A record number of cases of violence against railway workers was reported for the year 2007 by railway service providers, including JR and other major railway companies as well as operators of the Tokyo and Osaka subway systems. Over 61 percent of the perpetrators were drunken idiots who were mostly in their 30s. Also, most of the incidents happened around midnight. Posters have been put up in train stations asking passengers to help prevent violent incidents. Great! That’ll help. Train station workers and train crew members are a fairly professional, mild-mannered bunch; It’s too bad they have to deal with the worst of what society has to offer every night at last train.

G-8 Summit Gets Underway In Hokkaido
The G-8 summit began in Hokkaido today (Monday, July 7) with police patrols stepped up in major cities throughout Japan. Africa took front stage as world leaders came together to discuss ways to stop rising inflation and the worsening state of the world economy. The reduction of greenhouse gases is also a big issue and India and China are being called upon to half their greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050.

Graffiti Stops Shinkansen
The word ‘Hack’ was painted on the side of a shinkansen (bullet train) car as it was parked overnight. The ‘work’ was discovered on Tuesday and an early morning run to Niigata was canceled. The painted train was located in a switching yard in Kita Ward when it was discovered. Another train next to the delayed one was also painted, but was able to be wiped clean and was put into service without without having its run delayed.
About 500 passengers were affected by the delay.

Hokkaido’s Upcoming G-8 Summit Brings Protests In Tokyo
Labor union members and students confronted police in Shibuya, Tokyo on Sunday ahead of the upcoming G-8 conference in Hokkaido. There were two rallies and over 1000 protesters and several people were arrested. The Group of Eight industrialized nations event will take place from July 7th to the 9th. G-8 summits often bring violent protests and it will likely become more tense in Japan in the days leading up to the summit.

Nova’s Sahashi Admits To Embezzlement
Disgraced Nova ex-president Nozomu Sahashi admitted to embezzling money and claimed sole responsibility for the alleged crime. About 320 million yen was reported to have been misappropriated and Sahashi is believed to have done this to obtain the money for his own use. He is also suspected of attempted money laundering and police will continue to investigate the charges against Mr. Monkeybridge. Considering all the angry students and ex-Nova employees, it’s doubtful that anyone is going to feel to sorry for him if he does receive the maximum penalty.

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