- UC to award honorary degrees to interned Japanese American students
- Ten elderly climbers found dead in Japanese mountains
- Japan stocks gain in thin pre-holiday trading
- Space Shuttle Endeavour Has Lift ff
- Aso to dissolve lower house on Tuesday
- Space shuttle Endeavour arrives at space station
- Japan MF Tamaki Signals No Big Forex Policy Change

UC to award honorary degrees to interned Japanese American students
Los Angeles Times
The wartime relocations destroyed her childhood dream of a University of California diploma. Amemiya now 88 joyfully returned to UC on Thursday and was named a graduate six decades late. The UC Board of Regents agreed Thursday to grant honorary degrees to all Japanese Americans who were students at the university during World War II and whose educations were interrupted by the forced relocations. The decision at the board’s meeting in San Francisco marked the first time in 37 years that the regents have bestowed such degrees making an exception to a moratorium intended to help avoid political pressures or the appearance of favoritism. “I felt so honored. I’ve been floating way up there and my two feet have not come down yet” Amemiya told the regents in a speech that held her audience spellbound. She said she and many Japanese American classmates regretted that they had never been able to return to the campus she still affectionately calls “Cal.

Ten elderly climbers found dead in Japanese mountains
USA Today
Nine of the seniors died while climbing Mount Tomuraushi on Hokkaido Japan’s main northern island according to police. A 10th died on another mountain in Hokkaido the AP reports. "Most of the climbers were senior citizens" said Tsuyoshi Matsuya a police official. "We are looking into a possibility of professional negligence.

Japan stocks gain in thin pre-holiday trading
Forbes
corporate earnings helped Japan stocks climb a shade higher Friday despite extremely thin trading ahead of a three-day weekend. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 51. 32 in one of the slowest trading days of the year.

Space Shuttle Endeavour Has Lift ff
Washington Post
The mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory. The mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Kibo laboratory.

Aso to dissolve lower house on Tuesday
Xinhua
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will hold a less formal meeting on Tuesday morning before the lower house dissolution in the afternoon giving Aso a chance to review the party’s consecutive losses in recent local elections and to declare his determination to fight the upcoming national election before fellow party members according to Kyodo News. Aso has rejected calls from LDP lawmakers asking him to step down before the election. Instead he has vowed to fight on. “Contesting a general election in unity — I believe that has been the Liberal Democratic Party’s tradition in its long history” he told Japanese media.

Space shuttle Endeavour arrives at space station
The Associated Press
“Thirteen is a pretty big number but it’s going to be an outstanding visit for us” said shuttle commander Mark Polansky. “We are just thrilled to be here. “Besides being the biggest space gathering ever it was the most diverse: seven Americans two Russians two Canadians one Japanese and one Belgian. Twelve men one woman. Four medical doctors. And engineers and pilots galore. The station doubled in size people-wise at the end of May and this was the first shuttle visit since then.
Related from Bizvideomail: The Truth Behind NASA’s UF Videos

Japan MF Tamaki Signals No Big Forex Policy Change
Wall Street Journal
–>UPDATE: Japan MF Tamaki Signals No Big Forex Policy Change ArticleCommentsmore in. ) By Takashi Nakamichi f DW JNES NEWSWIRES TKY (Dow Jones)–Rintaro Tamaki Japan’s new vice finance minister for international affairs hinted Friday he would continue his predecessor’s largely hands-off currency policy making it unlikely he will actively seek to thwart rises in the yen. Tamaki also said he will maintain the policy of keeping the nation’s $1 trillion foreign currency reserves mostly in dollar-denominated investments such as U. The vice finance minister for international affairs the finance ministry’s top currency official effectively decides.

- Japan stocks fall for sixth straight day
- Japan Core Machinery rders Fall To Record Low
- Richard Gere: Dog is hero in film about Japan tale
- Japan to give aid to patients who drop lawsuits
- Japan Govt Bonds End Up As Data Suggest Weak Recovery

Japan stocks fall for sixth straight day
Forbes
The Nikkei 225 stock average shed 227. 75 – its lowest close in six weeks.
Related from Mexview: Mexico Stocks Rise For 6th Straight Session; IPC +0.8%

Japan Core Machinery rders Fall To Record Low
Wall Street Journal
–>2nd UPDATE: Japan Core Machinery rders Fall To Record Low ArticleCommentsmore in. ) TKY (Dow Jones)–Japanese core machinery orders fell to their lowest level on record in May dropping a surprising 3. 0% from a month earlier the government said Wednesday fueling concerns that firms may be putting their business investment plans on hold. Core orders which excludes often-volatile orders for ships and electric power companies stood at Y668. 2 billion their lowest value in monetary terms since the government began compiling this data in a comparable form in 1987. The drop in orders received was much worse than the.

Richard Gere: Dog is hero in film about Japan tale
The Associated Press
But “Hachi: A Dog’s Story” is more about the dog than about Gere the 59-year-old actor said Wednesday. “n this movie I was definitely second-class” he told reporters at a Tokyo hotel. The movie premiered in the U.

Japan to give aid to patients who drop lawsuits
The Associated Press
The law would also allow the indebted chemical company Chisso Corp. to split into two entities and dissolve the parent company once the payments are finished. The law is expected to cover as many as 30000 so-far unrecognized victims of Minamata disease which was first diagnosed in 1956 and later was linked to the consumption of fish from southern Kyushu island’s Minamata Bay where Chisso dumped tons of mercury compounds. “We are very pleased” Chief Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura said of the law’s passage.

Japan Govt Bonds End Up As Data Suggest Weak Recovery
Wall Street Journal
–>Japan Govt Bonds End Up As Data Suggest Weak Recovery ArticleCommentsmore in. With little in the way of market-moving data or events for the rest of the week players will watch Tokyo shares and overseas markets for cues until the Bank of Japan policy board meets next week. The meeting may offer clues on whether the BJ is preparing to extend temporary liquidity measures most of which are due to expire at the end.

- Japan Mulls Making Hybrids Louder
- Japan Govt Bond Rally Pauses But Dip-Buyers Reassure Market
- From Bits: Sony Enters the Netbook Fray With a $630 Model
- S Korea Japan discuss moves towards DPRK
- Japanese Emperor Expresses Sadness ver World War II Deaths …
- Japan yields creep up; CBA sells five-year debt
- Japan Aeon’s first-quarter profit slips 62%

Japan Mulls Making Hybrids Louder
New York Times
:Too quiet?Japan the home of hybrid cars like the Toyota Prius that run near-silent in their electric battery mode may introduce requirements to use noise-making devices to let pedestrians — and blind people in particular — know they are coming. "We have received opinions from automobile users and vision-impaired people [.

Japan Govt Bond Rally Pauses But Dip-Buyers Reassure Market
Wall Street Journal
–>Japan Govt Bond Rally Pauses But Dip-Buyers Reassure Market ArticleCommentsmore in. Players will watch Wednesday’s May machinery orders for further clues to whether Japan’s economy is picking up but the market is likely to take its cues for the next few days mainly from local equities and U. stock and bond markets. In the absence of major news buying on any dips is likely to keep JGB yields – which have been falling almost without interruption since June 11.

From Bits: Sony Enters the Netbook Fray With a $630 Model
New York Times
But the Japanese company’s machine the Vaio W — which comes with a standard 10-inch screen an Intel Atom processor and the Windows XP operating system -? costs about 60000 yen ($630). That’s at least twice as expensive as the cheapest netbooks on the market. Still Sony’s foray is a striking turnabout for a company that until now shunned netbooks the smaller and cheaper cousins of traditional notebook computers that are optimized for simple tasks like Web browsing and e-mail. The closest Sony came to a netbook before was its P-series Lifestyle PC an even smaller sleeker laptop with a more powerful Intel processor that went on sale earlier this year. But with a $900 price tag the machine occupied a very different market from the likes of Asus?s $300 Eee PCs.

S Korea Japan discuss moves towards DPRK
Xinhua
The discussions on the DPRK nuclear issue included implementation of the UN Security Council resolution which urged UN member nations to impose tougher financial sanctions and an arms embargo on the DPRK foreign ministry spokesman Moon Tae-young said. During the discussions South Korea’s envoy Wi Sung-lac and his Japanese counterpart Akitaka Saiki also compared their notes on the DPRK’s firing of seven ballistic missiles over the weekend according to the ministry. In a related move Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei chairman of the six-party talks is scheduled to visit Seoul from July 12-14 in a bid to kick-start the disarmament negotiations. Editor: Xiong Tong.

Japanese Emperor Expresses Sadness ver World War II Deaths …
AHN
Redistribution republication. syndication rewriting or broadcast is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN. –>AHN Staff ttawa ntario (AHN) – Even though Canada and Japan had ties way back from 1877 the fact that ttawa and Tokyo found themselves on opposite sides during the Second World War saddened Japanese Emperor Akihito. The Japanese royalty said at a state dinner in ttawa on Monday night quoted by the CanWest News Service “It is all the more regrettable that the relationship that had thus developed between our two countries was disrupted by the Second World War.

Japan yields creep up; CBA sells five-year debt
Wall Street Journal
–>Japan yields creep up; CBA sells five-year debt ArticleCommentsmore in. The benchmark 10-year yield edged up 0. 005 percentage point to 1. 305% after falling at one point below 1. 3% for the first time since late March.
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Japan Aeon’s first-quarter profit slips 62%
MarketWatch
Tuesday posted a 62% percent fall in operating profit to 8. 72 billion yen ($91. 5 million) in its first quarter ended in May from the same quarter a year ago. Aeon is also a majority owner of U.

- Japanese navy ships leave for anti-piracy mission
- Takeo Doi scholar on Japanese psyche dies
- Japan’s emperor empress get royal welcome in Canada

Japanese navy ships leave for anti-piracy mission
The Associated Press
Iran meanwhile said it also sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian merchant containers and oil tankers from Somali pirates. The Japanese destroyers Harusame and Amagiri will replace two other destroyers that Japan deployed to the Gulf of Aden in March in its military’s first postwar overseas policing action. Japan’s military is limited to defensive missions under the country’s post-World War II charter and its forays overseas have been largely restricted to refueling airlifting and humanitarian activities. “You’re assigned to a new task of escorting foreign vessels — a mission that will be very tough” Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada told the departing crew at a ceremony at Yokosuka Port just south of Tokyo.

Takeo Doi scholar on Japanese psyche dies
The Associated Press
Doi who died Sunday from illnesses related to old age wrote the 1971 book “The Anatomy of Dependence” which introduced the idea of “amae” — a childlike desire for indulgence — as key to understanding the Japanese mind. Doi’s work was a hit in Japan but has been widely studied abroad in translation. Ezra Vogel social sciences professor emeritus at Harvard University has praised Doi’s book as “the first book by a Japanese trained in psychiatry to have an impact on Western psychiatric thinking.

Japan’s emperor empress get royal welcome in Canada
AFP
Arriving in a carriage escorted by mounted Royal Canadian police in their full parade red uniforms the couple were officially greeted by Governor General Michaelle Jean the representative of head of state Queen Elizabeth II. “We cannot imagine a greater honor than the presence of their Majesties in Canada to mark the 80th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Japan and Canada” Jean said as the couple arrived at the governor’s residence. She said the visit would also be a chance “to highlight the numerous and lasting ties between our peoples that have overcome the conflicts and challenges that cast a shadow over the last century. “Jean was referring to World War II when more than 22000 Japanese immigrants were interned in labor camps mainly in western Canada following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
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- Japan’s royal couple head to Canada Hawaii
- Asian Shares End Mostly Lower
- Japan stocks fall on bank merger worries

Japan’s royal couple head to Canada Hawaii
The Associated Press
“Both Canada and the state of Hawaii are home to many people of Japanese ancestry” Akihito said in a statement ahead of the trip. “We are looking forward to meeting these people in various places during our trip and further deepen our understanding of the paths they have taken to this day. “There had been speculation in the Japanese media that they might go to Pearl Harbor which would have been the first visit by an emperor to the scene of Japan’s 1941 surprise attack. But palace officials said the purpose of their visit was not related to the attack.

Asian Shares End Mostly Lower
Wall Street Journal
Japan’s Nikkei 225 ended down 0. 3% while New Zealand’s NZX-50 was 0.

Japan stocks fall on bank merger worries
Forbes
and Aozora Bank Ltd. would prove fruitful. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 63.
Related from Ytbao: Asian Stocks Advance on Merger Speculation Commodity Prices

- Euro rises against dollar on recovery hopes
- Japan May Indus utput Up Stimulus Measures Help
- Japan Hot Stocks-Bridgestone Nissan Pacific Metals
- Japan’s nuclear plant usage rises yr/yr for 9th month
- Japan job woes deepen but consumption points up

Euro rises against dollar on recovery hopes
AFP
“Investors were also awaiting an interest rate decision from the European Central Bank on Thursday which is expected to keep the main rate at its record low of 1. 0 percent but is under pressure to lower it further. The yen also faced selling pressure after a smaller-than-expected improvement in Japanese business confidence. The Bank of Japan said in its quarterly Tankan survey that business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers had improved for the first time in two-and-a-half years. But many investors were disappointed because they had hoped for a better reading dealers said. “The market had thought the confidence index would go up a bit higher” said Masaki Fukui senior market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank. “The survey showed the business sentiment still remained cautious.

Japan May Indus utput Up Stimulus Measures Help
Wall Street Journal
–>2nd UPDATE:Japan May Indus utput Up Stimulus Measures Help ArticleCommentsmore in. Industrial production rose 5. 9% on month in May according to preliminary data from the Ministry of Economy Trade and Industry matching a revised 5. 9% climb in April – the sharpest gain in over half a century. The rise in output was led by the automobile electronics and iron and steel.

Japan Hot Stocks-Bridgestone Nissan Pacific Metals
Forbes
6 percent to 1587 yen after Merrill Lynch initiated coverage of Japan’s largest tyre maker with a ‘buy’ rating and a target price at 2000 yen. ‘We expect a sharp earnings recovery in July-December 2009′ the brokerage wrote in a note to clients.

Japan’s nuclear plant usage rises yr/yr for 9th month
Reuters
The nuclear power plant utilisation rate at Japan’s 10nuclear power companies rose to an average 59. 9 percent in Juneup 6. 3 percentage points from a year earlier the Ministry ofEconomy Trade and Industry said on Wednesday. The June run rate compared with 61. 1 percent in May the METIdata showed.
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Japan job woes deepen but consumption points up
Reuters
But the jobs data suggests any recovery is likely to betempered by sluggish domestic demand even as the country’sexport industries start to recover from a sharp downturn in theglobal economy. “No one expects that the labour market is improving yet. Labour indicators are always lagging indicators to the businesscycle and we are still in a very early stage of recovery soprobably the deterioration of the labour market continues but ata more moderate pace” said Masamichi Adachi a senior economistat JP Morgan. Although some leading economic indicators such as industrialoutput have rebounded in recent months many companies areexpected to keep cutting costs on wages to churn out profits evenunder weaker demand.

- BNY Mellon among 3 bidders for Citi Japan unit
- Nikkei edges up 0.4 pct Softbank climbs
- Toyota president says product lineup under review

BNY Mellon among 3 bidders for Citi Japan unit
Reuters
N) Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co (8403. T) and insurer T&D Holdings Inc (8795. T) are the remaining three contenders to buy Citigroup’s (C. N) Japanese asset management unit.

Nikkei edges up 0.4 pct Softbank climbs
Reuters
Investors are keenly awaiting the Fed’s policy decisionstatement and are nervous about anything that could hint atinterest rate hikes. “The ideal result is for no change in policy and for the Fedto merely say that they might think about interest rates againlater in the year after the economy improves” said TomomiYamashita a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management. Traders and analysts played down the impact of a newspaperreport saying that Japanese Finance Minister Kaoru Yosano’spolitical support group had accepted what appeared to be illegaldonations from a dummy organisation. Yosano denied anywrongdoing. [ID:nSP118210] The issue by itself is unlikely to lead to any sharp sell-offin Japanese shares said Ichiyoshi Investment’s Akino. This ispartly because investors are already mindful of the possibilitythat the ruling Liberal Democratic Party could be ousted frompower by the opposition Democratic Party in a general electiondue within months Akino said. “But if this were to lead to the timing of the election beingbrought forward or to the immediate resignation of (PrimeMinister Taro) Aso that could lead to some turmoil and thingswould be different” Akino added.
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Toyota president says product lineup under review
GMA news.tv
“This ship is setting sail in a storm” he told reporters at a Tokyo showroom. “We are making our start from the very bottom. Executive vice presidents will each oversee a global region North America Europe Japan and emerging markets to answer changing consumer needs Toyoda said. He said Toyota will focus on some auto model sectors aggressively while pulling out of others depending on the region. He did not give details but said hybrid technology seen in the success of the third-generation Prius which has been snapped up since going on sale last month was an example of a Toyota strength. Toyoda who assumed the top post after approval from shareholders on Tuesday is Toyota's first president from the founding family in 14 years. He said the basic principles of Toyota and his family include contributing to society creating jobs and paying taxes.

- Japan FM to press G8 to enforce NKorea sanctions
- Toyota and Nissan vow to do better
- LG Display enlists Japan’s Idemitsu in LED race
- Japan regrets FINA rejection of Irie’s ‘world record’
- Asian Shares Rise Tentatively; Japan Commods Down

Japan FM to press G8 to enforce NKorea sanctions
AFP
Nakasone at the Group of Eight ministerial meeting in Trieste Italy will seek to “reconfirm the G8 commitment to implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 1874″ which the council unanimously passed on June 12. “After adopting 1874 it’s time to implement the resolution. That’s important in pressuring North Korea to consider their situation seriously” a foreign ministry official told reporters ahead of the Friday meeting. The resolution condemned Pyongyang’s May 25 nuclear test tightened an arms embargo and authorised countries to inspect cargo suspected of containing banned items related to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile activities.

Toyota and Nissan vow to do better
Reuters
3 carmakers both face a second straight year of losses in the financial year to March 2010 reeling from a sharp sales slide in all major developed markets. The industry slump fueled by tight credit and rising jobless numbers has already helped drive U. rivals General Motors (.

LG Display enlists Japan’s Idemitsu in LED race
Forbes
2 maker of LCD screens said on Wednesday it formed an alliance with Japan’s Idemitsu Kosan in its drive to compete in the LED (organic light emitting diode) market. ‘The agreement enables LG Display to secure a stable source of LED materials’ the South Korean company said in a press release. ‘This will accelerate the growth of LG Display’s LED business which is emerging as a new growth engine. ‘ Article Controls.

Japan regrets FINA rejection of Irie’s ‘world record’
AFP
FINA the sport’s international governing body finalised its ruling after Japan had already accepted Ryosuke Irie’s record set on May 10 in Australia while wearing a suit developed by Japanese maker Descente. FINA later called for modifications to be made to the design of the suit which was not on its approved list and Monday annulled Irie’s record of 1min 52. 86sec set at the Japan-Australia “Duel in the Pool” meet in Canberra. “The (Japanese) federation feels extremely regretful over FINA’s decision this time.
Related from Asportforumblog: FINA adopts new rules for high-tech swimsuits

Asian Shares Rise Tentatively; Japan Commods Down
Wall Street Journal
il and resource stocks were on the decline in Tokyo though mostly on the rise in Sydney. Japan’s Nikkei 225 was up 0. 1% with Hong Hong’s Hang Seng Index the standout 2. South Korea’s Kospi Composite was 0. 3% higher and New Zealand’s NZX-50 up 0.

- Hawaiians Shrug ff Missile Threat
- Japanese Firms Are Less Downbeat
- Toyota Nissan vow to do better; green cars key
- Japan’s 7-Eleven ruling may spur discounts: report

Hawaiians Shrug ff Missile Threat
New York Times
is concerned” Mr. He motioned to the memorial which sits over the remains of the battleship sunk by the Japanese in the Pearl Harbor attack. “In 1941 some of these people didn’t think the Japanese were an extreme threat and they got their minds changed pretty quickly” he said. But among Hawaiians skepticism is mixed with annoyance and even anger that their state hypothetically at least could be a testing ground. “I think they would be stupid to do that test” said Misioka Tauiliili 39 a delivery truck driver taking in the placid scene at a city beach near Waikiki.

Japanese Firms Are Less Downbeat
Wall Street Journal
–>Japanese Firms Are Less Downbeat ArticleCommentsmore in. The quarterly corporate sentiment index compiled from a survey jointly conducted by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet ffice stood at minus 22. 4 in the second quarter. The reading though negative.

Toyota Nissan vow to do better; green cars key
Reuters
3 carmakers both face a second straightyear of losses in the financial year to March 2010 reelingfrom a sharp sales slide in all major developed markets. The industry slump fuelled by tight credit and risingjobless numbers has already helped drive U. rivals GeneralMotors (.
Related from Rizzicreations: US auto industry needs to go green

Japan’s 7-Eleven ruling may spur discounts: report
MarketWatch
to stop prohibiting its franchise stores from offering discounts a local report said. The convenience chain a unit of Seven & I Holdings Co. had allowed only a small number of the roughly 12000 7-Eleven stores to sell food products at discount prices the Nikkei newspaper reported. But following Monday’s FTC decision the practice may now spread among those stuck with stacks of food close to expiration as well as stores facing stiff competition from rivals the report said.

- Japan MF:Mulling How To Resume Linker Issuance Later
- Japan govt plans emergency loan to Japan Airlines
- Lighters often left on Japanese planes
- Watching whalers and whales in Madeira

Japan MF:Mulling How To Resume Linker Issuance Later
Wall Street Journal
–>UPDATE: Japan MF:Mulling How To Resume Linker Issuance Later ArticleCommentsmore in. Masaaki Kaizuka director of debt management at the Ministry of.

Japan govt plans emergency loan to Japan Airlines
Reuters
T) caught by severeairline turbulence in the global economic crisis. Yosano said he has received a request by Transport MinisterKazuyoshi Kaneko in charge of overseeing airlines for theDevelopment Bank of Japan (DBJ) to extend loans to JAL Japan’sbiggest airline. “I replied that we hope to cooperate through DBJ loans andthat I will pass on the request to them” Yosano told a newsconference after a cabinet meeting.

Lighters often left on Japanese planes
United Press International
passenger planes but they are routinely left behind on domestic flights in Japan where they are allowed officials say. The Yomiuri Shimbun reports the Construction and Transport Ministry revealed Thursday its check of 511 planes turned up 76 lighters on or around the seats of 57 passenger planes. Ministry officials have told airlines to remind travelers to take their lighters with them when they disembark.

Watching whalers and whales in Madeira
BBC News
This request will take place at the IWC annual meeting this week on the Portuguese island of Madeira. The tangled knot twists around the status of the moratorium on commercial whaling which is being circumvented by Japan as well as Norway and Iceland. Since the moratorium began in 1986 IWC records show that more than 30000 whales have been killed by a few remaining whaling countries. Among the species targeted are some that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists as endangered such as fin and sei whales and vulnerable such as sperm whales. Under the international treaty of 1946 that governs the IWC its member states do not need to ask IWC permission to allow the killing of whales if they claim that the purpose is scientific research. In 1987 the Japanese government launched its first "scientific whaling" programme targeting 300 minke whales in the Southern cean.
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