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It was Wednesday when a coast guard officer dropped a bombshell on his skipper and sparked a national sensation. The 43-year-old chief navigator of the patrol ship Uranami, stationed in Kobe, reportedly admitted he posted video clips on the Internet showing a Chinese trawler ramming Japanese patrol craft off the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, shaking the Cabinet to the core. The leak of the videos of the Sept. 7 collisions has raised two critical questions for the government and investigators: should he be punished for leaking what the government believes is " secret," and how can the...

WAKAYAMA (Kyodo) Whale meat has been slowly put back on school lunch menus since around 2005, according to a recent survey released Saturday, as the meat is being made available at low prices in a bid to expand consumption. Of about 29,600 public elementary and junior high schools nationwide offering lunches for students, 5,355 schools, or 18 percent, responded they had served whale meat in their lunches at least once in fiscal 2009 through March 2010, according to the survey conducted from June to August this year. The Institute of Cetacean Research, which carries out the government's whaling, provided whale...

Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2010 U.S. fudges Senkaku security pact status WASHINGTON (Kyodo) The Obama administration has decided not to state explicitly that the Senkaku Islands, which are under Japan's control but claimed by China, are subject to the Japan-U.S. security treaty, in a shift from the position of George W. Bush, sources said Monday. Although the U.S. government has not officially changed its stance that the Japan-U.S. pact applies to the uninhabited East China Sea islets, known in China as the Diaoyu isles, the shift from making a direct reference to them could become a source of concern for Tokyo...

I am at wits end here because of a problem when I run Windows XP on my iMac via bootcamp, so I am hoping some brainy FReeper can help me out. The problem is that the display dims immediately after I log in, and I can't find the controls to brighten it back up to normal. It's almost as if it is going into some sort of screen-saver mode. Note that there is absolutely no problem when I launch my spouse's profile or guest. It only happens when I log into my profile. And, it only happens when I am...

There have been a lot of threads recently on liberal activists who intend to disrupt tea party events by acting as agents provocateur. They intend to cause problems by making the tea party attendants seem more violent and extreme than are by carrying offensive signs, shouting racial and homophobic epitaphs, etc. Many people have suggested that FReeper attendees carry cameras and get pics of these cretins, but I think more is needed. We need a site or a thread, possibly even this one, where pics of the perpetrators can be immediately posted. That way, the good folk who cannot attend...

HELP!! I just got a new iPhone and am trying to download music, but it keeps asking for an Apple ID, and I don't have that. All of my paperwork is in Japanese and my reading is not that great. Any advice is welcome!!!

The rule is, "every gun should be treated as if it were loaded." What is the meaning of this rule? An unloaded gun is merely a heavy blunt object and as much a weapon as a baseball bat, table leg or tire iron. An unloaded gun retains the same properties as any heavy, oddly shaped piece of metal, and could be used as a paperweight, doorstop or crude hammer. Yet place a cartridge into the gun and it becomes an all new different object with inherited and unique characteristics. Where as an unloaded gun is at best a crude weapon,...

Ministers mulling options over Nago base move In light of next year marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Thursday it's time the overall defense alliance is reviewed. While stressing how the alliance is still a significant cornerstone in Japan's foreign policy, Hatoyama said his administration plans to promote a "multilayered development" of the alliance in the medium to long term. "The Japan-U.S. Security Treaty will be marking its 50-year milestone," Hatoyama said on the second day of the Diet's question-and-answer period, responding to questions posed in the Upper House...

The Democratic Party of Japan will pledge a 25 percent cut in Japan's greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from 1990 levels in its manifesto for the upcoming national campaign, party officials said Sunday. Bidding to wrest power from the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling coalition, the DPJ has decided to set a more ambitious emissions goal than the 8 percent target set last month by Prime Minister Taro Aso. The DPJ's target, however, is the same as that pledged by the LDP's coalition partner, New Komeito. The DPJ's strategy would entail the adoption of a cap-and-trade system under which each company's...

I have been working as an independent professional rewriter and editor for many years and have recently began upgrading my resources and skills to handle science and medical technical papers, etc. I have heard some good things about Stylewriter, but I have also heard it takes a long time to get used to and the settings are difficult to manage. I have also seen online advertisements for a product called White Smoke, that seems much easier to use, but I have no idea of how capable it actually is. I know Free Republic has a great number of writers and...

(Japanese) Justice minister praises contentious biometric scanning regime for catching undesirables The new biometric system that fingerprints and photographs all incoming foreigners at airports and seaports prevented 846 undesirables from entering the country over the past year, the Immigration Bureau said Friday. All were forced to leave Japan immediately, immigration official Aiko Oumi said. The number accounts for 8.5 percent of about 10,000 foreigners whom immigration officers at airports and seaports expel every year after learning, through questioning and other measures, they had criminal records or were involved in illegal acts. Despite complaints from foreigners who say mandatory fingerprinting, which...

In my new job I have just been handed the task of putting together a disaster readiness plan that addresses everything from building evacuation, first aid, logistics, and everything else. I got the job because for my sins, I am the only veteran in the company, and I was just a squid. If anyone else out there has experience in this sort of thing, I would appreciate some help. I have to have something on paper by 0900 tomorrow morning. The good news is I have (within reason) a blank check as to how to put it together and purchasing...

NAHA (Kyodo) Police in Okinawa Prefecture arrested a 38-year-old U.S. Marine on Monday on suspicion of raping a 14-year-old local girl, sparking stern protest from both central and local government officials against the United States and the U.S. military. The suspect is identified as Tyrone Hadnott, a staff sergeant who belongs to the Camp Courtney base in the southernmost Japanese prefecture. He has denied raping the girl, saying he only forced her down and kissed her, the police said. According to investigators, Hadnott is suspected of raping the schoolgirl inside a car parked on a street in the town of...

My heart is breaking and I just can't talk after seeing this.

If this is what is going out on Russian TV, it's much more serious than I thought.

I am looking for a copy (VHS preferably) if the Otto Preminger film "The Cardinal". I will pay postage and handling.

While rummaging through a recycle shop here in Tokyo I came across this Navy Flight jacket. Lord knows how it managed to end up here, but it's obviously the real thing. I bought it with the idea of returning it to the original owner (or his family) if possible. I am currently unable to identify three of the patches, including the largest one on the back, so any information anyone can supply would be a help.

I have just landed a plum of a job as an assistant news editor for one of the biggest names in industrial news reporting. The problem is my ears. I was medically discharged from the Navy 18 years ago with bilateral hearing loss and have been using a relatively good Rionet (Japanese brand) Hearing Aid for many years. Unfortunately, its not cutting the mustard in my new office and my new boss has pretty much given me an ultimatum. Get an effective hearing instrument that will allow you to work in an office environment professionally – including telephone and conference...

KOBE (Kyodo) An elementary school in Hyogo Prefecture has accepted a 7-year-old boy with gender identity disorder as a girl, a local board of education said Thursday. The second-grader was diagnosed with the disorder before entering school, a board official said. Gender identity disorder occurs when someone's gender identity differs from his or her biological sex. The board of education and the school decided to treat the pupil as a girl after talking with the child's parents from January to March of last year, the official said. Since entering school in April last year, the child has undergone health checks...

Thursday, January 5, 2006 at 15:12 EST YOKOHAMA — A U.S. serviceman from the U.S. aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk has admitted killing a 56-year-old Japanese woman in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, informed sources said Thursday, citing investigations by the U.S. forces in Japan. More than one U.S. serviceman were taken in custody, including the one who admitted killing the woman, the sources said. The victim, Yoshie Sato, was found bleeding from her face and head near a building in Yokosuka at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday. The U.S. forces started investigating the case following inquiries from the local police, who found footage on...