The Japan Times (Business/General)

The Japan Times: News & Business

• New safety rules OK'd for Shimane nuke plant
  The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency approved a new set of safety regulations Monday for a nuclear power plant in Shimane Prefecture where numerous inspection failures were discovered earlier this year.
  The step sets the stage for reactivating two reactors at the plant nearly three months after the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry issued a stern warning to Chugoku Electric Power Co. and ordered the utility to improve its safety rules to prevent a recurrence of the inspection problems.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Sengoku criticizes Ozawa's stance on budget as lacking specifics
  One of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's right-hand men lashed out Monday at Ichiro Ozawa for not providing sufficient details on how he would craft next year's budget.
  "He is strongly criticizing (Kan) by not facing reality," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku said at a news conference when asked about Ozawa's repeated claims that the administration has failed to slash wasteful spending and wrest control of the budget process from the bureaucracy.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Teikyo Hospital probed for late reporting of bacteria deaths
  The health ministry inspected Teikyo University Hospital in Tokyo on Monday over the deaths of inpatients infected with antibiotics-resistant bacteria and the institution's late reporting of the situation to authorities.
  It was the first time the central government conducted an on-site inspection of the hospital since the infections came to light last week. Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials joined the inspection.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Sales of imported autos jump 75%
  Sales of new imported vehicles jumped 74.9 percent in August to 19,718 units, climbing for the 10th consecutive month, the Japan Automobile Importers Association said Monday.
  Of the total, sales of Japanese cars, trucks and buses made overseas surged to 5,690 units from 1,105 the previous year, while sales of imported foreign vehicles rose 38 percent to 14,028 units, the association said.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Chiba keeping tabs on condemned
  Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said Monday in a meeting with opponents of the death penalty she is "apprised at all times of information about individual death-row inmates and keeps it in mind."
  Chiba was responding to a demand filed by the activists that executions, particularly of inmates who are mentally impaired, elderly or seeking retrial, should be suspended.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Sumo panel seeks Matsugane sanction
  The Japan Sumo Association's special investigative committee recommended Monday that stablemaster Matsugane be demoted for receiving lodgings in Osaka for the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament from a company president connected to gangsters.
  The panel also recommended that Matsugane be suspended until the end of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament that gets under way Sunday in Tokyo.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Kan is the voters' choice, for what it's worth
  Prime Minister Naoto Kan has an overwhelming lead over Ichiro Ozawa as the public's preferred leader, according to poll results published Monday by two major newspapers.
  The majority of the votes in the Democratic Party of Japan's presidential race, however, will be cast by the DPJ's 412 Diet members. Because many of them support Ozawa, he will have the electoral advantage despite the overwhelming public support for Kan.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• LNG import costs up 39% in July
  Japan paid 39 percent more for liquefied natural gas in July than a year earlier as crude oil prices climbed, according to calculations based on official data.
  Prices for delivered LNG rose to ¥51,529 a metric ton in July, according to the data from the Finance Ministry.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Prius top-selling car for 15th month
  The Toyota Prius retained the top position in new passenger car sales for the 15th consecutive month in August as its fuel-efficiency continued to attract consumers, industry bodies said Monday.
  The hybrid hatchback sold 22,263 units, helped by government tax breaks and subsidies for purchasers of environmentally friendly cars, according to data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association and the Japan Mini Vehicle Association.

  
  

  
  
  
  
• Greenpeace pair guilty; no prison
  The Aomori District Court sentenced two Greenpeace Japan activists Monday to suspended one-year prison terms for trespassing and stealing whale meat from a transport company branch in Aomori Prefecture in April 2008.
  "Even if the defendants' act is a valid one for the purpose of public benefit, the criminal act in question is beyond the level acceptable as a research activity," the court ruled.

  
  

  
  
  
  

Additional Information