寺乗っ取り事件 誠道会会長を逮捕 県警 不正登記関与の疑い

寺乗っ取り事件　誠道会会長を逮捕　県警　不正登記関与の疑い
2009年4月10日 15:08 カテゴリー：社会 九州・山口 > 福岡
京都市内で逮捕され護送される朴政浩容疑者（中央）＝１０日午後０時半すぎ、ＪＲ博多駅

　福岡県警は１０日、福岡市中央区の寺院の土地乗っ取り事件に関与したとして、電磁的公正証書原本不実記録・同供用などの疑いで、指定暴力団九州誠道会（本部・同県大牟田市）会長の朴政浩容疑者（５２）を逮捕した。県警は逮捕状を取り行方を追っていたが、潜伏先の京都市内で発見した。

　逮捕容疑は、宗教法人「八坂神社」前代表役員の武田信玄（のぶとら）被告（５７）＝同罪などで公判中＝らと共謀して２００７年１２月、福岡市の寺院の土地（約１２００平方メートル）の所有権を葬祭会社に移転させる虚偽の登記をした疑い。葬祭会社の代表取締役には一時、朴容疑者の親族が就任していたことから、県警は九州誠道会が関与した疑いがあるとみて調べていた。

　九州誠道会は２００６年５月、指定暴力団道仁会（本部・同県久留米市）の会長後継人事をめぐって離脱した勢力で発足、道仁会と抗争を繰り返している。朴容疑者は九州誠道会の最高幹部。

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In "Africa Wax" war, Dutch take on China

6 hours 5 mins ago
AFP Claire Rosemberg

* Print Story

A new trade war is unrolling across Africa: a battle between Chinese textile-makers and a colonial-era company from The Netherlands, original maker of the eye-catching "Dutch Wax" fabrics often known as "Africa Wax." Skip related content
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Little known at home or anywhere else in Europe, the house of Vlisco is one of Africa's most-known brands, suppliers since 1846 of the bright cloths stamped with extravagant designs that are a hallmark of the continent.

But China's deepening foray into Africa has upset the makers of "Guaranteed Dutch Wax," who say workaholic Chinese are copying their designs as soon as they hit ports to dump cheaper low-quality lookalikes on African marketplaces.

"For the price of a yard of Vlisco, you can buy eight to 10 copies," Ed Hessing, the company's sales manager, told AFP. "The competition from China is a threat."

"We must defend ourselves against dirt-cheap Chinese copies. We aim to become the top high-end fashion brand of Africa."

Striving to become a luxury brand in impoverished Africa in times of economic turbulence might sound outlandish but is exactly what the old established Dutch firm is up to.

For the first time in 160 years, the company this week threw its collection of fabrics onto a Paris catwalk for a crowd of several hundred people in the hopes of grabbing the spotlight in the world's fashion capital.

"We want to create a buzz around our fabrics," said Hessing, who says the original Dutch cloth is far hardier than the imitation roller-printed version. The real thing lasts 15 years and is colour-fast, he said.

Inspired by Indonesia's batik method of dying cloth, a Dutch merchant family called the Van Vissingens industrialised the method in Europe in the 19th century. By the late 1800s they were supplying the bulk of the Indonesian market as well as selling in West African ports where Dutch freighters set anchor.

Popular from the start in fabric-loving Africa, the Dutch-made cloth continues to come bearing a stamp saying "Vlisco Guaranteed Dutch Wax," an imprint that often features proudly in finished garments -- just as Westerners like to flaunt logos such as D&G or Nike.

"Through the ages African women have really appreciated Dutch designs, even over the African designs on the market," said Annette Schmidt, curator of an exhibition on African wax at the Dutch National Ethnology Museum.

Vlisco, which describes itself as the biggest textile company in The Netherlands, has a dozen-odd designers among its staff of 500 -- but not a single artist is African.

"We don't try to make our designs African," the firm's creative director Henk Bremer said. "But there seems to be a click with Dutch design, I think it is because West Africans like innovation and novelty."

At the Paris show, the company paraded its own designs cut in its latest collection of fabrics as well as outfits by three young African stylists, winners each of a 5,000-euro Vlisco fashion prize.

"Africa is evolving, Africa is modernising," Bremer said. "They use our designs as their inspiration."

Patterns might incorporate mobile phones, computers, modern kitchens and rollerskates.

"I saw the rollerskate design on women in villages in Mali who I'm sure had never seen a real one, but I guess they saw the humour," Schmidt said.

"All popular designs are named and have a specific meaning" said Bremer, adding that most often the fabrics were given names by local saleswomen.

Thus a design featuring human eyes is "the eyes of my rival" and one of a recurring bedroom suite known as "come to my bedroom on your sandals."

With these decades of know-how behind it, and a 100-million-euro turnover last year, Vlisco is fighting back to entrench its foothold in Africa.

To maintain its edge, staff are turning out new collections of fabrics every three months now, giving competitors less time to copy.

And the company is moving away from street-market booths selling bolts of fabric to instead offer ready-to-wear lines in "flagship" boutiques opened last year in Benin and Togo and this month in Ivory Coast.

New stores are planned for Ghana and the Democratic Republic of Congo in late 2009, with one in Paris in 2010, Hessing said.

"We want to reach the African diaspora in Europe now," he said.

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日銀、自己資本を増強　財務悪化に備え準備金積み増し

　日銀は金融危機対策での損失リスクに備えるため、自己資本を増強する方向で検討に入った。2009年に入って企業のコマーシャルペーパー（ＣＰ）や社債の買い取りを始めたが、購入資産の価値が下がれば巨額の損失が発生する恐れがある。財務の健全性を確保して通貨の信認を保つとともに、追加的な政策を打ち出しやすくする。利益のうち国庫納付金を減額する一方で、資本に組み入れる法定準備金を増やす案が有力だ。

　資本増強は5月に確定する2008年度決算から実施する方向。月内にも規模などの詳細を固めて政策委員会で決定し、5月上旬に与謝野馨財務相に申請する。財務省も「金融危機対策では日銀との連携を強める必要がある」と資本増強を容認する方向だ。(07:02)

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トヨタ、２期連続営業赤字の公算　販売700万台割れへ

　トヨタ自動車の2010年3月期（米国会計基準）は、本業のもうけを示す連結営業損益が2期連続で赤字になる見通しだ。世界的な景気悪化で自動車販売が低迷するうえ、円高で輸出採算も厳しく、赤字幅は5000億円超となる可能性もある。連結販売台数（日野自動車、ダイハツ工業を含む）は650万台前後と、6年ぶりに700万台を下回りそうだ。

　生産体制の見直しや合理化を強化し、11年3月期の黒字回復を目指す。

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丸紅、中国政府系の食糧備蓄会社と提携　穀物大量調達で

　丸紅は中国の食糧備蓄を管理する中国食糧備蓄管理総公司（北京市、シノグレイン）と包括提携した。丸紅が海外で大豆などの穀物を買い付けるほか、生産国の集荷施設に共同で投資する。中国は食糧需要が急増しており、丸紅の調達力を生かして海外から安定的に穀物を確保する。丸紅は日本の約10倍の規模を持つ中国市場に販路を確保。生産国・企業への交渉力を高め、日本への安定調達も目指す。

　丸紅とシノグレインは北京で包括提携の合意書に調印した。中国が食糧備蓄で外国企業と提携するのは初めて。シノグレインは政府直轄の企業で、2000年の設立。これまではほぼ国内だけから穀物を買い付け、備蓄してきた。年間の総取扱量（備蓄量含む）は日本の穀物・豆類需要の約2倍にあたる7500万トンにのぼる。(09:29)

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食料生産支援、アジアに1000億円　政府方針、災害備蓄へ13億円

　政府は11日、アジア諸国の食料生産力を向上させるため、今後5年間で1000億円（10億ドル）規模の支援を実施する方針を決めた。東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）が大規模災害に対応する能力が高まるよう、緊急援助物資の備蓄も推進。13億円（1300万ドル）を基金に拠出する。

　麻生太郎首相が提唱した、アジアを「開かれた成長センター」に育てて世界経済の成長を導くという「アジア経済倍増計画」の一環。アジア諸国との一層の連携強化をめざす。(20:01)

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外来シロアリ、各地で被害拡大　住宅内に散在、駆除難しく

　外来種のシロアリ「アメリカカンザイシロアリ」による住宅の食害が日本で広がりつつある。在来種のヤマトシロアリなどと違い、建物の内部に散在するため駆除が困難で、近隣に被害が拡大しやすく、関係者は危機感を募らせている。

　「日本しろあり対策協会」（本部・東京）によると、アメリカカンザイシロアリは北米大陸原産で、体長1センチ前後。国内では1976年、東京都内で発見されたのが最初とされる。その後は散発的に見つかる程度だったが、2000年以降に報告例が急増。08年末現在、被害が出たのは宮城から沖縄まで24都府県に上る。

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柏崎刈羽原発：倉庫で火災　７号機再開に影響も

　１１日午後１０時２５分ごろ、東京電力柏崎刈羽原発（新潟県柏崎市、刈羽村）敷地内の予備品倉庫で火災報知機が鳴った。県警柏崎署によると、空調機のモーターのベルトが焦げて煙が充満しており、放水はせず、約２時間後に鎮火を確認した。倉庫には測定機器などの予備品が保管され、放射線管理区域外。放射能漏れなどの影響はなかった。

　同原発は０７年７月の中越沖地震で被災し、全７基が停止中。復旧作業が終了した７号機は、東電が県などに運転再開の事前了解を申し入れ、近く正式に容認される見通しだった。

　同原発では復旧作業中に８件の火災が相次ぎ、３月には７号機の再開論議が一時中断。東電は防火体制に万全を図るとしていただけに再開論議に影響が出るのは必至とみられる。

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Horse breeders braced for sharp fall at sales

By Gordon Smith

Published: April 13 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 13 2009 03:00

Horse breeders will tomorrow make the trip to Newmarket for one of the most closely watched annual sales - braced for a sharp downturn in prices as the credit crunch takes an ever greater toll on the bloodstock industry.

The Craven sale at Tattersalls, Europe's largest equine auction house, will be the first big test of buyer appetite in the UK since a sale of one year old horses last October - just weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers - provided graphic evidence of the dire state of the market.

"Prices just fell off a cliff," says Dina Astell, of the Racehorse Owners Association. "Trainers who used to get credit from their banks stopped getting credit."

Now all eyes are on the sale of two year olds hosted by Tattersalls to be held tomorrow and Wednesday, which uses the old English coinage of guineas to price its sales.

Last year's record sale raised 11.88m guineas or just under £12.5m from the auction of 116 racehorses but this year prices are expected to fall following the onset of the worldwide recession and the collapse of value in other asset classes.

However, Paul Roy, the chairman of the British Horseracing Authority and a former Merrill Lynch banker, believes Tattersalls is unlikely to repeat that success this year.

"Generally you have got to think that prices are going to be down based on the prices in October . . . People haven't stopped talking about recession. The trend we have seen overseas is definitely down. Some of the economic issues haven't gone away. There is less money around and less buyers."

However, despite the economic downturn the success or failure of the sale could rest on Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and his Godolphin stable, which is based just outside Newmarket.

Ed Prosser, who covers bloodstock sales for the Racing Post, says: "Whatever the Maktoums decide to do is going to be absolutely crucial in determining how the breeze-up sale at Tattersalls is going to go. They will have a huge bearing on how the other major sales perform this year because nobody else is spending their volume of money at the top level."

The unique aspect of a "breeze up" sale is that prospective buyers are allowed to watch the horses gallup a few furlongs the day before the auction rather than simply seeing them paraded around a ring as in a traditional sale.

Of the 18 breeze-up horses last year to make 200,000 guineas or more at two sales, 13 ended up in the ownership of Godolphin, Sheikh Mohammed or his brother Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

"Last year's sale was dominated by the Maktoum family and they are a major buying force in the worldwide thoroughbred industry," says Jimmy George, managing director of Tattersalls.

This year, however, the outcome is unclear. Dubai has not been immune to the global downturn that has deepened since the autumn.

The British and Irish bloodstock markets have been a victim of their own success during the past decade. Seen as the best bloodstock industry in the world - by its defenders - it suffers from chronic overproduction and this is helping to bring prices down.

Henry Beeby, the chief executive of Goffs, the Irish auction house, says that breeders have suffered a double whammy from this recession.

"The bloodstock industry is facing two issues. One is the general economic downturn and the other is the oversupply of foals. The decisions made about the current crop were made 12-13 months ago when the world was a very different place."

The rapid growth of the Irish economy coupled with the success of the City up to last year led to an explosion of those racegoers who also wanted to own a horse.

The number of horses bred for the racing industry has increased by almost 50 per cent in the past decade. In 1998, 12,700 horses were born in the UK and Ireland destined for the racetrack compared with more than 18,000 in 2008, according to Weatherbys, which publishes a register of foal births.

However, there are signs of an industry fightback. British Bloodstock Marketing, a group representing breeders, has joined auctioneers to launch an incentive scheme to lure buyers to the "breeze up" sales. The bonus scheme, launched earlier this year, promises winning owners a £10,000 bonus if the horse was bought at one of this year's "breeze up" sales.

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Britons turn to religion over debt worries

By Vivienne Raper

Published: April 12 2009 23:32 | Last updated: April 12 2009 23:32

Britons are turning from Mammon to religion as the downturn bites – for advice about debt and redundancy, not simply spiritual consolation.

The growing demand for financial and legal advice from places of worship is prompting many to launch a new type of service.

At Regent’s Park Mosque in London, one of the UK’s biggest Islamic cultural centres, demand for free legal advice rose threefold as the downturn took hold, according to Adnan Mahmood, a solicitor who, until recently, gave his services there pro bono.

Abdullah Abdou, the centre’s education officer and librarian, said there had been a noticeable increase in the numbers applying for zakat, a system of tithes similar to “alms for the poor”.

The Church of England and synagogues, meanwhile, have responded to hard times by launching projects to help indebted community members.

Among them is a “credit crunch network” of experts, including lawyers and employment specialists, brought together by Yitzchak Schochet, rabbi of the Mill Hill Synagogue in London, to provide free advice to Jewish community members.

Christian debt counselling charities, including Christians Against Poverty, met Anglican clergy last month for a workshop on supporting people in debt.

“We were alarmed by the number of referrals,” said Jack Maple, community ministry adviser for the Diocese of London. “Apparently Christians Against Poverty have 3,500 new referrals every day.”

The charities offer training to parishes and can provide advice and practical support, such as negotiating with creditors.

One Anglican project recently launched is the Money Advice Centre, a not-for-profit advisory service, at St Paul’s Church in Shadwell, London. Since October, eight volunteers have been trained to give financial advice.

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Switzerland 'to hit back' at OECD in tax row

11 hours 16 mins ago
AFP

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Switzerland is considering further measures against the OECD in the row over how much the country is doing to reform its policy on tax havens, media reports said Sunday. Skip related content
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The Neue Zuercher Zeitung (NZZ) quoted Swiss officials as saying they might block progress in cooperation with China, India and other emerging countries in protest against being placed on the OECD's "grey list".

On Wednesday Switzerland blocked a payment of 136,000 euros (180,000 dollars) to the OECD, a 30-member organisation of major industrialised countries.

Officials were now considering delaying their membership subscription of 10 million Swiss francs (8.65 million dollars) or blocking the 2011 reelection of OECD secretary general Angel Gurria, the paper reported.

The federal finance ministry could not be reached for comment.

But Interior Minister Pascal Couchepin told Sonntag, another Sunday paper, that it was not up to the OECD to act as a "restaurant guide" on the issue.

On April 2, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a "grey list" of countries that "have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented" the measures.

Swiss politicians were furious to find their country on the list even though it had announced measures to relax its tax secrecy laws.

On Thursday Gurria said that the first contacts with Switzerland on tax issues had taken place in October 2008.

"The OECD acted in good faith and duly shared its information with the representatives of the countries concerned," he said in a letter to the president of the Swiss confederation.

Switzerland had so far "not signed a single agreement on the exchange of tax information in conformity with OECD standards", he added.

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仙台地裁、監査法人に全額返還命じる　東北文化学園大の補助金返還訴訟で
2009.4.13 13:44

　学校法人東北文化学園大（仙台市）の補助金不正受給事件で、不正受給を見抜けなかったなどとして、仙台市民オンブズマンが、新日本監査法人（現・新日本有限責任監査法人）と同社の公認会計士に約７億８０００万円を返還させるよう仙台市長に求めた訴訟の判決が１３日、仙台地裁であった。畑一郎裁判長は、訴え通り、仙台市長に全額を請求するよう命じた。

　訴えによると、学校法人は大学が設置された平成１１年、負債を隠すなどした虚偽の財務書類を市に提出し、約８億１０００万円の大学整備促進補助金を市から受給。監査法人と会計士は不正を見抜けないまま監査証明を出し、市の交付審査を誤らせたとしている。

　市はこれまでに、学校法人の元理事長＝補助金適正化法違反罪などで実刑確定＝ら同大元幹部に計約８億８０００万円の損害賠償を求め、仙台地裁は昨年２月、請求通り全額の支払いを命じ、確定している。

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内々定取り消しは「違法」　福岡地裁で解決金支払い命令
2009.4.13 13:23

　採用の内々定を内定式直前に取り消したのは違法だとして、元男子大学生が福岡市内の不動産会社に慰謝料など１０５万円の支払いを求めた労働審判の第３回審判が１３日、福岡地裁であった。調停が成立せず、藤田正人審判官は同社に解決金７５万円の支払いを命じた。

　大学生の代理人を務めた光永享央弁護士によると、審判で地裁は取り消しの違法性を認定。会社側は「未曾有の不況でやむを得なかった」と主張していたが、地裁は退けたという。

　光永弁護士は「内々定取り消しで金銭支払いを命じる判断は初めてではないか」とし、「期待を持たせておきながら直前に取り消したケースでは責任が生じると明快に示した。画期的判断だ」と評価している。

　申立書によると男性は昨年７月に内々定通知を受けたが９月３０日、「経営環境の悪化」などを理由に内々定を取り消された。

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Germany warns on global inflation after crisis

By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin

Published: April 13 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 13 2009 03:00

The world could face high inflation and a "crisis after the crisis" when the global economy recovers, Peer Steinbrück, German finance minister, has warned.

The comments, in a weekend interview, are the latest sign of concern from Germany at the extra-loose monetary policies conducted by central banks around the world and the ever-larger fiscal stimuli being unveiled by governments.

"I am concerned that the counter measures we are seeing around the world, financed by enormous amounts of debts, could be paving the road to the next crisis," Mr Steinbrück told Bild, a tabloid daily.

"So much money is being pumped into the market that capital markets could easily become overwhelmed, resulting in a global period of inflation in the recovery."

Mr Steinbrück's warning comes after Angela Merkel, chancellor, told the Financial Times last month that pumping too much money into reviving global growth would create an unstable recovery.

German officials fear the liquidity being injected into financial markets could prove difficult to reabsorb, creating long-term inflationary pressure and, possibly, new asset price bubbles.

"We do not have a short-term inflation problem," Mr Steinbrück said. "But in the medium term we must start thinking about how to pull the billions we are pumping into our economies out of the system again. This will be a special challenge for the central banks, including for the European Central Bank."

Because of its strong reliance on exports, the German economy has been one of the worst affected in Europe by the global economic downturn. It is set to shrink by 4.5 to 7 per cent this year and statistics published last week showed Germany had its lowest inflation in 11 years.

Peter Bofinger, one of the five top academics who advise the government on economic policy and, like Mr Steinbrück, a member of the Social Democratic party, said that Berlin's concerns about inflation were unwarranted. "Germany faces no risk of inflation for the foreseeable future. On the contrary, I see a clear danger of deflation," he told the Handelsblatt.com website.

Rising unemployment in the coming months would put wages under pressure, said Prof Bofinger, creating a potential downward spiral in wages and prices.

Asked about how to fight the crisis, Mr Steinbrück conceded that there were "no intelligent alternatives" to higher public investments programmes.

Unlike in the US, he said, there were no signs yet the German economy had turned the corner. "We are not through yet. Nobody can say if the worst is behind us."

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We should listen to Beijing’s currency idea

By Fred Bergsten

Published: April 8 2009 20:12 | Last updated: April 8 2009 20:12

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of China’s central bank, has suggested creating a “super-sovereign reserve currency” to replace the dollar over the long run. He would sharply enhance the global role of special drawing rights, the inter­national asset created by the Inter­national Monetary Fund in the late 1960s and just given an enormous boost by the decision of the Group of 20 to expand its issuance by $250bn (€189bn, £171bn). These are the first big proposals for international monetary reform from China or indeed any emerging market economy and deserve to be taken seriously for that reason alone.

Several other Asian countries, Brazil and Russia have expressed support for Mr Zhou’s ideas. The US and several other governments, however, have been quick to reject them, reaffirming their confidence in the central global role of the dollar. They apparently fear that serious discussion of this issue could shake confidence in the dollar, driving down its value and prompting a sharp rise in the euro and other currencies. Such instability and consequent rise in global interest rates would severely complicate US, European and global recovery from the crisis.

But there is a more immediate threat to financial stability from the global role of the dollar that could be significantly reduced by pursuing a more limited proposal made by Mr Zhou. The risk is that China and perhaps other monetary authorities, together holding more than $5,000bn in dollar reserves, will lose confidence in the dollar owing to the prospects for huge and sustained budget deficits in the US. Premier Wen Jiabao recently expressed such concerns in a highly unusual public statement, asking for “guarantees” of China’s dollar holdings that recall the British demand for a guarantee in 1971 that triggered the US decision to break the dollar’s link to gold.

These worried dollar holders have refrained from dumping Treasury securities only because the dollar has strengthened over the past year – which is almost certainly a temporary phenomenon – and because of the adverse global repercussions. We ignore at our peril the prospect that they may feel compelled to do so, especially if the US were to provoke the Chinese by taking aggressive trade policy actions against them. Big conversions by China or another large holder, or even market fears thereof, could trigger a massive run on the dollar.

Mr Zhou proposes to alleviate this problem by creating “an open-ended SDR-denominated fund” at the IMF into which dollar balances could be exchanged for SDRs. This is essentially the substitution account idea negotiated in the IMF in the late 1970s and for which detailed blueprints were developed. Similar anxieties about the dollar at that time prompted its sharpest plunge in the postwar period, intensifying the double-digit inflation and soaring interest rates that brought on the deepest US slowdown since the 1930s, until now.

I set out how the idea would work in an article on these pages in December 2007, in which Chinese officials displayed considerable interest. Instead of converting unwanted dollars through the market, official holders would deposit them in a separate IMF account for SDR. Their new asset would be liquid and pay a market rate of return. It would offer the desired diversification as the SDR is denominated in a basket of currencies – 44 per cent dollars, 34 per cent euro and 11 per cent each of yen and sterling.

The substitution account would be a winning proposition for all concerned. The dollar holders would obtain instant diversification. The US would avoid the risk of a free fall of the dollar. Europe would prevent a sharp rise in the euro. The global system would eliminate a potential source of great instability. These benefits call for the use of a global asset to make up any losses to the account from future falls in the dollar, such as creation of additional SDR or the IMF’s gold holdings (including the sizeable US share of them).

The main argument against such an account is that China has accumulated its dollar hoard of more than $1,000bn by keeping its currency substantially undervalued, through massive intervention in the foreign exchange markets, and thus deserves no sympathy if it takes losses on those dollars. One might even suspect that the Chinese have mentally booked such losses as the implicit cost of the subsidy to exports and jobs achieved through their currency manipulation. But there is no sign that China will stop intervening, or that its surpluses will abate, even though the US external deficit has declined sharply, and its reserve build-up is thus likely to become even more threatening.

Moreover, this is an ideal issue for China and the US to develop the informal “G2” partnership that is needed to provide global economic leadership to pass needed reforms at the existing multilateral institutions. Since China advocates currency consolidation, the US could insist that it contribute substantially to the IMF’s new lending facilities as a quid pro quo. The Europeans would have to concur, since the agreement would include a large increase in China’s voting rights at the IMF, where Europe is so heavily over-represented, but China-US agreement would go far to seal the deal.


The writer is director of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He was assistant secretary of the Treasury for international affairs in 1977-1981 and led the substitution account negotiations for the US in 1980

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元若麒麟の鈴川被告、大麻所持の起訴事実認める　初公判

2009年4月13日15時14分

　大麻取締法違反（所持）の罪に問われている大相撲の十両だった元若麒麟（わかきりん）の鈴川真一被告（２５）＝兵庫県川西市＝の初公判が１３日、横浜地裁川崎支部（阿部浩巳裁判官）であり、鈴川被告は「（違っているところは）ありません」と起訴事実を全面的に認めた。

　起訴状によると、鈴川被告は１月３０日、東京都港区六本木４丁目のＣＤ製作販売会社事務所で大麻（約５．７グラム）を所持したとされる。

　神奈川県警が別の大麻取締法違反事件の関係先としてこの事務所を捜索した際、応接室にいた鈴川被告が持っていたティッシュの包みをテーブルの下に投げ捨てた。不審に思った捜査員が調べたところ、中から大麻が発見された。

　また、この事件に絡んでコカインを吸引したとして麻薬取締法違反（使用）の罪に問われた、このＣＤ製作販売会社の元実質的経営者、須藤慈容（しげやす）被告（３０）＝東京都足立区＝の初公判も１３日、同支部であった。須藤被告も起訴事実を認め、検察側が懲役１年を求刑、弁護側は猶予刑を求めて結審した。

　起訴状によると、須藤被告は１月２８日、港区六本木３丁目の飲食店のトイレでコカインを吸引したとされる。警察が１月３０日に会社事務所を家宅捜索中に現れた須藤被告の財布の中からコカインが見つかり、発覚した。

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元若麒麟被告に懲役１０月求刑　「部屋でも吸引」大麻事件

　大麻取締法（所持）違反の罪に問われた大相撲元若麒麟の鈴川真一被告（２５）の初公判が１３日、横浜地裁川崎支部（阿部浩巳裁判官）で開かれ、鈴川被告は起訴内容を認めた。検察側は「日本相撲協会が再発防止に取り組んでいる中、大麻に手を染めたのは安易で無責任だ」として懲役１０月を求刑した。公判は即日結審し判決は２２日。

　検察側は証拠調べで、鈴川被告の供述調書を朗読。今年１月２９日に大麻を外国人から購入し、所属していた尾車部屋と、逮捕現場となった東京・六本木の音楽ＣＤ販売会社事務所で、それぞれ１回ずつ吸引したと指摘した。

　検察側は論告で「不自然な供述で真摯な反省の態度が見られない。大麻を常習的に使用していた疑いがある」と主張。

　弁護側は最終弁論で「初めての大麻入手で（日本相撲協会を）解雇され、（退職金に当たる）養老金も返還しており、社会的制裁を受けている」として、執行猶予付きの判決を求めた。鈴川被告は被告人質問や最終意見陳述で「尾車親方（元大関琴風）をはじめ相撲協会などいろいろな人に迷惑を掛け、深く反省している」と述べた。

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Anger as Italy mourns quake victims

By Guy Dinmore in L'Aquila and Giulia Segreti in Rome

Published: April 11 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 11 2009 03:00

Italy united in mourning yesterday with an open-air state funeral for the victims of this week's earthquake in the central Abruzzo region.

The grief was mixed with anger, however, amid unanswered questions over why many of those killed - the official death count rose to 289 yesterday - were buried beneath modern but sub-standard buildings.

Thousands of mourners gathered in the compound of the Finance Police college on the edge of the medieval town of L'Aquila, facing 205 coffins - white for children and plain wood for adults - and a makeshift altar, as no churches in the area were considered safe or big enough for the ceremony.

A toy motorbike and a yellow cushion were placed on top of the coffin of three-year-old Andrea Esposito, who rested on the casket of his mother Valentina. A man pressed his face to the white wood as if seeking a sound from within. Nearby, an elderly woman in a wheelchair collapsed wailing on the coffins of her family as crowds of relatives reached out for a last touch.

Rescue workers from all over Italy - some still smeared with the grey dust of four days of digging into rubble for survivors - acted as pallbearers. A rugby jersey adorned the coffin of Lorenzo Sebastiani, a player in the national under-21 team. The youngest, Antonio Iovan, was four months old.

President Giorgio Napolitano, government ministers and Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, attended the funeral, which was given special dispensation by the Pope to be performed on Good Friday - normally reserved for Easter rites.

"In this moment, the whole of Italy is together, a country which has demonstrated how the values of solidarity and fraternity are still solid, and characterise Italy," said Cardinal Tarciso Bertone, giving the sermon.

The Pope, who intends to visit the region after Easter, sent a message also calling for solidarity and commending the state for its "praiseworthy" response to the quake, measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale.

An estimated 30,000 people were left homeless. Many are sheltering in tents provided by relief organisations.

But amid the outpouring of national grief, and much praise for the relief effort, mourners expressed mounting anger over why antiseismic construction laws appeared to have been flouted by construction companies. About a dozen university students were killed in a relatively modern hostel in L'Aquila, while the newish hospital was also seriously damaged.

Prosecutors have opened inquiries into the collapse of key buildings, suspecting Mafia involvement in shoddy construction using sub-standard concrete and iron. Officials are also expressing concern that organised crime will try to exploit the billions of euros that will be spent on reconstruction.

Antonio, a farmer from the village of Paganica, who lost a cousin, said Italy's biggest problem was that laws existed, but were not respected or enforced. "No one ever pays for their crimes in this country. They should have their heads cut off," he said shaking.

Mr Berlusconi has made four visits to the quake zone and promised a long commitment to the reconstruction, even proposing that a new town be built near L'Aquila, whose historic centre has been declared unsafe.

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ブリヂストン、中国工場のタイヤ生産能力を５割増強

　ブリヂストンは13日、乗用車用タイヤを生産する中国の無錫工場（江蘇省無錫市）の生産能力を５割引き上げると発表した。9800万ドル（約98億円）を投じて設備を増強、2011年下期から段階的に増産する。増強後の生産能力は日産約１万2000本となる。世界的な自動車販売の不振で足元のタイヤ需要は縮小しているが、中国市場は中長期的に拡大が見込めると判断して集中投資する。(18:01)

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中古マンション、まだ値下がる？　流通機構、３月末調査

　首都圏の中古マンションの価格下落が鮮明になっている。不動産関連会社で構成する財団法人東日本不動産流通機構（東京・千代田）が10日まとめた1都3 県の3月末時点の価格は、1平方メートル当たり44万3900円。前年同月に比べ額で8万100円、率で15.3％下がった。景気後退で需要が落ち込むなか、資産価値の下落を嫌い新規供給も急減、市場全体が縮んでいる。流通機構は「当面、下げ基調が続く」とみている。

　調査は各月ごとに新たに市場に売りに出された中古物件を対象に実施した。価格が前年同月水準を割り込むのは08年9月以降、7カ月連続。1都3県平均の専有面積は約60平方メートルだった。

　東京、千葉、埼玉の3月末時点の価格は前年に比べ軒並み2ケタの下落率だった。神奈川県の下落幅は1ケタ台だった。

　東京都の下落率が13.6％と最も大きい。港区のある不動産業者は「昨秋のリーマンショック以降、全体的に値下がりしている。5000万円の物件を1000万円値下げするなど、ここ数カ月は2割引きが当たり前になっている」と話す。

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北亡命お騒がせ“謎”の美女・北川和美さん公の場へ

約３年ぶりトークショーに出演予定
北朝鮮から帰国後、新潟で会見した北川さん＝２００５年１１月（クリックで拡大）
北朝鮮から帰国後、新潟で会見した北川さん＝２００５年１１月（クリックで拡大）

　テポドン２号発射や金正日総書記の国防委員長３選など北朝鮮情勢が注目される中、かつて自ら北に亡命を求めて不法入国し、２年あまり抑留された日本人女性が約３年ぶりに表舞台に出てくることが１３日、分かった。

　元亡命者は北川和美さん（３５）。北川さんは１４日夜、東京・歌舞伎町のライブハウス、ロフトプラスワンで開催されるトークイベント「北朝鮮まつり」に特別ゲストとして出演、約２時間にわたって北朝鮮での思い出を語る予定だ。

　北川さんは２００３年８月２４日、中国・丹東市を流れる鴨緑江の遊覧船に乗り、船が対岸に近づいたところを見計らって川に飛び込み、北朝鮮・新義州市に泳ぎ着いた。

　２カ月後、北は北京の日本大使館を通じて亡命者の存在を告知。朝鮮中央通信も「亡命」と報じたことから日本中が大騒ぎになった。

　その後、北川さんは「帰国したい」などと記した手紙を日本の知人に発送したが一時消息が途絶えた。抑留から２年あまりたった０５年１１月、朝鮮中央通信は突然、「人道主義的見地から帰国させた」と発表。北川さんの入国理由について「京都公安調査事務所の調査官たちから、オウム真理教や在日本朝鮮人総連合会に対しスパイ活動するよう強要、暴行されて精神的打撃を受けた。公安機関による迫害を避けるため、わが国に来たと話した」と報じた。

　北川さんはなぜか芸能プロ社長に付き添われて帰国。テレビ番組で「歌手になりたい」などと夢を語り、週刊誌のグラビアに出たこともあるが、現在はどこの事務所にも所属せず、芸能界を引退している。

　北川さんがなぜこの時期に表舞台に出てくる気になったのかは不明。理由は１４日のイベントで明らかにされるとみられる。イベント主催者のレインボー通商社長、宮川淳氏は「滞在期間が長かっただけに、われわれが知らない北朝鮮の実態も明かしてくれるかもしれない」と話している。

ZAKZAK 2009/04/13

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団塊妻８割、結婚で「がっかり経験」　夫婦すれ違い

2009年4月13日14時4分

　団塊世代の妻の多くが「結婚当初に比べてがっかりさせられた経験」を持ち、夫に謝ってほしいと思っている――博報堂の調査でこんな「すれ違い夫婦」の姿が浮き彫りになった。団塊世代の夫の「片思い」も根強くあるようだ。

　「がっかりさせられた経験」を持つ女性が７９％いたのに対し、男性は６１％。「相手に謝ってほしいと思う」人は妻が２７％、夫は８％だった。自由回答では、夫に「家事を積極的に手伝ってほしい」「いたわってほしい」などの思いが読み取れたという。

　一方、「若いときの気持ちを持ち続けているか」との問いには、夫の６８％が「持ち続けている」「まあ持ち続けている」と答えたが、妻の５２％は「あまり持ち続けていない」「持ち続けていない」を選んでいた。博報堂エルダービジネス推進室は「妻は、働いて外ばかりみてきた夫に不満があるようだ。夫が努力しないと、すれ違いは改善されないのでは」と話している。

　調査は３月、全国の５８～６２歳の５２０人を対象にインターネットで行った。

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Moscow company winds tender for Ussuri Island development

13.04.2009, 08.53





KHABAROVSK, April 13 (Itar-Tass) - The construction of the automobile bridge between the Bolshoi Ussuriisky (Big Ussuri) Island and Khabarovsk will be started in 2010. The project the cost of which is 5.5 billion roubles envisages the construction of a permanent bridge crossing with the total length of 4.3 kilometres. The territorial department of the economy said on Monday that the open tender for the development under state contract of the programme of complex development of the Big Ussuri Island is won by the Moscow-based company Financial-Organisational Consulting.

The border and customs passes will be formed on the island. It is planned to place a complex of international wholesale trade and recreation zones on the Russian part of the territory.

Before the commissioning in 2012 of the permanent bridge to the Ussuri Island the connection with it is ensured by the longest in Russia pontoon bridge. A special battalion of engineer troops sets up the bridge annually after the breaking up of ice in the Amur River branch. The pontoons are drawn for the passage of Russian and Chinese ships under the schedule known to the leadership of both sides.

Bolshoi Ussuriisky Island (or Heixiazi Island in Chinese), is a sedimentary island at the confluence of the Ussuri and Amur rivers. It is divided between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia. It has an area of about 327 to 350 square km and is bounded closely by Yinlong Island (Tarabarov Island), and over ninety islets (in Chinese, Heixiazi may refer only to the large island or to the island group collectively). Its position at the confluence of the Amur and the Ussuri and right next to the major Russian city of Khabarovsk, has given it great strategic importance.

Until 2004, Bolshoi Ussuriisky Island was the site of a territorial dispute between China and Russia. The Soviet Union occupied Big Ussuri and Yinlong Islands in 1929, but this was not accepted by China. While Russia governed the islands as a part of Khabarovsk Territory, China claimed them as a part of Fuyuan County, Heilongjiang province, and the easternmost part of China.

On October 14, 2004, the Complementary Agreement between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Eastern Section of the China-Russia Boundary was signed, in which Russia agreed to relinquish control over Yinlong Island and around half of Bolshoi Ussuriisky. In return, China agreed to drop all territorial claims to the remainder of Bolshoi Ussuriisky kept by Russia. In 2005, the Russian Duma and the Chinese National People’s Congress approved the agreement. On July 21, 2008, an agreement was signed in Beijing by the Chinese and Russian Foreign Ministers, that finalized the border demarcation and formally ended negotiations. Under the agreement, Russia would transfer approximately 174 square km of territory to China. The transfer took place on October 14, 2008. The area being transferred to China is largely uninhabited.

The agreement has met with controversy on both sides of the border. In May 2005, Cossacks in Khabarovsk demonstrated against the loss of half of Bolshoi Ussuriisky. In return, some Chinese commentators, especially the media in Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas which are outside the control of PRC government censorship, criticized the PRC government for signing the agreement, which they regarded as sealing as permanent the loss of former Chinese territory, such as Outer Manchuria, to Russia.

The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) has never recognized border treaties signed by the PRC with other countries. Therefore Taiwan still formally claims all parts of the Heixiazi Islands.

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Transneft, Rosneft sign agrmnt on oil supplies to China

13.04.2009, 13.41

MOSCOW, April 13 (Itar-Tass) -- Rosneft and Transneft have signed an oil purchase and sale contract, head of the press service of the pipeline company Igor Demin told PRIME-TASS. As he said, according to the reached agreements, as of 2011, Rosneft will supply nine million tons of oil and Transneft - - six million tons of oil to China through a branch of the oil pipeline Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean (ESPO).

Within the framework of Russian-Chinese agreements, Rosneft and Transneft will get from China 20-year credits in the volume of 15 and 10 billion dollars, accordingly, a branch of the ESPO oil pipeline will be built, and beginning from 2011, Russia will annually supply China with 15 million tons of oil during 20 years. Transneft expects to get the first tranche of the credit after the ratification of the Russian-Chinese intergovernmental agreements on cooperation in the sphere of fuel and energy complex which, as is expected, will take place in the near future. Rosneft hopes to get the first tranche within the second-third quarters of 2009.

Rosneft will sale crude oil to Transneft to repay the transport monopoly’s Chinese credit liabilities, which, in its turn, will sale it in the Chinese market to settle up the credit.

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North Korea’s missile flew 500 miles further than it was expected
13.04.2009 Source: URL: http://english.pravda.ru/world/asia/107390-North_Korea_missile-0

According to the analysis that the ministry conducted based on data from the U.S. military and other sources, the missile launched from the Musudan-ri site in northeastern North Korea fell in waters between 2,150 kilometers and 2,950 kilometers east of Chiba Prefecture. The splashdown point was within an area measuring 800 kilometers east to west and 160 kilometers north to south.

New details emerging from the analysis of data from North Korea's April 5 Taepo-Dong-2 test indicate the vehicle flew successfully several hundred miles further than previously believed and used more advanced steering than has been demonstrated by the North Korean's before.

The rocket impacted as far as 2,390 miles from the launch site as opposed to about 1,900 miles as earlier announced by the U. S. and Japan.

It also temporarily flew in space before failing and dropping back into the atmosphere at relatively slow speed that enabled debris to survive till impact rather than burning up.

The updated analysis indicates the failure occurred when the solid propellant third stage of the vehicle failed to separate properly after the second stage fired normally. After burnout the second stage coasted upward into space where the third stage was supposed to separate and fire, but did not.

Earlier it was believed that the second stage had failed early in its burn.

The rocket also demonstrated more advanced steering and other advances that could enhance its deployment as a silo-based ballistic missile.

The Japanese Ministry of Defense and U.S. Defense Dept. now believe that the second stage of the rocket performed as planned rather than failing early in its flight phase.

The new information comes from updated radar tracking calculations and possibly also U.S. Air Force Defense Support Program (DSP) missile warning satellite data.

The bottom line is that the North Korean vehicle flew as much as 500 miles further over the Pacific toward Hawaii than U.S. and Japanese forces had announced initially.

The new data now indicates that the second stage fell in the impact zone the North Koreans had earlier warned shipping and aircraft away from, instead of falling short of that zone as earlier indicated by the U.S. and Japan, spaceflightnow.com reports.

The vehicle's second stage uses a Scud-ER (extended range) rocket engine that employs "step-throttling" in its propulsion to stretch the second stage burn duration to gain range and velocity.

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Racist Polish school puzzle sparks controversy

18:01 | 10/ 04/ 2009

Print version

MOSCOW, April 10 (RIA Novosti) - A new Polish mathematics schoolbook has sparked nationwide outrage over a racist conundrum, in which students are asked to calculate how to drown more Turks than Christians, national media reported on Friday.

The problem reads: "A boat caught in a storm and about to sink has 15 Christians and 15 Turks on board. To save the boat from sinking, half of the people in the boat must jump overboard. One of the Christians suggests that everyone stand in line and every ninth jumps overboard. How should the Christians stand so that only the Turks drown?"

The problem has angered parents as well as Polish organizations against race hate.

The chairman of the Association Against Anti-Semitism and Xenophobia, Jerzy Jedlicki, said the textbook must never fall into the hands of children, because of its racist views.

The puzzle is a variation of the Josephus problem, which dates back to the first century.

According to Jedlicki, there is a growing tendency in Poland to encourage nationalist sentiment in children, and promote the idea that ethnic Poles should have more rights than those of other religions or nationalities.

"Such ideas form a false understanding in children's minds, which later grows into hatred and discrimination," Jedlicki said.

The authors of the textbook have defended the puzzle. One of the authors, Piotr Nodzynski, said it is an innocent mathematical example without malicious intent.

"None of the authors wanted to promote hatred," Nodzynski said. "For me the main goal was to show a mathematical model. It is possible that the task lacks information showing that the scenario is unrealistic. But this is about mathematics, and not about killing Turks."

Nodzynski said that the textbook has been published in English, German, French and Russian and is still on sale in bookstores.

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上場企業１００社超が希望・早期退職募集　０９年

2009年4月13日19時45分

　０９年に入って希望・早期退職者を募集した上場企業が少なくとも１０５社に達し、３カ月余りで６年ぶりに１００社の大台を超えた。データをさかのぼれる００年以降で最悪だった０２年の２００社を上回るのは確実。募集を公表していない企業も多いとみられ、非正社員だけではなく正社員の雇用環境も異例のペースで悪くなっている。

　原則として今月６日までに募集を公表し、具体的な内容を確認できる上場企業について、東京商工リサーチがまとめた。募集・応募人数も公表している１０１社の合計では９２９８人で、すでに０８年通年の７４６２人（５４社分）を超えた。０２年の約２万８千人も上回る勢いだ。

　業種別では電機、卸売り、機械、不動産が多い。今のところ最も人数が多いのは、ガラス繊維大手の日東紡の４６０人。グループ全体では５６３人が応募した。