Japan’s largest yakuza family launches own website amid falling membership

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Japan’s largest yakuza family launches own website amid falling membership

China backs suit over Japan"s forced labor

By Christopher Bodeen, AP
February 27, 2014, 12:03 am TWN

BEIJING — China’s government accused Japan of failing to conclusively address allegations of forced labor during World War II and voiced support Wednesday for Chinese plaintiffs seeking to sue to Japanese companies in a Beijing court.

The lawsuit brought by 37 former workers and their descendants, 69 years after the end of the war, comes as China-Japan tensions rise over territorial claims and their troubled history. While aggressively pursuing claims over disputed islands, Beijing has also sought to play up Japan’s wartime guilt for which it says Tokyo has never shown proper contrition.

Tokyo insists that postwar agreements settled cases of forced wartime labor, and the Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday that the plaintiffs had “no case.” But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the issue remained unresolved.

“Forced labor is a grave crime which Japanese militarists committed during their World War II aggression. It is an issue which has yet to be properly solved,” Hua said.

The lawsuit names Mitsubishi Materials Corporation and Mitsui Mining and Smelting as defendants and asks for compensation of 1 million yuan (US$ 163,000) for each defendant as well as apologies in the Chinese and Japanese languages to be placed with the country’s major media outlets.

Beijing lawyer Kang Jian, who is representing the 37 plaintiffs, said they filed their paperwork with the Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court, but did not yet know whether they would get a hearing.

Japan’s wartime government systematically abducted nearly 40,000 Chinese citizens and forced them to work for Japanese companies for little or no pay to make up for a labor shortage at home. They were sent to mines, construction sites and factories operated by 135 Japanese companies, many of them among Japan’s corporate giants today.

About 7,000 people died of malnutrition and mistreatment by their employers.

Dozens of similar lawsuits brought in Japan were dismissed, although some were settled outside court. The lawsuit filed Wednesday is believed to be the first such action brought before a Chinese court.

Japanese government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, speaking to reporters at his routine morning briefing, reiterated Tokyo’s position that all such claims were settled by agreements between the two governments.

“This is a matter between China and companies with China-related business, so it is a civil issue, Suga said.

“However, I can say that since such problems were included in the Japan-China communique, there is no case,” he said. “The individual rights for seeking (compensation) were included in the communique.”

Renewed frictions between Beijing and Tokyo arose in 2012 after Japan nationalized a group of tiny uninhabited islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

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China backs suit over Japan"s forced labor

Japan"s Abe says China"s prosperity rests on trust, not tensions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China’s continued economic growth will require building trust, not tensions, with other countries, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Reuters: Top News

Japan"s Abe says China"s prosperity rests on trust, not tensions

Japan"s Abe says China"s prosperity rests on trust, not tensions

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said China’s continued economic growth will require building trust, not tensions, with other countries, according to an interview broadcast on Sunday.

Reuters: Top News

Japan"s Abe says China"s prosperity rests on trust, not tensions

Japan"s record budget spending highlights balancing act

Japan"s record budget spending highlights balancing act
http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20131224&t=2&i=823963417&w=580&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&r=CBRE9BN053U00

By Tetsushi Kajimoto

TOKYO Mon Dec 23, 2013 8:52pm EST

Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks during a news conference to wrap up the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting at his official residence in Tokyo December 14, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Tuesday secured cabinet approval for a draft budget for the next fiscal year that aims to split the benefits of higher tax revenue between trimming fresh borrowing and stimulating the economy with record spending.

The government’s second annual budget since Abe’s election triumph a year ago marks a balancing act between boosting growth and doing just enough to show it is keen to rein in public debt, which is more than twice the size of the economy.

Of projected record spending of 95.88 trillion yen ($ 921.97 billion) in 2014/15, about one-third will be spent on social security while debt servicing costs will account for nearly one-quarter.

“Abe vows to seek both growth and fiscal consolidation, but the focus now needs be on stimulus,” said Hidenori Suezawa, analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities. “Hasty fiscal tightening could derail the economy and foil the sales tax plan in 2015.”

Spending in the general-account budget for the year starting April 2014 will rise more than 3 trillion yen from this year’s initial budget, the Ministry of Finance said, with higher outlays for public works, military and social security.

Ministry officials played down the rise, however, saying it was inflated by technical factors such as the transfer on-budget of outlays from special accounts, and allocations from a planned April sales tax hike to shore up social security funding. Interest payments also rose while welfare costs increased as Japan’s population ages.

Tax revenue is estimated at 50 trillion yen, rising 6.9 trillion yen from this year to a seven-year high, reflecting both expected economic growth of 1.4 percent and an increase in the sales tax to 8 percent from 5 percent that kicks in April.

New bond sales will be cut by 1.6 trillion yen from the current fiscal year to 41.25 trillion yen, a second consecutive decrease, but the government still relies on borrowing to cover 43 percent of its spending, down from 46.3 percent this year.

A “flexible fiscal policy” combining near-term stimulus with longer-run consolidation is part of Abe’s economic recipe that also mixes in hefty monetary easing and pro-growth reforms.

Analysts expect budgets to stay loose for the time being to help the economy manage the planned two-step doubling of the sales tax to 10 percent, with the first increase due in April.

Earlier this month, the government approved 5.5 trillion yen in extra spending for the current fiscal year to cushion the first increase in the sales tax. The second part of the increase to 10 percent is penciled in for October 2015.

Some analysts worried about a lack of measures to help the world’s third-largest economy sustain growth.

“We want to see more wise spending in areas with growth potential,” said Naoki Iizuka, economist at Citigroup Global Markets Japan. “We cannot rely on public works forever.”

The public works budget will rise to 5.96 trillion yen from this year’s 5.28 trillion yen, including new bullet train lines, quake-proofing of infrastructure, and projects linked to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

ELUSIVE BUDGET GOAL

Analysts and ministry officials say the government is making progress towards its goal of halving the primary budget deficit, which excludes new bond sales and debt servicing costs, by fiscal 2015/16.

The government estimates its primary budget deficit at 18 trillion yen in fiscal 2014/15, down 5.2 trillion yen from this year for the second biggest decrease on record.

Still, calculations by both analysts and the government suggest Tokyo would miss its goal of a primary surplus in 2020/21 without further tax increases and spending cuts.

SMBC Nikko’s Suezawa said social security spending must be streamlined in order to get runaway debt and spending under control to meet the 2020/21 target.

“The Abe administration, like the previous government, will struggle with cuts to welfare spending that could risk alienating the growing ranks of elderly voters,” he said.

Social security outlays to cover healthcare and pensions for the fast-ageing population will top 30 trillion yen for the first time, up 1.4 trillion yen from this year and accounting for roughly a third of the budget.

Debt servicing costs – interest payments and redemptions – are expected to rise to 23.2 trillion yen, up 1 trillion yen from this year and the budget’s second-biggest item.

Defence outlays amount to 4.78 trillion yen, up 2.2 percent on the year and marking the biggest increase in 18 years, amid simmering tensions between Japan and China over tiny islands that both claim in the East China Sea.

The International Monetary Fund estimates Japan’s general budget deficit at 9.5 percent of GDP in calendar 2013, among the worst in the developed world, and narrowing to a still-elevated 6.8 percent in 2014. Public debt already exceeds 240 percent of GDP, by far the highest among major economies.

($ 1 = 103.9950 Japanese yen)

(Editing by Tomasz Janowski and John Mair)

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Reuters: Business News

Read more about Japan"s record budget spending highlights balancing act and other interesting subjects concerning Business at TheDailyNewsReport.com

Obama, Japan"s Abe discuss Syria crisis at G20

1 of 2. U.S. President Barack Obama (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia September 5, 2013.

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Reuters: Politics

Obama, Japan"s Abe discuss Syria crisis at G20

U.S. military helicopter crashes inside base on Japan"s Okinawa

TOKYO (Reuters) – A U.S. military helicopter crashed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, Japanese officials said, an incident that could add to anger over the concentration of U.S. military bases on the island.

Reuters: Top News

U.S. military helicopter crashes inside base on Japan"s Okinawa

U.S. military helicopter crashes on Japan"s Okinawa: NHK

TOKYO | Mon Aug 5, 2013 4:34am EDT

TOKYO (Reuters) – A U.S. military helicopter crashed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, public broadcaster NHK and police said, an incident that could add to anger over the concentration of U.S. military bases on the island.

NHK said the crash occurred in a mountainous area near a U.S. Marine base in central Okinawa, and video footage showed smoke rising from a fire on what appeared to be a remote mountainside.

Casualties were not known. A spokesperson for the U.S. military in Japan could not immediately comment on the report. Fire and police officials also could not comment.

Reuters: Top News

U.S. military helicopter crashes on Japan"s Okinawa: NHK

U.S. military helicopter crashes inside base on Japan"s Okinawa

TOKYO (Reuters) – A U.S. military helicopter crashed on Japan’s southern island of Okinawa on Monday, Japanese officials said, an incident that could add to anger over the concentration of U.S. military bases on the island.

Reuters: Top News

U.S. military helicopter crashes inside base on Japan"s Okinawa

News in Brief: Japan"s 2011 earthquake upped Tokyo"s risk

News in Brief: Japan’s 2011 earthquake upped Tokyo’s risk

Chance more than doubled that capital city will soon experience big temblor

By Erin Wayman

Web edition: May 10, 2013

Chance more than doubled that capital city will soon experience big temblor

By Erin Wayman

Web edition: May 10, 2013

The magnitude 9 earthquake that shook Japan in 2011 more than doubled the risk that a big quake will rattle Tokyo in the next five years, geologists report May 2 in Geophysical Research Letters.

The 2011 quake hit 373 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. Afterwards, seismic activity around Japan’s capital spiked, and small earthquakes are now three times as frequent as they were before the 2011 event. The ground movement comes from a piece of Earth’s crust that’s wedged between the Eurasian plate, on which Tokyo sits, and the Pacific plate, which slides into the mantle beneath the Eurasian plate.

Shinji Toda of Tohoku University in Japan and Ross Stein of the U.S. Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., suggest that the 2011 quake transferred stress to the wedged fragment, triggering the increase in seismic activity. The pair calculates that the added stress raised the probability of a magnitude 7 or larger earthquake striking Tokyo in the next five years, from 6.6 percent to 17.2 percent.

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Citations

S. Toda and R.S. Stein. The 2011 M=9 Tohoku oki earthquake more than doubled the probability of large shocks beneath Tokyo. Geophysical Research Letters. Published online May 2, 2013. doi: 10.1002/grl.50524. [Go to]

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Suggested Reading

E. Wayman. Quakes may bring nearby rocks closer to rupture. Science News. Vol. 183, February 9, 2013, p. 13. [Go to]

D. Powell. Japan quake location a surprise. Science News. Vol. 179, April 9, 2011 p. 5. [Go to]

A. Witze. Great quake one of the biggest ever in Japan. Science News Online, March 11, 2011. [Go to]

Information about the 2011 earthquake from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Earthquake Hazards Program [Go to]

Science News

News in Brief: Japan"s 2011 earthquake upped Tokyo"s risk