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昭和25年4月28日第3種郵便物認可© （日刊）THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN (2014)

T H URSD AY ,No. 22922 Edition S

JU LY

3 1 ,2 0 1 4

PRICE ¥150 (¥3,665 per calendar month) - tax included

Old appliances illegally shippedsystem for the disposal of used home

appliances, aiming to save the envirValuable metals onment
internationally by reviving therecycling system through such measharvested; other ures as tightening export control.
The Home Appliance Recycling Law
ways to dispose of four kinds ofmaterials burned setshome appliances: TV sets; air condiThe Yomiuri ShimbunN

early 10 percent
of four kinds ofused home appliances coveredby recycling law
are suspected tohave been exported illegally,
while only about two-thirds of such appliances have been disposed of bymeans required by the law, it has beenlearned.
The situation has come to lightthrough estimates by the Economy,
Trade and Industry Ministry and theEnvironment Ministry and othersources.
On Wednesday, advisory panels to
the ministers jointly compiled a report
reviewing the home appliance recyclingsystem. Based on the report, both ministries will strengthen the surveillance

The Yomiuri Shimbun

New ozeki Goeido formally accepts his promotion during a ceremony in Fuso, Aichi
Prefecture, on Wednesday.

Goeido: Keep Yamato spirit
The Yomiuri Shimbun

NAGOYA—Longtime sekiwake
Goeido was oicially promoted toozeki on Wednesday, accepting therise to sumo’s second-highest rankwith a pledge to maintain “theYamato [old Japanese] spirit.”
The 28-year-old Goeido, ﬂanked bystablemaster Sakaigawa and his wife,
bowed deeply in the traditional ce-remony in which he was oicially informed of the promotion for the next
tournament, in September, by emissaries from the Japan Sumo Association at the stable’s lodgings in Fuso,
Aichi Prefecture. In meetings of theJSA’s rankings committee and executive board, Goeido’s promotion wasunanimously approved following his
performance at the recently completed
Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

tioners; refrigerators and freezers; andwashers and dryers. According to theministries’ estimates, 17.02 million
used home appliances of the four kinds
were discarded by households or oicesin ﬁscal 2012. Among them, about 67
percent were collected and disposed ofthrough regular channels deﬁned by
the law. Of the remaining 33 percent,some were oicially exported as used
items, while others were illegally
dumped or exported.
In recent years, home appliances
have increasingly been reportedly exported to China and other countries by
being hidden in scrap metal to make itdiicult for authorities to discover theillegal exporting. According to the ministries, 1.3 million used home appliances, or about 8 percent of the total,
are suspected to have been disposed ofby such means.
At their export destinations, copper,
aluminium and other valuable metals

are removed from used home appliances, the remnants of which arethen burned outdoors or in incinerators incapable of suiciently capturing
the smoke and soot, possibly leading toenvironmental deterioration at thosedestinations.
In the report, the councils proposedthat both ministries should cooperatewith customs houses, local governments and other bodies, calling for preventing the illegal or inappropriate
collection, disposal, dumping and export of used home appliances by boosting on-the-spot inspections of junk

MPD to probe
withdrawals
from Mt. Gox

Rough seas will help you
become tougher: Adventurer
This is the seventh installment of the “Message II” series, in which marine adventurer
Satoru Yahata describes his epic journey bykayak in stages from Australia to Japan andwhat he learned through encounters withfishermen.
The Japan News

I’ve spent about 20 years of my life with the sea,
traveling around Japan and other Asian nations bysea kayak and working in Okinawa Prefecture as aguide to help people have real wildlife experiences.
When I was a novice kayaker in my mid-20s, mykayak sank in rough seas between Iriomotejima
and Haterumajima islands in Okinawa Prefecture.
It was the most dangerous moment of my life. I
had to swim for about six hours to reach land. The
accident was caused by my own immaturity. I did
not closely check the weather forecast and thekayak’s condition. In rough seas, it is pointlesscompeting with other people in a kayak. Everyone
is weak. Under such severe circumstances, people
are forced to think seriously about how to survive.
This type of experience makes them stronger.
When I was a 21-year-old university student, anencounter with a ﬁsherman on Tokyo’s Hachijojima island opened my eyes to how wonderfulpeople who live with the sea are. One day theﬁsherman showed me his incredible technique below the surface of the water. In two minutes, hedived in, speared a ﬁsh,and even removed its
My kayakoal
to keep it fresh. Itsank in roughwas so masterful, I got
seas...I had togoose bumps. My immediate thought was toswim for
do what he did.
about sixAer constant training
hours toas a skin diver, I was able
to catch ﬁsh by myself.
reach land.
The result of my training
exceeded my expectations. I felt my body’s potential had bloomed.
Under the sea, I caught various ﬁsh that I had neverseen at stores in the Tokyo area. They were so delicious. We are used to eating only food sold within
the distribution system. But through this experience,
I learned things I had not studied at school. I felt likeI couldn’t waste time looking for a regular job. Aergraduating from university, I visited ﬁshing villages
abroad as a backpacker for several years. I sometimes
earned money, selling ﬁsh I caught with a spear. Following a suggestion by a friend, I started learning toINSIDEThe Japan News

Eishi Miyasaka/The Yomiuri Shimbun

paddle a kayak.
I got into sea kayaking because I could move much
faster by kayak than with ﬁns. It’s also possible tocarry a lot of ﬁsh in a kayak. Aer my ﬁh kayaking
experience, I decided to take the bit between myToday’s editorialsEnola Gay navigator dies
Theodore Van Kirk, who was thelast surviving crew member of theﬂight that dropped a nuclear
bomb on Hiroshima, dies at 93.

International, Page 5—Opinions of expert panel onelectoral reform must have binding
power—Consumption tax hike should
not hurt household budgets, reading culture

Wed. (5 p.m.)¥ 102.16-17
Tue. (5 p.m.) ¥ 101.90-90

Tue. (5 p.m.) ¥ 136.87-88[Wednesday]

1,292.24+1.83

Asia-Pacific, Page 6

For language learners

Nation 2, 3

Continued on Page 3¥ 136.88-91

The United States says its satellite
photos show upgrades and testingat North Korea’s primary missile
launch facility.

JN LearningLab, Pages 9-12

teeth and travel about 11,000 kilometers from Australia to Hachijojima by sea kayak, and without anoutboard motor. Was I stupid?

Editorial, Page 14

N. Korea missile site active

The British Council’s “Transatlantic Trouble” column focuseson dierences in how Britons andAmericans express enthusiasm.

dealers or scrap yards—which collectdisused articles and break them down
—and through other measures.
Meanwhile, under the currentsystem, if the places where customers
initially purchased home appliances goout of business, customers can ask theirmunicipalities to collect their appliances. However, only 58 percent ofmunicipalities have a system to collecthome appliances in accordance withthe law. Therefore, the report urges theEnvironment Ministry to accelerateeorts to construct a framework fordrawing up guidelines.

AFP-Jiji

A show on the road
Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma beats
Cleveland, staying perfect on theroad this year. (Photo above)

Sports, Page 18

Economy & Business 7, 8 The Washington Post 13
Opinion & Analysis 15 TV & Radio 16

The Metropolitan Police Department
will launch an investigation into thecollapse of Mt. Gox, a Tokyo-based major exchange for the bitcoin digital currency, on suspicion of computer fraud,suspecting that a large quantities of bitcoins were illegally withdrawn from theexchange, it was learned Wednesday.
According to investigative sources, it
has been conﬁrmed, based on an analysis of the company’s electronic records, that a total of about 27,000 bitcoins were illegally withdrawn. The
MPD will conduct the investigation incooperation with U.S. investigative authorities.
In late February, Mt. Gox ﬁled forbankruptcy protection, three days aer
it suddenly suspended all transactions.
However, the Tokyo District Court rejected the request in April and then decided to begin liquidation proceduresfor the company.
Mt. Gox’s liabilities total ¥6.5 billion,
according to private credit researchﬁrm Teikoku Databank Ltd.