Govt looks to buy Senkakus / Noda says talks with islands' owner have already begun
News On Japan via Yomiuri -- Jul 09
The government has decided to purchase the Senkaku Islands in Okinawa Prefecture and has already begun negotiations with the islands' owner, it was learned Saturday.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announced the plan to reporters Saturday morning.
The government has informed Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara, who has been proceeding with an independent plan for the Tokyo metropolitan government to purchase the islands, of the state's intention to nationalize the Senkakus, Noda said.
Ishihara confirmed Saturday that the central government had told him of its plan to buy the Senkaku Islands.
Three of the five Senkaku islands would be purchased under the government's plan. They are Uotsurijima, Minami-kojima and Kita-kojima, which are owned by a man from Saitama Prefecture, officials accompanying the prime minister said.
A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today )
China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters )
Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today )
Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter)
Six sailors were found dead after a fire on a foreign freighter docked at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
The sailors are presumed to be Russians. (NHK )
Police on Friday said that a real estate company employee was stabbed by an unknown assailant in the lobby of an office building near JR Akihabara station. The man is currently in a serious condition in hospital. (Japan Today )