TOKYO, Feb. 29 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Some Japanese Cabinet ministers expressed displeasure Friday at China's announcement on Thursday that downplayed the likelihood of China-made dumplings having been contaminated in China, criticizing the remarks as being counterproductive to joint efforts in investigating the poisoning case in Japan.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura urged that the two sides' investigative authorities "overcome" their differences and continue to cooperate in order to get to the bottom of the case, in hopes of preventing a negative impact on public sentiment and on a historic visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Japan slated for April.
Both Japanese and Chinese authorities have not pinned down how an insecticide made its way into the packages of the dumplings, manufactured in China, which caused 10 people in Japan to fall ill after having eaten them.
"Japanese police and the health ministry are doing their best in investigating the case, and it is sad that (the Chinese) flatly denied it," Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama said. "I wonder if it is impossible to have true cooperation on the investigation."
At a separate news conference, National Public Safety Commission Chairman Shinya Izumi said, "The Chinese side's announcement of its opinion all of a sudden at a news conference without providing any specific information and analysis results is not going to solve the problem."
"What should be done in the first place is to find out the truth behind the incident," Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said. "I wonder if it was good to make such an announcement at that stage."
Chinese government and police officials said Thursday that, based on their research, it was "highly unlikely" that the dumplings were contaminated in China.
Based on their investigations, Japanese officials have said the insecticide detected in the dumplings was likely to have been added in China, not in Japan.
On Thursday, a Chinese public security official voiced regret that Japanese police refused requests to provide some pieces of evidence gathered in Japan on the case. Japanese police agency chief Hiroto Yoshimura said Japan is ready to provide them if Chinese authorities identify a suspect.
On Friday, Izumi said the Chinese authorities have yet to respond to Japan's request for analysis data on a murder case in Hebei Province in which similar pesticides were believed to have been used.
"We hope that the Chinese side would provide the information we are asking for. Through that, I think we can get to the bottom of this," Izumi said.
Amid concerns that failure to resolve the issue soon would cause public sentiment to further deteriorate on both sides, Foreign Minister Komura said, "I hope the investigative authorities can overcome their differences and cooperate with each other. It is important to find the truth and work on preventing a recurrence."
Asked about the possible impact on Hu's visit, Komura said Japan hopes "to welcome him in a good atmosphere" but also stressed that the scheduling of the trip will not be determined by progress on investigations of the case.
Friday, February 29, 2008
Japan moves to strenghten standing at IWC
Feb 29, 2008
Japan, in a feud with Western nations over whaling, has said it will meet with 12 developing states in a bid to boost its clout in the deadlocked International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The foreign ministry said it will hold a "seminar" on Monday for nations that recently joined or plan to join the IWC, which has long been divided between pro and anti-whaling forces.
Japanese fisheries officials will also take part in the talks aimed at "obtaining understanding for Japan's position on sustainable whaling," a foreign ministry statement said.
Japan, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year, says its whaling is legal and part of its culture, and accuses anti-whaling countries of insensitivity.
Japan has clashed bitterly with the Australian Government who trailed the whalers on their annual expedition in the Antarctic Ocean and has released bloody footage of the whale slaughter.
Environmentalists accuse Japan of buying votes in the IWC by roping in countries that receive Japanese aid and have little tradition of whaling.
The countries to take part in Monday's seminar are Angola, Cambodia, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Micronesia, Palau, Tanzania and Vanuatu, the foreign ministry said.
Japan has pushed for secret balloting at the 78-member IWC, which in 1986 imposed a global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Japan continues to harpoon whales using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals, with the meat going on Japanese dinner plates.
Tokyo says it want to "normalise" the IWC to return to its original mandate of managing whaling.
Last year, Japan invited all members of the IWC, which then had 72 members, for "normalisation" talks in Tokyo. The final attendance was 37, with major anti-whaling nations such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States boycotting.
Norway and Iceland are the only nations to conduct outright commercial whaling in defiance of the 1986 moratorium.
In turn, a number of prominent developing nations, including India and South Africa, support Western countries in opposing whaling.
Japan, in a feud with Western nations over whaling, has said it will meet with 12 developing states in a bid to boost its clout in the deadlocked International Whaling Commission (IWC).
The foreign ministry said it will hold a "seminar" on Monday for nations that recently joined or plan to join the IWC, which has long been divided between pro and anti-whaling forces.
Japanese fisheries officials will also take part in the talks aimed at "obtaining understanding for Japan's position on sustainable whaling," a foreign ministry statement said.
Japan, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year, says its whaling is legal and part of its culture, and accuses anti-whaling countries of insensitivity.
Japan has clashed bitterly with the Australian Government who trailed the whalers on their annual expedition in the Antarctic Ocean and has released bloody footage of the whale slaughter.
Environmentalists accuse Japan of buying votes in the IWC by roping in countries that receive Japanese aid and have little tradition of whaling.
The countries to take part in Monday's seminar are Angola, Cambodia, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Micronesia, Palau, Tanzania and Vanuatu, the foreign ministry said.
Japan has pushed for secret balloting at the 78-member IWC, which in 1986 imposed a global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Japan continues to harpoon whales using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals, with the meat going on Japanese dinner plates.
Tokyo says it want to "normalise" the IWC to return to its original mandate of managing whaling.
Last year, Japan invited all members of the IWC, which then had 72 members, for "normalisation" talks in Tokyo. The final attendance was 37, with major anti-whaling nations such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States boycotting.
Norway and Iceland are the only nations to conduct outright commercial whaling in defiance of the 1986 moratorium.
In turn, a number of prominent developing nations, including India and South Africa, support Western countries in opposing whaling.
Japan invites developing nations for whaling meeting
Feb 29, 2008
OKYO (AFP) - Japan, in a feud with Western nations over whaling, said Friday it will meet with 12 developing states in a bid to boost its clout in the deadlocked International Whaling Commission.
The foreign ministry said it will hold a "seminar" on Monday for nations that recently joined or plan to join the IWC, which has long been divided between pro- and anti-whaling forces.
Japanese fisheries officials will also take part in the talks aimed at "obtaining understanding for Japan's position on sustainable whaling," a foreign ministry statement said.
Japan, which kills up to 1,000 whales a year, says its whaling is legal and part of its culture, and accuses anti-whaling countries of insensitivity.
Japan has clashed bitterly with Australia, whose coast guard is trailing the whalers on their annual expedition in the Antarctic Ocean and has released bloody footage of the whale slaughter.
Environmentalists accuse Japan of buying votes in the IWC by roping in countries that receive Japanese aid and have little tradition of whaling.
The countries to take part in Monday's seminar are Angola, Cambodia, Congo (Brazzaville), Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ghana, Laos, Malawi, Micronesia, Palau, Tanzania and Vanuatu, the foreign ministry said.
Japan has pushed for secret balloting at the 78-member IWC, which in 1986 imposed a global moratorium on commercial whaling.
Japan continues to harpoon whales using a loophole that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals, with the meat going on Japanese dinner plates.
Tokyo says it want to "normalise" the IWC to return to its original mandate of managing whaling.
Last year, Japan invited all members of the IWC, which then had 72 members, for "normalisation" talks in Tokyo. The final attendance was 37, with major anti-whaling nations such as Australia, Britain, New Zealand and the United States boycotting.
Norway and Iceland are the only nations to conduct outright commercial whaling in defiance of the 1986 moratorium.
In turn, a number of prominent developing nations, including India and South Africa, support Western countries in opposing whaling.
Monday, February 25, 2008
No bail for Japanese businessman
Saipan Tribune
Feb 26, 2008
No bail for Japanese businessman
AGO files a fugitive from justice charge
By Ferdie de la Torre
Reporter
The Superior Court yesterday set no bail for Kazuyoshi Miura, a 60-year-old Japanese businessman who was arrested Friday at the Saipan international airport for the murder of his wife in Los Angeles 27 years ago.
Miura was brought to the Superior Court yesterday after the Attorney General's Office filed an information charging Miura with one count of fugitive from justice.
Associate Judge David A. Wiseman set the preliminary hearing for March 5 at 9am and the arraignment for March 10 at 9am.
Wiseman ordered Miura to proceed to the Adult Probation Office to determine whether he is eligible to have a court-appointed counsel.
The judge remanded the defendant back to the custody of the Department of Corrections.
Earlier at the hearing, Wiseman directed Miura to hire his own lawyer after the defendant claimed that his current wife runs a clothing business and that she earns $30,000 a month.
When the judge asked the wife, Yoshie, about her $30,000 monthly income, she explained that the amount's value is different in Japan than on Saipan.
Wiseman decided to order the defendant to instead go to the Probation Office, which will determine if he is eligible to get a court-appointed lawyer.
Wiseman said he will set no bail at this time, considering that Miura is facing charges of fugitive from justice in connection with charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder that were filed in California.
At the hearing, chief public defender Adam Hardwicke argued that the arrest was unlawful, citing the absence of an arrest warrant and that the extradition procedures were not being followed, among other things.
But Wiseman only thanked Hardwicke for raising the issue and told him that yesterday was a bail hearing and not a preliminary hearing where that issue might be brought up.
Edward R. Cabrera of the Attorney Generals' Investigative Unit stated in court documents that Immigration agents detained Miura Friday at 2pm as he attempted to depart the CNMI.
In an affidavit supporting Miura's arrest, Cabrera said that agents of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency contacted him about the defendant's case in October 2007.
Cabrera said that ICE agents were told by Los Angeles Police's Cold Case Unit that Miura would probably be traveling to Saipan in November 2007.
The AGIU officer said an LA detective also asked for CNMI assistance in arresting Miura if he ever comes to Saipan.
The detective then provided AGIU with a copy of the felony complaint as well as a printout from the National Criminal Information Center alleging that Miura was charged with criminal activity in California.
After receiving the information, Cabrera said, he placed an alert in the CNMI Border Management System so that he will be notified if the defendant arrives or attempts to depart from the Commonwealth.
Cabrera said that when he informed LA Police about Miura's arrest, he was told that they are willing to extradite the defendant to California.
Miura had already been convicted in Japan in 1994 of the murder of his wife, Kazumi Miura. The verdict, however, was overturned by Japan's high courts 10 years ago.
Miura and his wife (Kazumi) were visiting Los Angeles on Nov. 18, 1981, when they were shot in a parking lot. Miura was reportedly hit in the right leg, while his 28-year-old wife was shot in the head. She later died.
Miura reportedly collected about $1.4 million at today's exchange rate on life insurance policies he had taken out on his wife.
A New York Times report said that Japanese consular officials on Sunday interviewed Miura at his cell inside the Department of Corrections in Susupe.
''He seemed in good health, and was receiving a fair treatment,'' said Kenji Yoshida, one of the two Japanese consuls in Saipan.
''We talked about an hour, but not so much about his past crimes,'' Yoshida said. ''Naturally, he expressed hopes to see his family, and was very anxious to know what may happen to him.''
The 1981 shooting caused an international uproar, in part because Miura blamed the attack on robbers, reinforcing Japanese perceptions of America as violent.
''I think U.S. investigators have all along believed that they can make the case with the evidence they had already collected,'' Tsutomu Sakaguchi, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigator at the time of the shooting, told TV Asahi in an interview Sunday. ''If they have a new evidence, that could be a decisive step.''
The victim's mother said Sunday that she never gave up hope that the case would be resolved.
''I burned incense for my daughter and prayed at a family Buddhist altar, telling her that Americans will put an end to the case, so let's hold onto our hopes and wait,'' Yasuko Sasaki told Japan's public broadcaster NHK. (With NYT)
Miura can't understand arrest by U.S. police after his acquittal in Japan
February 24, 2008
SAIPAN — Kazuyoshi Miura, a Japanese businessman who has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife in Los Angeles 27 years ago, expressed his dismay at his unexpected detention Saturday in Saipan when he met a Japanese Consulate official Sunday, the diplomat said.
While the Los Angeles Police Department is preparing to transfer Miura to California soon, Miura plans to announce on Monday morning through his lawyer what action he plans to take, Japanese Consul in Saipan Kenji Yazawa said.
"I don't understand why I had to be arrested when my acquittal has been finalized in Japan," Miura was quoted by Yazawa as telling him when they met at a U.S. detention facility.
In 2003, the Japanese Supreme Court acquitted Miura of the fatal shooting of his wife Kazumi in Los Angeles in 1981.
According to Yazawa, Miura seemed to be baffled by his detention, saying, "I have been to Saipan before. Why now?...I want to see my family no matter what happens."
Meanwhile, the LAPD is making arrangements to transfer Miura to Los Angeles from Saipan, a commonwealth territory of the United States, sources with U.S. authorities said.
Miura was taken into custody Friday at Saipan airport when he showed his passport at immigration prior to leaving for Narita airport near Tokyo.
It remains to be seen whether U.S. authorities put Miura on trial, but according to Japanese investigative authorities in Tokyo, U.S. investigators told them the arrest was made on the basis of "fresh evidence."
Miura was at the center of heavy media coverage throughout the 1980s after Kazumi was shot in the head in November 1981 and died about a year later. Miura himself also sustained serious injuries when Kazumi was shot.
In 1985, Japanese police arrested Miura, along with a former actress, on suspicion of attempted murder for insurance money in connection with an earlier assault on his wife in August of 1981.
In 1988, Miura and another man were arrested over her death in the November incident.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Miura in 1994 to life in prison for murder, ruling that the actual perpetrator of the shooting was a third unidentified person.
But the Tokyo High Court acquitted him of murder four years later, saying no light was shed in court about his alleged conspiracy with an accomplice as well as about the perpetrator of the shooting. That high court decision was allowed to stand by the Supreme Court in 2003.
In 1998, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against a sentence of six years in prison imposed for attempted murder in the earlier assault case. Miura was released in January 2001.
While he was fighting his cases in court, he lodged several hundred libel suits seeking damages from newspaper publishers, news agencies, TV broadcasters and magazine publishers. He won many of those suits.
© 2008 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.
SAIPAN — Kazuyoshi Miura, a Japanese businessman who has been arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife in Los Angeles 27 years ago, expressed his dismay at his unexpected detention Saturday in Saipan when he met a Japanese Consulate official Sunday, the diplomat said.
While the Los Angeles Police Department is preparing to transfer Miura to California soon, Miura plans to announce on Monday morning through his lawyer what action he plans to take, Japanese Consul in Saipan Kenji Yazawa said.
"I don't understand why I had to be arrested when my acquittal has been finalized in Japan," Miura was quoted by Yazawa as telling him when they met at a U.S. detention facility.
In 2003, the Japanese Supreme Court acquitted Miura of the fatal shooting of his wife Kazumi in Los Angeles in 1981.
According to Yazawa, Miura seemed to be baffled by his detention, saying, "I have been to Saipan before. Why now?...I want to see my family no matter what happens."
Meanwhile, the LAPD is making arrangements to transfer Miura to Los Angeles from Saipan, a commonwealth territory of the United States, sources with U.S. authorities said.
Miura was taken into custody Friday at Saipan airport when he showed his passport at immigration prior to leaving for Narita airport near Tokyo.
It remains to be seen whether U.S. authorities put Miura on trial, but according to Japanese investigative authorities in Tokyo, U.S. investigators told them the arrest was made on the basis of "fresh evidence."
Miura was at the center of heavy media coverage throughout the 1980s after Kazumi was shot in the head in November 1981 and died about a year later. Miura himself also sustained serious injuries when Kazumi was shot.
In 1985, Japanese police arrested Miura, along with a former actress, on suspicion of attempted murder for insurance money in connection with an earlier assault on his wife in August of 1981.
In 1988, Miura and another man were arrested over her death in the November incident.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced Miura in 1994 to life in prison for murder, ruling that the actual perpetrator of the shooting was a third unidentified person.
But the Tokyo High Court acquitted him of murder four years later, saying no light was shed in court about his alleged conspiracy with an accomplice as well as about the perpetrator of the shooting. That high court decision was allowed to stand by the Supreme Court in 2003.
In 1998, the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal against a sentence of six years in prison imposed for attempted murder in the earlier assault case. Miura was released in January 2001.
While he was fighting his cases in court, he lodged several hundred libel suits seeking damages from newspaper publishers, news agencies, TV broadcasters and magazine publishers. He won many of those suits.
© 2008 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Komura dismisses call for reviewing accord on U.S. forces
Kyodo News
Feb 15, 2008
TOKYO — Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura on Friday dismissed calls for a fundamental review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement in the wake of an alleged rape by a U.S. Marine, saying it would be difficult for Japan to press further due to "global standards."
Noting that the United States has similar agreements with South Korea and other countries where its forces are stationed, Komura said, "And it is only in Japan that there is an operational arrangement where the U.S. military will hand over a suspect even prior to indictment in the case of heinous crimes.
So from the U.S. point of view, Japan is already one rank above the global standard. The latest incident was an awful one, but can Japan diplomatically demand more revisions because of this?"
Feb 15, 2008
TOKYO — Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura on Friday dismissed calls for a fundamental review of the Japan-U.S. Status of Forces Agreement in the wake of an alleged rape by a U.S. Marine, saying it would be difficult for Japan to press further due to "global standards."
Noting that the United States has similar agreements with South Korea and other countries where its forces are stationed, Komura said, "And it is only in Japan that there is an operational arrangement where the U.S. military will hand over a suspect even prior to indictment in the case of heinous crimes.
So from the U.S. point of view, Japan is already one rank above the global standard. The latest incident was an awful one, but can Japan diplomatically demand more revisions because of this?"
U.S. military charges 4 Marines with gang raping woman
Kyodo News
Feb 15, 2008
HIROSHIMA — Four U.S. Marines have been charged with gang raping a Japanese woman last October in violation of the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, the U.S. Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture said Thursday.
While the U.S. military is in the process of deciding whether to court martial the four, who belong to the Iwakuni station, Japanese prosecutors dropped gang-rape charges against them in November.
The Iwakuni station said the U.S. military pressed charges against the four men in December for sexually assaulting the woman, stealing cash from her and disobeying orders.
The 20-year-old woman told a preliminary hearing at the Iwakuni station on Thursday that she had been raped by the four men, aged between 20 and 39.
The hearing is being held to determine whether the four will be tried by court martial. It will continue Friday.
The woman said that although she had agreed to have sex with one of the four, the other three joined in and she was raped by all four men.
Asked why she did not tell the police about consenting to sex with one of the four, she said, "I was ashamed of behaving so rashly."
The woman said that after the four men gang raped her, they threw her bag, shoes and other belongings away and stole almost all of the 12,000 yen she had in her wallet.
Earlier, Hiroshima prefectural police investigated the case on suspicion that the four forced the woman into a car, raped her and stole cash from her purse in the city of Hiroshima in the early hours of Oct 14.
But the police did not arrest the four because of some inconsistencies in the case. Instead they decided to send their investigative reports to prosecutors in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In November, the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict them.
Feb 15, 2008
HIROSHIMA — Four U.S. Marines have been charged with gang raping a Japanese woman last October in violation of the U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice, the U.S. Marine Corps' Iwakuni Air Station in Yamaguchi Prefecture said Thursday.
While the U.S. military is in the process of deciding whether to court martial the four, who belong to the Iwakuni station, Japanese prosecutors dropped gang-rape charges against them in November.
The Iwakuni station said the U.S. military pressed charges against the four men in December for sexually assaulting the woman, stealing cash from her and disobeying orders.
The 20-year-old woman told a preliminary hearing at the Iwakuni station on Thursday that she had been raped by the four men, aged between 20 and 39.
The hearing is being held to determine whether the four will be tried by court martial. It will continue Friday.
The woman said that although she had agreed to have sex with one of the four, the other three joined in and she was raped by all four men.
Asked why she did not tell the police about consenting to sex with one of the four, she said, "I was ashamed of behaving so rashly."
The woman said that after the four men gang raped her, they threw her bag, shoes and other belongings away and stole almost all of the 12,000 yen she had in her wallet.
Earlier, Hiroshima prefectural police investigated the case on suspicion that the four forced the woman into a car, raped her and stole cash from her purse in the city of Hiroshima in the early hours of Oct 14.
But the police did not arrest the four because of some inconsistencies in the case. Instead they decided to send their investigative reports to prosecutors in accordance with the Code of Criminal Procedure.
In November, the Hiroshima District Public Prosecutors Office decided not to indict them.
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