Couple arrested for dumping body of baby boy

Police arrested a young couple early Thursday on suspicion of abandoning the body of a boy who was recently identified as a 1-year-old from Toyonaka in the prefecture. The arrest of Mika Tamiya, 21, and her husband Motoki, comes just a day after police identified the boy as Yu Minematsu, whose body was found in a roadside gutter in the town of Nose in the prefecture last month, they said.

The two have both admitted to the charge. Mika was identified to be the boy's mother through a DNA analysis, they said. The two told the police they "put the boy in a space to hold helmets on a motorcycle because two people cannot go out on a bike while holding a child." They said the boy was dead when they returned, according to police. The body was naked, with its head in a blue plastic bag, police said. It had no external injuries and an autopsy also failed to pinpoint the cause of the boy's death.

Man shoots policeman, fires at 2 others; holes up in residence with wounded officer in Aichi

A man fired a gun at a police officer and two other people shortly past 4 p.m. Thursday in Nagakute, Aichi Prefecture, and is now holed up in a private residence with the wounded officer lying outside, police said. The two others — a man in his 30s and a woman in her 20s — have been taken to a hospital and are not in a life-threatening condition, according to police.

The police officer, who is in his 50s, is believed to be conscious, they said. Prior to the shooting, police received an emergency call at around 3:50 p.m. in which the caller said, "My father has gone crazy with a gun." Police have surrounded the residence and are trying to persuade the man to surrender.

Wakayama grades anthem-singing by teachers, students at local schools

The Wakayama prefectural board of education has been appraising how well teachers and students sing the "Kimigayo" national anthem at school ceremonies since April 1999, board officials said Wednesday. "The appraisal is in line with the nation's school curriculum guidelines, which seek respect for the anthem," a board official said.

According to the board, its officials sit in on entrance and graduation ceremonies at elementary and junior high schools and grade the singing on a scale of "good," "relatively good" and "poor."The education board has also checked if the singing is part of the ceremony, if the anthem is sung to a piano accompaniment or to recorded music, and where the "Hinomaru" national flag is displayed.

Of some 400 schools in the western Japan prefecture, singing at seven schools was judged to be "poor" at entrance ceremonies in April 2004, but the number has remained zero since graduation ceremonies in March 2005.

Hiroichi Yamaguchi, superintendent of the prefectural education board, said, "We will collect opinions on the assessment process from local schools and district education boards, and decide whether or not the practice should be continued."

Kimigayo and Hinomaru are legally defined as Japan's national anthem and flag, respectively. However, forcing teachers and students to sing the anthem and show respect for the flag at school ceremonies has been criticized as infringing upon freedom of thought and conscience as guaranteed under the Constitution.

1 in 3 amusement parks did not know of safety standards

One third of major amusement parks in Japan were not aware of government-set standards for safety checks on their facilities, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday. The results, released as park operators are under scrutiny nationwide following a fatal roller-coaster accident in Osaka Prefecture earlier this month, show many of them lack the proper knowledge about inspection norms under the Japanese Industrial Standards.

A total of 51 major amusement parks with roller coasters in 29 prefectures responded to the survey conducted after the May 6 accident at the Expoland park in Suita, Osaka, that killed a woman and injured about 20 other people. The operator of the park has admitted that it did not conduct a necessary checkup for 15 months. The survey showed 17 of the 51 amusement parks did not know even of the existence of the JIS norms. Many of them said they had not been notified or that they had depended on maintenance companies for checkups.

Female bar owner stabbed to death in Saitama

A 65-year-old female owner of a bar in the town of Sugito, Saitama Prefecture, was found dead with a kitchen knife stuck in her left chest on Friday, police said. Kazuko Makiuchi was found lying in the bar by her eldest son, Kazuo, a 35-year-old company employee, who informed police around 6:10 p.m.

The son visited the bar Friday evening as his mother had not returned home Thursday night. The bar's main door was unlocked, and bloodstains were found on the floor, police said, adding there were marks on the floor from chairs and tables being dragged.

Diet enacts law to reduce air pollution in big cities

The Diet enacted a revised law Friday aimed at reducing motor vehicle emissions by tightening regulations on the construction of department stores, offices and other facilities in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka. The revised law on vehicle-emitted nitrogen oxides and particle matters is designed to regulate those facilities, which may generate heavy vehicle traffic.

The revised law empowers prefectural governors to formulate and implement antipollution measures such as building flyover roadways at intersections or other designated areas polluted heavily with nitrogen oxides and particles from vehicle emissions that cause asthma. It requires reporting to governors projections of gas emissions and plans for reducing emissions before building facilities such as hotels and theaters that may draw vehicles.

In addition, trucking and transport companies in areas surrounding the designated ones are required to work out measures to cut vehicle emissions such as reducing the number of their entries into such areas.

Teenager sexually assaulted by teacher files damages suit over stress disorder

A female teenager in Hokkaido has filed a suit seeking 105 million yen in damages following repeated sexual assaults by a junior high school teacher that left her with post-traumatic stress disorder, her lawyer said Thursday.

The suit also claims that the school and the Hokkaido prefectural education board neglected to take any measures, and is seeking the damages from the teacher, school principal and local government.

According to the suit filed with the Sapporo District Court, she was repeatedly assaulted by the teacher at her home and school for two years from April 2004. She was diagnosed as suffering from PTSD later.

The teacher, who was in his 30s and was eventually arrested for violating the Child Welfare Law and fired, is now serving a prison term.

Though her father and relatives asked the school to take preventive measures, the teacher did not stop assaulting her, prompting her father report to the police in February last year.

Her lawyer Tsuyoshi Takamori said, "The school's and the prefectural education board's failure to take appropriate measures increased her suffering."

An official of the prefectural government said, "We will respond appropriately after reviewing the complaint."

12 Chinese nabbed over faking relations as war-displaced Japanese

Japanese police have arrested 12 Chinese people believed to be kin of a woman who entered Japan using the name of a displaced Japanese in China during World War II, suspecting they have committed fraud and an immigration law violation, the police said Thursday.

The woman had been officially recognized as Hideko Mizusaki in October 1995 and subsequently came to Japan along with several other people including the woman's eldest son Lin Xunwen, 59, and his wife Yang Xiangzhu, 58, who are among the 12 who have been arrested. Lin and his wife are suspected of inviting their relatives to Japan, hoping to get them recognized as Japanese based on the alleged blood relations with Mizusaki.

NHK announcer arrested for indecent assault

An announcer of Japanese public broadcaster NHK was arrested Tuesday night for allegedly pressing himself against a woman and fondling her breasts on a Tokyo street, NHK said Wednesday. Toru Takahashi, 41, was arrested on a charge of indecent assault around 10 p.m. by police who rushed to the street in Shibuya, said NHK.

Takahashi says he hardly remembers what he was doing because he was drunk, NHK said. Takahashi joined NHK in 1991 and is in charge of reporting on location for the broadcaster's morning news program "Good Morning Japan." "It is quite regrettable and we deeply apologize that a member of our staff has been arrested," NHK's public relations department said in a statement.

War bereaved families study separate enshrinement at Yasukuni

The Japan War-Bereaved Association held its first meeting Tuesday in Tokyo to study the proposed separation of Class-A war criminals enshrined at Yasukuni Shrine, group members said.

Association president Makoto Koga, a senior lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in a speech, "We cannot merely continue to leave the situation as it is when there are various public opinions." Koga, a former LDP secretary general, has expressed support for the idea of separating the 14 Class-A war criminals from other souls enshrined at the shrine, mostly comprising the Japanese war dead.

Train groper eludes arrest by jumping onto tracks in Osaka

A man who groped a girl on a morning rush-hour train jumped onto the tracks and disrupted operations in Osaka, West Japan Railway officials said. At around 8:15 a.m., a man apparently in his 30s and wearing a business suit allegedly touched a 15-year-old girl on the Osaka Kanjo Line and other passengers caught him red-handed, officials said.

When the man was pulled off the train at Osakajo Koen Station and was about to be handed over to station staff, he jumped onto the tracks and fled toward the next station, Morinomiya, the officials said. To ensure safety, JR West suspended more than 25 train runs, affecting 28,000 passengers, they said.

Shiozaki says Abe sent offering to Yasukuni in 'private capacity'

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Tuesday Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sent an offering to Tokyo's war-related Yasukuni Shrine in late April in his "private capacity" and the Japanese government therefore had no comment.

Shiozaki told a press conference that politicians in any country hold positions as private citizens. "This is a matter that concerns the thoughts and faith of the prime minister as a private individual, so we would like to refrain from commenting from the government's standpoint," he said. On media reports that Abe used the title "prime minister" in sending the offering, Shiozaki repeated the government's official view that using one's title does not negate one's private capacity.

School teacher caught filming up girls' skirts with remote-controlled camera

An elementary school teacher was arrested Tuesday for secretly filming up the skirts of high school students, utilizing a remote controlled camera on the stairs of a subway station in Nagoya.

The teacher, identified as Eiichi Tsunekawa, 35, allegedly set up a hidden camera by the stairs near an exit of Mizuhokuyakusho station and secretly filmed up the skirts of two girls on April 7. Tsunekawa hid the camera by wrapping it in newspaper and placed it on the stairs and transmitted the footage to a remote place. Police are questioning him on how often and where else he has done this in the past.

Man arrested for choking wife to death after she finds porn on his cell phone

Police on Monday arrested a 34-year-old man on charges of choking his 28-year-old wife to death in Machida. The man, identified as Hitoshi Kawakami, allegedly attacked his wife Kazuko at their apartment in Morino, Machida, around 9 p.m. on Sunday night.

According to police, Kawakami called a friend after he had choked his wife. The friend notified police at a nearby "koban" (police box). Kazuko was taken to hospital but died around 1:45 a.m. Monday. Kawakami told police that he killed his wife because she found porn images on his cell phone while he was taking a bath. He said she often argued violently with him. The couple married in February.

Japan donates $100 mil to combat climate change

Japan on Sunday announced a plan to contribute $100 million to the Asian Development Bank to set up two new funds to fight global warming and facilitate the investment climate in the Asia-Pacific region.

Finance Minister Koji Omi, who chairs the two-day annual meeting of the ADB that opened earlier in the day, unveiled the plan in his keynote speech delivered at the outset of its general session.

"Japan will establish two funds in cooperation with the ADB...I expect this initiative will help ensure sustainable economic development in the region," Omi said.

The proposed funds are the Asian Clean Energy Fund and the Investment Climate Facilitation Fund. They will be installed as part of efforts aimed at solving challenges under Japan's initiative called "Enhanced Sustainable Development for Asia."

Omi also announced that Tokyo will extend yen loans worth up to $2 billion over the next five years through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation in the area of investment promotion and climate change under joint programs with the ADB.

Japan is keen to boost its presence in the international community as a leading nation to promote environment conservation and energy saving, ahead of its hosting of a Group of Eight summit in 2008.

The venue of the 40th ADB meeting — the nation's ancient capital — is regarded as ideal for Japan to make a commitment for environmental protection because the 1997 Kyoto Protocol aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions was agreed here 10 years ago.

Omi reiterated his call for a new pact aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions after 2013, stressing the need for the United States, China and India to join it.

"More efficient use of energy and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in Asia are necessary for achieving sustainable growth not only in the region but also in the world," he said.

The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, agreed here a decade ago, requires developed countries, including Japan, to cut their greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by an average of 5.2% by 2012.

Omi also urged the ADB to play a greater role in helping Asian economies to overcome problems such as poor infrastructure, poverty and climate change.

"The economy in the Asia-Pacific region has continued rapid growth in recent years. However, there are still about 600 million people living in poverty in the region and poverty reduction remains as an important agenda," he said.

Following Omi's speech, ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda made his opening remarks in which he stressed the need to realize "prosperity with inclusiveness," noting increased inequality across the region.

"To achieve prosperity that benefits all, we must use our natural resources wisely so that the poor do not bear the brunt of the environmental impacts of growth," he said.

Kuroda added he is confident that accelerating regional cooperation and integration will change the regional economy for the better.

More than 3,000 people from both the public and private sectors joined in the annual event, where environmental issues and ways to further eradicate poverty in the region are among the key points of the agenda.

On Monday, Crown Prince Naruhito is scheduled to attend a luncheon hosted by Omi before the gathering concludes in the evening.

The ADB, established in 1966 and based in Manila, has 67 member economies. Japan and the United States are the largest donors.

Iraqi PM sees no need for ASDF after year's end

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Kyodo News on Friday that the demand for logistical support extended by Japanese air troops will not last long, saying there will be no need for them "by the end of this year." Maliki said Iraq instead needs civilian Japanese experience, capabilities and technical know-how for reconstruction.

This was the first time the Iraqi prime minister cited a specific time when Air Self-Defense Force troops might be withdrawn from Iraq. With their current mission scheduled to expire July 31, the Japanese government and Japan's governing coalition have introduced legislation to extend the mandate by another two years.

Japan calls on Iran, Syria to play constructive role on Iraq

Japan on Friday called on Iran and Syria to play a role in helping to stabilize the situation in Iraq and vowed to continue Tokyo's own financial assistance and other forms of cooperation for the reconstruction of Iraq. In a speech addressing a key ministerial meeting in Egypt on the security and stability of Iraq, Foreign Minister Taro Aso reaffirmed Japan's strong backing for Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

In his speech, Aso described the stabilization of Iraq as "one of the most urgent issues confronting the international community," and stressed that it is "important for countries such as Iran and Syria to play a constructive role for the stabilization of the region and make efforts to this end."

Noting that the successful reconstruction of Iraq is directly linked to Japan's national interests, Aso briefed his counterparts from Iraq's neighboring countries, the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, and Group of Eight nations on Japan's assistance to Iraq.

Japan, which depends on the Middle East region for over 90% of its oil supply, is the world's second largest donor for Iraq after the United States.

No. of children drops for 26th straight year to 17.38 mil

The number of children below 15 in the nation came to 17.38 million as of April 1 for the 26th straight year of decline, accounting for a record-low 13.6% of the population, according to an internal affairs ministry population estimate released Friday.

The number was 140,000 lower than last year, and the children's share of the population declined for the 33rd straight year, according to the survey, which was released ahead of Children's Day on May 5, a national holiday. The number of boys and girls below 15 decreased by 70,000 each from last year to 8.91 million and 8.47 million, respectively, according to the estimate.

Nagoya man suspected of more than 90 rapes

Police said Friday they have arrested a 27-year-old man for allegedly raping a woman in her apartment last September, and added that the man is a suspect in more than 90 other sexual assaults in the city since 2004. Police have identified the suspect as Seiichi Uesugi, 27, a company employee from Nagoya. He has been charged with raping a 23-year-old woman at knifepoint in her apartment. Police allege he hid outside her apartment and put a knife to her throat when she returned home after work.

Aichi prefectural police say the same MO has been used in more than 90 attacks in the city. Uesugi has admitted to last September's attack, but was quoted by police as saying that he couldn't remember how many women he had assaulted.

Police to arrest 3rd man in Nagasaki mayor murder probe

Police said Monday they have obtained an arrest warrant for a man in his 20s on suspicion of helping a gangster who fatally shot then Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito on April 17. The Nagasaki prefectural police said the man was a driver for the gangster, 59-year-old Tetsuya Shiroo, and is suspected of keeping a close watch on the mayor's movements at places other than an election campaign office in Nagasaki where the shooting took place.

On Sunday, police arrested 60-year-old Hiromi Ogawa, who they said acknowledged having given Shiroo a ride to the neighborhood of the scene of the attack shortly before the shooting. The 61-year-old mayor was shot twice in the back at point-blank range in front of his election campaign office on the evening of April 17 during his mayoral election campaign. He died of blood loss the following morning.