Asahi :: Thursday, September 24, 2009

• Minister says 'anime hall of fame' a no-go (9/24)
  BY MANABU AOIKE, THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  Culture minister Tatsuo Kawabata on Tuesday scuttled plans for an 11.7-billion yen "anime hall of fame" floated by the previous government led by avowed manga fan Taro Aso. continued ...


• Icy reception for Maehara at dam site (9/24)
  THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  NAGANOHARA, Gunma Prefecture --Residents living near the Yanba Dam construction site on Wednesday boycotted a visit by land minister Seiji Maehara, who apologized to local officials for the government's plan to scrap the project. continued ...


• Hatoyama builds 'ties of trust' with Obama (9/24)
  NEW YORK--Sidestepping the potentially sticky issues of Japan's role in the war against terror and U.S. military realignment, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed Wednesday to strengthen their countries' alliance. continued ...


• Miyuki Hatoyama talks to students (9/24)
  THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  NEW YORK--While her husband spoke about saving the environment at the United Nations on Tuesday, Miyuki Hatoyama, the wife of the new prime minister, made her own diplomatic debut of sorts here.
  During a visit to a Japanese school in Greenwich, Connecticut, the former singer-actress in the Takarazuka all-women revue sang the school song with students. In the lyrics, she spotted the word yuai, which means fraternity and is Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's motto.
  "Sharing other people's and your friends' happiness and sorrows as if they were your own, that's the spirit of yuai," Hatoyama said.
  Later, she visited New York University to observe its music therapy program and tried her hand at an instrument.(IHT/Asahi: September 24,2009)
  continued ...


• Tokyo urged to go on with refueling (9/24)
  THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  NEW YORK--Britain's Foreign Secretary David Miliband urged Tokyo on Tuesday to reconsider its plan to discontinue the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling activities in the Indian Ocean. continued ...


• Hatoyama puts CO2 onus on rich (9/24)
  BY TOMOHISA YAMAGUCHI,THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
  NEW YORK--Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Tuesday repeated his bold emissions reduction target and laid out a new initiative to help developing nations meet their environmental goals before an international audience at the United Nations. continued ...


• EDITORIAL: Hatoyama makes his diplomatic debut (9/24)
  The administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has made its diplomatic debut in the United States. The first person Hatoyama met with upon his arrival in New York was Chinese President Hu Jintao. continued ...


• EDITORIAL: Blueprint needed for local autonomy (9/24)
  A day-care center for preschoolers in the Ushio district of Daito-cho, a town in the mountains in Unnan, Shimane Prefecture, embodies the spirit of local autonomy. This is due to the efforts of the community there. continued ...