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Kyodo news summary -7-(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ---------- Riken to develop new supercomputer with Fujitsu TOKYO - The Japanese government-backed Riken research institute said Wednesday it will jointly develop a supercomputer with Fujitsu Ltd. to succeed the "K" supercomputer. The new supercomputer's computing capacity will be 100 times that of the K, which can perform 10 quadrillion operations per second. Fujitsu also participated in the development of K. ---------- Japan's secrecy law to take effect Dec. 10 TOKYO - The government obtained approval Wednesday from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party for its plan to put a controversial secrecy law into effect on Dec. 10. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet will finalize operational guidelines for the law as early as Oct. 10 before making preparations for the implementation, including the establishment of a monitoring body. ---------- Japan abductees' kin oppose proposed N. Korea trip by gov't officials TOKYO - Most family members of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea oppose a proposed trip by government officials to Pyongyang aimed at obtaining firsthand information on the North's ongoing abduction probe, the leader of a family group said Wednesday. When senior officials of the two countries met Monday in Shenyang, northeastern China, North Korea proposed that Japanese officials visit Pyongyang to directly learn about details of its "full-scale" investigation into the fates of Japanese abductees. ---------- Ontake becomes worst postwar volcanic disaster as toll reaches 48 NAGANO, Japan - The death toll from Saturday's eruption of Mt. Ontake in central Japan reached 48 on Wednesday, making it the worst postwar volcanic disaster in the country, as more victims were recovered from the mountain after search and rescue operations were resumed. Police said 48 people have been confirmed dead from the eruption, which occurred near the 3,067-meter peak without warning shortly before noon on Saturday when many hikers were enjoying lunch at the summit, or making their way up or down the trails in the high season. ---------- 17-year-old girl arrested on suspicion of killing mother, grandmother SAPPORO - Police arrested a 17-year-old girl on Wednesday on suspicion of killing her mother and grandmother at the family's home in Hokkaido earlier in the day. The high school student allegedly slashed her 47-year-old mother and 71-year-old grandmother with a knife at their home in the town of Namporo on Japan's northernmost main island in the early hours of Wednesday. ---------- H.K. protesters boo China's flag as gov't celebrates National Day HONG KONG - Hong Kong protesters on Wednesday booed as China's national flag was flown during a National Day ceremony, as demonstrations in the territory continued for a sixth day in protest at Beijing's political reform blueprint for its 2017 leader election, deemed "undemocratic" by the prodemocracy camp. About 1,000 protesters, mostly university students, jeered as two helicopters, one carrying a large Chinese flag beneath it that dwarfed a Hong Kong flag carried by another , flew past the venue of the ceremony, the Golden Bauhinia Square in the Wanchai district. ---------- Myanmar allows 9 foreign banks, including 3 from Japan, to open branches YANGON - Myanmar will allow nine foreign banks, including Japan's top three banks, to operate and set up branches in the country, the nation's central bank announced Wednesday. The licenses will be issued to the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank, along with six banks from Australia, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, the central bank said in a statement. ---------- Softbank to sell Sony smartphone for 1st time TOKYO - Softbank Corp. said Wednesday it will sell a Sony Corp. smartphone for the first time, in a move that could give a much-needed boost to Sony's struggling mobile business. The carrier will offer Sony's next flagship smartphone, the Xperia Z3, from late November, priced at 30,720 yen (about $280). But the handset will be available effectively free of charge if customers switch from other carriers and meet certain conditions such as signing a two-year contract. (c) 2014 Kyodo News |