Kyodo news summary -4-

TOKYO, Sept. 11 Kyodo

---------- Japan, S. Korea to conduct radiation survey in Sea of Japan

TOKYO - Japan and South Korea have agreed to conduct a joint radioactivity survey in the Sea of Japan in six locations including disputed waters around the South Korean-administered islets that are also claimed by Japan, Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi said Monday.

Yachi said in a press conference that the two nations decided on the joint survey to be conducted in October following intensive discussions in Seoul last week.

---------- Baby prince to be named in traditional ceremony Tuesday

TOKYO - Prince Akishino, Emperor Akihito's second son, will name his first son at a traditional naming ceremony on Tuesday, the seventh day since Princess Kiko gave birth to the imperial family's first heir in nearly 41 years.

At the naming ceremony, scheduled to begin at around 3:30 p.m. at Tokyo's Aiiku Hospital, the new prince's name written by Prince Akishino and his symbol written by Princess Kiko on Japanese paper will be put inside a wooden box, which will then be placed by the baby's pillow.

---------- PM front-runner Abe aims for new Constitution in 5 years

TOKYO - Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, who is almost certain to be Japan's next premier, said Monday he aims to enact a new Constitution in about five years to replace the current U.S.-drafted, pacifist Constitution if he becomes prime minister.

''It isn't something that can be done in a year or two, so we should be thinking in terms of a span of about five years,'' Abe said in a debate session with two other contenders in the Sept. 20 ruling party presidential election. ''But if public consensus develops...it's possible to do so earlier.''

---------- Pretrial inquiry on captured Japanese skipper begins

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - A court on Russian-held Kunashiri Island opened a pretrial inquiry Monday on a captured Japanese fishing boat skipper on charges of illegal border crossing and poaching in Russian waters in August, according to Itar-Tass news agency.

In Tokyo, Japanese Vice Foreign Minister Shotaro Yachi expressed regret over the procedure, reiterating his hope that the skipper will be released soon.

---------- Mahathir pokes at Abdullah's 'Mr. Clean' image

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, smarting from a ruling party election loss over the weekend, on Monday attacked his hand-picked successor Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's 'Mr. Clean' image, accusing him of using bribery to ensure his defeat.

Mahathir, who is already involved in an ugly, public row with Abdullah, sought to take his grievances to the heart of the United Malays National Organization -- the party's annual assembly this November -- where he knew he could potentially inflict the heaviest blow to Abdullah's political career.

---------- Japan to accept up to 1,000 Filipino nurses, caregivers

TOKYO - Japan will accept up to 400 nurses and 600 caregivers from the Philippines under a just signed bilateral free trade agreement, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said Monday.

Tokyo has already communicated the numbers to Manila, which accepted them, ministry officials said.

---------- Memorial ceremony for Sept. 11 victims to be held in Tokyo

TOKYO - A memorial ceremony for the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States will be held Monday, the fifth anniversary of the tragedy, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo.

Participants will hold candles and observe a moment's silence at 9:46 p.m., when the first of the hijacked airplanes hit the World Trade Center in New York at 8:46 a.m. local time five years ago.

---------- Hill urges N. Korea to resume 6-party talks

SEOUL - U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill reiterated Monday that North Korea should resume the stalled six-party talks on its nuclear weapons program.

''What they are doing is not in their interest,'' Hill, the top U.S. envoy on North Korea, told reporters upon arriving at Incheon International Airport from China, in a report by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.

---------- Recognition of child conceived with frozen sperm again rejected

TOKYO - The Supreme Court has dismissed a woman's request to legally recognize her daughter, who was conceived with frozen sperm from her deceased husband, as the couple's child, sources close to the case said Monday.

The decision followed two similar cases involving children conceived with frozen sperm, in which the top court also rejected the women's plea, saying such parent-child relations are ''not envisaged under the Civil Code.''

---------- Sending troops to Lebanon will only aid Israel, Mahathir says

PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad slammed the government's decision to send troops to Lebanon, saying Monday it would only be used to control Hezbollah activities and thereby serve Israel's purpose.

''Who are we protecting, the Lebanese or the Israelis? Israel is having a fierce fight with Hezbollah. The American intention, through the United Nations, is for Hezbollah to stop its terror activities. That is why the U.N. agrees to send troops to southern Lebanon to control Hezbollah,'' he told a small group of supporters at his office in Putrajaya, the country's administrative capital.