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Kyodo News

Gov't nominates Yoshihisa Morimoto as BOJ Policy Board member

The government on Friday nominated Yoshihisa Morimoto, a former vice president of Tokyo Electric Power Co., as a member of the Bank of Japan's Policy Board. ==Kyodo

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Hitachi Koki recalling coil nailers over serious injury risk

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday said Hitachi Koki Co. of Japan was voluntarily recalling its coil nailers for free repairs due to the risk of serious injury. The CPSC, a governmental body, said about 50,000 coil nailers imported from Japan by Hitachi Koki U.S.A. Ltd. of Norcross, ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Bill to strip fair-trade watchdog's power approved by Cabinet

The Cabinet approved a revision bill Friday that would strip Japan's antimonopoly watchdog of the power to make rulings on the fairness of its own judgments. The move came amid claims by the business community that it was unjust that the Fair Trade Commission was tasked with ''reexamining'' the rightfulness ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Dollar rises to upper 90 yen in Tokyo on higher U.S. share prices

The U.S. dollar edged up to the upper 90 yen level Friday morning in Tokyo on the overnight rise in the U.S. stock market. At noon, the dollar fetched 90.59-61 yen compared with Thursday's 5 p.m. quotes of 90.45-55 yen in New York and 90.36-38 yen in Tokyo.

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

High F-35 cost may force Japan to review next main fighter choice

The U.S. government told a congressional panel Thursday that the procurement cost of the F-35 next-generation stealth fighter will likely nearly double from the initial estimate to $95 million. The higher-than-expected cost could prompt Japan to think twice about selecting the aircraft as the nation's next-generation mainstay fighter, observers said.

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Defense chief says partial transfer of Futemma functions possible

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said Friday it is possible that the heliport functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Okinawa will be partially transferred, since it would be difficult to relocate all the functions to an alternative site right away. ''There is certainly a possibility that the ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Caterpillar may relocate excavator production from Japan to U.S.

Caterpillar Inc., a major U.S. construction equipment maker, said Thursday it is eyeing relocating production of U.S.-bound hydraulic excavators from a factory in the Japanese city of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture, to the United States to bolster its global manufacturing efficiency. Relocation would allow Japanese subsidiary Caterpillar Japan Ltd., which has ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Hatoyama eager to lower Japan's corporate tax

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed a desire Friday to lower Japan's corporate tax rate during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session. Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan sought to carry out a corporate tax cut for small and midsize companies during last year's election campaign.

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Sea Shepherd member arrested for whaling ship trespass

The Japan Coast Guard arrested a member of the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Friday for allegedly trespassing last month on a ship of Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean. The whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2, where Pete Bethune, the New Zealand captain of ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

Cabinet adopts draft bill for 25% emissions cut by 2020

The Japanese government formally approved a bill Friday to fight global warming by aiming to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent from 1990 levels by 2020 on condition that all major emitters set similarly ambitious targets. The bill on basic policies to curb global warming, adopted at a Cabinet ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 3:59 AM

U.S. regulator eyes mandatory driving data, brake override systems

A top U.S. safety regulator on Thursday indicated the government will seriously study mandatory installation of driving data recording instruments and a brake override system in vehicles as part of efforts to deal with cases of sudden unintended acceleration. David Strickland, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief, outlined the proposal ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:54 AM

Sea Shepherd member arrested for whaling ship trespass

The Japan Coast Guard arrested a member of the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on Friday for allegedly trespassing last month on a ship of Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean. The whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2, where Pete Bethune, the New Zealand captain of ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:54 AM

Hatoyama eager to lower Japan's corporate tax

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama expressed a desire Friday to lower Japan's corporate tax rate during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session. ==Kyodo

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:54 AM

Tokyo stocks extend gains on optimism over Japan economy, weaker yen

Tokyo stocks extended gains Friday morning, sending the key Nikkei index to a seven-week intraday high, thanks to continued optimism about the Japanese economy, monetary easing and a weaker yen versus the U.S. dollar. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 43.52 points, or 0.41 percent, from Thursday to end the ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:54 AM

U.S. raps China over increasing Internet censorship

The United States criticized China in its annual human rights report released Thursday over its intensifying censorship of the Internet and other information controls. In its 2009 Human Rights Report, the United States said the Chinese government restricted media coverage on the 20th anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:01 AM

Hitachi Koki recalling coil nailers over serious injury risk

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday that Hitachi Koki Co. of Japan is voluntarily recalling its coil nailers for free repairs due to the risk of serious injury. The CPSC, a governmental body, said about 50,000 coil nailers imported from Japan by Hitachi Koki U.S.A. Ltd. of Norcross, ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:01 AM

Sea Shepherd member to be arrested for whaling ship trespass

The Japan Coast Guard will arrest on Friday a member of the antiwhaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society for allegedly trespassing last month on a ship of Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean. The whaling fleet security vessel, the Shonan Maru No. 2, where Pete Bethune, the New Zealand captain ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:01 AM

Japan economy improving, but not self-sustaining yet: Kan

Finance Minister Naoto Kan said Friday the Japanese economy has been improving further, but is not self-sustaining yet. ''The economy has not yet realized a sustainable recovery. But the overall trend is that compared with before I believe it has moved one step forward,'' Kan told a regular news conference, ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:01 AM

2 in 3 college students see no bright future for Japan: survey

Roughly two in three university students in Japan do not feel hopeful about Japan's future, according to an Internet survey by FIL Investments (Japan) Ltd. Seventy-two percent of those who see no bright future attributed their pessimism to the excessive financial burden they think younger generations will have to shoulder ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 2:01 AM

Gov't endorses bill to abolish statute of limitations for murder

The government on Friday approved a bill to abolish the statute of limitations on murder cases subject to capital punishment. The revision to the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code will be submitted to the current Diet session. The measure is expected to be enacted as the main ...

Posted on March 12, 2010 at 12:40 AM