Sumida Ward died Tuesday after choking on the rice cakes, while a 74-year-old man in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, and an 80-year-old man in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, choked to death Monday.
In Tokyo, 16 people ranging in age from 65 to 91 were hospitalized after choking on mochi Monday and Tuesday, including the two fatalities, and seven lost consciousness and were in serious condition, the Tokyo Fire Department said.
Kyodo News
Four men choked to death Monday and Tuesday in Tokyo and Niigata and Ibaraki prefectures, and seven other people in the capital became critically ill after choking on traditional New Year's "mochi" rice cakes, officials said.
A 68-year-old man in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu and a 76-year-old man in Sumida Ward died Tuesday after choking on the rice cakes, while a 74-year-old man in Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, and an 80-year-old man in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, choked to death Monday.
In Tokyo, 16 people ranging in age from 65 to 91 were hospitalized after choking on mochi Monday and Tuesday, including the two fatalities, and seven lost consciousness and were in serious condition, the Tokyo Fire Department said.
5 die in Kanto after choking on sticky rice cake
Five people died in the Kanto area on Tuesday and Wednesday after choking on sticky "mochi" rice cake, it was learned Thursday.
In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year's Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them -- a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku -- died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.
Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year's period in Japan.
餅の事故：のどに詰まらせ都内などで５人死亡
東京都内などで１日から２日にかけて、お年寄りらが餅をのどに詰まらせる事故が相次いだ。都内では５９～９２歳の男女計１３人が病院に運ばれ、２人が死亡した。
東京消防庁によると、１日午前８時半ごろには大田区の男性（５９）が、２日午前１１時ごろには足立区の男性（８３）が、それぞれ自宅で餅を詰まらせ病院に運ばれたが死亡した。
また、茨城県笠間市では、初詣で帰りで車に乗っていた栃木県小山市の無職の男性（７１）が、群馬県富岡市でも男性（７６）が自宅で、横浜市でも男性が、１日に餅を詰まらせて死亡した。
東京消防庁は「お茶や汁物と一緒に食べたり、小さく切って食べるようにしてほしい」と注意を呼びかけている。
January 3, 2008
Mainichi
In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year's Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them -- a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku -- died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.
Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year's period in Japan.
餅の事故：のどに詰まらせ都内などで５人死亡
東京都内などで１日から２日にかけて、お年寄りらが餅をのどに詰まらせる事故が相次いだ。都内では５９～９２歳の男女計１３人が病院に運ばれ、２人が死亡した。
東京消防庁によると、１日午前８時半ごろには大田区の男性（５９）が、２日午前１１時ごろには足立区の男性（８３）が、それぞれ自宅で餅を詰まらせ病院に運ばれたが死亡した。
また、茨城県笠間市では、初詣で帰りで車に乗っていた栃木県小山市の無職の男性（７１）が、群馬県富岡市でも男性（７６）が自宅で、横浜市でも男性が、１日に餅を詰まらせて死亡した。
東京消防庁は「お茶や汁物と一緒に食べたり、小さく切って食べるようにしてほしい」と注意を呼びかけている。
January 3, 2008
Mainichi
Sunday, October 28, 2007
10,000 IT terms, trendy words to be added to Kojien dictionary
Wednesday, October 24, 2007 at 06:48 EDT
TOKYO — Around 10,000 entries, including information technology terms and trendy words, will be added to the next version of the prestigious "Kojien" Japanese dictionary, Iwanami Shoten Publishers said Tuesday.
The terms to be added include Japanese words for whistle-blowing, the Iraq war and NEET (not in education, employment or training), as well as youth slang such as "love-love" (mutually in love), "uzai" (annoying) and "gyakugire" (becoming offensive instead of reflecting).
With the additions, the total number of entries in the sixth edition of the Kojien, or Comprehensive Dictionary of the Japanese Language, will come to around 240,000. The edition will be published Jan 11.
The publishing house examined about 100,000 words collected from the Internet and media reports since the fifth edition was published in 1998 and selected around 10,000 words after judging they had become popular.
The new entries also include words about the environment, finance and the economy.
"The changes in the roughly 10 years since the revisions to the fifth edition correspond to 100 years in the past. The progress in scientific technology and informatization are reflected in the language," Iwanami President Akio Yamaguchi said.
The publisher chose not to include trendy words such as "Ina Bauer," "cool biz" and "moe" (cute) after concluding that their use will be short-lived or not very popular.
Referred to as "the standard of the Japanese language," the Kojien was first published in 1955, according to the Iwanami website.
TOKYO — Around 10,000 entries, including information technology terms and trendy words, will be added to the next version of the prestigious "Kojien" Japanese dictionary, Iwanami Shoten Publishers said Tuesday.
The terms to be added include Japanese words for whistle-blowing, the Iraq war and NEET (not in education, employment or training), as well as youth slang such as "love-love" (mutually in love), "uzai" (annoying) and "gyakugire" (becoming offensive instead of reflecting).
With the additions, the total number of entries in the sixth edition of the Kojien, or Comprehensive Dictionary of the Japanese Language, will come to around 240,000. The edition will be published Jan 11.
The publishing house examined about 100,000 words collected from the Internet and media reports since the fifth edition was published in 1998 and selected around 10,000 words after judging they had become popular.
The new entries also include words about the environment, finance and the economy.
"The changes in the roughly 10 years since the revisions to the fifth edition correspond to 100 years in the past. The progress in scientific technology and informatization are reflected in the language," Iwanami President Akio Yamaguchi said.
The publisher chose not to include trendy words such as "Ina Bauer," "cool biz" and "moe" (cute) after concluding that their use will be short-lived or not very popular.
Referred to as "the standard of the Japanese language," the Kojien was first published in 1955, according to the Iwanami website.
Friday, October 12, 2007
Federation to limit perks for high school baseball players
10/12/2007
The Asahi Shimbun
The Japan High School Baseball Federation will limit the scholarships and perks for baseball players in response to revelations of widespread violations of federation rules banning money or gifts to talented ballplayers.
In the guidelines compiled Thursday, an advisory panel proposed that member baseball clubs offer scholarships to only five students each year.
The guidelines are not binding and offenders will not be punished. But the federation expects the guidelines to improve the situation.
Tsutomu Hotta, chairman of the panel, said the guidelines are nonbinding because of wide discrepancies in the opinions of the members.
The 15-member advisory panel was formed in July, after reports surfaced in May that nearly 8,000 baseball players at 376 member schools had been given perks against the federation's rules.
The federation will finalize the guidelines at a board meeting Nov. 30 after hearing the opinions of about 4,200 member schools through the regional boards.
The guidelines will be applied to students enrolling in senior high schools in and after fiscal 2009.
The federation will hold an extraordinary meeting of directors of the nine regional boards on Oct. 18 to explain about the guidelines.
The panel had discussed two other options: limiting the number of player on perks to four in the same grade who are allowed to play in official games or to impose no restrictions.
The panel agreed the guidelines will be implemented tentatively for three years, followed by a review.
If a member club registers more than five players for each year, it will not be penalized but will be required to explain the reasons for the excessive number to the federation.
The guidelines will also require member schools to obtain a letter of recommendation from the principal of student's junior high school when granting a scholarship. This move is intended to prevent the involvement of brokers.
Under the guidelines, students should meet a certain academic level to obtain a scholarship.
The financial perks should be limited to enrollment and tuition fees and not cover the students' club activities or accommodation fees.
The panel concluded that the guidelines do not go against the federation's ban on preferential treatment because the scholarships will be granted as an educational measure under the
Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law.
(IHT/Asahi: October 12,2007)
The Asahi Shimbun
The Japan High School Baseball Federation will limit the scholarships and perks for baseball players in response to revelations of widespread violations of federation rules banning money or gifts to talented ballplayers.
In the guidelines compiled Thursday, an advisory panel proposed that member baseball clubs offer scholarships to only five students each year.
The guidelines are not binding and offenders will not be punished. But the federation expects the guidelines to improve the situation.
Tsutomu Hotta, chairman of the panel, said the guidelines are nonbinding because of wide discrepancies in the opinions of the members.
The 15-member advisory panel was formed in July, after reports surfaced in May that nearly 8,000 baseball players at 376 member schools had been given perks against the federation's rules.
The federation will finalize the guidelines at a board meeting Nov. 30 after hearing the opinions of about 4,200 member schools through the regional boards.
The guidelines will be applied to students enrolling in senior high schools in and after fiscal 2009.
The federation will hold an extraordinary meeting of directors of the nine regional boards on Oct. 18 to explain about the guidelines.
The panel had discussed two other options: limiting the number of player on perks to four in the same grade who are allowed to play in official games or to impose no restrictions.
The panel agreed the guidelines will be implemented tentatively for three years, followed by a review.
If a member club registers more than five players for each year, it will not be penalized but will be required to explain the reasons for the excessive number to the federation.
The guidelines will also require member schools to obtain a letter of recommendation from the principal of student's junior high school when granting a scholarship. This move is intended to prevent the involvement of brokers.
Under the guidelines, students should meet a certain academic level to obtain a scholarship.
The financial perks should be limited to enrollment and tuition fees and not cover the students' club activities or accommodation fees.
The panel concluded that the guidelines do not go against the federation's ban on preferential treatment because the scholarships will be granted as an educational measure under the
Fundamental Law of Education and the School Education Law.
(IHT/Asahi: October 12,2007)
Man under arrest for murder sold sleeping pills to 12 people through suicide site
KAWASAKI -- A man under arrest for killing a woman at her request had sold sleeping pills to 12 people who accessed his online suicide site for a combined total of 1 million yen, police said.
Kazunari Saito, 33, admitted to the allegations during questioning. "I set up the site to earn money. I decided the price of the drugs through negotiations with customers," he was quoted as telling investigators.
Saito began to sell sleeping pills through a mobile phone suicide Website he set up in June 2006, Kanagawa Prefectural Police said.
He sold sleeping pills to 12 people including those from Yokohama, the Saitama Prefecture city of Koshigaya, Kobe and Fukuoka over a 10-month period.
One of the customers, a resident of Chiba Prefecture, subsequently committed suicide by swallowing the pills.
However, prefectural police have deemed it difficult to form a case against Saito for assisting suicides. Investigators have pointed out they failed to prove the causal relations between the drug and the death of the victim and that they cannot confirm that Saito urged the victim to commit suicide.
Saito was arrested in July for violating the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law by illegally selling sleeping pills and was subsequently hit with a new arrest warrant on suspicion of contracted murder for killing a 21-year-old woman from Kawasaki who visited his site.
Mainichi
October 12, 2007
Kazunari Saito, 33, admitted to the allegations during questioning. "I set up the site to earn money. I decided the price of the drugs through negotiations with customers," he was quoted as telling investigators.
Saito began to sell sleeping pills through a mobile phone suicide Website he set up in June 2006, Kanagawa Prefectural Police said.
He sold sleeping pills to 12 people including those from Yokohama, the Saitama Prefecture city of Koshigaya, Kobe and Fukuoka over a 10-month period.
One of the customers, a resident of Chiba Prefecture, subsequently committed suicide by swallowing the pills.
However, prefectural police have deemed it difficult to form a case against Saito for assisting suicides. Investigators have pointed out they failed to prove the causal relations between the drug and the death of the victim and that they cannot confirm that Saito urged the victim to commit suicide.
Saito was arrested in July for violating the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law by illegally selling sleeping pills and was subsequently hit with a new arrest warrant on suspicion of contracted murder for killing a 21-year-old woman from Kawasaki who visited his site.
Mainichi
October 12, 2007
Friday, October 5, 2007
Japanese bureaucrats reprimanded over Wikipedia Gundam entries
By Duncan Hooper
Last Updated: 8:31am BST 05/10/2007
Six bureaucrats from Japan's Agriculture Ministry have been reprimanded for spending their work time writing Wikipedia entries on subjects ranging from films to cartoon robots.
One of the employees focused solely on a page about Gundam, a popular, long-running animated series about giant robots, spending hours submitting 260 entries.
The series has spun off intricate toy robots popular among schoolchildren as well as adults known as "otaku" nerds.
"The Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam," noted Tsutomu Shimomura an official at the ministry who announced the results of an internal probe.
The six civil servants together made 408 entries from ministry computers since 2003.
The ministry has reacted by banning access to Wikipedia at work.
An Imperial Household Agency official was reprimanded last month for using an agency computer to delete references on Wikipedia that criticized imperial tombs.
The online encyclopaedia recently revealed plans to trial restrictions on contributors following evidence of misleading postings.
Only committed editors who have submitted at least 30 reliable entries in a month would be permitted to make instant changes to the site.
Telegraph
Last Updated: 8:31am BST 05/10/2007
Six bureaucrats from Japan's Agriculture Ministry have been reprimanded for spending their work time writing Wikipedia entries on subjects ranging from films to cartoon robots.
One of the employees focused solely on a page about Gundam, a popular, long-running animated series about giant robots, spending hours submitting 260 entries.
The series has spun off intricate toy robots popular among schoolchildren as well as adults known as "otaku" nerds.
"The Agriculture Ministry is not in charge of Gundam," noted Tsutomu Shimomura an official at the ministry who announced the results of an internal probe.
The six civil servants together made 408 entries from ministry computers since 2003.
The ministry has reacted by banning access to Wikipedia at work.
An Imperial Household Agency official was reprimanded last month for using an agency computer to delete references on Wikipedia that criticized imperial tombs.
The online encyclopaedia recently revealed plans to trial restrictions on contributors following evidence of misleading postings.
Only committed editors who have submitted at least 30 reliable entries in a month would be permitted to make instant changes to the site.
Telegraph
Japan to press charges over journalist's death
Posted Wed Oct 3, 2007 8:00pm AEST
Japan's police will seek to press murder charges against Burmese troops who shot dead a Japanese journalist during pro-democracy protests last month, a newspaper reported.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department will seek the prosecution of the soldiers who killed Kenji Nagai, 50, a journalist for the Tokyo-based video news service APF News, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Under Japanese law police can seek the prosecution of suspects when a Japanese national is the victim of a felony crime overseas, although whether the suspects are extradited depends on whether there is a treaty in place.
Mr Nagai was killed in Rangoon on September 27 while covering a military crackdown on mass anti-government protests.
In television footage later aired by Japanese broadcasters, Mr Nagai, dressed casually in shorts and sandals, appeared to be shot at close range by Burmese troops.
Mr Nagai, who is believed to have died instantly after a bullet fatally penetrated his body, was seen lying on the ground still clutching his video camera.
Burmese leaders told Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka during a visit to the capital Naypyidaw that the fatal shooting was an accident.
Japanese police plan to conduct an autopsy on Mr Nagai's body, which is expected to return to Japan on Thursday via Bangkok, the Yomiuri newspaper said.
Aid withdrawal
Meanwhile, Japan is considering suspending some 500 million yen ($4.85 million) in humanitarian aid for Burma a senior Japanese government official said.
Japan has withheld new full-scale aid to impoverished Burma since democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, but it has funded emergency health projects and provided some training and technological transfers.
A senior Japanese government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tokyo was considering suspending its plan to extend 552 million yen in "human resources development aid" to Burma.
In late July, Tokyo decided to extend the aid aimed to help nurture democracy and a market economy in Burma.
But Japan will maintain its policy of engagement with Burma, he said, and Tokyo has no plans at the moment to suspend trade with Burma or freeze the country's assets.
- Reuters/AFP
Japan's police will seek to press murder charges against Burmese troops who shot dead a Japanese journalist during pro-democracy protests last month, a newspaper reported.
Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department will seek the prosecution of the soldiers who killed Kenji Nagai, 50, a journalist for the Tokyo-based video news service APF News, the Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Under Japanese law police can seek the prosecution of suspects when a Japanese national is the victim of a felony crime overseas, although whether the suspects are extradited depends on whether there is a treaty in place.
Mr Nagai was killed in Rangoon on September 27 while covering a military crackdown on mass anti-government protests.
In television footage later aired by Japanese broadcasters, Mr Nagai, dressed casually in shorts and sandals, appeared to be shot at close range by Burmese troops.
Mr Nagai, who is believed to have died instantly after a bullet fatally penetrated his body, was seen lying on the ground still clutching his video camera.
Burmese leaders told Japan's Deputy Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka during a visit to the capital Naypyidaw that the fatal shooting was an accident.
Japanese police plan to conduct an autopsy on Mr Nagai's body, which is expected to return to Japan on Thursday via Bangkok, the Yomiuri newspaper said.
Aid withdrawal
Meanwhile, Japan is considering suspending some 500 million yen ($4.85 million) in humanitarian aid for Burma a senior Japanese government official said.
Japan has withheld new full-scale aid to impoverished Burma since democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in 2003, but it has funded emergency health projects and provided some training and technological transfers.
A senior Japanese government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Tokyo was considering suspending its plan to extend 552 million yen in "human resources development aid" to Burma.
In late July, Tokyo decided to extend the aid aimed to help nurture democracy and a market economy in Burma.
But Japan will maintain its policy of engagement with Burma, he said, and Tokyo has no plans at the moment to suspend trade with Burma or freeze the country's assets.
- Reuters/AFP
Japan reaches out to Okinawa over textbook row
TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's government said Tuesday it may rescind an instruction for references to its military's role in forced mass suicides during World War II to be deleted from school textbooks.
The government, under former premier Shinzo Abe, in March ordered references to the military's involvement in the suicides of Japanese civilians to be removed from learning materials for the first time.
The controversial move angered residents in Japan's southern islands of Okinawa, where about 110,000 people staged a rally Saturday in protest.
Education Minister Kisaburo Tokai said Tuesday the government would consider any requests by publishers to put back into textbooks references to the Japanese military's role in the suicides.
"The ministry will deal with any applications for further revisions in a serious manner," said Tokai, who was appointed last month by new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
"A panel will be summoned to make a fair judgement over the issue if necessary."
In contrast to the hawkish young Abe, who vowed to build a "beautiful nation" more proud of its past, Fukuda is widely seen as a dove who is less eager to erase the legacies of Japan's World War II defeat.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told reporters that the government should "not intervene in the screening of school textbooks."
The 83-day Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest in the Pacific war, left 190,000 Japanese dead, half of them Okinawan civilians.
While many civilians perished in the all-out US bombardment, local accounts say Japanese troops forced residents of Okinawa -- a southern island chain and an independent kingdom until the 19th century -- to commit suicide rather than surrender to US forces.
Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima welcomed signs that the government may rescind the order.
"What the Okinawa people have hoped for with body and soul is coming one step closer," said Nakaima, who will meet with Tokai on Wednesday morning during a visit to Tokyo to discuss the matter.
"I appreciate as governor and a resident that the new cabinet has immediately responded to this issue sensitively," he said.
Publishers are now expected to submit their applications for new revisions this month for textbooks to be used for the school year starting in April.
A spokesman for one publisher that was forced to drop a reference to the military involvement in the suicides said authors would need to be consulted before it was decided whether to revert to the original wording.
A textbook prepared by the publisher, Shimizu Shoin Co. had previously said some people "were forced by Japanese troops to commit group suicides" but was changed to, "There were people who were driven into group suicides."
In recent years, nationalist academics have insisted that Okinawa's suicide pacts were voluntary and not due to orders by troops from mainland Japan.
The ministry had said there was enough disagreement that "it is not appropriate to determine that there were military orders."
AFP
The government, under former premier Shinzo Abe, in March ordered references to the military's involvement in the suicides of Japanese civilians to be removed from learning materials for the first time.
The controversial move angered residents in Japan's southern islands of Okinawa, where about 110,000 people staged a rally Saturday in protest.
Education Minister Kisaburo Tokai said Tuesday the government would consider any requests by publishers to put back into textbooks references to the Japanese military's role in the suicides.
"The ministry will deal with any applications for further revisions in a serious manner," said Tokai, who was appointed last month by new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
"A panel will be summoned to make a fair judgement over the issue if necessary."
In contrast to the hawkish young Abe, who vowed to build a "beautiful nation" more proud of its past, Fukuda is widely seen as a dove who is less eager to erase the legacies of Japan's World War II defeat.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told reporters that the government should "not intervene in the screening of school textbooks."
The 83-day Battle of Okinawa, the bloodiest in the Pacific war, left 190,000 Japanese dead, half of them Okinawan civilians.
While many civilians perished in the all-out US bombardment, local accounts say Japanese troops forced residents of Okinawa -- a southern island chain and an independent kingdom until the 19th century -- to commit suicide rather than surrender to US forces.
Okinawa governor Hirokazu Nakaima welcomed signs that the government may rescind the order.
"What the Okinawa people have hoped for with body and soul is coming one step closer," said Nakaima, who will meet with Tokai on Wednesday morning during a visit to Tokyo to discuss the matter.
"I appreciate as governor and a resident that the new cabinet has immediately responded to this issue sensitively," he said.
Publishers are now expected to submit their applications for new revisions this month for textbooks to be used for the school year starting in April.
A spokesman for one publisher that was forced to drop a reference to the military involvement in the suicides said authors would need to be consulted before it was decided whether to revert to the original wording.
A textbook prepared by the publisher, Shimizu Shoin Co. had previously said some people "were forced by Japanese troops to commit group suicides" but was changed to, "There were people who were driven into group suicides."
In recent years, nationalist academics have insisted that Okinawa's suicide pacts were voluntary and not due to orders by troops from mainland Japan.
The ministry had said there was enough disagreement that "it is not appropriate to determine that there were military orders."
AFP
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