Government reaches out to North Korea for abduction talks
A government official close to Jin Matsubara, the minister in charge of addressing the abduction of Japanese by North Korea, has sent a message to Pyongyang seeking talks with officials of the Workers' Party of Korea, according to sources.
The message was delivered through a member of the assembly in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, who visited North Korea last week, but officials there withheld response, saying Pyongyang wants to watch carefully the Japanese government's attitude, including that of Matsubara, the sources said Friday.

Day care workers deserve better
Day care centers — known as hoiku-jo or hoiku-en — take care of one of the country's most precious resources — its children. However, the failure of the central government to provide sufficient subsidies has led to chronic shortages of day care workers. The difficulties in attracting workers meant 25,556 children remained on waiting lists to enter day care centers in 2011. The current hiring and salary system demands improvement.
Day care workers' average monthly salary stands at ¥220,000, according to a government survey of wage structures in 2011. As a result, of the 1.06 million people qualified as day care workers, only 367,000 currently work at day care. Salaries scarcely increase even with years of experience.

Private rail lines want Diet ranks to pay up
Both the Lower and Upper houses have failed for the last 20 years to respond to requests from an association of private railways to pay for the free train passes member companies provide to lawmakers.
The Association of Japanese Private Railways said it has been asking both Diet chambers to fork over money for the passes, but neither house has ever processed the requests.

Water supply cut off over formaldehyde
Five water-purification plants in Chiba, Saitama and Gunma prefectures halted some filtration operations Friday and Saturday after hazardous formaldehyde was detected, stirring fears the contamination came from the upstream part of a major river system of the Kanto region.
Saitama Prefecture halted water intake and supply at one of its filtration plants after formaldehyde exceeding permitted limits was found in tap water there, and Chiba stopped water intake at three plants after detecting the substance. Gunma followed suit.

Noda, EU leaders unite on tackling debt crisis
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has agreed with European Union leaders to work together in addressing Europe's sovereign debt crisis, a Japanese official said.
Noda was quoted as telling European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso on Friday that a "recovery in the European economy is indispensable for global stability and prosperity" while pointing out Japan has already provided help to alleviate the crisis.

DPJ may try to extend Diet till year's end to get tax hike OK
Executives of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan are considering a long extension for the current Diet session, including all the way to the end of the year, according to sources.
The legislative session is currently slated to end June 21.

Japanese woman, 73, again oldest atop Everest
A Japanese woman stunned the mountaineering world Saturday by successfully climbing the world's tallest mountain at the age of 73, setting a formidable record that could stay unchallenged for decades.
Tamae Watanabe launched her final assault on the treacherous upper slopes of Mount Everest from an altitude of 8,300 meters Friday night, reaching the top of the 8,848-meter peak Saturday morning, said Ang Tshering Sherpa, chairman of Katmandu's Asian Trekking, which organized her expedition.

Watson granted bail ahead of extradition ruling
A German court has granted bail to Paul Watson, the founder of the radical marine conservation group Sea Shepherd, while authorities decide whether he can be extradited to Costa Rica.
Bail was set for €250,000 (¥25.18 million).

Obama supports growth policies as G-8 leaders meet
Leaders of the world's most powerful nations were to focus their attention on Europe's economic woes Saturday after U.S. President Barack Obama threw his weight behind French calls for more growth policies.
Obama set the stage for a fractious Group of Eight summit at Camp David, Maryland, by forging an alliance with new French President Francois Hollande over the need to jolt Europe back to growth.

Economic woes, political volatility may creep into U.S. foreign affairs
No matter who wins the presidential election in November, the United States appears headed for a prolonged period of political volatility as leaders do not seem to have good answers to voters' anxieties about their economic future. This threatens to spill over into U.S. relations with the rest of the world in the form of increased protectionist pressures.
As Washington appears likely to face austerity constraints as it tries to grapple with the nation's economic woes, burden-sharing among its allies for security in Asia may be on the agenda in the coming years. Meanwhile, the U.S. — and perhaps Japan — needs to reconcile its "dual mind-set" about the rise of China and its security implications in the region.

Quake-resistance inspections lag
Only 10 percent of buildings along important roads in Tokyo have been checked for earthquake resistance, according to officials at the metropolitan government's Bureau of Urban Development. If buildings are not upgraded to higher safety standards, many vital roads and highways in the Tokyo region could become blocked if a serious earthquake hits. The lack of critical routes would severely obstruct emergency lifesaving efforts in the aftermath of such a quake.
In the Tokyo area, certain main roads and highways, such as the Metropolitan Expressway, Koshu Kaido (Route 20) and Kannana and Kanpachi (Ring Roads Nos. 7 and 8), among others, are designated as specific emergency transportation roads. They circle the central Tokyo area and run north-south and east-west through the city. Keeping them open is critical to ensure that emergency vehicles can perform essential services if a major quake hits Tokyo.

Ishihara eyes tieup with Hashimoto
The growing populist political movement has taken another step forward after Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara announced he will create a school for aspiring lawmakers and hopes to link it with Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto's Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka) group in time for the next Lower House election.
"Tokyo and Osaka will tie up to send new people into the political world. The entire coalition will create something like a Japan Restoration Party (Nihon Ishin no Kai)," Ishihara said in announcing the school Friday.

Kansai leaders vow 15% cut in summer electricity use
Kansai government leaders agreed Saturday to cut electricity use in the region by at least 15 percent between July and September under the assumption that the Oi No. 3 and No. 4 nuclear reactors in Fukui Prefecture won't be restarted in time to meet peak summer demand.
The governors and mayors of the seven-prefecture, two-city Union of Kansai Governments decided on the measure after a meeting with Goshi Hosono, the minister in charge of nuclear policy, who attended the meeting to explain why the central government wants to restart the reactors.

Miyagi has to ship less debris than initially estimated
The estimated amount of disaster debris that needs to be shipped out of Miyagi Prefecture has been revised downward to less than half the initial calculation of 3.44 million tons, officials said Saturday.
The amount of debris washed away into the sea was larger than originally estimated and disposal within the prefecture has been progressing, the officials said.

Excitement builds for rare eclipse, but will weather hold?
Sales of special darkened glasses have been brisk as anticipation builds ahead of Monday's full solar eclipse above one of the most densely populated parts of the planet.
A wide stretch of the country will be able to see the ring eclipse, in which the moon will pass in front of the sun, blocking out all but an outer circle of light. Scientists call this an annular eclipse.

¥16 billion economic boost expected
Monday's solar eclipse will translate into a ¥16.4 billion windfall for the economy, according to an economist's estimate.
The total includes ¥760 million in sales of special viewing glasses and ¥1.08 billion in spending to observe the full eclipse from hotels.

Sex slave plaque in New Jersey riles Japanese officials
Japanese officials are asking a small New Jersey town with a large Korean immigrant population to remove a public monument dedicated to women forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during the war.
The New York Times reported Friday that Palisades Park administrators were surprised by the request from two delegations of visiting Japanese officials.

Ministry to sell chunk of JT shares
The Finance Ministry will sell part of the government's stake in Japan Tobacco Inc. this year to raise more than ¥500 billion to finance reconstruction from the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
The ministry said Friday it expects to sell one-sixth of the tobacco company's outstanding shares in fiscal 2012 ending next March. The government, which now holds half of JT's outstanding shares, has decided to reduce the amount to a little more than one-third.