The Sankei worries (Japanese) about an implication of the government's new child allowance proposal. They point out that some foreigners working in Japan will be able to claim an allowance for their children even if the kids are currently living overseas. Conversely, Japanese parents working overseas won't be able to claim for their children. Norihisa Tamura of the LDP came up with a possible scenario:

「仮に、アラブの王様のお子さんが日本で稼いで、向こ う（母国）に５０人の子供がいれば、その５０人が支給 対象になるという問題を含んでいる」

"If an Arab prince with 50 children back home earned money in Japan then we'd end up paying for those 50 kids"

The Sankei concurs that foreign polygamy could become a drain on Japan's finances but also raises concerns about the risk of fake claims or even the possibility that foreigners would rush to adopt children overseas in order to claim the allowance. The paper concedes that the regulations were the same under the previous administrations from 1981 but cites LDP member Katsuei Hirasawa's concern that the sums involved in the DPJ plan are so much greater that abuse is much more likely. They hope that Hatoyama will settle this issue before any legislation is passed.

TOKYO – Japan confirmed Tuesday secret Cold War-era pacts with Washington that tacitly allowed nuclear warships in Japanese ports in violation of a hallowed postwar principle, effectively acknowledging that previous governments had lied about them for decades.

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TY KU White Sake

Handmade using traditional Japanese brewing techniques and the finest ingredients ― pristine water sourced from the Oirase River in Northern Japan, Yamada Nishiki rice, handmade koji, and proprietary yeast strains ― TY KU White ($150) is a high-end, Daiginjo-rated sake that's sure to liven up your next sushi dinner. Brewing of the White stuff is overseen by legendary sakemaster Yoishio Koizumi, and its small batch nature combined with its striking, sleek white bottle make it a great gift, as well, whether it's for a friend, family member, or angry Yakuza.

http://www.trytyku.com/tyku08/new_w.html

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Business Week: Fujitsu Falls After Reason for Nozoe’s Exit Revised
Fujitsu Ltd. fell in Tokyo after the company said it asked former President Kuniaki Nozoe to resign for his links to a firm with an “unfavorable reputation,” revising an earlier statement he quit for health reasons...Fujitsu also removed Nozoe, 62, as an adviser, it said in a statement March 6, a day after the Asahi newspaper reported the former president was seeking reinstatement because the company in September gave false reasons for his resignation. Etsuro Yamada, a Tokyo-based spokesman at Fujitsu, confirmed on March 5 the company had received a letter from Nozoe’s lawyer requesting the resignation be reversed and declined to comment further...The Tokyo Stock Exchange asked Fujitsu for clarification after it changed the stated reason for Nozoe’s resignation...While there is no suggestion of illegality, the TSE has rules on timely disclosure, Mimura said. The penalties for a violation are either a verbal warning, or an order to submit a written report on how to improve compliance with exchange rules...more...

A Sweet Century
The Little Tokyo Bakery Mikawaya Celebrates 100 Years
by Richard Guzmán


Frances Hashimoto has been running Mikawaya since 1970. Her family bought the Little Tokyo business in 1910. Photo by Gary Leonard.


Published: Friday, March 5, 2010
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES - Frances Hashimoto jumps out of her chair when a few of her longtime customers walk in. She hugs them, says a few words in Japanese, and they go off to buy some sweets.

The scene repeats a few minutes later when George Takei enters the shop in Japanese Village Plaza. She hugs the actor, best known for his role as Sulu in “Star Trek” but a champion of Little Tokyo for decades. She hugs him and leads him to the back of the store where he peruses some colorful confections in a glass case.

Meanwhile, a young couple sits at a nearby table, ready to try the store’s specialty for the first time.

It’s a typical day at Mikawaya, the Little Tokyo-based bakery and ice cream empire that is celebrating 100 years in business this month. In its century long history, it has become a community gathering place, and is famous for inventing a quirky but popular ice cream treat.

“We’ve been very lucky to be part of this community for so long,” said Hashimoto, the president and CEO of Mikawaya.

Her family bought the bakery in 1910 and, after taking over 40 years ago, Hashimoto now runs the $13 million-a-year business. The operations include five retail stores, one of them in Honolulu, as well as a 10,000-square-foot warehouse and bakery on Fourth Street in Downtown and a recently opened 100,000-square-foot facility in Vernon where they manufacture ice cream.

But it’s the loyal customers who keep the flagship space in Japanese Village Plaza thriving.

“I’ve been a customer here ever since I’ve been a kid,” Takei said, holding up a bag of pastries he had just purchased.

Takei will host a 100th birthday party for the store on Monday, March 8.

http://www.ladowntownnews.com/articl...a040951010.txt

BBC: Sumo wrestler 'steals cash machine from Moscow shop
A man believed to be a sumo wrestler ripped out a cash machine weighing 90kg and made off with it on his shoulders, police in Moscow report. The suspect and an accomplice were arrested after being stopped in a BMW with tinted windows which they were driving without number-plates. The machine containing 25,320 roubles ($850) was found in the car. Police say the accomplice tried to take the blame for the robbery, saying he had misled his sumo-wrestler friend. They were alerted to the incident by a saleswoman, who said the suspects had walked into her shop in northern Moscow at 6:00am and begun ripping out the electronic payment machine without a word. When she tried to protest, one of the suspects allegedly yelled at her: "Be quiet if you know what's good for you!" The frightened woman waited until the two men had left before phoning police, who dispatched two officers to Marshal Fedorenko Street where they blocked the BMW. The man who allegedly carried the cash machine said he was a "professional sumo wrestler". "The second rascal says it is his fault entirely and makes out that he misled his sumo-friend, telling him he was taking away his own machine," Moscow police's press service added. Police said both suspects were from a "neighbouring country" but were registered as living in the Moscow area.

Kyodo via Japan today: Princess Aiko unable to go to school after being bullied by boys
Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, has been reluctant to attend school since Monday after being ‘‘treated harshly’’ by boys in her grade, an official of the Imperial Household Agency said Friday. The 8-year-old princess has been complaining of strong anxiety and stomach ache, said Issei Nomura, the top aide to the crown prince and princess. Princess Aiko, a granddaughter of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, is a second grader at Gakushuin Primary School in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward. Nomura, grand master of the crown prince’s household, told a regular news conference that the princess attended school Tuesday but left school early. She has since been absent from school. The school has found that a group of boys had dealt rowdily with several of their school mates, including Princess Aiko, Nomura said, adding that the palace has asked the school to address the matter. He also said the palace has obtained consent from the school to publicize the princess’s situation. At a separate press conference, Motomasa Higashisono, a senior director of the Gakushuin School Corporation that runs a range of schools from kindergarten to university, said the princess ‘‘got scared Tuesday when she went by a boy who dashed out of a classroom". "It must have reminded her of the rowdy behavior of several boys in the past, who may have thrown things, and made her uneasy,’’ Higashisono said.

Yomiuri: Agency proposes staggering Golden Week by region
The Golden Week holiday period is meant to be a time to kick back and enjoy the balmy late-spring weather, but it often ends up being an ordeal for vacationers stuck in interminable tailbacks on clogged roads at the beginning and end of the holiday. Aiming to remedy the situation, the Japan Tourism Agency has come up with the idea of setting different holiday periods for each region. The agency is considering revising the Law on National Holidays to allow the staggering of Golden Week and a similar period in autumn from 2012 or later to prevent tourist spots from becoming jam-packed and to reduce the incidence of traffic jams on expressways. The agency proposed the plan to schedule the major holiday periods in spring and autumn into five stretches at a meeting of the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry's Tourism Nation Promotion Headquarters on Wednesday...more...

Chinese children must get fit - for war
Mar 4, 2010 12:29 PM | Reuters
China must urgently address the physical fitness of the nation’s youth or run the risk of raising a generation incapable of fighting the Japanese in a future war, the head of the country’s top sports university said on Thursday.
The government must immediately invest some of its new wealth in ensuring that children take regular exercise...[Beijing Sports University president Yang Hua continued]“If there was another war against Japan, would the younger Chinese be able to fight the Japanese one-on-one?...more...