MILESTONES
Railway fans flocked to Tokyo station to witness the initial runs of the new 300kph E5 Series Hayabusa bullet train. Someone even bid ¥385,000 for a ticket.
A young woman received a kidney from her brain-dead mom, the first case of a family member being prioritized since Japan revised its organ transplant law last year.
Peace-loving no more: lawmakers say they are rethinking Japan’s long-standing ban on the export of “weapons and related technologies.”
Takuya Kagata has taken sumo wrestling to the beaches of Japan as executive director of the Nippon Beach Sumo Association.
Fagiano Okayama defender Ryujiro Ueda scored what is thought to be a world-record 58.6-meter goal with a header during a J. League second division soccer match against Yokohama FC.
It’s official-Guinness World Records has declared the 634m-tall Tokyo Sky Tree the world’s tallest tower, supplanting the 600m Guangzhou Tower in China.
POLITICS PAYS
Former Japan PM Yukio Hatoyama received a ¥130 million refund on the ¥610 million he paid in taxes after receiving gifts from his mom.After taking heat for accepting a ¥1.04 million donation from a South Korean expat, Prime Minister Naoto Kan agreed to return the money. Political contributions from foreigners are a no-no in Japan.
After being informed that his ¥17.74 million personal net worth is the lowest among all prime ministers since 1984 financial disclosure laws, Yoshihiko Noda told reporters, “I cannot do anything about the figure.”
When questioned about her ownership of 1,500 shares of TEPCO stock, newly installed health minister Yoko Komiyama said she inherited them from her father and, anyway, she “has nothing to do with TEPCO.”
FURRY FRIENDS
An 11-year-old cat that “works” as the stationmaster of Kishi station in Wakayama made its TV debut in a commercial for Korean Air.
A nasty monkey named Lucky, who bit more than 100 folks in Shizuoka last fall, escaped house arrest at a park in Mishima.
Vets examining the preserved innards of loyal dog Hachiko have determined that the mutt died of cancer, not from swallowing a chicken skewer, as originally thought.
The first day of a deer cull operation at a mountain forest in Hokkaido turned out a complete failure, despite the involvement of “40 SDF members, two helicopters and 19 vehicles, as well as 35 hunters and 45 [local] officials.”
Need proof that Japan is cat crazy? A virtual town elected a cat as mayor.
The Yakuza?
Assault
DPJ may OK three new bullet-train sections
Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011 Kyodo
The Democratic Party of Japan-led government may announce as early as next week plans to construct three more bullet-train segments, DPJ members said.
The sections are between Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, on the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line; Hakodate and Sapporo on the Hokkaido Shinkansen Line; and Isahaya and Nagasaki in Nagasaki Prefecture on the Kyushu Shinkansen Line’s Nagasaki branch, for which planning dates back to 1973.Actual construction is expected to start in early 2012 or later.
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