Challenger elected new prime minister in Japanese vote

Junichiro Koizumi, an iconoclastic reformer recently regarded as an "oddball" by his own Liberal Democratic Party (L.D.P.), was elected yesterday as Japan's 11th prime minister in the same number of years. Taking advantage of political reforms that gave a new voice to rank-and-file members of the L.D.P. and making full use of a grass-roots campaign for his proposed economic and social reforms, 59-year-old Koizumi won 298 of the 487 total ballots to become the L.D.P's party president on Monday. As a formality, Koizumi was voted Japan's prime minister on Tuesday. Koizumi, a popular favorite, had been vague about the specifics of his proposed reforms, but is "widely seen as ready to take the difficult steps needed to pull Japan out of its decade-long economic crisis, including privatizing the country's vast postal savings, streamlining the country's bloated workforce and controlling deficit spending," according to The New York Times. Koizumi's election as party president came as a shock to the conservative party leaders who were grooming Shizuka Kamei as the successor to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who is stepping down after a rough year in office.

Washington, D.C.

Court issues rulings on arrests, "English only" suits

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 yesterday that police could handcuff and arrest people for minor offenses which would normally be punished by fines. The justices rejected a woman's claim that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable search and seizure had been violated during a 1997 arrest because she did not have her driver's license. She argued that she should have simply received a ticket. The Court ruled that there was no breach of the Fourth Amendment, but that officers should exercise common sense when dealing with "known and established" residents such as the plaintiff. The Court also ruled that private individuals cannot sue over state rules they consider racially or ethnically discriminatory, known as "English-only" suits. They rejected a case filed by a Mexican immigrant who was not allowed to take her driver's exam in Spanish. The Court ruled 5-4 that such "English-only" provisions in state law do not violate Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars state recipients of federal money from discriminating based on race, color or national origin.

Framingham, Massachusetts

Laptops required at Framingham State College next year

Framingham State College will require next year that all incoming freshmen own wireless, Internet-ready laptop computers. The move makes it the first state school to test a proposal by the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education mandating laptop ownership at all state schools. Success at Framingham State is fundamental to the fate of a broader proposal currently on hold because of a tight state budget, according to The Daily Hampshire Gazette. Laptops are required at approximately 40 institutions nationwide. However, Massachusetts would be the first system of public higher education to require any form of computer for all students. Framingham plans to sell laptops for approximately $2000 to its 600 freshmen, and it may provide grants or low-interest loans to facilitate the purchases. The decision is unpopular with some professors at Framingham State who do not see laptops as adding to the quality of their classes, according to The Gazette. Others professors see the laptops as beneficial additions. "When our students walk out of here with an electronic portfolio of what they produce," Associate Professor of Food and Nutrition Janet Schwartz told The Gazette, "they just blow their employers away."