Japan, Russia agree on data on Soviet internment

Japan and Russia have agreed to allow Japan to use data held by Russia on Japanese detained in Soviet Siberia after the Second World War.

It was recently revealed that Russian State Military Archives in Moscow had about 700,000 cards which carry the names and date of birth of Japanese internees and the camps they were at in Siberia.

Under the agreement, Japan's Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will make copies of the data on DVD for use in Japan, starting next month.

About 53,000 Japanese are believed to have died while they were interned in Siberia. The burial sites for 21,000 of them are not known.

The ministry plans to examine the data to clarify the entire picture of internment and collect remains.

Mitsuo Hiratsuka, head of an organization representing former internees, says most survivors are over 85 years old, and he wants to have the truth of the internment unveiled and remains of the dead recovered as soon as possible.

Auto firms adapt vehicles for the handicapped

Japanese auto firms are developing vehicles for drivers with physical handicaps as Japan's population ages.

Toyota Motor has developed a system that allows drivers to store their wheelchairs without the help of other people. Drivers can place their wheelchairs in a box on the rooftop of their vehicles from their seat, using a remote control device.

Honda Motor has put a new device for people with leg disabilities into practical application. The device allows drivers to manually operate a brake and an accelerator by using a lever installed to their left.

Toshihiro Koyama, chief researcher at Honda's welfare vehicle development section, says many physically handicapped people say they want to continue driving.

Koyama said his company plans to develop safer and more convenient welfare vehicles.

Auto firms expect sales of adapted vehicles to increase due to the aging of the population. They are also developing cars that can be operated by legs alone and vehicles to carry people with special needs.

High court acquits Winny creator

The Osaka High Court has acquitted the creator of a file-sharing software program of helping others to violate copyrights, reversing the guilty ruling by a lower court.

Former assistant researcher at the University of Tokyo's graduate school, Isamu Kaneko, was accused of developing and posting on his website the program called Winny.

The program allows users to exchange movies, games and other files on the Internet.

In 2006 a district court found him guilty of assisting copyright violation and imposed a fine of around 17,000 dollars.

Kaneko pleaded not guilty, saying if creators are blamed for the abuse of their software, technological development would be impossible.

On Thursday, a presiding judge at the high court said prosecution of software developers should be limited to cases in which they actively encourage illegal use of the software.

The judge said Kaneko may have been aware that his software could be abused but did not go so far as to promote its illegal use.

The case triggered mixed opinions over the role of software developers.

Some said developers have a responsibility to consider the possible abuse of their software. Others noted the lack of a clear guideline on what amounts to illegal acts could hamper technological development.

Typhoon kills 2, injures 46 in Japan

Typhoon Melor has killed 2 people and injured 46 others in Japan.

In Saitama Prefecture, north of Tokyo, a 69-year-old man died after being hit by a branch that measured 14 meters, which snapped off in the strong wind.

In Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, a newspaper deliveryman died after his motorcycle hit a fallen tree on the street.

In Aichi Prefecture, central Japan, a farmer was seriously injured after being blown off the top of a greenhouse by a powerful gust as he was trying to repair it.

A total of 46 people were injured in 17 prefectures across Japan.

Residents of 64 households in Nara and Mie Prefectures were told to evacuate. Evacuation advisories were issued for an additional 1,000 households in 6 prefectures.

More than 2,400 people in 19 prefectures voluntarily evacuated to shelters.

The typhoon damaged 64 houses, and flooded more than 420 buildings.

UNESCO designates Gagaku as intangible heritage

The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has added Japanese court music Gagaku and 12 other items from Japan, to its Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

The decision came at a meeting of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee of Intangible Heritage in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday.

Gagaku is the fourth form of traditional Japanese performing arts to be designated by UNESCO as an intangible heritage of high historical and cultural value, which needs to be preserved. The other 3 are Nogaku, Ningyo Joruri and Kabuki.

The 12 other newly recognized items in Japan include the Yamahoko Junko parade in the Gion Festival in the ancient capital of Kyoto, and an ancient dance by the indigenous Ainu people in Hokkaido.

Overall, UNESCO added 76 living arts and traditions from 27 countries to its list of intangible cultural heritage. They include tango from Argentina and Uruguay, and centuries-old tapestries from Aubusson in central France.

22 items from China, many from minority cultures, have also been granted the UNESCO status.