THE KOREAS: S. Korea seeks U.N. measures against N. Korea in warship sinking

President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, gestures as he delivers the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

Friday, June 4, 2010; 11:45 AM

By Craig Whitlock
Washington Post staff writer

SINGAPORE -- South Korea said Friday that it has asked the U.N. Security Council to take measures against North Korea for allegedly torpedoing a warship, prompting the United States to hold off a fresh display of military force in the region.

 President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak, delivers the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his government had formally referred the matter to the Security Council but did not specify if it was seeking new sanctions against North Korea, or lesser measures.

 U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, right, shakes hands with Indonesia's Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro, left, as Malaysia's Defense Minister Zahid Hamidi, center, looks on, during the 9th Asia Security Summit on Friday, June 4, 2010 in Singapore.(AP Photo/Wong Maye-E ) (Wong Maye-e - AP)

"If we think that after a while North Korea's action will be condoned and that stability on the Korean peninsula will somehow be maintained, then we would be fooling ourselves because North Korea would once again resort back to attacking others," Lee told a gathering of Asian leaders at a security conference here.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, Korea's Minister of National Defense Kim Tae Young, shake hands before their bilateral meeting during the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

The United States has been considering new joint military exercises with South Korea as a show of force in response to the March 26 sinking of the Cheonan, in which 46 sailors were killed. Seoul has accused Pyongyang of torpedoing the vessel, causing one of the worst security crises in the region since the Korean War.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, right, speaks to Singapore's Defense Minister Teo Chee Hean at the 9th Asia Security Summit on Friday, June 4, 2010 in Singapore. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E ) (Wong Maye-e - AP)

But Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Friday that U.S. and South Korean officials had decided to give diplomacy a chance first.

"There's a desire to see what can be accomplished first at the U.N.," he told reporters after meeting in Singapore with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae Young. "What we do in terms of further exercises is still under consideration."

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, bows his head as he delivers his condolences to Korea as he sits across from Korea's Minister of National Defense, Kim Tae Young, as they participate in a bilateral meeting during the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

U.S. defense officials in Washington had said Wednesday that they were considering deploying an aircraft carrier, the George Washington, to the Yellow Sea as a warning to North Korea. In addition, Pentagon officials had previously said they were planning two major joint military exercises with South Korea to demonstrate solidarity against threats from Pyongyang.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak waits to deliver his keynote address during the opening of the 9th Asia Security Summit on Friday, June 4, 2010 in Singapore. Lee said his country has referred North Korea to the U.N. Security Council over the sinking of a warship. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E ) (Wong Maye-e - AP)

En route to Singapore on Thursday, Gates told reporters that

"some additional exercises are being discussed," but added that he was "not aware of a plan to send a carrier to the waters off of South Korea."

After meeting with his South Korean counterpart Friday, Gates said it was unclear exactly what course of action Seoul would ask the Security Council to take.

"Whatever they choose to do with the U.N., they will have the full support of the United States," he said.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak delivers his keynote address during the opening of the 9th Asia Security Summit on Friday, June 4, 2010 in Singapore. Lee said his country has referred North Korea to the U.N. Security Council over the sinking of a warship. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E ) (Wong Maye-e - AP)

South Korea's options in the Security Council are limited without the backing of China, North Korea's strongest ally. Beijing is considered unlikely to agree to new sanctions against Pyongyang, and has already disappointed Seoul by declining to accept the results of an international investigation that held North Korea responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan.

The investigation -- led by South Korea and assisted by the United States, Australia, Sweden and Britain -- concluded two weeks ago that a North Korean mini-submarine fired a North Korean-made torpedo that sank the Cheonan. Evidence clearly showed, the investigation said, that the North Korean military plotted to attack the ship.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates, right, looks to Korea's Minister of National Defense Kim Tae Young, as they participate in a bilateral meeting during the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

North Korea has denied responsibility and in turn accused Seoul and Washington of manufacturing the incident.

"Such outlandish assertions are laughable," Lee said in his speech in Singapore. "North Korea must admit its wrongdoing. It must pledge to never again engage in such reprehensible action."

President of the Republic of Korea, Lee Myung-Bak delivers the keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue's Asia Security Summit in Singapore, Friday, June 4, 2010. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, Pool) (Carolyn Kaster - AP)

North Korea as warned that "all-out war" could result if South Korea seeks to punish it for the torpedoing of the Cheonan. But Adm. Robert Willard, head of U.S. forces in the Pacific, told reporters in Singapore on Friday that there were no signs that North Korea was moving troops or preparing for hostilities.

"Right now we're not seeing indications that North Korea is intending the next provocation," Willard said. "But I think everyone in the region is watching North Korea very closely given their unpredictability."

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JAPAN: Imperial Household Agency demands publisher apologize

Jun 4 11:24 AM US/Eastern

(AP) - TOKYO, June 5 (Kyodo)—The Imperial Household Agency has asked publisher Shinchosha for an apology and correction after a weekly magazine article alleged that the agency had suggested to Princess Aiko's school that it add medication to the school meals of unruly boys to calm them down, which the agency described as a "baseless and malicious" accusation, a senior official of the agency said Friday.

Issei Nomura, grand master of the crown prince's household at the agency, told a regular press conference that the protest was lodged Thursday over an article carried in "Shukan Shincho" weekly magazine, which hit store shelves the same day.

The article claimed that the board of the crown prince's household allegedly recommended that Gakushuin Primary School mix medication for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder into the school meals of unruly boys, as the princess, a third grader, had become reluctant to go to school after encountering the rough behavior of the boys.

"The article alleges officials of the agency suggested (the school) take action in violation of laws relating to medical practitioners and pharmaceutical affairs. It is simply not possible," Nomura said.

Meanwhile, the publisher said, "We have confidence in the credibility of the article as it was written on a solid basis."

Princess Aiko, 8, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, has been attending only a limited number of classes with her mother since March, according to the agency. In March, Nomura told a regular news conference that the princess had missed school due to strong anxiety and stomachaches after being treated harshly by boys but the school quickly denied that the princess had been directly subjected to rowdy behavior. Motomasa Higashisono, a senior director of the Gakushuin School Corporation, explained shortly after Nomura's news conference that the princess was startled when a boy dashed out of a classroom and it must have reminded her of past rowdy behavior by boys.

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JAPAN: Naoto Kan to be New Prime Minister of Japan

Naoto Kan has been elected head of the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

He is now in line to become Japan's ninety-fourth prime minister later in the day.

(He received 291 votes compared to Tarutoko Shinji's 129 votes.)

JAPAN: The Wrath of Kan: Can this man clean up Japan's mess?

Kiyoshi Ota/Getty Images

JUNE 3, 2010

BY ABRAHAM M. DENMARK, DANIEL M. KLIMAN |

Should Finance Minister Naoto Kan become Japan's next prime minister on Friday, as most observers predict, it won't be the first time he will have shouldered the responsibility for cleaning up after Yukio Hatoyama. Kan succeeded him as party chairman back in 2002, when Hatoyama resigned over talks he had held with the rival party. Now, Kan seems to be swooping in again in the wake of Hatoyama's sudden resignation, hoping to limit the damage from the outgoing prime minister's disastrous nine months in power. Then as now, Kan boasts more experience in government than his predecessor and a style that could hardly be more different. His hot temper and self-made expertise might be just what Japan needs if it hopes to keep a prime minister for a period of longer than a few months.

Japan urgently needs a strong leader. Less than a year after Hatoyama and his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept away half a century of nearly unbroken rule by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in September, their coalition today looks frayed and tired. Hatoyama got bogged down in a disagreement with the United States over where to relocate Futenma, a strategically important U.S. Marine air base on Okinawa. In late May, after months of painful public dithering, he finally signed on to a 2006 agreement hammered out by the previous LDP government -- which provoked a revolt in his governing coalition and deep shock among an unprepared public. With his party in disarray and an approval rating headed for the single digits, Hatoyama resigned Wednesday, along with the DPJ's powerful party secretary, Ichiro Ozawa.

Enter Kan. He is a figure already well known to investors and analysts as the fiscal conservative who has spent the last six months trying to relieve Japan's stifling debt burden (roughly 200 percent of GDP) and reinvigorate a stagnant economy. While he has actively called for Japan to follow the path of fiscal responsibility, and pointed ominously to Greece as a direction Japan might follow if his reforms are not implemented, his short time as finance minister has not seen considerable progress in this direction.

Kan is also known as a pacifist in line with Japan's old left tradition. While serving in the Japanese legislature, he advocated a greater role for the Japanese military under the banner of the United Nations and opposed sending the country's troops to Iraq, as the United States has hoped Japan would. After meeting with Japan's then-Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in 2003, he commented, "The decision to send troops to Iraq is based on a fundamental miscalculation." Still, unlike Hatoyama, Kan is unlikely to fumble matters of foreign policy and relations with the country's most important ally, having watched and learned from the Futenma debacle.

Kan's upbringing could be a key asset. Hatoyama's entry into politics was lubricated by family connections (his father was also prime minister). Kan, on the other hand, is a rarity for Japanese politicians -- a self-made man. His path to power was neither direct nor easy. An aspiring scientist in his youth, Kan majored in physics at the Tokyo Institute of Technology and opened his own patent office in 1974. He made his political debut shortly thereafter as a civic activist and entered the Japanese parliament in 1980 as a member of the lower house. It was after exposing a massive scandal, however, that Kan truly burst onto the national scene in the 1990s, as health minister in the LDP government. HIV-tainted blood was entering the country's blood supply, and the government had been covering it up. Kan exposed the details to public acclaim.

But Kan soon faced his own series of scandals. In 1998, he resigned his post after his affair with a television newscaster went public and he simultaneously admitted that he had failed to pay into the national pension fund. Just five years later, Kan was forced to resign from his leadership of the DPJ over another failure to pay. This time, Kan made formal penance: He shaved his head, put on a Buddhist monk's robes, and traveled to the traditional pilgrimage destination of Shikoku island and its 88 temples. It worked. Japan's comeback kid, he remained a senior figure inside the DPJ and served as deputy prime minister and finance minister in the Hatoyama cabinet.

Behind the scenes in Tokyo, he is known as "Ira-Kan" or "Irritable Kan" for his quick temper (cue the Wrath of Khan jokes). He has also cultivated a reputation as a serious policymaker with a popular touch and has built good relationships with politicians both within the DPJ and across a broad ideological and geographical spectrum.

How did Kan manage to survive? Even amid the scandals, he projected an image of probity and sincerity. As China's People's Daily put it,

"In an era of bureaucrats and back room dealings, Kan's transparent politics were completely unprecedented and his honesty was enthusiastically praised by the public and the media."

That jives well with the sentiment that brought the DPJ to power in the first place -- a vow to take power back from unelected bureaucrats and shake up Japan's stultified politics.

Hatoyama made little headway on this reform agenda. But a Prime Minister Kan would require less on-the-job training, allowing him to avoid his predecessor's rookie mistakes and take on entrenched interests within the bureaucracy, while navigating the divides within his own party.

He'll need all the political savvy and strength he can muster. With the loss of its two most prominent leaders, Hatoyama and Ozawa (the real force behind the party's successful rise to power), the DPJ is in turmoil. The party's junior lawmakers -- who were largely sidelined for the past nine months -- are hungry to wield more authority in the next administration. Kan is no acolyte of Ozawa's, but he is one of the party's founders and is still a member of the old guard. The other probable contenders for prime minister -- which include Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada, Transport Minister Seiji Maehara, and chairman of the lower house's environment committee Shinji Tarutoko -- carry the banner of an eager, younger DPJ generation that is dissatisfied with the old guard's penchant for backroom negotiations. Kan is likely to prevail in the short term, but he will be harried by the next generation of lawmakers after a July upper-house election that is looking disastrous for the DPJ, and certainly at the party's September conclave.

Ozawa's fall will also pose a more direct challenge to Kan's leadership. In resigning, Ozawa has freed the DPJ of its biggest public relations albatross -- he has been accused of accepting questionable campaign donations. But his departure is also a huge loss, as Ozawa's almost mythic power within the party served as a unifying force. Since taking control of the DPJ, Ozawa has relentlessly pursued the destruction of the LDP (his former party) and would use his clout and his political genius to cultivate and aid loyal candidates. Many saw Ozawa as the only man who could lead the DPJ out of the wilderness to power, and his success in 2009 only solidified this reputation. It would be naive to think that Ozawa's exit is complete, given that his loyal lieutenants will continue to wield significant power. Still, without his commanding presence, today's DPJ looks like an uneasy amalgam of aging former socialists, young pragmatists, and refugees from the LDP.

Then there is the job of actually running Japan. As prime minister, Kan will likely move to trim government spending -- no easy task, as he has surely learned in the finance ministry. With Japan's population aging rapidly, social outlays for health care and pensions are set to increase, and Kan might be tempted to make his cuts from Japan's defense budget. But that looks harder to justify after North Korea's sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan and the growing military assertiveness of China, which conducted a provocative naval exercise near Japan this spring.

And then there's Futenma, the U.S. base issue that unseated Hatoyama. Although the U.S.-Japan joint statement issued on May 27 defused bilateral tensions for the short term, the game is far from over in Japan. After the July election, the DPJ will have to persuade the Social Democratic Party -- which bolted from the ruling coalition after Hatoyama signed the base agreement with the Americans -- to rejoin the government. Okinawans will likely seek to foil any attempt by Tokyo to actually implement the Futenma deal, and the United States exhibits no willingness to reopen negotiations. Hatoyama's hasty exit has vividly demonstrated that the Japanese still judge their leaders in part on their ability to successfully manage the alliance.

Tough as the coming months may be, Hatoyama's and Ozawa's departures herald the end of the beginning in Japan's political transformation. In fact, these resignations are a sign that the change heralded by the DPJ's rise to power is continuing. It was the failure to live up to the DPJ's promises that caused Hatoyama to resign -- not the DPJ's reform agenda itself.

Still, don't bet on political stability in Tokyo. Of Japan's 13 prime ministers since 1991, only three have lasted more than two years. Kan might be of a different breed, but the hostile environment he faces is essentially unchanged. So unless something unexpected happens, get used to more resignations and more new prime ministers.

Abraham M. Denmark is a fellow and Daniel M. Kliman is a visiting fellow at the Center for a New American Security, which is hosting a major conference on the U.S.-Japan alliance on June 17 and 18 in Washington, D.C.

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CHINA: World's top 10 military spenders

Chinese militia take part in a military drill in Taiyuan, China, in July 2009. Reuters/FILE

CHINA - $100 billion: Beijing regards its military expenditures as a state secret, but SIPRI estimates that China spent $100 billion on its military in 2009. While this is less than one-sixth of what the US spends on its military, it is still a 217 percent increase from a decade earlier.

A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force officer monitors screens at the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai, Hawaii, during a Japanese missile defense test in the waters off the island in December 2007.   Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/AP/FILE

JAPAN - $51 billion: The world’s second-largest economy is focusing revenues away from military, decreasing such spending by 1.3 percent over the past decade. That’s less than 1 percent of total GDP, whereas the US spends 4.3 percent of GDP on its military, and Saudi Arabia spends 8.3 percent.

Russian army fighter jets fly over Moscow's Kremlin during rehearsals ahead of the upcoming Victory Day Parade on May 6.  Ivan Sekretarev/AP 

RUSSIA - $53.3 billion: The Russian bear’s military spending saw a 105 percent increase from 2000. Strong oil revenues over the past decade helped Russia beef up its military, though the rate of increase has slowed in the past year because of falling gas prices.

Marines and sailors line the deck of the US Navy amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima as it passes the Statue of Liberty in New York on May 26, as part of Fleet Week.   (Peter Morgan/AP)

Despite a global recession, worldwide military spending increased in 2009 by its fastest pace since 2003, according to a new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Chad boosted spending by 663 percent. The US still has the biggest defense budget.

---

posted June 3, 2010 at 1:55 pm EDT

By Stephen Kurczy, Correspondent

Worldwide military spending jumped 5.9 percent in 2009 to $1.5 trillion, according to a new report that underscores the long-term decision of many countries to prioritize defense. This is despite a recession that shrunk the global economy 2.2 percent.

The US remains by far the biggest military spender, followed by China, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in its annual report on worldwide military expenditures, released June 2. Last year saw the steepest jump in worldwide military spending since the start of the Iraq War in 2003.

See the full list: IN PICTURES: World's Top 10 Military Spenders

But, as the world’s military spending increased nearly 50 percent over the past decade, the biggest military budget increases were seen in small, oil-rich countries flooded with new wealth.

From 2000 to 2009, Chad increased its military budget 663 percent, Azerbaijan increased 471 percent, and Kazakhstan increased 360 percent.

“It creates potential dangers,” Sam Perlo-Freeman, one of the report’s authors and the head of SIPRI’s military expenditure project, said in a telephone interview from Stokholm Thursday.

“Although there is nothing inevitable about arms races leading to war, it can potentially be a warning sign.”

Turning oil into arms

Oil discovery often increases military spending, Mr. Perlo-Freeman says, because – unlike taxes – the revenues carry little political cost, the oil and gas infrastructure justifies increased protection, and the development of natural resources tends to exacerbate tension and conflict.

In Nigeria, for example, SIPRI found that “the massive environmental damage caused by oil extraction and the lack of benefit to oil-producing regions has generated grievances.” Chad, as well, has increased military spending in an attempt to quell domestic conflict. Chad’s oil infrastructure was built up with cheap loans from the World Bank. The global lending agency pulled out of the project when it became clear that the government was spending oil revenues on defense instead of development, says Perlo-Freeman.

In Central Asia, Azerbaijan has used oil revenues to beef up forces along its border with Armenia, which has traditionally had a stronger army and enjoys strategic terrain advantages. The International Crisis Group said in a report last year that Azerbaijan's stronger military could put the fragile truce with Armenia under threat.

“Azerbaijan has been playing catch-up with Armenia,” says Perlo-Freeman, noting their conflict over the disputed Karabakh region.

US and China top spenders

In absolute terms, the US and China increased military spending the most over the past decade.

China, which regards its military budget as a state secret, spent an estimated $100 billion on it in 2009, a 217 percent increase from 2000, according to SIPRI. The only other Asian country in the top 15 was India, which spent $36.3 billion on its military in 2009.

The US spent $661 billion on its military in 2009, a 75.8 percent increase from 2000. While current US military spending is still a carryover from the years of George W. Bush, President Barack Obama shows no signs of cutting spending. The Nobel Peace Prize winner excluded security-related expenditure from a planned three-year squeeze in discretionary expenditure. At a recent hearing before Congress, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates talked about efforts to trim the fat but the proposed Defense Department baseline budget for fiscal 2011 is $708 billion.

Engaged in two wars, the US led the decade of increases, but it was joined by 16 additional nations in the G20.

In 2009, Timor-Leste led the world with the biggest increase in military spending, upping its budget 54 percent. Uruguay, Cyprus, and Lebanon were also big spenders, with each country upping their military budget more than 20 percent this past year.

Biggest drops seen in Iraq, Georgia

While oil-rich countries saw big budget increases over the decade, 2009 saw a decrease in gas prices and therefore reduced military budgets in oil-dependent economies. The fall in oil prices in 2009 severely affected the military spending of oil producers Iraq (down 28 percent), Venezuela (down 25 percent), and Oman (down 16 percent), according to SIPRI.

The downturn in oil and commodity prices in 2009 somewhat slowed the rising trend in military spending in some countries with a high level of resource dependence. Some countries, such as Iraq and Venezuela, reduced their spending in 2009 as a result of lower revenues; others, such as Nigeria and Russia, increased spending, but at a much slower rate than in recent years. But the long-term trend of oil and other natural resource revenues driving increased military spending in many developing countries seems set to continue.

But the largest relative real decrease in 2009 was in Georgia, whose military spending fell 39 percent from exceptionally high levels in 2008 due to the conflict with Russia in South Ossetia. Until then, Georgia had one of the most rapid increases of military spending.

“Their rapid expansion was building up to a conflict,” says Perlo-Freeman. “Essentially having failed in the war, they would appear to have decided that the military option isn’t going to work anymore.”

RELATED:

• Defense Secretary: Pentagon must trim the fat in war on waste
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TRAVEL: Delta drops last-minute booking fee for frequent-flier award tickets, but raises another

 A passenger walks past a Delta Airlines 747 aircraft in McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport.  By Paul Sancya, AP

By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY

Delta Air Lines is doing away with its redemption fees for SkyMiles award tickets booked at the last minute.

In an e-mail sent out to SkyMiles frequent-flier members today, Delta says

"this means you will no longer pay a redemption fee of up to $150 when you book an Award Ticket within 20 days of departure. Award Tickets booked 21 days or more prior to departure will continue to have no Award redemption fee."

"We are actively listening to customers' concerns about the SkyMiles program and are responding," Jeff Robertson, Delta's vice president – SkyMiles, says in a press release announcing the change.

It's not all good news, though. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution writes

"Delta is increasing another fee: Its redepositing and reissuing fee for customers who change frequent flier award flights is going up to $150 from $100." But, the newspapers notes, Delta "will still waive the fee for its elite diamond and platinum level frequent fliers.

As for the end of last-minute award fee, Delta's move matches a similar one made by United in 2009. This past July, United announced it would no longer charge fees for frequent-flier award tickets booked on short notice. United had charged $100 tickets for award tickets booked within six days of travel and $75 for tickets booked within seven and 20 days of travel.

RELATED LINKS: Study: US Airways, Delta stingiest with frequent-flier tickets | Your frequent flier mileage may vary (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

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THE KOREAS: North Korean envoy warns war could erupt soon

A North Korean soldier keeps watch over South Korea while wearing a battle helmet at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, in Paju, north of Seoul, June 2, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Lee Jae-Won 

Thu Jun 3, 2010 12:33pm EDT

Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - A North Korean envoy said on Thursday that war could erupt at any time on the divided Korean peninsula because of tension with Seoul over the sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

"The present situation of the Korean peninsula is so grave that a war may break out any moment," Ri Jang Gon, North Korea's deputy ambassador in Geneva, told the United Nations-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.

North Korea's troops were on "full alert and readiness to promptly react to any retaliation," including the scenario of all-out war, he told the forum.

Ri, departing from his prepared remarks, said that only the conclusion of a peace treaty between the two countries would lead to the "successful denuclearization" of the peninsula. The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice but no formal peace treaty.

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Communist North Korea, hit with U.N. sanctions after testing nuclear devices in 2006 and 2009, is still under international pressure to dismantle its nuclear programme.

Ri repeated Pyongyang's assertion that North Korea had nothing to do with the sinking of the Cheonan warship which killed 46 sailors -- the deadliest military incident since the Korean War.

South Korea has accused North Korea of firing a torpedo at the vessel and said it will bring the case to the U.N. Security Council. A report by international investigators last month also accused North Korea of torpedoing the vessel.

Ri accused South Korea of trying to create a shocking incident in order to ignite a campaign against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), North Korea's official name.

South Korean ambassador Im Han-taek took the floor at the Geneva forum to voice regret at Ri's remarks, adding:

"We believe it is only for propaganda purposes."

U.S. disarmament ambassador Laura Kennedy also rejected Ri's accusations that Washington had backed Seoul in "groundlessly" blaming the sinking on a North Korean submarine.

"I agree that the situation on the Korean peninsula is very grave but I disagree with the statement made and reject those allegations against my country," Kennedy said.

"The investigation carried out was scrupulous and painstaking and we certainly accept without doubt the results which clearly indicated where the blame lay," she added.

(Editing by Jonathan Lynn and Angus MacSwan)

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CHINA: Gates criticizes Chinese military for blocking talks in Beijing

Thursday, June 3, 2010; 12:17 PM

By Craig Whitlock, Washington Post Staff Writer

SINGAPORE -- Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates on Thursday accused China's military of impeding relations with the Pentagon, taking exception to its unwillingness to invite him to Beijing during his trip to Asia this week.

Shortly before he arrived in Singapore for a regional security conference, Gates told reporters there was a clear split between China's political leaders, whom he said want stronger military ties with Washington, and the People's Liberation Army, which he said does not.

"I think they are reluctant to engage with us on a broad level," he said. "The PLA is significantly less interested in this relationship than the political leadership of China."

Beijing's political and economic relations with Washington have gradually improved in recent years, as the emerging global superpower and the established one have tried to come to terms with each other. Last month, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner led a delegation of 200 U.S. officials to China. President Obama also visited Beijing in November.

But military cooperation has lagged, a source of frustration for Pentagon officials. They say that communication with the People's Liberation Army needs to improve to deal with regional crises -- such as South Korea's accusation that one of its warships was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine last month -- to broader strategic issues such as the long-term buildup of China's military forces. Washington has also been seeking China's support -- without much success -- in trying to deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

The primary obstacle in the relationship, according to officials on both sides, is the continuation of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, which China considers a breakaway province.

Gates visited Beijing in November 2007 as defense secretary under former president George W. Bush's administration. Shortly afterward, the Pentagon announced that it would sell Patriot missile upgrades to Taiwan, prompting China to cancel a scheduled port call by a U.S. aircraft carrier and cut other military ties.

After a gradual warming period, Gates had been hoping for a return visit to China this summer. But after Washington in January announced the sale of another arms package to Taiwan, this one worth $6.4 billion, Beijing objected again and decided to give the stiff arm to Gates on his Asia trip.

On Thursday, Gates told reporters that China needed to get over its attitude, noting that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan have been a cornerstone of U.S. policy since Washington normalized relations with Beijing in 1979.

"It's been there for over a generation," he said.

Beijing has not closed the door entirely with the Pentagon. Last month, Adm. Robert Willard, commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific, joined the U.S. delegation to Beijing and met with Lt. Gen. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of staff for the People's Liberation Army.

But in a sign of how cool relations remain, Gates will not meet with any Chinese officials this weekend at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major annual security conference in Singapore. He will, however, meet with military and political leaders from South Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia, India, Singapore and New Zealand.

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JAPAN: Why Hatoyama - and many Japanese prime ministers - stumbled

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks to reporters upon his arrival at his official residence in Tokyo June 3, 2010. Japan's ruling Democratic Party was scrambling on Thursday to pick a new leader, and hence premier, after fiscally conservative Finance Minister Naoto Kan threw his hat in the ring to replace unpopular Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who resigned a day earlier ahead of a looming election.  REUTERS/Issei Kato

posted June 3, 2010 at 8:37 am EDT

By Gavin Blair, Correspondent

Tokyo — When Japan’s next prime minister takes office following Yukio Hatoyama's resignation announcement on Wednesday, he will be the 15th occupant of the office in the past 21 years.

Take the unusually long tenure of Junichiro Koizumi (2001-2006) out of the equation, and 13 prime ministers have lasted a total of 16 years.

Mr. Hatoyama himself was the fourth consecutive leader who failed to last even a year in the job. For all the hopes of meaningful change borne in last year's historic election victory by his opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), to many it now looks like simply more of the same: another scion of a powerful political dynasty who turned out not to have the mettle to handle the pressures of the nation's highest office.

The strength of Japan’s political dynasties is a major driver in the almost annual procession of weak, mostly forgettable figures in and out of the country’s highest office. Because many politicians inherit their positions, they are not forced to cultivate leadership skills or learn to win popular support.

Out of touch?

The Japanese refer to the sons of the rich as obo-chan – and it’s a phrase that’s been thrown at the most recent quartet of short-lived prime ministers, who many felt were out of touch with ordinary people.

“I voted for Hatoyama, and still support the DPJ, but he turned out to be obo-chan, too,” says Hitomi Mizune, a small-business owner in Tokyo.

“The problem is that they don’t gather public support and then become leaders. They inherit their constituencies from their families,” she continues, referring to the common practice of political fiefdoms being handed down generation after generation.

When Hatoyama defeated then-Prime Minister Taro Aso’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last summer, ending more than half a century of nearly uninterrupted rule, much was made of the fact that both men’s grandfathers had been political rivals in the LDP’s formative postwar years.

“The electorate has changed rapidly over the last few decades, and the political parties are still essentially stuck in the old fashioned status quo of the bureaucrats-politicians-business trinity governing,” says Takashi Inoguchi, professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo.

“The thing that attracts the most focus, though, is the lack of leadership shown by recent prime ministers,” he says.

Media shapes public opinion

Leadership – or lack thereof – has become a recurring theme in the media as one prime minister after another has found his popularity diving to untenable levels.

In recent years the press has “shifted focus from prime minister’s policy to the issue of leadership,” says Professor Tetsuro Kato of Waseda University in Tokyo. “The media has a huge role in building up and knocking down prime ministers,” he says.

Japanese newspapers in particular, whose journalists work closely together in press clubs, often speak with one voice on major issues. Reporters from different newspapers will compare notes after press conferences and events, deciding on a common angle, in a process known as memo awase.

Once the press has decided a prime minister has been indecisive or wavered on an issue, the criticism will be unified, and relentless. And their viewpoint has broad influence: Japan has some of the highest newspaper readership on the planet – seven of the world’s 10 largest papers by circulation are Japanese – and 90 percent of Japanese polled say they trust what’s written in them.

Ratings plummeted

During Hatoyama’s eight months in office, the press corps became increasingly hostile toward him, as did public opinion, particularly after he appeared to go back on his commitment to move a controversial US Marine base off Okinawa island. Though he entered office on a wave of optimism last September with 70 percent approval, by the end of May his ratings dropped below 20 percent.

Hatoyama’s likely successor, Finance Minister Naoto Kan, has the advantage of not having inherited political power, as well as a positive reputation for battling bureaucratic cover-ups and being a straight talker. He also has an infamously short temper, which could hurt him at the daily press conferences he’ll be expected to attend.

Related stories:

• Japan's Hatoyama resigns, dogged by Okinawa base dispute
• In reversal, Japan's Hatoyama says Marines can stay on Okinawa
• Japan news coverage

• View article…

CHINA & JAPAN: Honda's China strike a lesson for Japanese exporters

Workers place an engine in a Honda Accord at an assembly plant in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. After an unprecedented strike logjammed Honda's China production line, Japanese firms in the country may need to redraw their plans in a growing market that has emboldened low-wage workers, analysts have said.(AFP/File/Peter Parks)

by David Watkins David Watkins Thu Jun 3, 5:57 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – After an unprecedented strike logjammed Honda's China production line, Japanese firms in the country may need to redraw their plans in a growing market that has emboldened low-wage workers, analysts say.

As China's economy surges, demands for higher wages are posing a headache for Japanese companies facing higher costs but could also be a boon for others banking on rising incomes to spur demand for high-quality goods.

Japan's number two carmaker on Wednesday restarted operations at its auto parts factory after offering a 24 percent pay rise to placate staff who had walked out on May 27.

Honda's Chinese assembly joint ventures, Guangqi Honda Automobile and Dongfeng Honda Automobile, will resume operations on Friday and Saturday, a spokesman said, but did not give a timetable for returning to full output.

Honda produces 650,000 vehicles per year in China but it has lost thousands of units because of the shutdown.

"We never expected something like this would happen," said Tokai Tokyo Research Centre auto analyst Mamoru Kato.

After the Honda strike "Chinese workers will likely be encouraged to start making more demands and such situations will inevitably increase production costs there," he added.

According to the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, nearly a quarter of Chinese employees have not had a raise in five years.

Labour issues in China have come to the forefront in recent weeks after suicides at Taiwanese high tech maker Foxconn, which counts Dell, Sony and Panasonic among its clients, forced it to give staff a 30 percent rise.

The unrest has raised questions about working conditions for the millions of employees in China's factories, sparking calls for better oversight from those who benefit from Chinese labour and a ban on unions.

"As the Chinese economy grows and people's income rises, companies are now facing the need to review their strategies," said Mizuno Credit Advisory auto analyst Tatsuya Mizuno.

Yang Lixiong, professor at School of Labor and Human Resources of Renmin university in Beijing said opportunities at foreign companies are limited for Chinese staff.

"In the case of Honda, the management is mostly Japanese. It's very hard for local staff to work their way up. In addition to that, salaries are very low and working conditions are not good," he added.

To curb the effects of rising wages Japanese businesses are harnessing economies of scale that would effectively bring down unit costs.

Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn recently announced plans to ramp up production to more than one million cars a year in China by 2012.

Honda sold 576,223 vehicles in China last year, up 23 percent year-on-year and Toyota saw sales rise 21 percent.

Fashion retailer Uniqlo aims to open 1,000 stores in China by 2020 and achieve more than 10 billion dollars in sales.

And Sharp said it will double the number of outlets in China for its popular Aquos televisions to 10,000 this year and boost its lineup to more than 30 models from the current 24.

But rising wages are not necessarily bad as richer consumers have more purchasing power, analysts said.

Japan, with its reputation for craftsmanship, "can only compete in the high-end market as it has already lost out to local rivals in terms of affordability," Okasan Securities strategist Hirokazu Fujiki recently said.

"Japanese companies need to win out by targeting the mid-to-high level consumers. They can stay ahead of the competition by rolling out new and advanced technologies."

They must also address Chinese resentment against Japanese workers due to their long and tense history. Honda's Chinese staff complain Japanese workers in the same factory earn 50 times more than them.

"Chinese workers seem to have a strong sentiment of being discriminated by Japanese employees," said Mizuno.

"This may become a more emotional, fundamental issue, which could potentially develop into a political problem," he warned.

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RUSSIA: Terrorists will attempt to foil Sochi Olympics – FSB

Published 03 June, 2010, 12:55

Terrorists are planning to foil the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the Federal Security Service (FSB) head, Aleksandr Bortnikov has said.

A real threat coming from Al-Qaeda, Bortnikov said, resulted in the cancellation of the rally “Dakar-2008” for the first time in the history of this prestigious auto race.

"In this respect, the intentions of several warlords are looming to put into practice a similar scenario ahead of the Winter Olympics in 2014," the FSB director said, as quoted by Itar-Tass.

"The threat of terrorist acts is turning into a factor which exerts substantial influence on political decision-making,” he stated in the opening speech at the 9th meeting of the Council of Chiefs of Security Services and Law Enforcement Agencies of FSB foreign partner-countries here on Thursday.

The FSB forecasts that the threat of terrorism will grow further throughout the world and “no country is immune to terror attacks,” Bortnikov warned.

“Following on from the analysis of today’s terrorism, the terror threats will increase, becoming a serious menace for the majority of countries, irrespective of the level of their economic development, military potential and government system,” the Russian security chief warned.

This follows, he said, from the fact that the geography of the biggest terrorist attacks covers the US, Spain, Britain, Israel, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and other countries. "Entire regions fall under the terrorists' influence," Bortnikov stressed.

Seeking to spread fear among society and destabilize the situation, Bortnikov said, “international terrorist groups unite and change their strategies and tactics”.

"Terrorists are actively using radicalism and extremism in their interests, trying to get hold of the state of the art technologies, and gain access to weapons of mass destruction,” he added.

According to the FSB chief, this is the result of “negligence, and sometimes even direct support to terrorists, by some political forces, which are attempting to use them for their own purposes”.

Fighting terrorism today requires “consolidation of efforts of the entire world community, imposing timely sanctions and a joint approach to certain persons and structures connected with terrorism and extremist activities.”

Bortnikov expressed hope that the conference – which will take place on June 3-5 – will contribute to both national and international security.

The meeting of special services chiefs in Yekaterinburg in central Russia has brought together 86 delegations from 63 countries. The participants will focus on discussing counter-terrorism measures and look for new ways of co-operation on the issue.

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JAPAN: Tobias Harris Talking about Naoto Kan on CNBC

S. KOREA: S. Korea's Governing Party Surprised by Election

Published: June 2, 2010

By CHOE SANG-HUN

SEOUL, South Korea — President Lee Myung-bak’s governing party suffered a surprising setback in local elections that had been widely viewed as a referendum on Mr. Lee’s handling of the sinking of a South Korean warship, according to election results released on Thursday.

Related

• Times Topic: The Cheonan (Ship)

Candidates of Mr. Lee’s Grand National Party had hoped that outrage in South Korea over the sinking of the Cheonan, which led to the death of 46 South Korean sailors, would help them ride a conservative wave to a sweeping victory. Mr. Lee’s government has formally accused North Korea of attacking the ship with a torpedo from a submarine.

“The election results were far less than we had expected and hoped for,” Cho Hae-jin, a spokesman for the governing party, told reporters.

The party’s chairman, Chung Mong-joon, an important ally of Mr. Lee, said he was stepping down over the poor results.

Pre-election surveys showed that a majority of South Koreans blamed North Korea for the warship’s sinking, which the government characterized as the worst North Korean military provocation since the end of the Korean War. Many political analysts said that the president’s party, whose candidates had at one point faced tight races in some districts, appeared poised to sweep the most important races.

But the president’s party won only 6 of 16 crucial races to elect mayors and governors in big cities and provinces in the voting on Wednesday. Its main rival, the opposition Democratic Party, won seven races. The remaining three races were won by independents and a candidate from a small opposition party.

The mayor of Seoul, Oh Se-hoon, who is a member of Mr. Lee’s party, won re-election by a razor-thin margin. But in a hotly contested mayoral race in Incheon, a large port city west of Seoul, the opposition candidate, Song Young-gil, a vocal critic of Mr. Lee, won an unexpected victory. The ship’s sinking was an especially significant election issue there, because the ship went down in waters in Incheon’s jurisdiction.

Nationwide, about 9,900 candidates campaigned for 3,991 posts, including contests for mayor in small cities, as well as members of city councils and education chiefs. Opposition parties cast the balloting as a mid-term gauge of public support for Mr. Lee’s performance in general, his policies toward North Korea and his handling of the crisis over the sinking of the ship.

The voter turnout, 54.5 percent, was the highest for local elections in 15 years.

During the campaign, opposition politicians contended that Mr. Lee’s hard-line approach to North Korea, which ended a decade of improving ties with the reclusive and impoverished North, had helped provoke the North to lash out in an attack.

“This is the people’s verdict on Lee Myung-bak’s arrogance,” said Woo Sang-ho, a spokesman for the Democratic Party.

Chung Se-kyun, the leader of the Democratic Party, said the election results indicated that Mr. Lee should “abandon his confrontational policy on North Korea and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”

A version of this article appeared in print on June 3, 2010, on page A9 of the New York edition.

View article…

SHANGHAI, CHINA: World Cup adds a kick to Expo

With the FIFA World Cup around the corner, many Expo pavilions are preparing programs for viewing the matches. A circular screen wall has been installed in the South Africa Pavilion to broadcast key moments.

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CHINA: China says no thanks to visit from U.S. defense chief

Thursday, June 3, 2010; A08

By Craig Whitlock

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates departed for Asia on Wednesday but had to drop a big country from his itinerary after China, still smarting over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, gave him the cold shoulder.

Gates had been hoping for months to visit Beijing this summer, a destination that took on added importance at the Pentagon after North Korea -- which sees China as its closest ally and diplomatic protector -- was accused last month of sinking a South Korean warship with a torpedo, killing 46 sailors.

Aides to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had confidently predicted that Gates would be able to go to Beijing after meetings she held there last month.

"I think you will see one of the take-aways over the course of the next couple of weeks, that suddenly Chinese friends might have time for Secretary Gates's visit," an official told reporters as Clinton flew back to Washington.

But Beijing declined to extend an invitation. Pentagon officials said no specific reason was given. But they said they assumed China was still annoyed by the Obama administration's announcement in January that it would approve $6.4 billion in arms sales to Taiwan.

Although U.S. arms sales to Taiwan are hardly new, they are considered a long-standing policy irritant by Beijing, which considers Taiwan a breakaway province. Beijing suspended military-to-military exchanges with Washington in 2007 after the Bush administration approved a separate set of arms sales to Taiwan.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said Gates was frustrated by the Chinese response in both cases.

"He just doesn't believe that a relationship of this importance can exist in fits and starts," Morrell said. "It can't be derailed by bumps in the road that will inevitably come up."

China has cooled its military relationship with the Pentagon since January but has not cut ties entirely. Last month, Adm. Robert Willard, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, met Chinese counterparts in Beijing when he joined the delegation headed by Clinton.

The first stop on Gates's trip will be Singapore, where he will attend a regional security conference. Then he will travel to Baku, Azerbaijan, to try to fortify U.S. military supply routes to Afghanistan, many of which cross Central Asia. He will visit London to meet with leaders in the new British government, then stop in Brussels for talks with NATO allies.

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JAPAN: Possible successors to Japan PM Hatoyama

Calls had built up in Hatoyama's Democratic Party for him to step down to revive the party's fortunes before an election for the upper house of parliament expected on July 11 that it must win to smooth policymaking.

Voter perceptions that Hatoyama has mishandled a row over the relocation of a U.S. airbase and lacks the ability to make tough decisions have slashed his support ratings to around 20 percent from above 70 percent when he first took office last September.

The following are possible successors and what they could mean for policy:

NAOTO KAN, 63

Finance Minister Kan, who doubles as deputy prime minister, is widely tipped as the likely successor. He has long been a senior figure in the party, having worked with Hatoyama and kingpin Ichiro Ozawa as the Democrats' top "troika".

Kan has in the past pressed the central bank to do more to fight deflation and has sounded more positive than Hatoyama about raising the 5 percent sales tax in the future to fund bulging social welfare costs.

Kan, who made his name battling bureaucrats when he was health minister, lacks deep expertise on budget and tax issues but his clout within the party could put him in a better position than others in attracting party support for smoother policy-making. But his sometimes abrasive personality could make it difficult to forge party consensus, critics say.

SEIJI MAEHARA, 48

Infrastructure and Transport Minister Maehara is a conservative security policy expert who has served as party leader and is hands-on with policies. Public approval for his stint in the cabinet has put him as number two on voters' lists of popular politicians.

Although known more for his views on diplomacy and defense than the economy, Maehara has advocated streamlining public works projects and has studied at a school for political leaders that embraces free-market economic policies.

Maehara, who had to step down as party leader in 2006 for backing what turned out to be unproved allegations against the then ruling party, may lack clout to marshal the Democrats.

KATSUYA OKADA, 56

Foreign Minister Okada, the son of a supermarket magnate and who enjoys a clean image, also once served as party leader and is more open than Hatoyama to raising the 5 percent consumption tax.

When he ran against Hatoyama for party leader last year, Okada said he wanted to discuss how to tackle fiscal reform, including an increase in the consumption tax, while Hatoyama said the debate should be abandoned for now.

Okada is known for a stubborn streak and his strong interest in environment policies, and he crafted the party's ambitious pledge for a 25 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from 1990 levels.

YOSHITO SENGOKU, 64

Sengoku, the national strategy minister, has stressed the need for fiscal restraint and has openly called for debate on raising the consumption tax.

Despite being a former member of the now defunct Socialist Party, he supports free-market policies, having criticized recent proposals by the banking minister that could lead to the postal system's banking service hurting business for regional lenders.

He has never held the party's top post.

KAZUHIRO HARAGUCHI, 50

Internal Affairs Minister Haraguchi, a frequent guest on TV talk shows, has indicated that he is against debating an increase in the consumption tax before reviving the economy.

Haraguchi also studied at the same political leadership school as Maehara that embraces free-market policies and is known for his calls to shift policy responsibilities away from the central government and more to regions.

He lacks clout within the party, although he could be popular with voters for his fresh image. Like Sengoku, he has never held the party's leadership post before.

YOSHIHIKO NODA, 53

The deputy finance minister favours fiscal discipline and has spoken in support of Finance Minister Kan's call to cap new bond issuance for next fiscal year's budget.

Noda, who has been mostly in charge of international finance, has also said that Greece's debt problems are a sign that Japan needs to lower its debt.

He has yet to serve as a party leader, though he has served as the head of parliamentary affairs, giving him experience in tough negotiations.

(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka and Yoko Kubota; Editing by Chris Gallagher)

View article…

JAPAN: Japan's "revolving door" prime ministers

(Reuters) - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said on Wednesday he would resign after just eight months in office after a slide in the polls threatened his party's chances in an election expected next month.

The ruling Democratic Party will choose a new leader on Friday, but analysts say a change at the top may fail to impress voters fed up with prime ministers leaving office one after another.

Hatoyama is Japan's fourth prime minister in as many years.

The following is a chronology of Hatoyama's recent predecessors:

YOSHIRO MORI (April 2000-April 2001)

Mori, a political veteran but a policy novice, was picked by four barons in the then-ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in a backroom deal to replace Keizo Obuchi, who died of a stroke.

His limp public support vanished after a string of verbal gaffes and scandals, prompting party lawmakers to call for his resignation before an upper house election. Mori brought forward a party leadership election to pick his replacement.

JUNICHIRO KOIZUMI (April 2001-Sept 2006)

Dubbed a maverick for his outspoken ways, Koizumi appealed to the public with calls for reform and won resounding support from rank-and-file party members afraid the LDP was headed for a thrashing in an upper house election.

His rock star-like popularity helped him become Japan's third-longest serving postwar leader. Koizumi served out his term after leading the LDP to a huge win in a 2005 election he called a referendum on his pet project to privatize the postal system.

SHINZO ABE (Sept 2006-Sept 2007)

Abe was initially popular with voters for his fresh image as Japan's first prime minister born after World War Two and his tough stance on North Korea, but his ratings soon crumbled on gaffes and scandals in his cabinet.

Voter anger over lost pension records and perceptions that he was out of touch with ordinary people on economic policies led to a big defeat for the LDP in an upper house election in 2007. Abe quit abruptly two months later, citing health reasons.

YASUO FUKUDA (Sept 2007-Sept 2008)

Fukuda won support from rank-and-file LDP members who sought political stability after Abe, but he struggled to make headway on policies as opposition parties used their majority in the upper house to stall legislation.

An attempt to form a "grand coalition" with the Democratic Party -- then the main opposition party -- flopped. Resisting calls from the opposition to call a snap election, Fukuda resigned suddenly after less than a year in office.

TARO ASO (Sept 2008-Sept 2009)

A conservative and a fan of manga comic books, Aso was chosen by the LDP to boost the party's election chances but he too saw his ratings evaporate as policies stalled in parliament and the economy took a hit from the global financial crisis.

LDP lawmakers called for his resignation but with no obvious successor he clung to his job. Aso stepped down after the LDP lost a general election to Hatoyama's Democratic Party, ending more than 50 years of almost unbroken rule.

(Reporting by Chisa Fujioka, editing by Miral Fahmy and Michael Watson)

View article…

JAPAN: Breaking News

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama announces live on Japanese TV that he will step down after about eight months in office.

JAPAN: Japanese Contract Marriage in The Airport

VLADIVOSTOK, June 1, vladivostoktimes.com

Tokyo International Airport Narita starts wedding ceremonies. The first ceremony was held on June 1 in the presence of surprised passengers. But first the bride and groom roles were performed by the professional actors, as Rosbalt agency reports.

Wedding ceremonies in the biggest Japanese international airport will be held once a week on weekends or holidays. The ceremony costs 400 thousand yens (about $4.5 thousand).

The wedding story includes the fact that people from different countries who are in Narita airport by coincidence at this time will witness the ceremony.

For several years the wedding ceremonies in hotels near Narita airport have been very popular in Japan. Usually new married board the place and go travel right after the wedding ceremony.

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JAPAN: Sumo Mired In Grime, And Not From the Ring

Sumo stable master Kise leaves Ryogoku-Kokugikan hall after attending a board meeting of the Japan Sumo Association. AFP/Getty Images

June 1, 2010, 3:42 PM JST

Sumo may be struggling to attract fans to its tournaments, but it’s having no trouble getting attention from Japan’s tabloid media and police.

In the latest airing of massively oversized dirty laundry, police say a Tokyo stable master gave ringside tickets to high-ranking gangsters, according to Kyodo news.

According to police, Kyodo says, the mobsters wanted the tickets so they could be seen on TV by their underlings and associates—in prison. Among the gangsters hoping for a moment in the limelight was Kenichi Shinoda, boss of Japan’s biggest crime syndicate, the Yamaguchi Gumi, police said. As a result of the episode, 40-year-old stablemaster Kise–real name Naoto Sakamoto—was forced to resign. His 27 wrestlers will be absorbed into another stable.

The affair followed allegations just days earlier that one of sumo’s highest-ranking wrestlers, 34-year-old Kotomitsuki, may have been blackmailed over gambling on professional baseball. The weekly magazine Shukan Shincho – known for its lurid coverage of showbiz and sports — claimed May 20 that Kotomitsuki, who holds the second-highest rank of ozeki, paid gangsters 100 million yen in hush money over the gambling. After the article appeared, police moved in to question Kotomitsuki, his and several other stable masters, all of whom denied the report .

The two incidents heaped more grime onto sumo’s image, which was already well caked in the stuff after a series of unsavory incidents culminating in the forced retirement of grand champion Asashoryu in February after he reportedly punched a man outside a Tokyo nightclub. That incident attracted blanket coverage in Japan–people may less interested in buying tickets to see sumo these days, but they’re still happy to pay to read about it.

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CHINA & JAPAN: China, Japan launch Asian eBay rival

A woman in Beijing shops online at the Taobao website in 2008.  (AFP/Mark Ralston)

Tue Jun 1, 8:21 am ET

TOKYO (AFP) – China's largest retail website Taobao and Yahoo! Japan launched a joint service Tuesday in a deal expected to create the world's biggest online marketplace by harnessing Asia's surging ranks of e-consumers.

The service is expected to dwarf US rival eBay in terms of users and products on offer, attracting 250 million customers and offering 450 million products.

"This marks the birth of the world's largest e-commerce market," Masayoshi Son, chairman of Yahoo! Japan and CEO of mobile phone carrier Softbank, told a packed hall in a Tokyo hotel.

Online stores on Taobao will be able to offer products from China to Japanese consumers at Yahoo! Japan's China Mall, the companies said.

The new services will allow Internet users in both countries to buy and sell using systems and procedures that are familiar to them in their native languages, one of the biggest hurdles to doing business in either country.

The combined number of users on the new service is expected to eclipse the 90 million active users at US online marketplace eBay, which last year sold goods valued at 60 billion dollars.

Son is banking on Asia's exploding number of Internet users which he expects will account for 50 percent of the web in five years, compared to just 19 percent a decade ago.

He added that he expects the number of American users to fall to 12 percent of the global share.

Taobao is a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. Both SoftBank and US Internet company Yahoo! are shareholders in Alibaba.

Alibaba Group's Hong Kong-listed subsidiary Alibaba.com already has a joint venture with SoftBank called Alibaba.com Japan.

The cooperation with Yahoo! Japan is the latest effort by the Alibaba Group to expand in overseas markets.

Last month, its wholesale website Alibaba.com announced a new platform, AliExpress, allowing payments from users of US online payment service PayPal.

Online shopping in China has boomed in recent years, as the nation's more than 400 million Internet users -- the world's biggest online population -- become increasingly web-savvy.

Baidu, China's top search engine in terms of market share, said in January it would set up a joint venture with Japanese retail website Rakuten to launch a shopping mall targeting domestic web users in the second half of 2010.

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JAPAN: Eyewitness Kamikaze

At the end of World War II, the Japanese attempted to avoid defeat by deploying a terrible new strategy of mass suicide attacks. Japanese pilots hit more than 150 allied ships and killed more than four thousand sailors. For the young crewmen facing the almost daily onslaught of kamikaze attacks, it was an experience they would never forget. Hear the stories by the survivors themselves.

Look to the sky

A British warship suffers a direct hit from a kamikaze plane.

Under Attack

The USS Laffey comes under attack.

View upcoming air times on the Smithsonian Channel HD…

CHINA, JAPAN & THE KOREAS: S.Korea, Japan fail to persuade China to censure N.Korea

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) shakes hands with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak (C) as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) looks on at the end of a joint press conference following trilateral summit meetings in Seogwipo on Jeju island, south of Seoul. China resisted pressure Sunday from South Korea and Japan to censure North Korea publicly for the sinking of a warship.  (AFP/Pool/Kim Jae-Hwan)

Sun May 30, 3:50 pm ET

By Jun Kwanwoo

SEOGWIPO, South Korea (AFP) – China resisted pressure Sunday from South Korea and Japan to censure North Korea publicly for the sinking of a warship, calling only for regional tensions over the incident to be defused.

Host President Lee Myung-Bak and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama teamed up at the two-day summit to nudge China's Premier Wen Jiabao to declare Pyongyang responsible for the March sinking of the South Korean corvette.

But Wen gave no sign that China is ready to back United Nations Security Council action against its ally over the sinking, which cost 46 lives.

"The urgent task now is to defuse the impact of the Cheonan incident, change the tense situation and avoid clashes," Wen told a joint press conference on the southern resort island of Jeju.

"China will actively communicate with relevant parties and lead the situation to help promote peace and stability in the region, which fits our common and long-term interests best."

South Korea announced reprisals including a trade cut-off after international investigators reported on May 20 that a North Korean submarine fired a heavy torpedo to sink the Cheonan.

The North denies involvement and has responded to the reprisals with threats of war.

In Pyongyang on Sunday, 100,000 North Koreans held a rally accusing Seoul of heightening cross-border tensions over the sinking, according to the North's state broadcasting network monitored by Yonhap news agency.

Wen, whose country is the North's economic lifeline, has been cautious since arriving in South Korea Friday.

At a meeting with Lee that day he said Beijing would, before determining its position, review the results of the international investigation into the Cheonan's sinking but would not protect whoever was responsible.

Lee said in Jeju that he expected "wise co-operation" from neighbouring countries in handling the disaster.

According to his senior spokesman Lee Dong-Kwan, Lee also told the summit: "We are not afraid of war, but we do not want war either. We have no intention to go to war."

Hatoyama, whose government Friday announced new sanctions against the North, said the three leaders agreed that "this is a serious issue related to peace and stability in Northeast Asia".

South Korea, at least in public, appeared fairly satisfied with the outcome of the Jeju summit.

"The inclusion of those remarks on the Cheonan in the joint press announcement in itself has significance," Lee's spokesman said.

But Paik Haksoon, of the Sejong Institute think-tank, said Wen's comments "indicate that China is still questioning the authenticity and authority of the investigation."

"There would be no point in taking this issue to the UN Security Council without securing support from China in advance," Paik told AFP.

Numerous countries have condemned the North for the sinking, one of the worst military attacks on the South since the 1950-53 war.

The North says Seoul faked evidence to incite tensions and boost its support before local elections this week.

South Korea, the United States and Japan need the support of veto-wielding member China to sanction -- or, at least, to censure -- the North at the Security Council.

Admiral Michael Mullen, the top US military officer, said later Sunday he was concerned about a possible North Korean "follow-on" to the torpedo attack on the Cheonan.

The South's reprisals include preparations to resume cross-border loudspeaker propaganda broadcasts. The North has threatened to shell the loudspeakers if the broadcasts go ahead.

The North has cut all ties with the South, scrapped pacts aimed at averting accidental flare-ups along their disputed sea border and vowed to attack any intruding ships.

It has threatened to shut down a jointly run industrial park at Kaesong, the last reconciliation project still operating.

The South plans to send a letter to the chairman of the UN Security Council this week, an unidentified official told Yonhap news agency.

Japan's Hatoyama had promised to fully support Seoul when the case is referred to the council, his spokesman told AFP.

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