TOKYO, Oct. 27, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- ----------
Gates, top Chinese general agree to strengthen bilateral military ties
WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and a top Chinese general agreed Tuesday to intensify efforts to forge a stronger military-to-military relationship between their two countries, the Pentagon said.
Gates and Xu Caihou, vice chairman of the People's Liberation Army Central Military Commission, concurred in their talks at the Pentagon on the need to jointly tackle the issues of Iran and North Korea, as well as of Afghanistan and Pakistan, it said in a statement.
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Saito becomes Japan Post president, most board members to be replaced
TOKYO - Former Vice Finance Minister Jiro Saito became president of Japan Post Holdings Co. on Wednesday as the new government moves to alter its predecessor's postal privatization scheme under new management.
Japan Post's board members are also expected to be largely replaced, with only two of the current nine board members likely to retain their posts and two former bureaucrats expected to be appointed new deputy presidents, sources close to the matter said.
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S. Korean ship in destroyer collision tried to pass another: captain
KITAKYUSHU, Japan - The captain of the South Korean container ship that collided with a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer Tuesday has told investigators the ship was trying to pass another ship when the accident occurred, the Japan Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A full investigation began Wednesday into the cause of the accident in the Kammon Strait between Yamaguchi and Fukuoka prefectures that left six people slightly injured on the 5,200-ton Japanese destroyer Kurama.
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Ex-Labor Minister Murakami on parole from prison term for bribe-taking
UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - Former Labor Minister Masakuni Murakami has been released on parole Wednesday before the end of his 26-month prison term for taking bribes in the late 1990s from a mutual aid organization for small and midsize businesses.
A former House of Councillors member from the Liberal Democratic Party, Murakami, 77, was detained in May last year after the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal in March that year against lower court rulings that convicted him, despite his claim of innocence.
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Kadena assembly opposes minister over consolidation of U.S. bases
NAHA, Japan - The town assembly of Kadena, Okinawa Prefecture, adopted Wednesday a motion opposing Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada and demanding that he retract his statement on consolidating a U.S. air station with another air base that the town hosts.
In a unanimous vote, the Kadena town assembly adopted the motion against Okada's repeated calls to move the functions of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station to the nearby U.S. Kadena Air Base, saying it will increase the burden on the town.
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5 dead as Afghan forces fight militants holed up in U.N. guesthouse
KABUL - Machinegun fire and an explosion resounded in central Kabul on Wednesday morning as Afghan forces battled with militants holed up in a U.N. guesthouse, Reuters news agency reported.
The Associated Press, meanwhile, quoted a policeman as saying at least five people have been killed in the incident, but it was not immediately clear how many of them were militants.
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23-year-old man arrested for skateboarding on heavy-traffic pathway
OSAKA - A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of skateboarding on a pathway with heavy pedestrian traffic in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, despite repeated warnings by the police, investigators said Wednesday.
Yuki Tokuine, a part-time worker in Sakai, was held for allegedly skateboarding and violating a traffic law on the night of Oct. 22 and 23.
