TOKYO: Japan yesterday said it was asking the Netherlands to take “practical measures” against a Dutch-registered vessel that collided with a Japanese whaling ship in the Southern Ocean.
The Bob Barker, belonging to militant anti-whaling campaigners Sea Shepherd, came into contact with a Japanese harpoon vessel on Sunday as it tried to interrupt the hunt.
Each side has blamed the other for the collision.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga condemned the group, saying it was responsible for the accident.
China wants no cover-ups
BEIJING: China has unveiled new rules telling officials not to cover up what should be publicly available information using the excuse it is a state secret, in what state media said was a move towards greater government transparency.
China has notoriously vague state secret laws, covering everything from the number of people executed every year to industry databases and even pollution figures, and information can be retroactively labelled a state secret.
The issue received international attention in 2009 when an Australian citizen and three Chinese colleagues working for mining giant Rio Tinto were detained for stealing state secrets during the course of tense iron ore negotiations.
But the government has come under pressure from its own people to be more open, especially on sensitive issues like the environment, which have no obvious implications for national security.
Plotter faces 20 years in jail
SEOUL: South Korean prosecutors yesterday demanded a 20-year jail term for a leftist lawmaker on trial for allegedly plotting an armed revolt in support of North Korea.
Prosecutors also asked judges to strip United Progressive Party (UPP) MP Lee Seok-Ki of his civic rights for 10 years following his eventual release from prison.
The sedition charges levelled against Lee are rarely used, especially against a sitting member of parliament.
After parliament voted to lift his immunity from arrest, Lee, 52, was charged in September last year with plotting an insurrection to overthrow the government.
Agencies
