Daily Japan Headlines: Saturday, Aug 27, 2011
Candidates for Prime Minister. Photo Source: AP.
BBC: Five candidates battle to succeed Japan PM Naoto Kan
Trade Minister Banri Kaieda has become a front runner after winning the backing of a powerful power broker in the governing party.
Opinion polls show former foreign minister Seiji Maehara is the most popular candidate among the public.
*****
Washington Post: A political merry-go-round in Japan
On Friday the populist-in-chief on that score, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, resigned — becoming the sixth Japanese leader to step down in five years. Tokyo, like Washington, has divided rule — the upper house of the Diet, or parliament, is controlled by one party, the lower house by another. So picture Washington-style gridlock with the added feature of a new president every year. You can imagine how much gets done.
*****
Daily Mail: Japan warns nuclear disaster area could be uninhabitable for 20 years
‘I can’t deny the possibility that it could be a long time before people can return to and live in regions with high radiation levels,’ outgoing Prime Minister Naoto Kan was quoted by domestic media as telling Fukushima Governor Yuhei Sato.
Japan has banned people from entering within 20 km (12 miles) of the Fukushima plant, located 240 km northeast of Tokyo.
*****
LA Times: Japan’s Softbank selling most of Yahoo stake
Japanese telecommunications company Softbank said Friday that it would sell almost all its 4% stake in Yahoo Inc. to repay a loan of about $1.1 billion to Citibank.
*****
Boston Herald: Japan beats Mexico to get to Little League World Series title game
Japan will play either Montana or California for the World Series title Sunday. Montana and California play later Saturday for the U.S. championship.
*****
Chizuru Inoue, a spokesman for Maeda Corp, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Our company is very keen on protecting the environment and we encourage our staff to adopt many environment-friendly actions,
‘We are not sure of the data yet, but we believe if people have short hair they do not need to use their hair driers for so long and they will use less water.
‘If all our staff do this, then it may save a lot of power.’
*****
Sydney Morning Herald: TV host sobs as he quits over Yakuza links
It is almost impossible for evening TV viewers in Japan to avoid the gravel-voiced and impressively coiffured figure of Shinsuke Shimada.
But millions of viewers will have to find a new prime-time companion after Shimada, one of the country’s best-known celebrities, was forced to resign over links to organised crime.
*****
No related posts.
