2005.04.05

Japan-Education (Kyodo) Japan's newly approved junior high history textbook is immediately criticized by China and South Korea. 2005.04.05

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Japan's Oldest Woman Dies at 114 (AP). Japan's oldest woman, 114-year-old Ura Koyama, has died of pneumonia at a hospital. 2005.04.05

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Japan-Judicial [Mainichi] Elderly man on death row for the 1961 poisoning of five women finally wins retrial. 2005.04.05

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Japan adjusts to free trade deal. [BBC News] Japanese farmers face growing competition as a free trade agreement with Mexico comes into force. 2005.04.05

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Marshalls-Education Majority of Marshall Islands' teachers flunk reading, writing test Marianas Variety – The majority of teachers in the Marshall Islands did not pass a high school English test, a development the secretary of education said demonstrates the crisis facing the country. Minister of Education Wilfred Kendall announced the results of the first nationwide teacher testing on Friday. The results: 63 percent of 900 Marshall Islands teachers failed both the reading and writing sections of the test. Only 18 percent passed both parts of the test, with the remaining 19 percent passing only one of the two sections. Kendall said that the Ministry is taking numerous steps to address the problem, including implementing a new teacher certification program. “The teachers are not to blame,” Education Secretary Biram Stege said in an interview. “They are a product of the Marshall Islands education system over the last 20 years.” Stege said that these results show a “state of crisis” in education that needs the involvement of all government agencies to bring out improvements. 2005.04.05

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DPRK-Bird Flu (Kyodo) North Korean avian influenza outbreak believed to be H7 type virus, raising new challenges for scientists. 2005.04.05

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Japan-Chikan [Mainichi] Education Ministry official nabbed for rubbing woman's butt on commuter train. Meanwhile, targets of the legion of rail gropers seek refuge in new Women Only carriages. 2005.04.05

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Japan says it will keep dollar assets while diversifying portfolio (AFP). Japan says it will diversify its huge foreign reserves, mostly in dollars, into assets other than U.S. treasury bonds but would not shift funds into instruments in other currencies. 2005.04.05

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DPRK rights 'getting worse'. [BBC News ] A U.K. government minister says human rights in secretive North Korea appear to be deteriorating. 2005.04.05

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