[kitski]

Britain to ban import of samurai swords

Wednesday, March 7

Britain's Home Office is to issue a consultation paper this week that proposes banning the sale, import and hire of samurai swords by the end of the year as part of a move to take dangerous weapons out of circulation. "Public safety is our greatest priority. Samurai sword crime is low in volume but high in profile and I recognize it can have a devastating impact," Home Office Minister Vernon Croaker said Tuesday.

The consultation recommends that it is replica samurai swords, not genuine collectors' swords made by licensed Japanese swordsmiths, which should be added to the official list of offensive weapons. The last four years have seen approximately 80 serious crimes involving imitation samurai swords in England and Wales, and carrying a samurai sword in a public place already carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.

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954 people sought refugee status in Japan in 2006; only 34 granted it

Wednesday, March 7

A total of 954 foreigners applied for refugee status in Japan in 2006, up by around 150% from the previous year to mark the highest figure since 1982 when Japan began granting refugee recognition, but the number of people given the status was a mere 34, some 12 fewer than in 2005, the Justice Ministry said Tuesday.

"The number of applicants may have increased due to expectations that fairness would be ensured" after Japan started listening to the views of experts in examining such recognition in 2005, the ministry said. A breakdown by nationality shows that most applicants were from Myanmar at 626 — 28 of whom were given refugee status — followed by 149 Turks.