CHRONOLOGY

MAY – JUNE 2002

MAY

2 Former House of Councillors President Inoue Yutaka submits his resignation to the Diet after an aide is accused of taking ¥64 million from a construction firm in connection with a public works project.

8 Five North Koreans seek asylum at the Japanese Consulate General in Shenyang, China, but are dragged out by armed Chinese policemen who entered the compound. On May 10 Foreign Minister Kawaguchi Yoriko summons Chinese Ambassador to Japan Wu Dawei to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and demands the handover of the asylum seekers and an apology from the Chinese government for the intrusion. The next day Beijing retorts that the policemen entered the consulate and arrested the asylum seekers with the consent of Japanese consular staff. On May 13 Kawaguchi announces investigation results rebutting this claim.

13 Toyota Motor Corp. posts its consolidated results for fiscal 2001 (April 2001-March 2002). With sales up 12.5% from the previous year to ¥15.1 trillion and pretax profits up 14.5% to ¥1.1 trillion, Toyota becomes the first Japanese company to record consolidated pretax profits of over ¥1 trillion.

17 The government declares in its monthly economic report for May that “while the economy continues to be in a difficult situation, it has bottomed out.”

21 The House of Representatives approves ratification of the Kyoto Protocol on the prevention global warming, as well as a bill to revise the Law Concerning the Promotion of Measures to Cope with Global Warming. The House of Councillors votes its approval on May 30, and on June 4 the cabinet formally ratifies the protocol.

24 The International Whaling Commission concludes its week-long annual meeting, held in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture. Japan’s several proposals, including a catch quota of 50 minke whales for Japanese coastal villages, were all rejected.

28 A Yomiuri Shimbun poll conducted on May 25-26 shows support for Prime Minister Koizumi Jun’ichirô’s administration at 41.8%. The disapproval rate reached 47.7%, surpassing the approval rate for the first time since the administration was launched in April 2001.

The Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (Keidanren) and the Japan Federation of Employers’ Associations (Nikkeiren) merge to become the Japan Business Federation. Nikkeiren Chairman Okuda Hiroshi is named chairman of the new organization at its inaugural meeting.

31 The U.S. credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service lowers its rating of Japan’s long-term government bonds by two notches from Aa3, the fourth-highest rank, to A2. The Ministry of Finance objects, commenting that the decision is poorly grounded.

The government reprimands Public Prosecutor General Harada Akio of the Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office over his failure to supervise a former head of the public security department at the Osaka High Public Prosecutor’s Office, who was indicted on fraud and bribery charges. It is the first time ever for a top prosecutor to be reprimanded.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup in Asia and the first to be hosted by two countries, kicks off with an opening ceremony in Seoul, South Korea. In the following opening match, World Cup debutant Senegal defeats France, the champion of the previous tournament, by a score of 1-0.

JUNE

9 Japan scores its first-ever World Cup win, beating Russia 1-0. On June 14 it tops Group H with a 2-0 victory over Tunisia and advances to the second round; South Korea also makes it into the top 16, at the head of Group D. On June 18 Japan drops out after losing to Turkey 1-0 in its first game of the second round.

19 Two researchers, a Japanese woman and a Chinese man, are arrested by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation on charges of economic espionage for stealing genetic materials and information from Harvard Medical School, where they were formerly employed.

21 Uehara Ayako becomes the first Japanese to win the International Tchaikovsky Competition in the piano category. In the violin category, for which no winner is named, Kawakubo Tamaki of Japan shares second place with another contestant.

23 The city of Niimi, Okayama Prefecture, holds mayoral and city assembly elections using an electronic voting system for the first time in Japan. The results of the electronically cast ballots are confirmed 25 minutes after the vote counting starts.

29-30 The World Cup closes with a final pair of matches among the top four teams. The third-place playoff is held on June 29 in Daegu, South Korea, and Turkey beats South Korea 3-2. On June 30, the final is held in Yokohama. Brazil's Ronaldo makes two goals, and with Germany unable to score, Brazil wins an unprecedented fifth World Cup title.

© 2002 Japan Echo Inc.