Blog Entries for Tomoko

Man dies after being hit by train at Tokyo Station in apparent suicide

Tomoko

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A man died after being hit by a train at Tokyo Station in an apparent suicide, police said.

At around 9:20 p.m. on Tuesday, a man was hit by a train on the JR Yamanote Line at Tokyo Station in Chiyoda-ku, local police said. He was subsequently pronounced dead.

Investigators suspect that the man jumped in front of the arriving train to commit suicide. Local police are trying to confirm his identity.

Services on the line were suspended for about 70 [...]

Gas prices surge past 180 yen per liter in Tokyo

Tomoko

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Gas stations started boosting petrol prices on Tuesday after petroleum distributors increased wholesale prices for July, increasing the cost of regular gas to over 180 yen per liter at some stations in Tokyo.

The increase, sparked by surging crude oil prices, has raised the possibility that the national average for gasoline prices will break past 180 yen per liter for the first time since 1987.

At one Idemitsu Kosan-managed gas station in Tokyo's Ota-ku, t [...]

Osaka Labor Bureau reports Nova Corp., ex-President Sahashi to prosecutors

Tomoko

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OSAKA -- Labor authorities have reported former Nova Corp. President Nozomu Sahashi and the English language school chain to public prosecutors for failing to pay their employees.

The Osaka Labor Bureau sent documents to the Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office on Monday accusing Sahashi, 56, and Nova Corp. of breaking Labor Standards Law.

According to the labor bureau, Nova Corp. failed to pay about 105 million yen in wages to 400 foreign instructors [...]

UN secretary general applauds North Korea nuclear progress, plans visit there soon

Tomoko

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TOKYO (AP) -- U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon said Tuesday he would soon visit North Korea following its recent declaration of its nuclear programs, and he urged nations negotiating with the regime to keep up the momentum in denuclearization talks.

"I have been discussing this with the North Korean authorities. They said they would welcome my visit anytime, but I would like to find out when would be the most opportune and appropriate timing," Ban told reporters in Tokyo.

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False missile alarm caused by local wireless system malfunction

Tomoko

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MIHAMA, Fukui -- A false missile alarm was announced through a local wireless system here due to a malfunction, local officials said.

Sirens rang from 58 speakers of the community wireless system in Mihama at around 4:35 p.m. on Monday, followed by an announcement, "We received information about a missile launch. There is a fear that a missile may land in this area."

Dozens of inquiries flooded the Mihama Municipal Government, and the local government made [...]

Taspo cigarette vending machine system goes into full effect across Japan

Tomoko

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Taspo cards designed to prevent minors from buying cigarettes at vending machines went into full effect in Tokyo, Okinawa and seven other prefectures on Tuesday, bringing all of Japan's prefectures into the system.

Under the system, people are no longer able to buy cigarettes from vending machines without taspo cards.

At one tobacco store in Tokyo's Minato-ku, a customer without a taspo card put money into a vending machine designed for taspo cards, but wa [...]

Missing memory stick with info on Japan-U.S. military exercises was stolen

Tomoko

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A USB flash drive containing troop deployment maps used in Japan-U.S. military exercises, which had reportedly been lost by a Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) member, was actually stolen and dumped by another member, the force has admitted.

The 33-year-old captain stole the memory stick along with 2,000 yen in cash and a 10,000-yen airline coupon for shareholders from a colleague in mid-February last year.

The GSDF announced on May 24 last year that it had [...]

Driver found in Tokyo's Ginza with knife in chest

Tomoko

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The driver of a hired vehicle was found collapsed with a knife in his chest in an underground parking lot in Tokyo's Ginza on Tuesday afternoon, police said.

Police said the male driver was found in a vehicle in the parking lot at about 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, collapsed with a knife sticking in his chest.

He was taken to a hospital unconscious, where he was thought to be in serious condition. Police said there was a high possibility he had been stabbed by a [...]

Value of land facing major roads increases for third-straight year

Tomoko

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The average value of land that faces major roads across Japan increased by 10 percent from the previous year, reaching 143,000 yen a square meter, the National Tax Agency announced on Tuesday.

It was the third-straight year of rises in roadside values, which are used for calculating inheritance and gift taxes, the agency said.

While the rate of increase in the roadside value in major local cities was higher than the previous year, the rate decreased in the [...]

Elementary school boy suffers broken arm after passerby shoves him to ground

Tomoko

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KUWANA, Mie -- An elementary school boy suffered a broken right arm after a man suddenly shoved him to the ground on a street here, police said Tuesday.

At around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, a man approached a 7-year-old second grader from behind on a street in Kuwana, and told him to get out of his way, local police said. He then shoved the boy to the ground.

The victim fell down and suffered a broken right arm.

Investigators are searching for a suspic [...]

Accused arsonist slapped with fresh warrant over fire in Social Insurance Agency dorm

Tomoko

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A man charged with arson has been slapped with a fresh arrest warrant on suspicion of trying to set fire to a Social Insurance Agency dormitory in Tokyo, police said.

The 42-year-old man, Kazuo Yamada, faces charges of attempted arson of an inhabited structure. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations against him.

"The Social Insurance Agency was causing nothing but scandals, so I started the fire," Yamada was quoted as telling police.

Inves [...]

Loss of memory stick containing Japan-U.S. military exercise maps covered up

Tomoko

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A member of the Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) Middle Army Headquarters lost a USB flash drive containing unit deployment maps used in Japan-U.S. exercises, but the loss was covered up, it has emerged.

The memory stick, which was lost in February last year, contained maps showing U.S. helicopter and tank placements. However, the loss was covered up, and acting Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma and U.S. officials were not informed.

"I made the decision not to [...]

Renovator arrested in connection with murder of barbecue restaurant operator

Tomoko

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SAITAMA -- A suspect in the murder of the South Korean operator of a barbecue restaurant in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, was arrested after being found at a pachinko parlor in Nagano, police said.

The 40-year-old suspect, Seiji Iwai, was arrested on suspicion of abandoning the corpse of murdered restaurant operator Kim Yun-hui, 69.

Iwai reportedly took on the job of renovating Kim's barbecue restaurant in May for about 3 million yen. However, he was quot [...]

Bullet train service suspended over graffiti attack on carriage

Tomoko

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Graffiti found on a Shinkansen bullet train carriage parked at a depot in Tokyo led to the suspension of the train's planned operation, affecting hundreds of passengers, railway officials said.

Police began investigating the case on suspicion of destruction of property.

According to railway officials, graffiti reading "Hack" in English was found on the side of a carriage of a Joetsu Shinkansen train parked at a train depot of East Japan Railway Co. (JR Eas [...]

Senior policeman reprimanded for losing handbook ID

Tomoko

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YAMAGUCHI -- A senior policeman has been reprimanded for losing his police handbook, which serves as his identification, at the end of last year, police said.

The announcement came on Monday after news organizations pointed out that Yamaguchi Prefectural Police had not disclosed that the policeman was reprimanded in May.

According to police, a senior policeman in his 30s at the Yamaguchi Prefectural Police's Chofu Police Station realized that he had lost h [...]

Climbing season gets underway at Mt. Fuji

Tomoko

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Mount Fuji was officially opened to the public on Tuesday for the first time this year, attracting many climbers.

At around 4:30 a.m., climbers at the summit of the nation's highest mountain were delighted to see the sun rising over a sea of clouds.

"It is the first time that I've seen such a beautiful sunrise. Tears swelled up in my eyes," said Kikue Shirakawabe, 60, a dietician from Tokyo's Mitaka, who was making her third trip to see the sunrise from Mo [...]

Japanese customs officers punished for planting drugs in luggage to train sniffer dogs

Tomoko

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TOKYO (AP) -- Tokyo Customs punished three of its officers Monday for secretly slipping drugs into travelers' luggage more than 160 times at Japan's main international airport to train drug-sniffing dogs, an official said.

The three customs officers had been planting drugs in randomly selected bags at Narita International Airport in Tokyo since September last year, Tokyo Customs spokesman Kazutoshi Takahashi said.

"We are deeply sorry that such acts have h [...]

Japan to send military personnel to Sudan for U.N. mission

Tomoko

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TOKYO (AP) -- Japan will send military personnel to Sudan to join U.N. peacekeeping operations in the country's first military dispatch to the African nation, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Monday.

Fukuda announced the move at a joint news conference with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, who is visiting Japan as part of his two-week official trip to Asia.

"With regards to Africa, we will contribute self-defense force personnel to the headquarters of t [...]

Ex-Peru spymaster says former president Fujimori innocent in rights case

Tomoko

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LIMA, Peru (AP) -- A former Peruvian spymaster whose misdeeds contributed to the collapse of Alberto Fujimori's government eight years ago told a top court Monday that the ex-president had nothing to do with two death-squad massacres he is accused of authorizing.

The testimony from former National Intelligence Service head Vladimiro Montesinos was one of the most-anticipated moments of Fujimori's six-month trial, and was carried live on national television.

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94-year-old gets suspended sentence for killing bedridden wife

Tomoko

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KAWASAKI -- A 94-year-old man convicted of killing his bedridden wife when he became tired of looking after her was handed a suspended prison sentence in a ruling at the Kawasaki branch of the Yokohama District Court on Monday.

The man, Goichi Arai, a resident of Kawasaki, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, suspended for three years.

In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Kenji Kadoya, criticized Arai, saying he tried to commit murder-suicide [...]