20110517

Japan dresses down to save power

by Washington Times

Two months after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami struck, there are warnings of power shortages over the peak summer period. Japan's Environment ministry has announced a "Super Cool Biz" campaign, to persuade workers to swap their suits for polo shirts, Hawaiian shirts, jeans and trainers. Shintaro Ishihara, the Tokyo governor, has called for the hundreds of thousands of vending machines that supply everything from hot coffee to schoolgirl's underwear to be turned off. (Washington Times)

Ex-education minister's wife, secretary get prison terms for fraud

by Kyodo

The wife of former education minister Takashi Kosugi and his former private secretary were sentenced Monday to prison terms on charges of obtaining a total of 180 million yen through fraud. "Their acts are reprehensible, considering that they took advantage of their being the wife and secretary of a lawmaker in trying to win trust," said Hajime Shimada, the presiding judge at the Tokyo District Court. The judge said that the responsibility of Keiko Kosugi, the legislator's wife, 74, and the former secretary, Takuro Niinuma, 64, is grave because the money they got was used to pay back Keiko's debts without their having the means to repay their victims. (Kyodo)