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Issue 46 |
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With Mikiko Yanase Card The Hakata Police Department arrested a 38-year old woman who had removed a bank card from the purse of a man she met through a telephone club. The woman allegedly stole the card and tactfully got the man to reveal his code number while admiring his purse on their first date. She then withrew 1.35 million yen with the card later that day. She was identified from the security video at the bank, which led to her arrest two months later. The woman has apparently been involved in similar cases in the past. 9/20 Bubble Company takes Bath.. A luxurious office building in Tenjin which was built 4 years ago is still waiting for an owner. The building, adorned with a large gold clock on a black granite facade, stands on a major intersection on Showa Dori in Tenjin. According to officials, the builder is an Osaka real estate company, one of the major clients of the infamous Japan Housing Loan Company. The building was completed in 1992, just as Japan's economic bubble burst, with the investment of 80 billion yen for the land and another 20 billion yen for construction. Though the asking price has dropped from 14 billion to 4 billion in the past 4 years, the only takers have been the handful of homeless people living downstairs. 9/20 Z Side An inaguration ceremony attracted 300 officials to the NTT-T building on Sep. 19. The basement up to the 6th floor of this new building houses "Iwataya Z-Side", which opened on Sep.22. The 7th floor contains "NTT Yume Tenjin," with a 252-seat hall and a trial video-conference facility. In April of next year, Kyushu's new International FM radio station will broadcast out of a studio on the same floor. 9/20 HIV Settlement. 42 plaintiffs agreed to a settlement in the Kyushu HIV case at the Fukuoka District Court on Sept.18. Seven HIV suits have been filed at District Courts nationwide by hemophiliacs who were infected with HIV through blood transfusions, and this settlement followed settlements in Tokyo, Osaka, and Sendai. Both the government and the pharmaceutical companies involved will pay each plaintiff 46.5 million yen, including legal fees of 1.5 million yen. Another 150,000 yen will be paid each month to those who have developed AIDS. One of the plaintiffs says ,"The case is over, but our suffering will never end." As for the three unsettled cases , attorneys express hope for the next hearing. 9/18 Gastronomical... A Nishinippon Newspaper survey revealed that money spent in fiscal 1995 for food and drinks for government officials' work-related outings decreased by 37%, some 2 billion yen less than the year before for the whole Kyushu region. In Kagoshima, where decrease was sharpest, it went down by 51.3%, a 278 million yen decrease. Fukuoka Pref. decreased 35.6%, down from 760 million to 488 million yen. 9/10 Murder A 48-year old taxi driver in Chuo-ku, Fukuoka City turned himself into the police on Sep.17, and admitted killing co-worker, another driver whose dismembered body was found in a box on the beach in Nishi-ku late August. He kept the victim's head for a few days at his house in Fukuoka, then deserted it on a street in Aso, Kumamoto, near his hometown. The motive seems to be 150 thousand yen which the suspect borrowed from the victim, and a conflict between the two over the victim's leaving the labor union. 9/18 Referendum A referendum was carried out on Sep. 8 in Okinawa Pref. concerning the US military base , and 89% of those polled favored reviewing the Japan-US Status Agreement and downsizing the bases in Okinawa. 60% of the voters turned up for the ballot. Responding to the result of the referendum, Okinawa Governor Ota expressed his determination to continue working to solve the base issue. 9/9 Homepage. The private organization Asian Citizens Network has opened a homepage on the Internet for Fukuoka 96' Asian Month. Topics ranging from culture and food to customs of the different Asian countries will be covered. Homepage address: http://acn. vnet.co.jp 9/19 Ray Of Hope. A Labrador Retriever named Ray is going to receive an award and a letter of thanks from the City of Fukuoka at City Hall on Oct. 2. Ray, who has been collecting discarded cans every morning on Mt. Mikazuki in Higashi-ku, became environmentally conscious about a year and a half ago, learning from his owner, a Mr. Asanaga.Ray braves thick shrubbery and steep cliffs in search of cans to help his master. In response to Ray's award, Mr. Asanaga said, "We are very proud of it, but we cannot be too happy that behind it, there are so many thoughtless people." 9/20 Fighter A Japanese fighter jet from WW II was found in the water off Gan-nosu, Higashi-ku. It was lying under the consturuction site of Island City, and was salvaged on Sep.10. Because of corrosion, it is difficult to identify the model. However, the fuselage is nearly perfect, and red rising sun marks are clearly seen on both sides of its wings. Officials say that it was either flying into or out of the Gan-nosu airport, which was used during the war. Three private organizations have claimed ownership. 9/10 Ripping the shoes off their feet There have been a series of strongarm robberies in Japan recently where the target was not the victim's wallet, but his shoes. Nike Air Maxx are at their height of popularity among Japanese teenagers, despite a pricetag of nearly 30,000 yen. Perhaps because of this price tag, gangs will approach the unsuspecting victim, grab him, kick him, and immobilize him, and then make off with his shoes. Issue 46 |
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