Many areas across the country, mainly along the Sea of Japan from Hokkaido to the Kinki region, saw heavy snow Monday because of a strong wintertime low-pressure pattern.
Heavy snow repeatedly caused power outages on the Tokaido Shinkansen line between Gifu-Hashima and Maibara stations after heavy snow felled a tree over the Shinkansen line's overhead wires shortly after 9 a.m.
Tokyo-bound train operations were suspended between Shin-Osaka and Maibara while Shin-Osaka-bound train operations also were temporarily halted between Tokyo and Gifu-Hashima, JR officials said.
Though the Shinkansen runs resumed at 11:18 a.m., bullet trains continued running at reduced speed, the officials said. (Yomiuri)
Heavy snow stops bullet trains
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Govt to poll student affluence / Authorities aiming to shrink disparities in academic performance
The government plans to survey students about their families' economic situation in tandem with the annual national achievement test given to all sixth-year primary school students and third-year middle school students.
The questionnaire survey is meant to help resolve disparities in academic ability stemming from differences in the affluence of students' families, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry said.
The survey will be conducted from the 2013 school year.
A ministry survey has already established that schools with a high percentage of students who receive economic assistance for things such as school lunches and trips also tend to have high percentages of incorrect answers on the national achievement test. (Yomiuri)
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Japan nuclear disaster panel faults preparation, communication
A lack of preparation and poor communication at top levels after disaster struck were among the failures that turned a nuclear accident at Japan's Fukushima plant into the worst atomic crisis in 25 years, a panel probing the disaster said on Monday.
The panel -- headed by an expert in why big mistakes are made -- said Tokyo Electric Power, the utility operating Fukushima's tsunami-wrecked Daiichi nuclear power plant, as well as regulators failed to sufficiently anticipate a massive tsunami and the devastating impact likely to result.
The Daiichi plant, 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was hit on March 11 by a tsunami that exceeded 15 meters in some areas. The tsunami knocked out the plant's cooling systems, resulting in meltdowns of nuclear fuel. (Reuters)
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Sony, Samsung dissolve panel joint venture
Japan's Sony and South Korean rival Samsung are dissolving their joint venture in liquid crystal display panels as Sony tries to stanch years of losses in its TV business.
Sony Corp. said Monday that Samsung Electronics Co. will buy all of Sony's shares in the joint venture for about 1.08 trillion Korean won ($935 million) subject to a final agreement.
The joint venture called S-LCD was set up in 2004. Sony, which fell behind in flat panel TVs, invested in a Samsung panel factory to ensure a steady supply of panels for its LCD TVs.
Sony's TV operation has lost money for seven straight years and the company is straining to return that key business to profit. (AP)
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Japan eases ban on weapons exports to lower costs
Japan is easing its decades-long arms export ban in a bid to lower purchase and production costs fro weapons and take part in global arms projects.
Top government spokesman Osamu Fujimura said Tuesday that the new rules will allow Japan to jointly develop and sell arms with other countries. Japan already has eased the ban in projects with the United States, its biggest ally. The latest change extends the exception to other defense partners, including European nations and Australia. (AP)
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Yasukuni shrine hit by arson attack
Tokyo's controversial Yasukuni shrine, often seen as a symbol of Japan's wartime aggression, had its main wooden gate set on fire early Monday in a suspected arson attack, a shrine official said.
A small fire scorched the "Gate of gods," which stands about 13 meters tall and 28 meters wide, at around 4 a.m., the official said.
The gate, built in 1934 and adorned with huge gold-leaf chrysanthemums on both portals, was not seriously damaged as a shrine security guard quickly put the blaze out, she said.
"We believe it was arson because our security footage shows somebody spraying liquid on the gate before the fire started," she said. (Japan Today)
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Rugby: New Japan coach aims for top 10 spot
Eddie Jones, who was yesterday named as Japan's new head coach, vowed to make the Brave Blossoms one of the world's best rugby teams by the 2015 World Cup in England.
Asian champions Japan's best world ranking was 12th in mid-2010. They are currently ranked 15th under All Blacks legend John Kirwan. Jones, whose mother is half Japanese and whose wife is Japanese, has been managing the country's Top League side Suntory Sungoliath since 2009. (The Star)
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Toyota releases Aqua compact hybrid in Japan
Toyota Motor Corp. on Monday began selling in Japan the Aqua compact hybrid vehicle, which it claims has the world's best fuel economy.
The vehicle is equipped with a new 1.5-liter hybrid system and gets 35.4 kilometers per liter under a new testing method close to actual driving conditions, Toyota said.
The automaker has reduced the weight of the hybrid system by more than 40 kilograms compared to its Prius system, it said.
Priced from 1.69 million yen, Toyota said it aims to sell 12,000 of the vehicles per month within Japan, and eventually to begin selling it in approximately 50 other countries including the United States. (Mainichi)
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Dream over for free flights to Japan
Back in October, Japan's national tourism agency floated a plan that seemed an ideal remedy to boost flagging visitor numbers in the wake of the March 11 disasters. Free flights to Japan in 2012. A full 10,000 of them.
Now, as the country crunches through the detail of tight budget numbers for next year, the hope many had for visiting Japan in 2012 has evaporated into a pipe dream: There won't be any free flights next year, period. The budget for them has not been approved.
Whatever tourism authorities thought a good idea, Japan simply can't afford it, the government's budget planners have concluded. The Tokyo-based Japan Tourism Agency didn't sugar-coat the decision in a statement on its website late Dec. 26: "The project titled 'Fly to Japan!' (to offer flight tickets to 10,000 foreigners with high potential to communicate Japan's attractions), which had been covered in a number of media in autumn this year, was not approved as a governmental draft budget of FY 2012." (Wall Street Journal)
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Tokyo stocks fall on profit taking
Japanese stocks fell Tuesday on profit taking, but trading was light because of the end of the year holidays and as investors awaited the release of US economic data.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 38.78 points, or 0.46 per cent, to close at 8,440.56 after rising 1 per cent a day earlier.
The broader Topix index fell 2.19 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 724.25.
A report on consumer confidence was to be released later in the day in the United States, a key market for Japan's exports. (monstersandcritics.com)
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Magician declines Kim funeral invite
Tenko Hikita, a magician known for her association with deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, has declined the country's invitation to attend his funeral Wednesday, her management agency said.
"I decided to refrain from taking part in an official event taking all circumstances into consideration," Hikita, who is also known as Princess Tenko, said in a statement released Monday.
North Korea invited her to the funeral in Pyongyang after it announced Dec. 19 that Kim had died. The magician was invited to North Korea in 1998 and 2000 to perform magic shows and attend private dinners with Kim, her manager said. (Japan Times)
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Fast-food chain Wendy's reopens in Japan
United States fast-food chain Wendy's, known for its square beef patties and baked potatoes, on Tuesday unveiled a foie gras burger as it sprang back into life in Japan.
Two years after shutting up shop because of falling profits, Wendy's is hoping its exotic new menu will tickle the sophisticated Japanese palate.
The regular buns are still there but are joined by the foie gras burgers, which cost 1,280 yen (S$21), and avocado and wasabi burgers (820 yen) as well as grilled chicken served with truffle and porcini mushroom sauce (920 yen). (Straits Times)
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Long-pending bullet-train lines OK'd
The government has decided to go ahead with long-pending plans to construct stretches of three bullet-train lines, according to transport minister Takeshi Maeda.
Financial resources have been secured for the stretches between Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture; Hakodate and Sapporo in Hokkaido Prefecture; and Isahaya and Nagasaki in Nagasaki Prefecture, Maeda announced Monday during a news conference.
"I would like to approve the plans within the current fiscal year" ending in March, he said. (Japan Times)
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Judo: Uchishiba indicted on rape charges
Prosecutors have filed rape charges against two-time Olympic judo champion Masato Uchishiba.
Tokyo prosecutors said the 33-year-old Uchishiba was formally charged Tuesday. He's accused of raping a teenager at a hotel in September after intoxicating her with an alcoholic drink and taking advantage of her inability to resist. Her identity is being withheld because she is a minor. Police arrested Uchishiba in early December. He has denied the accusation, saying the sex was consensual. If convicted, he could face more than three years in prison. (Japan Times)
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Noda hints delay in deciding tax, welfare reform
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda indicated Tuesday that the government and the Democratic Party of Japan will postpone deciding on their social security and tax reform plan until next year, despite their initial yearend target, amid criticism about hurrying to raise the consumption tax.
"I instructed (ruling lawmakers) to reach a consensus within the party at first by the end of the year," Noda said. "After that, we will seek to have a decision by the government and the ruling party 'around' the year's end."
Noda has said the government and party want to agree on a draft of the comprehensive reform plans, which are to address swelling welfare costs with tax changes, by the end of December before submitting the related bills to the Diet next year. (Japan Times)
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Amazon to delay e-book service here
Amazon.com Inc. is expected to delay the launch of an electronic book service in Japan beyond its target date of this year due to difficult negotiations with publishers, according to industry sources.
Publishers have resisted Amazon's proposed contract terms that would give the U.S. online retailer the right to set prices.
Amazon has expanded its e-book sales in the United States by offering far lower prices for e-books than for paper versions, the sources said Monday. (Japan Times)
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Death sentence is upheld for multiple killer
The Tokyo High Court has upheld a lower court ruling sentencing a 49-year-old man to death for killing a former top health ministry bureaucrat and his wife and attempting to kill another person in a 2008 stabbing spree that stunned the nation.
Handing down the verdict Monday, presiding Judge Shoichi Yagi said Takeshi Koizumi committed "extremely brutal" crimes and has shown "no will whatsoever for rehabilitation."
After learning of the decision, Koizumi said he would "appeal the sentence today."
Koizumi stabbed to death former Vice Health and Welfare Minister Takehiko Yamaguchi, 66, and his wife, Michiko, 61, at their home in Saitama on Nov. 17, 2008, according to the ruling. (Japan Times)
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Satellite launch business faces cloudy future
Japan's H-IIA rocket appears to have joined the ranks of the world's major launch vehicles following the Dec. 12 launch of an intelligence-gathering satellite.
With 19 successes and one failure, however, Japan may stand little chance of capturing a substantial slice of the commercial satellite launch market, given the presence of well-entrenched competitors such as Europe and Russia.
The government and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. are hoping that the successful development of the H-IIA will provide a big break for Japan as it advances into the satellite launch market. (Japan Times)
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China and Japan currency deal not threat to dollar reign
China's surprise currency deal with Japan does little to chip away at the dollar's reign as reserve currency, but it could foreshadow an era when the yuan has more global influence.
The two countries announced Sunday that they would start direct trading their currencies, instead of using the dollar as intermediary. The move is part of a financial agreement between the two countries following meetings between Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiko Noda and Chinese President Hu Jintao.
China is Japan's biggest trade partner with annual two-way trade of close to $350 billion, and as part of the agreement Japan will also apply to buy Chinese bonds next year. (CNBC)
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No-man's land attests to Japan's nuclear nightmare
Fukushima was just emerging from the snows of winter when the disaster hit - a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, the strongest in Japan's recorded history, followed by a tsunami.
The wall of water destroyed much of the northeastern coast on March 11. In the northeast region of Fukushima, a different disaster was brewing: Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were melting down, irreparably damaged by the super tremor.
Now, as the snows are beginning to fall again, the government has announced the plant has attained a level of stability it is calling a "cold shutdown." As many as 3,000 workers - plumbers, engineers, technicians - stream into the facility each day.
The tsunami's destruction is still visible. Mangled trucks, flipped over by the wave, sit alongside the roads inside the complex, piles of rubble stand where the walls of the reactor structures crumbled and large pools of water still cover parts of the campus.
In the ghost towns around Fukushima Dai-ichi, vines have overtaken streets, feral cows and owner-less dogs roam the fields. Dead chickens rot in their coops. (AP)
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