New Delhi, Japan would provide a soft loan of Rs 8317.15 crore to India for the third phase of Delhi Metro and project related to conservation of forests and biodiversity in West Bengal. India and Japan today signed an agreement in this regard here. "The soft loan would be extended by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the official donor agency of Japan government," a statement from JICA said. The loan agreement was signed by Chief Representative of JICA Shinichi Yamanaka and Joint Secretary , Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry Prabodh Saxena. Out of the total loan, the Delhi Metro would receive Rs 7,922 crore for its phase three of Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project while forest and biodiversity conservation project in West Bengal would be provided Rs 394 crore. The Delhi Metro's phase three will add 103 km route in metro network. The loan funds would be allocated for civil works, electrical and communication-related construction, rolling stock procurement and consulting services. Under the forest and biodiversity conservation project in West Bengal, forest management would be strengthened through joint forest management ...
Read Full Story

This is a true story of Mother’s Sacrifice during the Japan Earthquake. After the Earthquake had subsided, when the rescuers reached the ruins of a young woman’s house, they saw her dead body through the cracks. But her pose was somehow strange that she knelt on her knees like a person was worshiping; her body was leaning forward, and her two hands were supporting by an object. The collapsed house had crashed her back and her head. With so many difficulties, the leader of the rescuer team put his hand through a narrow gap on the wall to reach the woman’s body. He was hoping that this woman could be still alive. However, the cold and stiff body told him that she had passed away for sure. He and the rest of the team left this house and were going to search the next collapsed building. For some reasons, the team leader was driven by a compelling force to go back to the ruin house of the dead woman. Again, he knelt down and used his had through the narrow cracks to search the little space under the dead body. Suddenly, he screamed with excitement,” A child! There is a child! “ The whole team worked together; carefully they removed the piles of ruined objects around the ...
Read Full Story

Beijing, An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale hit near the east coast of Japan's Honshu island Wednesday, the Hong Kong Observatory said. The epicentre of the temblor that struck at 2.33 GMT, about 150 km southeast of Tokyo city, was initially determined to be near 35.2 degrees north latitude and 141.4 degrees east longitude, Xinhua reported. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to property. Last year, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan March 11 had left almost 20,000 dead or missing. ...
Read Full Story

Tokyo, An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) group has found the safety tests it had overseen at Japan's idled nuclear reactors to be in line with international standards. The head of a delegation from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) submitted a report to Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency (NISA) Tuesday in this regard, Xinhua reported. The preliminary report by James Lyons, head of the IAEA's fact-finding team, was submitted to the Director General of NISA, Hiroyuki Fukano. It judged that NISA's overseeing of power companies' stress tests was appropriate. "The conclusion of the team is that NISA's instructions and review process for the Comprehensive Safety Assessments are generally consistent with IAEA Safety Standards," the IAEA said in a written statement. Lyons, director of nuclear installations safety at the IAEA, told reporters he was impressed by Japan's emergency safety measures following last March's tsunami-triggered nuclear crisis, although he noted there was room for improvement. "We were very impressed with the way Japan quickly implemented the emergency safety measures after the accident in March. They have also been ...
Read Full Story

NEW YORK/VIENNA : The United Nations (UN) on Monday announced that a group of international experts is assessing the radiation damage caused by the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan last year. The group of sixty experts kicked off a week-long meeting in the Austrian capital of Vienna on Monday in order to identity critical gaps in the data which is available, where additional focus is required, and how to ensure the quality and reliability of what the assessment is based on. "We are putting together a jigsaw puzzle, evaluating the exposures of the general public, of workers, and radiation effects, and looking for the missing pieces," said Wolfgang Weiss, Chair of the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The power plant was damaged in March 2011 when a massive 9.0-magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami struck to eastern coast of Japan. The disaster knocked out water cooling systems at the plant, contaminating air, water, plants and animals with radioactive plumes dozens of kilometers (miles) from the site. Data is being collected and evaluated from different sources, including Japan, the UN Food and ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, The XI High Level Meeting and Combined Exercises between Coast Guards of India and Japan concluded today with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) Commandant Admiral Hisayasu Suzuki leading the Japanese delegation during the five-day parlance. Both sides discussed maritime issues of mutual concern while formulating a cooperative approach to address matters between the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), according to official sources. During the discussions, it was mutually agreed to strengthen cooperation on evolving collaborative approach, in addressing a spectrum of maritime issues concerning safety and security, said the Defence Ministry here. The visit also provided renewed impetus to strong ties that exist between the two Coast Guards as the Japan Coast Guard Ship has visited India, after a gap of six years, for the combined exercises with the ICG off Chennai. The visit was in pursuance of the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC), signed between the two Coast Guards in November 2006, which stipulates that heads of the two organisations meet alternately in India and Japan, to discuss maritime issues of mutual concerns and formulate a cooperative ...
Read Full Story

Islamabad, Pakistan may increase prices of petroleum products Jan 31, a media report said. The price rise is expected between Rs.3 to Rs.6 per litre. An official said that tension between the US and Iran has prompted heavy buying by China and Japan, resulting in a high demand and increase in prices, reported the daily Dawn. He said that oil prices in the Middle East have risen to $112 per barrel. Pakistan's major supplies come from the Middle East. In December last year, Pakistan increased the price of diesel by Rs.4.67 to Rs.98.94 per litre and that of petrol by 48 paisa to Rs.87.89 per litre. ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, India and Japan today discussed bilateral issues of ports and shipping sectors, including ship breaking, ship building and connectivity projects to ports. A Japanese delegation, led by its Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda met Shipping Minister G K Vasan here, an official statement said. During the meet, both the leaders discussed bilateral issues and development projects of ports, drafts, new berths and terminals, especially relating to Chennai and Ennore projects. Mr Akitaka Saiki, Ambassador of Japan to India, was also present during the meet, the statement added. ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi,Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda Wednesday sought India's support and understanding on the emotive issue of North Korea abducting Japanese nationals. "I requested the understanding and support of the Indian side on the abduction issue," Noda said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here. Japan says its 17 nationals were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. The issue remains unresolved, with the last talks held between Tokyo and Pyongyang in 2008. North Korea's nuclear programme and the situation in the reclusive country after the death of its leader Kim Jong-il figured in discussions between the two leaders. Noda also sought China's support in the abductions case when he met Chinese leaders before he flew to New Delhi for the annual summit. India's ties with North Korea are lukewarm at best, but lately relations have improved after New Delhi provided substantial food assistance to Pyongyang early this year when it was reeling under a famine. The Japanese government Tuesday decided to set up seven panels to boost its efforts to address the issue of abductions ...
Read Full Story

London, Japan has built a crystal lavatory encrusted with more than 72,000 pieces of Swarovski cut crystal, which is valued at over 100,000 dollars. Lavatory manufacturer INAX teamed up with an Austrian jeweler to create the ornate fixture, which is on display in a showroom in Japan’s posh Ginza shopping district. In a nod to traditional belief, the sparkling lavatory was created to please the ‘god of lavatories’. “In Japan, we believe a deity exists in the lavatory. That’s why keeping lavatories clean and taking good care of it have been a Japanese custom since long ago,” the Telegraph quoted Kazuo Sumimiya, director of the showroom for the Lixil interior fixture company of which INAX is a part, as saying. “If we were to sell it, it would probably be worth around 10 million yen,” he said. Visitors admired the dazzling fixture, with one woman saying she’d like to invite her friends and hold a party around it. But others said it might be a bit too exalted to be useful. "It’d be hard. I don’t think I’d feel comfortable enough to use it even if I had this at home," said 22-year-old Chikako Kawanami, an art museum receptionist. The ...
Read Full Story

Tokyo, Japan Monday launched a satellite to gather intelligence and data on natural disasters, authorities said. Japan launched an H-2A rocket carrying a radar satellite Monday morning, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said. The rocket was launched at 10.21 from Tanegashima Space Center in the southwestern Kagoshima prefecture, reported Xinhua. The radar satellite launch was believed to be an attempt by the Japanese government to hone its intelligence-gathering capabilities. It will also play a role in collecting data on natural disasters. The launch was initially scheduled Sunday but was postponed due to bad weather, the JAXA said. ...
Read Full Story

Tokyo, Japan has said that efforts to decontaminate areas polluted by radioactive matter from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster cannot begin until late March or later. The country’s Environment Ministry said that the government needs time to obtain the consent of individual landowners and to secure temporary storage sites for contaminated soil removed from irradiated areas. Radiation is to be reduced to less than 1 millisieverts per year, Japan Times reports. Contaminated soil, after being removed, is to be stored in locations a certain distance away from residential areas. In October, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had said that the government would spend at least a trillion yen (13 billion dollars) to clean up vast areas contaminated by radiation from the disaster. The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster is a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns, and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following the March 11 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami. The largest nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, the disaster has not yet caused any observed deaths according to the International Atomic Energy ...
Read Full Story

Washington, Ahead of the first trilateral consultation between India, Japan and the US here, India has said it will continue to deepen its engagement with the Asia-Pacific region. The upcoming consultations scheduled for Dec 19, "would help increase mutual understanding and enhance our cooperative endeavours", Indian Ambassador Nirupama Rao said in an address Monday at University of California, Berkeley on 'India and the Asia-Pacific: Expanding engagement.' With its growing economy and as a result of the efforts over the past two decades, India is today regionally well integrated with the existing institutional regional structures, Rao said. "We also witness a greater interest within the countries of this region in strengthening relations with India, recognizing the strength of India - in terms of the growing size of our economy, achievements in science and technology and our contributions for the maintenance of peace and security. "As we move towards an Asia-Pacific century, India will continue to deepen its engagement with the region as well as contribute to its overall prosperity, stability and security," she said. Today, the scope of India's Look East policy ...
Read Full Story

Washington, NASA and Ohio State University researchers have discovered the major tsunami generated by the March 2011 Tohoku-Oki quake centered off northeastern Japan was a long-hypothesized "merging tsunami." The tsunami doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its destructive power at landfall. Data from NASA and European radar satellites captured at least two wave fronts that day. The fronts merged to form a single, double-high wave far out at sea. This wave was capable of traveling long distances without losing power. Ocean ridges and undersea mountain chains pushed the waves together along certain directions from the tsunami's origin. The discovery helps explain how tsunamis can cross ocean basins to cause massive destruction at some locations while leaving others unscathed. The data raise hope that scientists may be able to improve tsunami forecasts. Research scientist Y. Tony Song of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., and professor C.K. Shum of The Ohio State University discussed the data and simulations that enabled them to piece the story together at a media briefing Monday, Dec. 5, at the American Geophysical Union meeting in ...
Read Full Story

New Delhi, India and Japan took stock of their cooperation with African countries at the 3rd round of their Dialogue on Africa that took place in Tokyo on November 24 and 25. The two sides held wide ranging discussions on their respective cooperation with the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) of Africa. They also discussed economic cooperation with select African countries, and issues of mutual political interest including regional affairs in Africa and UN Security Council Reforms and impact on Africa of major political developments in the region. The Indian delegation was led by Mr Gurjit Singh, Additional Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs while the Japanese side was led by Ambassador Sumio Kusaka, Director General for African Affairs in Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Personal Representative of the Prime Minister for Africa. The two countries also explored avenues of mutual cooperation for contributing to Africa’s socio-economic development, peace and security. In this regard, the Indian delegation also held meetings with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation ...
Read Full Story

Tokyo, Japan has announced its bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and established the Tokyo 2020 Council, headed by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and including other key figures from the government, business and sports communities. The newly-formed council Monday said in a release that a premium advisory board was convened at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building with all 64 members agreeing to exert utmost to provide all necessary support and advice to Tokyo's bid to host the mega event, Xinhua reported. Tsunekazu Takeda, Tokyo 2020 Council president, who is also the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) chief and a former Olympian, expressed his gratitude to the members for their enthusiastic support for Tokyo's bid. "I am certain that the establishment of the council will send a clear message to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that the whole of Japan is united in its efforts to ensure that Tokyo's bid for the 2020 Games is successful." "Staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020 would serve as a major motivating force for the Japanese sporting community and act as a catalyst for the regeneration and reinvigoration of Japan, and ...
Read Full Story

Tokyo, There has been little progress from the Chinese side to a Japanese request to help probe a cyber attack that took place earlier this year on the computer system of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. Tokyo made the request in September, but Beijing is yet to act on the alleged that is said to have originated in China. According to the Japan Times, after its own investigation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.said viruses had infected its in-house servers and computers in mid-August but there was no sign important defense-related data was taken. Soon after the attack, MHI filed a complaint with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, which came across information that pointed to the viruses coming from somewhere in China, the sources said. The government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is studying whether he should bring up the subject at a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other senior officials when he visits China next ...
Read Full Story

New York, Twelve elements, ranging from rice planting rituals in Japan to Mexico’s mariachi music to a horseback-riding tradition in France, were on Sunday added to the United Nations-backed list of the world’s outstanding examples of intangible heritage. A 24-member intergovernmental committee, meeting in Bali, Indonesia, inscribed seven elements on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity during its morning session and another five in the afternoon session, according to a press release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The new additions include two from Japan: Mibu no Hana Taue, the ritual of transplanting rice which takes place in two communities in Hiroshima prefecture on the first Sunday in June each year and Sada Shin Noh, the series of sacred purification dances performed every Sept at Sada shrine in Matsue City. There are two additions from Croatia: Becarac singing and playing from the country''s east, where singers are accompanied by a tambura band and Nijemo Kolo, a silent circle dance from the hinterland of the Dalmatian region. Two famed musical traditions were also included: ...
Read Full Story

Bali, Japan has stressed the need of establishing a forum for maritime cooperation, which would help resolving the South China Sea disputes. "We were able to confirm the importance of international laws for the oceans, which are a public asset connecting the Asia-Pacific region," Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said at the East Asian Summit in Bali. He also said the East Asian Summit participants shared the view that "maritime issues will be handled through cooperation and dialogue." None of the leaders at the summit opposed or agreed to the Japan’s proposal, the country’s foreign ministry official said. Beijing is currently embroiled in territorial disputes with the US allies, including the Philippines and Taiwan, over island groupings in the South China Sea. Though the South China Sea dispute may not concern Japan directly, the interests at stake are linked with its own. University of Tokyo''s Graduate School of Law and Politics Professor Akio Takahara said the East China Sea issue forced Japan to intervene in the territorial claims. Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea are administered by Japan but China and Taiwan have repeatedly claimed ...
Read Full Story