Japan Digest: Hatoyama Backs Kan, Pension Fraud Charge, No to English at Work

Here is a roundup of news from Japanese newspapers, news wires and websites on Wednesday, August 25, 2010. The Wall Street Journal has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
Hatoyama Tells Ozawa He Backs Kan in DPJ Presidential Election: Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Democratic Party of Japan power broker Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday night that he will support Prime Minister Naoto Kan in next month’s DPJ leadership election, sources of the ruling party said. Hatoyama’s move to throw his support behind his successor reflects his effort to prevent a serious intra-party division from intensifying ahead of the September 14 election. (Source: Kyodo)
Family of ‘111-Year-Old’ Man Accused of Illegally Receiving Pension: A pension association has filed a criminal complaint against the family of a Tokyo man found dead at his home last month on suspicion of fraudulent receipt of pension payments the man would have been entitled to as a widower, investigative sources said Tuesday. The discovery of the mummified body of Sogen Koto, who may have died as long ago as 1978, drew attention to the fact hundreds of registered elderly people in Japan can’t now be traced. (Source: Kyodo)
Over Half of Japanese Against Making English Official Language at Work: An online survey by the Mainichi Shimbun has revealed that 57% of those aged over 20 think using English as the official language in their companies is not a good idea. But some 55% of respondents believe that Japanese people should be able to speak English as fluently as their native language in the future. (Source: Mainichi)
Families of 42 Korean Forced Laborers Located: Family members of 42 Koreans who had been brought to Japan during the country’s colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula apparently as forced laborers and later died during World War II have been found, but the identification process for the majority of the remains continues to be onerous. A South Korean government commission said it identified 21 other laborers but could not locate their relatives. (Source: Asahi)(News-Japan Real Time)