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Kyodo Top12 News (10:45)(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Suspected gas explosion in southern Taiwan kills 23 TAIPEI - A series of powerful gas explosions ripped through a port city in southern Taiwan midnight Thursday, killing at least 23 people and injuring 271 others, Taiwan's National Fire Agency said Friday. Investigation of the cause of the disaster is under way. Kaohsiung City officials said they suspect the explosions were caused by leaks from oil or gas pipelines that exploded and then caught fire. The city's fire bureau said Kaohsiung has asked local oil and gas companies -- Chinese Petroleum Corp. (Taiwan) and Hsin-Kao Gas Co. -- to cut off supplies to the Cianjhen District where 2 kilometers of roads and homes were destroyed. ---------- Japan, Chile agree to enhance cooperation in resources development SANTIAGO - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet agreed during their meeting Thursday to cooperate on resources development and confirmed expanding cooperation in disaster mitigation efforts between the two quake-prone countries. "Chile is an important partner who shares basic values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and rule of law," Abe told a joint press conference after the talks. "We will strengthen exchanges in the areas of disaster reduction, science and technology, not just in economic affairs." The Japanese leader said he and Bachelet have also reached an agreement on collaborating in disarmament issues and seeking an early conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade negotiations. ---------- IMF to cooperate with BRICS in new currency swap deal WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund is ready to cooperate with a group of five key emerging economies in an emergency currency swap deal, according to IMF head Christine Lagarde. Speaking to a group of reporters earlier in the week, Lagarde welcomed the Contingency Reserve Agreement that Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- collectively known as BRICS -- recently agreed to establish, saying the bloc "is planning on cooperating with the IMF." "There has to be cooperation" between various players when a new mechanism is established, Lagarde said, referring to the importance of strengthening the international safety net for a further stabilized financial system. ---------- IMF report on Japan sees yen fairly valued WASHINGTON - The International Monetary Fund said in a report released Thursday that the yen is currently at fair values against other major currencies. The yen is assessed "as broadly consistent with medium-term fundamentals," the Washington-based lender said in the annual assessment of the Japanese economy. The IMF released the report after the Executive Board concluded its annual consultations with Japan last week following discussions in Tokyo in May. No further monetary easing is needed at this stage but the Bank of Japan "will need to act swiftly to scale up asset purchases" if the growth weakens or prices fall, the IMF said. ---------- U.S. lawmakers urge Japan to further open farm market WASHINGTON - A bipartisan group of 140 U.S. House of Representatives members recently asked President Barack Obama to urge Japan to open its agricultural industry wider through negotiations of a Pacific Rim free trade pact. Describing the 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership as a "high-standard" free trade agreement, the 140 lawmakers, nearly one-third of the lower chamber, urged Obama's administration to hold Japan to the same high norms as other TPP partners. "Otherwise, congressional support for a final TPP agreement will be jeopardized," the lawmakers said in a letter dated Wednesday that was sent to Obama. ---------- Family of U.S. man jailed in N. Korea pleads U.S. for help NEW YORK - The family of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary detained in North Korea since 2012, made a "desperate plea" Thursday to the U.S. government for help after learning of an interview in a pro-Pyongyang paper that reveals he feels "abandoned" by Washington. "Although we acknowledge and appreciate all the efforts the U.S. State Department has been making behind the scenes to secure Kenneth's release, the fact remains that after almost two years, Kenneth still remains imprisoned in North Korea," the family said in a press release. "Please do whatever it takes to bring Kenneth home. It is long past time." ---------- Japan to supply 6 ships to Vietnam, intended for patrolling HANOI - The Japanese government decided Thursday to provide Vietnam with six vessels as part of a grant aid package, expecting them to be converted for use in maritime security patrol by Hanoi, which is in a territorial standoff with China in the South China Sea, Japanese government sources said. Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who arrived in the Southeast Asian country Thursday, is expected to announce the plan during his talks with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on Friday, the sources said. Of the six, two are fishery patrol boats of the Fisheries Agency, while four are commercial fishing boats, the sources said. All are previously owned and are 600 to 800 ton-class ships. Lifeboats and other equipment will also be offered. The grant aid totals 500 million yen. ---------- French telecom makes $15 billion bid for T-Mobile US NEW YORK - French telecommunications service provider Iliad S.A. said Thursday it has offered T-Mobile US Inc. $15 billion in cash to obtain a majority share of the U.S. wireless company. "T-Mobile US has successfully established a disruptive position, which in many ways, is similar to the one Iliad has built in France," the company said in a press release announcing the bid for the fourth largest carrier in the United States, which Iliad said has a "large and attractive" market. The move to acquire 56.6 percent of the U.S. carrier for $33 per share seemingly pits the French company against Japan's SoftBank Corp., which is planning to buy T-Mobile through its U.S. wireless company Sprint Corp. that it bought last year. ---------- Water treatment to get into full swing at Fukushima facility in Dec. TOKYO - The operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant said Thursday it will begin full-scale operation of its trouble-plagued radioactive water treatment facility in December after taking steps to improve its performance. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which began a test-run of the facility in March last year, initially planned to start its full-scale operation in April to accelerate efforts at tackling the toxic water buildup at the complex. But it was forced to delay the plan as the facility was hit by a series of problems. The water treatment performance of the facility, which is said to be capable of removing 62 types of radioactive substances from toxic water generated in the process of cooling the reactors that suffered meltdowns in the 2011 nuclear crisis, has also not been as good as expected because some of the substances remain untreated. ---------- Soseki Natsume's novel "Kokoro" tops 7 million paperback sales TOKYO - "Kokoro," one of the best known works by Japanese novelist Soseki Natsume, has sold more than 7 million copies, the most among over 3,000 titles in Shinchosha Publishing Co.'s paperback series, the publisher said Thursday. Shinchosha first published the novel whose title means "Heart" in its paperback format in 1952. The work gained renewed interest in April when it marked its centennial since Natsume (1867-1916) released it as serialized installments in a newspaper. Shinchosha printed 100,000 copies of the novel in the past three months. Novelist Osamu Dazai's "No Longer Human" came second with about 6.7 million copies. Kokoro depicts the loneliness of Meiji era intellectuals through a story in which a man betrays his best friend to obtain a lover, and then feels guilty for the friend's subsequent suicide. ---------- Tokyo stocks open lower, dollar remains in upper 102 yen range TOKYO - Tokyo stocks opened lower Friday as investor sentiment was soured by sharp overnight declines in U.S. shares. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average fell 113.48 points, or 0.73 percent, from Thursday to 15,507.29. At 10:30 a.m., the Nikkei index was down 37.11 points, or 0.24 percent, at 15,583.66. The broader Topix index was down 4.76 points, or 0.37 percent, at 1,284.66. On the currency market, the U.S. dollar traded in the upper 102 yen range. At 10:30 a.m., the dollar fetched 102.88-93 yen compared with 102.75-85 yen in New York late Thursday afternoon. The euro was quoted at 137.72-73 yen against 137.60-70 yen in New York. ---------- Weather forecast for key cities in Japan TOKYO - Weather forecast for Friday: Tokyo=fair, then cloudy; Osaka=fair, then cloudy; Nagoya=fair, occasionally cloudy; Sapporo=fair, occasionally cloudy; Sendai=cloudy, occasionally fair; Niigata=cloudy, occasionally fair; Hiroshima=cloudy; Takamatsu=cloudy; Fukuoka=cloudy, occasionally rain; Naha=rain. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |