Mainichi :: Wednesday, April 22, 2009

• 2 MSDF officers indicted over fatal destroyer-fishing boat collision
  Two Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) officers have been indicted in connection with the fatal collision between the MSDF destroyer Atago and a fishing boat in February 2008. continued ...


• Chiba mayor arrested for taking bribes
  The mayor of Chiba was arrested on suspicion of receiving 1 million yen in bribes over a public works project, police said on Wednesday. continued ...


• Lawmakers visit Yasukuni Shrine for spring festival after Aso gives offering
  More than 80 lawmakers visited Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine in line with a spring festival on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Taro Aso presented an offering to the shrine, drawing an expression of concern from China. continued ...


• Chiba mayor faces arrest for taking bribes
  The mayor of Chiba faces arrest on suspicion of receiving 1 million yen in bribes over a public works project, police said on Wednesday. continued ...


• Japan's exports dive 46 percent in March
  TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's exports continued to slump in March, hit by declining shipments of autos and electronics, underlining a grim outlook for the world's second-largest economy as it struggles to climb out of recession. continued ...


• Gov't to revise down expected real GDP rate to minus 3 percent
  The government is set to revise downward the nation's expected real GDP growth rate for fiscal 2009 to a record low of around minus 3 percent amid the sharp economic slowdown, it has been learned. continued ...


• Japan posts first annual trade deficit in 28 years
  TOKYO (AP) -- Japan reported Wednesday its first annual trade deficit in 28 years.
  The deficit for the fiscal year that ended in March was 725.3 billion yen ($7.35 billion), the Finance Ministry said. Total exports fell by 16.4 percent, while imports dipped 4.1 percent, the ministry said. continued ...