Daily Yomiuri Online :: Monday, April 27, 2009

• Govt to provide 4 bil. yen for antipiracy efforts (Apr.27)
  The government is likely to incorporate about 4 billion yen into the fiscal 2009 supplementary budget, which is to be endorsed at a Cabinet meeting Monday, to fund antipiracy operations off the coast of Somalia.
  With the number of incidents in the region increasing significantly compared with last year, the government has decided to make funds available to restore safety and improve maritime security for other countries in the Gulf of Aden region. continued ...


• Kawamura wins Nagoya mayoral race (Apr.27)
  NAGOYA--Former House of Representatives member Takashi Kawamura, an independent candidate backed by the Democratic Party of Japan, won the Nagoya mayoral election Sunday.
  Kawamura, 60, in his first bid for the mayoralty, beat three other first-time independent candidates, including Masahiko Hosokawa, 54, a former head of the Chubu Bureau of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry who was backed by the Liberal Democratic Party's Aichi prefectural chapter and New Komeito's Aichi prefectural headquarters. continued ...


• U.S. said studying ground-based SM-3 missile system (Apr.27)
  WASHINGTON--The U.S. Defense Department's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) has started studying a new missile defense system capable of launching the Standard Missile-3 from the ground, it was learned Saturday.
  The SM-3 is an antiballistic missile system currently deployed on the Aegis-equipped destroyer. continued ...