Japan

November 29, 2007 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) led a bipartisan group of Senators in calling on Japan to reconsider the scale of a hunt for approximately 1,000 whales and to abandon plans to kill 100 vulnerable and endangered whales. The text of the letter to Japanese Ambassador to the U.S. Ryozo Kato, signed by Senators Boxer, Joe Biden (D-DE), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), John Kerry (D-MA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) follows:

November 29, 2007

The Honorable Ryozo Kato    » read more »

November 21, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Visual Presenters (sold as Image Presentation Cameras by Epson)

Units: About 54,000

Distributor: ELMO USA Corp. of Plainview, NY

Manufacturer: ELMO Co. Ltd., of Japan

Hazard: Improperly installed fluorescent top lights in the presenter can overheat, posing a fire hazard.    » read more »

20 November 2007 -- The European Union has joined other countries in urging Japan to halt a whaling expedition that could kill at least 1,000 whales.

An EU statement issued Tuesday said there is no need to use lethal means to obtain scientific information about whales. The EU also expressed particular concern that the hunt will include the threatened humpback whale and the endangered fin whale.

Japan claims it needs to kill whales to conduct research on their reproductive and feeding patterns, and says the number it kills is too small to endanger their populations.    » read more »

19 November 2007 -- The United States Monday urged Japan to call off plans for its largest-ever whale hunt, nominally for scientific research. Japanese whalers plan to kill, among others, humpback whales for the first time since they were put under international protection in 1963.

The United States has joined several other countries and environmental groups in calling on Japan to rescind plans for killing more than 1,000 whales, including humpback whales which had been nearly hunted to extinction before a ban on killing them was imposed in 1963.    » read more »

96th anniversary Home Opener set for April 8; Game and ticket price schedules announced

Single game tickets available for purchase on Jan. 26th

11/14/2007, OAKLAND -- Major League Baseball announced today the Oakland Athletics and World Champion Boston Red Sox will play the first two games of the 2008 regular season in Tokyo, Japan on March 25 and 26th as part of Major League Baseball's Japan Opening Series 2008.    » read more »

Boston Red Sox and Oakland Athletics to open championship season at the Tokyo Dome

11/14/2007 -- The World Series Champion Boston Red Sox will face the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo, Japan to open the 2008 Major League Baseball Championship Season, Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) announced today.    » read more »

30 October 2007 -- Japan's refueling of U.S. and other vessels in the Indian Ocean is expected to grind to a halt this week, in a political tug of war over Tokyo's role in international security. Japan's divided legislature is blocking the extension of the operation, which Washington views as a contribution to the global war on terror.

Senior U.S. defense officials have expressed gratitude to Japan on numerous occasions for its refueling of vessels in the Indian Ocean - including U.S. warships deployed in Afghanistan stabilization efforts.    » read more »

15 October 2007 -- Japan has canceled nearly $5 million in aid to Burma over the military's government crackdown that resulted in the shooting death of a Japanese journalist.

Japan's Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura said Tuesday that the move reflected the present situation in Burma and last week's U.N. Security's Council's statement criticizing the crackdown.

Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai was killed September 27 while filming the crackdown on protesters in Rangoon.    » read more »

Governor will attend annual SEUS-Japan conference in Tokyo

October 5, 2007 -- ATLANTA – Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue will lead a state delegation on an economic development mission to Asia October 14 – 19. Governor Perdue will join with governors and senior officials from seven other Southeastern states for the 31st annual SEUS-Japan Conference, which this year is being held in Tokyo. Following his time in Japan, the Governor will travel to Seoul, Korea.    » read more »

October 4, 2007 -- Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced today that it has received approval to market Elaprase® (idursulfase) in Japan for the treatment of Hunter syndrome. Elaprase is an enzyme replacement therapy developed by Shire Human Genetic Therapies Inc., and Genzyme is commercializing the product in Japan and other Asia Pacific countries under an agreement with Shire. Genzyme intends to launch Elaprase this quarter, following reimbursement approval.    » read more »

Multi-platform offerings include critical pennant race matchups over final days of regular season

09/27/2007, NEW YORK -- MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, announced today that its exclusive postseason subscription package, which includes the viewing of every postseason game live and on-demand outside of the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan, is available now at:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/subscriptions/index_ps.jsp.    » read more »

Fuji, Sep 29, 2007:

Lewis Hamilton    » read more »

Leading artist services company to join Warner Music Japan family

17 September 2007, Hangzhou, China (By Jim Stevenson) -- Germany has defeated Japan, 2-0, to reach the quarterfinal round of the Women's World Cup football (soccer) tournament in China. VOA's Jim Stevenson was at the game in Hangzhou, where the defending champions seemed to struggle at times, despite playing a relatively weaker opponent.    » read more »