Gov't to oppose Shinsei Bank's defensive steps against SBI takeover bid

horribly written.

vote against its launch of a defense against a hostile takeover

Now try it without the triple negative, like “support a hostile takeover”.

horribly written.

No kidding. When I read Kyodo stories, I often have to recast the sentences in my mind to figure what they're trying to convey. For example:

This:

"As the combined stake held by SBI and the government amount to around 40 percent, it appears unlikely that Shinsei Bank can win approval for the steps with majority backing at an extraordinary shareholders meeting on Friday, the sources said."

Becomes this:

SBI and the government hold a combined stake of around 40 percent. That means Shinsei execs will probably fail to get a majority of shareholders to back their plan when the shareholders meet on Friday.

There needs to be a Kyodo translation app.

Shorts news in foreign languages in the JR trains are from Kyodo. Some are not understandable, unless we already know the story, including basic grammar mistakes.

@ Jeff exactly!