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Tokyo woman's remains flushed down the toilet
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A man who has admitted killing a neighbor and flushing her remains down the toilet said he lay in wait for her because he wanted to rape her, police said.Police continue to investigate the claim by 33-year-old Takanori Hoshijima that he killed and mutilated the body of his neighbor, 23-year-old Rurika Tojo.Hoshijima has been arrested for trespassing in Tojo's apartment, but has allegedly told police that he killed the young woman."I waited aro ...
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Megumi Yokota seen alive 2 months after N. Korea said she had died
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}Megumi Yokota, a Japanese national who was abducted by North Korea , was seen in June 1994, two months after the time the reclusive country maintains that she died, it has been learned.Fukie Chimura, 52, who was also abducted by North Korea, told Japanese authorities at the end of last year that Yokota "moved in next door to us in June 1994."Pyongyang has maintained that Yokota "died in April 1994" and that the abduction issue has already been settled, bu ...
More About: Died , Alive , N Korea , Months

Robot powered by long lasting batteries scales Grand Canyon
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A small robot powered by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.'s new Evolta batteries successfully climbed a Grand Canyon cliff using a rope in a demonstration, company officials have announced.The robot, named Evolta after the batteries that are said to be the longest-lasting of their kind in the world, made the climb of about 530 meters in 6 hours, 46 minutes.Measuring 17 centimeters tall, the robot is made of plastic with a carbon frame. It began the cli ...
More About: Robot , Batteries , Scales , Long

Popular Monchhichi character to go on sale in Hokkaido ahead of G-8 summit
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A popular monkey-like character that became a hit in Japan in the 1970s is set to go on sale at souvenir stores in Hokkaido ahead of the G-8 summit at Hokkaido's Lake Toya, it has been learned.The character, named "Monchhichi," will be available in the form of cell phone straps from early June. The product was developed jointly by souvenir wholesaler Nippon Kanko Shoji Co. in Ishikari, Hokkaido, and doll company Sekiguchi Co., which owns the trademark to the charac ...
More About: Sale , Popular , Character , Summit

Government official molests woman on train
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa -- A Sagamihara Municipal Government worker has been arrested for molesting a woman as they traveled on a train, police said.Sagamihara resident Kunio Takei, 52, a worker for the city's museum, was arrested for breaking a Kanagawa Prefectural Government ordinance outlawing people from creating a public nuisance.Takei denies the allegation."It's true my hand struck her five or six times, but I did not molest her," he told t ...
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Elementary school teacher admits molesting 'over 10' little girls
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}MIHARA, Hiroshima -- A public elementary school teacher arrested for molesting an elementary schoolgirl has admitted to molesting at least a dozen other girls at another school where he taught, police said.Naoki Morita, 42, the teacher from Takehara, Hiroshima Prefecture, was arrested for the indecent assault of an elementary schoolgirl in 2004.He allegedly told police over the weekend that he had molested "10 or more" little girls at another elementary ...
More About: Girls , School , Teacher

Serial streaker gets the attention he craves following arrest
2008-05-27 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOMIYA, Miyagi -- A man who has admitted to repeatedly streaking to attract attention has been arrested, police said.Katsumi Saga, 54, a salaryman from Tomiya, was arrested for indecent exposure after he was allegedly found prancing around naked in a residential district in Tomiya.Saga admits to the allegations."I wanted to attract attention. It's not the first time I've done it," he told the police.Police said they received a phone ...
More About: Arrest , Attention , Serial

Venezuela to receive US$3.5 billion loan from Japanese companies for oil te
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA has secured a US$3.5 billion loan from Japanese companies to invest in petroleum refining technology, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Tuesday.The Japan Bank for International Cooperation will serve as guarantor for the loan, which will be put toward upgrades at Venezuelan refineries, Ramirez told reporters."We've agreed on financing with Japanese companies," Ramirez said. He did not reveal t ...
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Diet OKs bill allowing space programs for national security
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's National Dier voted to allow the nation's space programs to be used for defense for the first time Wednesday as part of Tokyo's push to give its military a greater international role.The upper house of parliament approved the legislation with an overwhelming 221-14 vote. The vote followed earlier approval by the lower house, thereby lifting a 1969 ban on military use of outer space.The law, one of several moves in recent years by Ja ...
More About: Security , Space , Diet , Programs

'Bring your own chopsticks' dining plan launched to help environment
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}YOKKAICHI, Mie -- A department store and hotel here have decided to launch a campaign calling for people to bring their own chopsticks to restaurants as an environmental measure, it has been learned.The Chubu-Kintetsu department store in Yokkaichi and the Yokkaichi Miyako Hotel will launch the campaign in June, as part of their efforts to prevent global warming.The Japan Department Stores Association says it has never heard of such an approach by a depar ...
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Nara purrs over pussy exhibition
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}NARA -- About 1,000 works of art focusing on cats living in the oldest part of the ancient capital of Nara have gone on display in an exhibition here.Nearly all of the works of art at the Nyaramachi Nekoten exhibition being held at the Uzuraya Club in Nara will be available for immediate sale.Altogether, 40 artists from in and around Nara Prefecture provided works of art based on the theme of the district's many cats for the Nyaramachi Nekoten, which is ...
More About: Exhibition , Pussy

Severed head found floating on Lake Biwa
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}HIGASHIOMI, Shiga -- The severed head of a male has been found floating on Lake Biwa, with investigators confirming it belonged to the same person whose legs were earlier found nearby, police said.Police said the dismembered body parts belonged to a man aged somewhere from 50 to 60 who died of suffocation and was then mutilated, with his severed remains dumped into the lake.Investigators said the man is estimated to have died somewhere from one to three ...
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Death sentence upheld for man who buried pair alive
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}OSAKA -- A death sentence handed down to a man convicted of burying alive two young men remains in force after the Osaka High Court rejected his appeal.Ryuji Kobayashi, 23, remains bound for the gallows after the court upheld an Osaka District Court ruling ordering his execution for the murder of Shoji Fujimoto, 21, a fourth-year student at Higashiosaka College, and Tetsuya Iwagami, a 21-year-old unemployed man."The crime was simply cruel and inhuman, wi ...
More About: Death , Pair , Death Sentence , Alive , Sentence

Mystery man slashes schoolgirl
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A Tokyo schoolgirl has received minor injuries after a man in Sumida-ku slashed her with a paper cutter and fled, police said.The 13-year-old junior high school girl escaped with only a minor arm wound following the sudden attack on Tuesday night.Police said her attacker was aged in his 30s to 40s and stands somewhere from 170 centimeters to 180 centimeters tall.He was wearing a black jacket, jeans and a black, woolen hat at the time of the at ...
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Aichi schoolgirl's hair lopped off by unknown assailant
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}KASUGAI, Aichi -- Crimefighters are searching for a thickset man who raced up behind a schoolgirl, lopped off a chunk of her hair and pedaled away on a bicycle left nearby, police said.Three schoolgirls have recently reported being slashed and another girl attending the same school as Tuesday's 13-year-old victim also had her hair cut off in a similar attack in September 2006.Tuesday's assailant was described as being about 170 centimeters tall and aged ...
More About: Hair , Unknown

Judge to rule on Yoko Ono lawsuit over use of 'Imagine' in movie challengin
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}NEW YORK (AP) -- A judge has promised a fast decision in a lawsuit brought by Yoko Ono to remove the song "Imagine" from a movie challenging the concept of Darwinian evolution after a lawyer for the film's distributors warned the litigation could wreck the movie's political message.U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein said he will rule quickly in the case after both sides described the issues surrounding the song and movie in harsh terms during arguments on Monday. ...
More About: Movie , Lawsuit , Rule

US Marine sentenced to 20 months in prison for 'indecent acts'
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- An American Marine accused in an alleged gang rape of a Japanese woman last year was sentenced to 600 days in prison Tuesday for "committing indecent acts" with a woman, but cleared of rape charges, the U.S. military said.A U.S. court-martial also found Gunnery Sgt. Jarvis D. Raynor, 35, guilty of larceny, "conspiracy to engage in indecent acts," violating military orders and adultery, according to a statement by the Marine Corps Air Station in Iwakun ...
More About: Prison , Sentenced , Months

US ambassador urges Japan to boost military spending amid splurge by Asian
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Japan should boost defense spending instead of decreasing it as Tokyo's Asian neighbors expand their military budgets, the U.S. Ambassador to Japan said Tuesday.Over the last decade China has increased military expenditures by an average of 14.2 percent annually, and South Korea's defense budget has grown 73 percent, said J. Thomas Schieffer, U.S. ambassador in Japan since 2005.In contrast, Japan's ratio of defense spending to gross domesti ...
More About: Military , Spending , Boost

17 babies left in first year of baby drop-off in southern Japan
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- An anonymous baby "drop box" in southern Japan received 17 babies from around the country in its first year since opening last May, reports said.The Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in Kumamoto City created the "Stork's Cradle" following a series of high-profile cases in which newborns were abandoned in parks and at supermarkets.People can leave babies in an incubator via a small hatch on the side of the hospital.The children are care ...
More About: Baby , Babies , Left , Southern

Gov't turns back on pregnant woman with no family register records due to d
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A 27-year-old woman who was left with no family register records because her birth registration was refused in connection with a law on children born within 300 days of a divorce is pregnant and expecting a child in June, it has been learned.By law, birth registrations must list the mother's permanent domicile. Authorities in Hyogo Prefecture, where the woman lives, say that without the woman's family register records, registration of her child's birth would not be ...
More About: Family , Pregnant , Back , Woman , Register

Young man, woman gas themselves to death at Tokyo hotel
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A young man and woman have gassed themselves to death by producing toxic hydrogen sulfide in a guestroom at a Tokyo hotel, police said.At around 7:45 p.m. on Monday, police received an emergency call from an employee of a hotel in the Kabukicho entertainment district of Shinjuku-ku, saying that a guestroom was giving off a smell like rotten eggs.Rescue workers found a young man and woman collapsed in the bathroom. They were rushed to a hospital where the ...
More About: Hotel , Young , Death , Woman

Japan to double development aid to Africa over five years
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- The Japan ese government will double its aid to Africa over the next five years to try to boost development on the continent, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.The announcement came ahead of a May 28-30 conference hosted by Japan and aimed at supporting Africa's development."Japan will double its ODA (official development assistance) to Africa by 2012," Fukuda told a meeting of Cabinet ministers.Japan's aid to Africa now av ...
More About: Development , Double , Years

Bank of Japan keeps interest rates steady amid worries about global slowdow
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Japan 's central bank kept interest rates steady Tuesday as widely expected amid lingering worries about a global slowdown.The policy board was unanimous in keeping the benchmark overnight call rate unchanged at 0.5 percent at the end of a two-day meeting, according to the Bank of Japan.Soaring gas prices, rising material costs and signs of slower global growth are weighing on the world's second-largest economy, which depends heavily on expo ...
More About: Interest Rates , Global , Interest

Kotooshu in leading position after Yokozuna Hakuho winning streak ends
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Grand champion Hakuho's nine-bout winning streak crashed to an end Tuesday, leaving ozeki Kotooshu in sole possession of the lead at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament.Hakuho lost in an improbable upset to a tenacious Ama, who forced the Mongolian yokozuna off kilter after the faceoff and sent him flying into the seats with an explosive overarm throw.It was the biggest win so far for the 24-year-old sekiwake Ama, who was overcome with emotion ...
More About: Ends , Leading , Winning , Position

Kashima Antlers soccer player Omichi caught driving under influence of alco
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}KASHIMA, Ibaraki -- Kashima Antlers soccer player Hiroyuki Omichi was caught driving under the influence of alcohol this week, the J.League first-division team announced Tuesday.The team said that the 20-year-old drove through an area of Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, in the predawn hours of Sunday while under the influence of alcohol. Another player, 23-year-old Yuji Funayama, was also in the vehicle at the time.Both players had been drinking in Kamisu fro ...
More About: Soccer , Driving , Player , Caught , Influence

One-fifth of population aged 65 or older in rapidly aging Japan
2008-05-22 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- The number of elderly in Japan hit a record high of more than 27 million in 2007, the government reported Tuesday, warning of an imminent pension crisis and a widening gap between rich and poor as the country rapidly ages.The annual report by the Cabinet Office showed Japanese aged 65 or over making up 21.5 percent of the population last year, while the so-called "late-stage elderly" -- those 75 or older -- accounted for nearly 10 percent." ...
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Hakuho, Kotooshu remain unbeaten at Summer Grand Sumo
2008-05-20 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Yokozuna Hakuho and ozeki Kotooshu adding victories to their perfect records at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament Monday on Monday.Hakuho, the 23-year-old yokozuna, overcame fellow Mongolian Kakuryu with a triumphant overarm throw that sent the No. 3 maegashira over the edge. Hakuho improved to 9-0, while Kakuryu fell to 3-6.The win brings Hakuho a step closer to a seventh title victory and a chance to avenge a final-day loss to archrival As ...

Hakuho keeps record unblemished in Summer Grand Sumo Tournament
2008-05-20 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}TOKYO (AP) -- Grand champion Hakuho scored another victory on Sunday, keeping his record unblemished at the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament .The 23-year-old Mongolian defeated Japanese Kisenosato by throwing him out of the ring. Sunday's victory was his eighth straight win in the 15-day tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan (sumo stadium).Before the match, Hakuho nervously stared at Kisenosato, who made headlines by snatching a surprise victory against ano ...
More About: Record

Prowler sneaks into comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's home in Tokyo
2008-05-20 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}A prowler sneaked into comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto's home in Tokyo earlier this month, police sources said.Nothing was stolen from his home in Meguro-ku and police are treating the case as attempted theft.At around 2 p.m. on May 5, an alarm system at Matsumoto's home went off indicating that someone had sneaked into his home, local police said. The security company that was monitoring the system alerted police.Officers found that one of the win ...
More About: Comedian , Home

Gang boss among 7 busted for selling stimulants from fake food stall
2008-05-20 00:00:00
{mosgoogle right}OSAKA -- A gang boss and six other people have been arrested for selling stimulants under the guise of a food stall set up along a road here, police said.Makoto Nakanishi, 47, a senior member of a gang affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate, and six others stand accused of violating the Stimulants Control Law. Investigators have confiscated about 15 grams of the illegal drug from the fake stall.They set up a fake stall along a municipal road ...
More About: Food , Selling , Boss , Gang , Fake