Daily Japan Headlines: Wednesday, Jul 27, 2011
Kitajima Kosuke. Photo Source: Wall Street Journal.
Wall Street Journal: Olympic Swim Champ Kitajima Faces Troubled Waters
The swim star, a household name here with a cheerful demeanor, TV endorsements and chat show appearances, has owned the 100 meter breaststroke since his victory in the event at the World Aquatics Championships in 2003. He followed that in spectacular style with consecutive Olympic golds in Athens 2004 and in Beijing 2008, where he also set a world record at the time finishing in 58.91
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Times of India: For Breivik, Japan is model nation
The mass killer in Norway described Japan as a model country in a document he distributed on the Internet, praising it for shying away from multiculturalism, Kyodo news agency reported.
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San Francisco Chronicle: Japan’s ‘Mr. Yen’ Sees Currency Rising to 75 or 76 Per Dollar
The yen “is going to hold in the 70′s range and it could even go as far as 75 to 76 yen per dollar,” Eisuke Sakakibara, who directed exchange-rate policy at the Ministry of Finance between 1997 and 1999 and is currently a professor at Aoyama Gakuin University, said at a forum in Tokyo today. He didn’t specify a timeframe for the forecast.
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Yomiuri: Japan eyes N. Korea dialogue / Govt also wants to restart abduction issue before 6-nation talks
If progress is made in talks between North and South Korea and between Washington and Pyongyang, Japan would find itself in the uncomfortable position of entering into the six-nation talks, if or when they are held, without having a dialogue with North Korea, the sources said.
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Reuters: Tokyo Metro IPO eyed as option to help fund Japan rebuilding
Tokyo Metro Co, which operates a vast subway network stretching across Japan’s capital, could be one of the first assets put on the block by the government as it scrambles to raise cash to pay for rebuilding the tsunami-hit northeast.
In the past few days lawmakers have floated the idea of selling the government’s stake in Tokyo Metro through an initial public offering, as well as running down holdings in Nippon Telegraph & Telephone and Japan Tobacco Inc .
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LA Times: Japan sees potential power shortage next summer
Japan could face a power shortage of more than 9 percent next summer if all its nuclear reactors are shut, media reported on Wednesday citing government estimates.
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UPI: TEPCO takes on LNG from Australia
Chevron announced that, along with its Australian subsidiaries, it signed sales and purchase agreements with Tokyo Electric Power Co. The deal outlines the delivery of more than 3.1 million tons of liquefied natural gas to TEPCO during the next 20 years from the Wheatstone project.
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Boston Globe: Japan police hold security drill for dolphin hunt
A Wakayama prefectural police official says Wednesday’s drill was aimed at guarding the southwestern town of Taiji from protesters before hunting season starts in September. About 100 law enforcement officers gathered in the bay where the Oscar-winning film “The Cove” was filmed.
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BBC: Lindsay Hawker death: Family ‘hope to move on’
The family of a British teacher found dead in a sand-filled bathtub in Japan say they hope they can now move on after her killer was jailed for life.
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Wall Street Journal: Coldplay, Wilco Flock to Japan’s Music Fests
Tickets, priced at ¥11,500 ($146) per day, are sold out for the 12th annual Rock in Japan Festival opening on August 5, meaning the three-day event is expected to attract close to last year’s 168,000 attendance to watch the more than 150 Japanese artists.
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Sydney Morning Herald: Battered Japan struggles to show it’s safe for visitors
Among the group’s efforts are online videos of race car drivers, ice skaters and other celebrities, including Lady Gaga, urging travellers to visit the country. ”I can’t say enough to people all over the world that the majority of Japan … is very safe,” the singer says in an online video shot before a benefit concert in Tokyo in June.
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Wall Street Journal: Will ‘Miso Breaks’ Become the New Coffee Break?
Marukome Co. will start selling a new miso soup dispensing machine that makes brewing the Japanese staple even more instant, a simplification that the company hopes will boost consumption. Using a liquid version of the salty fermented soybean paste (the key ingredient in miso), the new ¥3,000 ($38) machine, called the One Shot, strips out hassles like opening and disposing packets. The semi-melted liquid batter, packaged in a pet bottle, also shaves seconds off the time it takes to reconstitute instant powder.
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MSNBC: US Beats Rival Japan for Softball World Cup Title
The Americans won the first three Olympic gold medals and have won the past seven world championships, but Japan holds the gold medal from the 2008 Olympics. The teams have met in the finals in five of the six World Cups, with the U.S. winning four times.
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