[TODAY'S TOP STORIES] from [The Japan Times]
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
DPJ to admit existence of secret nuke pact
Foreign Ministry to reveal details of U.S. deal on nuclear stopovers
Kyodo News
The Foreign Ministry has decided to admit the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, ministry sources said Saturday.
During its in-house probe, the ministry found documents suggesting the existence of the secret nuclear agreement, according to the sources.
Previous governments led by the Liberal Democratic Party consistently denied the existence of the secret nuclear pact, but the new Democratic Party of Japan-led administration is to officially change that stance.
"The probe is now in the final stage, and we will announce the outcome in January," Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Saturday, although he declined to reveal details.
A third-party committee consisting of experts will be set up this week and will analyze the findings, according to the ministry.
According to the 1960 bilateral security treaty, Washington is required to consult with Tokyo before bringing nuclear weapons into Japan. However, the ministry has determined the documents indicate that stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft with nuclear weapons are not subject to prior consultation, the sources said.
The documents have already been disclosed in the United States.
The in-house probe has been conducted under the instruction of Okada, who, after assuming his post in September, ordered the ministry to look into purported bilateral secret pacts — two related to the revision of the security treaty and two related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty from U.S. control.
An investigation task force which consisted of around 15 ministry officials has looked into some 3,200 in-house documents and 3,700 documents from the Japanese Embassy in Washington since Sept. 25.
LDP governments had always denied the existence of the secret nuclear pact, arguing that as they had never faced demands for prior consultations, they had to conclude that nuclear weapons had not been brought into Japan.
While consistently denying the clandestine deal with Washington, Tokyo repeatedly stated it was sticking to its three nonnuclear principles of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory.
Meanwhile, a former vice foreign minister recently revealed he has seen minutes from 1960 that outline a secret Japan-U.S. pact, under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons.
"I saw them. I remember we looked into them after something happened," the former top official, who served in key Foreign Ministry posts in the 1980s and 1990s, said on condition of anonymity.
The ex-official added he does not remember the exact incident that led him to view the minutes.
The minutes from Jan. 6, 1960, signed by then Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama and then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II have not been found in the Foreign Ministry's probe aimed at confirming the pact's existence, a source close to the ministry said.
There is unconfirmed information that documents pertaining to the pact were discarded when a law on the disclosure of administrative information came into force in April 2001.
However, the minutes in question are kept by the U.S. government, according to declassified U.S. documents.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
No quick Futenma decision: Hatoyama
Prime minister, Okada at odds over timing
Kyodo News
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday he is not ready to reach a conclusion by the end of the year on the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.
"I'm not yet at that stage," Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo, referring to a media report that he is expected to come to a conclusion by yearend.
Hatoyama's comment came after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Saturday reiterated his hope that the government will reach a decision by the end of the year on Futenma's relocation.
"It is desirable to reach a conclusion by the end of December" in light of the compilation of the fiscal 2010 state budget, Okada said in a speech in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.
Okada acknowledged that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama does not entirely share his view, but added, "Our views are not so different."
Hatoyama said Friday he is speaking with the ministers concerned to work out Japan's position on the issue involving Futenma air station, which is straining ties between Tokyo and Washington. He suggested that he would basically abide by discussions held by a Japan-U.S. high-level working group set up to examine the matter.
Hatoyama told reporters after meeting with Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa that he is keenly aware of the need to find a speedy solution to the base's relocation and that the government "must recognize the extreme suffering" of Okinawans.
However, the prime minister has not clearly indicated the timing for his final decision on the matter.
Okada, who recently visited Okinawa, has proposed consolidating the Futenma facility with the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base. However, the idea has run into opposition from both the United States and local governments that host the base.
A government official said the foreign minister is therefore starting to seriously consider a settlement centering on the existing plan.
Under a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord, following years of negotiations, the Futenma functions are to be relocated from downtown Ginowan to the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab in the less densely populated area of Nago in northern Okinawa, by 2014. The plan involves the construction of two runways in the coastal area of Camp Schwab.
As a condition for implementing the 2006 bilateral accord, the Defense Ministry has proposed that some drills conducted by F-15 fighters from the Kadena air base in central Okinawa should be transferred out of the prefecture, and the prime minister has been examining the plan, according to government sources.
In Okinawa, calls have been growing for Futenma's flight operations to be transferred out of the prefecture.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said Friday it would become "extremely difficult" to move the Futenma facility to Nago, as agreed in the 2006 accord, if an opponent of the plan wins the Nago mayoral election next January.
Incumbent Yoshikazu Shimabukuro has adopted a similar position to Nakaima and conditionally accepts the relocation. However, former local education board head Susumu Inamine, who is opposed to the transfer of the Futenma functions to Nago, is planning to run against the mayor.
Hatoyama eyes trips
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is planning to make several overseas trips next month, including one to India on Dec. 29-30 for a summit with his Indian counterpart and another to Indonesia to attend a democracy forum, government sources said Friday.
The prime minister is trying to arrange the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for talks possibly covering an economic partnership agreement and measures against global warming and terrorism, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Friday that arrangements are being made for Hatoyama to attend a U.N. climate change conference, known as the COP15, in Copenhagen on Dec. 18.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
Early-bird Uniqlo sale celebrates founding
Kyodo News
The Uniqlo chain held an early-morning sale at about 400 stores Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of its operator, with more than 2,000 people lining up before dawn outside its flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district.
More than half of Uniqlo's domestic stores, which are operated by Fast Retailing Co., took part in the early-morning sale that started at 6 a.m.
"Ampan" sweet bean-paste buns and milk were served to the first 100 people visiting the sale at stores nationwide, in a nod to the opening of Uniqlo's first shop in Hiroshima in 1984 when customers were served breakfast.
Some products at the stores were subject to price cuts in a limited quantity, with the price of a pair of men's socks cut to 10 and the price of Heat Tech thermal inner wear reduced to 600 from 1,500.
The Uniqlo chain also began a lottery in which customers receive one ticket for each 5,000 worth of products bought. A total of 100,000 winning tickets will be issued, each worth 10,000.
"I began to line up at 11:30 p.m. Friday, wearing Uniqlo underwear to prevent the cold," said Sho Miyazaki, 19, a company worker in Tokyo who was first in line at the Ginza store. "I want to buy as much as 5,000 worth of products."
In 1949, Hitoshi Yanai, father of Fast Retailing President and Uniqlo chief Tadashi Yanai, started selling men's clothing when he founded Men's Shop Ogori Shoji in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Tadashi Yanai assumed the company's helm in 1984 and eventually changed the firm's name to Fast Retailing in 1991.
Fast Retailing logged record-high group sales and operating profit for the business year to Aug. 31, with the low-priced Uniqlo casual wear chain enjoying brisk sales as consumers seek out bargains amid the recession.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
DPJ to admit existence of secret nuke pact
Foreign Ministry to reveal details of U.S. deal on nuclear stopovers
Kyodo News
The Foreign Ministry has decided to admit the existence of a secret Japan-U.S. pact under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons, ministry sources said Saturday.
During its in-house probe, the ministry found documents suggesting the existence of the secret nuclear agreement, according to the sources.
Previous governments led by the Liberal Democratic Party consistently denied the existence of the secret nuclear pact, but the new Democratic Party of Japan-led administration is to officially change that stance.
"The probe is now in the final stage, and we will announce the outcome in January," Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said Saturday, although he declined to reveal details.
A third-party committee consisting of experts will be set up this week and will analyze the findings, according to the ministry.
According to the 1960 bilateral security treaty, Washington is required to consult with Tokyo before bringing nuclear weapons into Japan. However, the ministry has determined the documents indicate that stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft with nuclear weapons are not subject to prior consultation, the sources said.
The documents have already been disclosed in the United States.
The in-house probe has been conducted under the instruction of Okada, who, after assuming his post in September, ordered the ministry to look into purported bilateral secret pacts — two related to the revision of the security treaty and two related to the 1972 reversion of Okinawa to Japanese sovereignty from U.S. control.
An investigation task force which consisted of around 15 ministry officials has looked into some 3,200 in-house documents and 3,700 documents from the Japanese Embassy in Washington since Sept. 25.
LDP governments had always denied the existence of the secret nuclear pact, arguing that as they had never faced demands for prior consultations, they had to conclude that nuclear weapons had not been brought into Japan.
While consistently denying the clandestine deal with Washington, Tokyo repeatedly stated it was sticking to its three nonnuclear principles of not possessing, producing or allowing nuclear weapons on its territory.
Meanwhile, a former vice foreign minister recently revealed he has seen minutes from 1960 that outline a secret Japan-U.S. pact, under which Tokyo allows stopovers of U.S. military vessels or aircraft carrying nuclear weapons.
"I saw them. I remember we looked into them after something happened," the former top official, who served in key Foreign Ministry posts in the 1980s and 1990s, said on condition of anonymity.
The ex-official added he does not remember the exact incident that led him to view the minutes.
The minutes from Jan. 6, 1960, signed by then Foreign Minister Aiichiro Fujiyama and then U.S. Ambassador to Japan Douglas MacArthur II have not been found in the Foreign Ministry's probe aimed at confirming the pact's existence, a source close to the ministry said.
There is unconfirmed information that documents pertaining to the pact were discarded when a law on the disclosure of administrative information came into force in April 2001.
However, the minutes in question are kept by the U.S. government, according to declassified U.S. documents.
[NATIONAL NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
No quick Futenma decision: Hatoyama
Prime minister, Okada at odds over timing
Kyodo News
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Saturday he is not ready to reach a conclusion by the end of the year on the relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.
"I'm not yet at that stage," Hatoyama told reporters in Tokyo, referring to a media report that he is expected to come to a conclusion by yearend.
Hatoyama's comment came after Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Saturday reiterated his hope that the government will reach a decision by the end of the year on Futenma's relocation.
"It is desirable to reach a conclusion by the end of December" in light of the compilation of the fiscal 2010 state budget, Okada said in a speech in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.
Okada acknowledged that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama does not entirely share his view, but added, "Our views are not so different."
Hatoyama said Friday he is speaking with the ministers concerned to work out Japan's position on the issue involving Futenma air station, which is straining ties between Tokyo and Washington. He suggested that he would basically abide by discussions held by a Japan-U.S. high-level working group set up to examine the matter.
Hatoyama told reporters after meeting with Okada and Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa that he is keenly aware of the need to find a speedy solution to the base's relocation and that the government "must recognize the extreme suffering" of Okinawans.
However, the prime minister has not clearly indicated the timing for his final decision on the matter.
Okada, who recently visited Okinawa, has proposed consolidating the Futenma facility with the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base. However, the idea has run into opposition from both the United States and local governments that host the base.
A government official said the foreign minister is therefore starting to seriously consider a settlement centering on the existing plan.
Under a 2006 Japan-U.S. accord, following years of negotiations, the Futenma functions are to be relocated from downtown Ginowan to the U.S. Marine Corps Camp Schwab in the less densely populated area of Nago in northern Okinawa, by 2014. The plan involves the construction of two runways in the coastal area of Camp Schwab.
As a condition for implementing the 2006 bilateral accord, the Defense Ministry has proposed that some drills conducted by F-15 fighters from the Kadena air base in central Okinawa should be transferred out of the prefecture, and the prime minister has been examining the plan, according to government sources.
In Okinawa, calls have been growing for Futenma's flight operations to be transferred out of the prefecture.
Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima said Friday it would become "extremely difficult" to move the Futenma facility to Nago, as agreed in the 2006 accord, if an opponent of the plan wins the Nago mayoral election next January.
Incumbent Yoshikazu Shimabukuro has adopted a similar position to Nakaima and conditionally accepts the relocation. However, former local education board head Susumu Inamine, who is opposed to the transfer of the Futenma functions to Nago, is planning to run against the mayor.
Hatoyama eyes trips
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is planning to make several overseas trips next month, including one to India on Dec. 29-30 for a summit with his Indian counterpart and another to Indonesia to attend a democracy forum, government sources said Friday.
The prime minister is trying to arrange the meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for talks possibly covering an economic partnership agreement and measures against global warming and terrorism, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said Friday that arrangements are being made for Hatoyama to attend a U.N. climate change conference, known as the COP15, in Copenhagen on Dec. 18.
[BUSINESS NEWS]
Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009
Early-bird Uniqlo sale celebrates founding
Kyodo News
The Uniqlo chain held an early-morning sale at about 400 stores Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of its operator, with more than 2,000 people lining up before dawn outside its flagship store in Tokyo's Ginza district.
More than half of Uniqlo's domestic stores, which are operated by Fast Retailing Co., took part in the early-morning sale that started at 6 a.m.
"Ampan" sweet bean-paste buns and milk were served to the first 100 people visiting the sale at stores nationwide, in a nod to the opening of Uniqlo's first shop in Hiroshima in 1984 when customers were served breakfast.
Some products at the stores were subject to price cuts in a limited quantity, with the price of a pair of men's socks cut to 10 and the price of Heat Tech thermal inner wear reduced to 600 from 1,500.
The Uniqlo chain also began a lottery in which customers receive one ticket for each 5,000 worth of products bought. A total of 100,000 winning tickets will be issued, each worth 10,000.
"I began to line up at 11:30 p.m. Friday, wearing Uniqlo underwear to prevent the cold," said Sho Miyazaki, 19, a company worker in Tokyo who was first in line at the Ginza store. "I want to buy as much as 5,000 worth of products."
In 1949, Hitoshi Yanai, father of Fast Retailing President and Uniqlo chief Tadashi Yanai, started selling men's clothing when he founded Men's Shop Ogori Shoji in Ube, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
Tadashi Yanai assumed the company's helm in 1984 and eventually changed the firm's name to Fast Retailing in 1991.
Fast Retailing logged record-high group sales and operating profit for the business year to Aug. 31, with the low-priced Uniqlo casual wear chain enjoying brisk sales as consumers seek out bargains amid the recession.
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