Long journey to safe harbor in an unpredictable world

Knowing Japanese troops had caused the deaths of her father's parents and siblings in World War II, Japan was about the last place Ha Thi Thanh Nga expected to end up. Today — some 30 years after arriving here as a refugee — Nga, 49, is helping other compatriots make lives for themselves here.
In a recent interview at the Takatori Catholic Church Community Center in Kobe's Nagata Ward, where conversations held in Portuguese, Chinese and Vietnamese mingled with the cries of toddlers at play, Nga talked about her early life and how she became head of an NGO for Vietnamese residents, Vietnam in Kobe.

Miyazaki crisis almost over

The Miyazaki Prefectural Government on July 22 lifted its last ban on the shipment of livestock. This is a sign that the foot-and-mouth disease crisis in the prefecture, which lasted more than three months, is nearing an end. But it must be kept in mind that the eradication of the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease has not yet been confirmed.
It only is confirmed that there are no more new cases of foot- and-mouth disease. There is the possibility that the virus remains in animal waste on livestock farms and in other substances. To prevent its spread, thorough disinfection must be carried out.

Ogijima, man-tree island of art

One of the greatest opportunities to visit the Seto Inland Sea is from now through Oct. 31. During this time, the Setouchi International Art Festival beckons you to discover up to six islands in Kagawa Prefecture and one in Okayama Prefecture.
This art festival has a little something for everyone — art lovers and art haters alike (hey, I don't like to discriminate). I recently visited Ogijima, one of the islands imbued with art to host the festival. It's impressive just how much art can help to save an island and its culture. Ogijima (man-tree island) is the 40th island I've visited in the Inland Sea, and I'd have to rank it as one of the best for first-time visitors to the Seto Naikai.

Beijing's Asia power play

China's economic and military might has grown in recent years along with its overseas trade and investment. China is becoming an oceanic power with growing clout in the Asia-Pacific region.
It demonstrated naval, air and amphibious strength this year by holding exercises in the South and East China seas, where it has unresolved territorial and maritime boundary disputes with several Southeast Asian countries and with Japan.

A call for death penalty debate

Until July 28, no executions had been carried out for a year in Japan, with death row convicts numbering a record 109. On that day, two inmates were hanged in the Tokyo Detention House.
Justice Minister Keiko Chiba, a human rights lawyer who used to be a member of a Diet members' league for the abolition of the death penalty, ordered the executions. Moreover, she witnessed them — probably the first justice minister to do so.

Oswalt says yes to Phillies

NEW YORK (AP) Roy Oswalt granted his own wish: He's now part of a pennant race. Miguel Tejada and Jorge Cantu joined the mix, too.
The trade wheel of fortune kept spinning Thursday with veterans-for-prospects deals that typically dot the stretch run. More swaps were expected before Saturday's 4 p.m. deadline as pitchers Ted Lilly and Jake Westbrook could go.

Hitachi returns to profit in quarter

Hitachi Ltd. said Friday it swung back into the black in the April-to-June period as sales of its products grew amid the global economic recovery, raising its forecasts for the first half of the current business year through March.
The company reported a group net profit of ¥86.06 billion, a turnaround from ¥82.67 billion in net loss a year earlier. Its operating profit came to ¥88.48 billion, compared with a ¥50.60 billion loss on sales of ¥2.15 trillion, up 13.7 percent.

Sakai, husband get divorced

Former pop star Noriko Sakai, who was convicted last year on a drug charge, has divorced, her former management firm, Sun Music Production, revealed Friday.
Her former husband, Yuichi Takaso, was likewise found guilty of possessing and using amphetamines and is believed to have introduced Sakai to the drug.

Sony, Panasonic defy strong yen in forecasts

Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp., the world's largest consumer-electronics makers, signaled Japanese technology companies are withstanding slowing European demand and the stronger yen after raising their earnings forecasts.
Fujitsu Corp. also lifted its profit projections Thursday, while a surge in chip demand helped Toshiba Corp. deliver earnings that exceeded analysts' estimates. Earlier in the week, Sanyo Electric Co. increased its forecast and Canon Inc.'s results prompted JPMorgan Chase & Co. to raise its investment rating on the world's biggest camera maker.

Johjima's homer lifts Tigers past Dragons

NISHINOMIYA, Hyogo Pref. (Kyodo) Kenji Johjima hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the fourth inning, Yasutomo Kubo threw 7 2/3 solid innings and the Hanshin Tigers edged the Chunichi Dragons 3-2 on Friday.
Johjima broke a 2-2 tie with his 18th home run of the season leading off the fourth at Koshien Stadium. The former Seattle Mariners catcher also had two singles and finished the night 3-for-4.

Liverpool, Juventus avoid banana skins

LONDON (AP) Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus began their attempts to reach the second-tier Europa League with 2-0 victories.
On Thursday, Roy Hodgson guided Liverpool over Rabotnicki in his first competitive game since becoming manager four weeks ago. David Ngog scored twice as Liverpool won despite the absence of star players, including Fernando Torres and Joe Cole.

Morgan century inspires England

NOTTINGHAM, England (AP) Eoin Morgan hit his first test century as England took charge against Pakistan on Thursday by reaching 331-4 at stumps on day one of the first test.
"It's extremely satisfying to score my first test match hundred in only my third game," Morgan said. "I'm really proud of myself.

Sept. 14 DPJ presidential poll

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan is planning to hold its presidential election on Sept. 14, DPJ sources said Friday. The vote will decide whether Prime Minister Naoto Kan remains in his post amid a gradual decline in support ratings.
The election date is expected to be formalized at a meeting of DPJ executives Monday, the sources said.

Time is ripe for banana vending machine: Dole

A banana machine in Tokyo's trend-setting Shibuya district is growing popular with busy urbanites who crave the fruit as a refreshing breakfast or snack.
The dispenser, installed in an underground area near the 109 fashion complex in late June, sells them for ¥130 apiece or ¥390 a bunch. Despite the premium prices, more than 2,500 have been sold within a month.

Pierce named Akita's first coach

Bob Pierce, the first coach in Shiga Lakestars history, has been appointed the expansion Akita Northern Happinets' first coach, the bj-league team announced on Friday.
Pierce, who turns 50 on Sunday, guided the Lakestars to the team's first playoff berth last season. The team made a 10-win improvement in 2009-10, going 29-23 and finishing fourth in the ultra-competitive Western Conference.

Three trading houses log growth

Major trading houses Mitsubishi Corp., Sumitomo Corp. and Marubeni Corp. on Friday reported growth in their April-June earnings from the same quarter of last year, when their earnings plunged amid the global recession.
Mitsubishi said its group net profit in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 more than doubled from a year earlier to ¥140.43 billion as sales grew 19.2 percent on hikes in resource prices and a recovery in demand for steel products.

MUFG, Mizuho log better earnings

Banking groups Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. on Friday reported sharp improvements in earnings in the April-June period amid Japan's economic recovery that has reduced bad-loan charges.
MUFG booked a group net profit of ¥166.35 billion in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, up 119.0 percent over a year earlier, despite a 12.5 percent fall in operating revenues to ¥1.17 trillion.

Abdul-Rauf to return to Hannaryz

Former NBA guard Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf has agreed to terms of a contract for the 2010-11 season and will return to the Kyoto Hannaryz for a second season, the bj-league team announced on Friday.
Abdul-Rauf, 41, is the highest-profile player in the history of the bj-league. He was the No. 3 pick in the 1990 NBA Draft and played for the Denver Nuggets (1990-96), Sacramento Kings (1996-98) and Vancouver Grizzlies (2000-01). A former college scoring sensation at Louisiana State, Abdul Rauf has also played in Russia, Italy, Greece and Saudi Arabia.

SDF finds crashed plane; two dead

A Self-Defense Forces rescue team Friday discovered the wreckage of a single-engine plane missing for two days in Hokkaido and both men on board were confirmed killed, police said.
The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry said the SDF team found the plane in a mountainous area in Hokkaido in its aerial search and airlifted the bodies for later confirmation of death at a hospital.

Victim of blood products sues for hep C relief

OITA (Kyodo) A 61-year-old man filed a suit Friday seeking state relief and damages for being infected with hepatitis C from tainted blood products, which are not covered under a 2008 law on blanket relief for people with the infectious disease.
The plaintiff lodged the suit with the Oita District Court seeking the law to be applied to him and ¥2 million in damages.

ANA sheds quarter loss; riders up

All Nippon Airways Co., Japan's No. 2 airline, said losses narrowed in the April-June quarter as it slashed costs and benefited from an uptick in international business and tourism travel.
ANA said Friday it had losses of ¥5.2 billion during its fiscal first quarter, much improved from ¥29.2 billion in losses for the previous year.

Haynesworth fails conditioning test; Tebow signs

NEW YORK (AP) Albert Haynesworth wasn't ready to practice with the Washington Redskins — at least according to coach Mike Shanahan.
Tim Tebow will be ready to go when Denver Broncos camp opens.

Pekerman denies contact with JFA

RIO DE JANEIRO (Kyodo) Former Argentina boss Jose Pekerman says he has not been contacted by the Japan Football Association about the vacant national team coach's job.
The 60-year-old was thought to be among candidates on the JFA's wish list to succeed Takeshi Okada, who steered Japan to the second round of the World Cup at this summer's finals in South Africa but has since stepped down.

White Sox continue change in fortunes

CHICAGO (AP) Seven weeks ago, the Chicago White Sox wondered if they'd ever stop losing. These days, they're playing as if the winning will never end — especially at home.
Ramon Castro homered twice and Paul Konerko went deep for the fourth straight game Thursday night, leading Chicago to its 11th consecutive home victory, 9-5 over the Seattle Mariners.

McCaw says surface 'good as gold'

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) New Zealand captain Richie McCaw says the stadium pitch for Saturday's Tri-Nations rugby match against Australia should be "good as gold," dismissing criticism of the surface.
McCaw said Friday that he and the All Blacks squad visited the Docklands venue on Thursday and had little issue with the pitch that has been criticized by Australian Rules football players for being uneven and spongy in places.

Entrepreneur-turned-lawmaker: Cut corporate tax

The country must cut corporate taxes to attract investment or risk losing out to Asian rivals, according to former Tully's Coffee Japan Co. President Kota Matsuda, who was elected to the Upper House on July 11.
"The government is not too friendly to companies, enterprises and entrepreneurs," said Matsuda, one of 10 members of the fledgling Your Party to win seats in the election. "The corporate tax is very high in Japan — it's over 40 percent. Many of my friends who own and manage public companies are considering moving out of Japan soon. That's a very big risk."

Sailer leaves French behind for European gold

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) Veronica Sailer won the women's 100-meter dash Thursday, while France showed its strength again on the track with a silver and bronze behind the German star at the European Championships.
Veronique Mang appeared ready to surge ahead when Sailer found a burst at the end and stuck out her upper body to get over the finish line in 11.10 seconds, a hundredth of a second ahead of Mang. Myriam Veronique gave France two podium positions for the second straight night, after Christophe Lemaitre won the men's 100 and Martial Mbandjock took the bronze.

Uchiyama set for title defense

Takashi Uchiyama will attempt to defend his WBA super featherweight belt for a second time against fifth-ranked Indonesian challenger Roy Mukhlis at Saitama Super Arena on Sept. 20, Watanabe Gym said Friday.
"I am preparing for this bout as usual and hopefully can fight with a calm mind," Uchiyama told a news conference. "I will start watching footage and try and work out his shortcomings," he said of the 23-year-old Mukhlis.

Nomura hires 40 students on triple pay to be global bankers

Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's biggest securities firm, offered jobs to 40 students at triple the normal starting salary under a new plan to strengthen its international business, two sources said.
The college recruits, chosen from 650 candidates, will take up positions in investment banking, trading and other departments starting next April, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the information isn't public. They'll be guaranteed a ¥6.5 million salary before bonuses, compared with ¥2.4 million for regular hires.

Toyota recalls 412,000 cars in U.S., 16,000 here

Toyota is recalling 412,000 cars, mostly the Avalon model, in the U.S., and another 16,420 vehicles in Japan for steering problems, the automaker said Thursday.
The 373,000 Avalons being recalled in the U.S. range from the 2000 model year through to 2004 and have improper casting of the steering lock bar — a component for the steering system — causing cracks to develop on the surface.

Tokyo death chamber to be opened to media

The Justice Ministry will open the execution chamber at the Tokyo Detention House to the media as early as August, Justice Minister Keiko Chiba said Friday.
Secretive practices surrounding the capital punishment system, including executions without prior notice to death-row inmates, their relatives and lawyers, have drawn criticism.

Massa won't let Alonso pass him

BUDAPEST (AP) Felipe Massa has no intention of letting Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso pass him if the two are fighting for the win at the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend.
"I will win," Massa said Thursday when asked what he would do if the situation that occurred last weekend at the German GP happens again Sunday.

Apache finalize four more player contracts

A day after announcing the signing of teenage forward Jeremy Tyler — a story that appeared on hundreds of Web sites around the world — the Tokyo Apache added a few more pieces to the puzzle on Friday.
Veteran forward Michael Chappell, a former Michigan State and Duke player, agreed to a one-year deal for the upcoming season.

Mom held after children found 'starved to death' in Osaka flat

OSAKA (Kyodo) A 23-year-old woman was arrested Friday after her two small children were found dead, possibly of starvation, in her apartment in the city of Osaka, and after local child welfare officials tried five times in vain to check on the kids in May.
Sanae Shimomura, who works at an adult entertainment shop, was quoted as telling investigators, "I got sick of feeding them and giving them baths."

DPJ, Kan in hot seat as Diet opens

The first extraordinary Diet session under the administration of Prime Minister Naoto Kan convened Friday, with the opposition looking to pressure the ruling coalition following the recent loss of its Upper House majority.
The Diet session will last through Aug. 6, with Kan to participate in his first round of debates since he took over the government's top spot following the early-June resignation of Yukio Hatoyama. The abbreviated session is mainly for picking the Upper House chief and heads of standing committees.

Wright shot to death: police

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Former NBA big man Lorenzen Wright, whose body was found in the woods outside Memphis, was shot to death and the case is being investigated as a homicide, police said Thursday.
Police wouldn't answer questions about motive or suspects. But records indicate that Wright, 34, revered in his hometown as a generous and likable sports hero, was probably carrying a large amount of cash when he disappeared on July 18. A court affidavit also said Wright had sold two vehicles to a man affiliated with a Memphis drug ring that's suspected in six deaths.

Aichi looking to host Flower Expo by 2020

Flower-growers in Aichi Prefecture have started campaigning to bring the International Garden and Horticulture Exposition, better known as the Flower Expo, to Aichi by around 2020.
Under the plan, the prefectural government, flower-related organizations and the local business community will work in unison toward a successful expo bid, aiming to promote not only the local gardening and landscaping but also its tourism and environmental industries. Aichi hosted the World Expo in 2005.

Kan proposes to slash Diet ranks

Prime Minister Naoto Kan vowed Friday to prop up the economy by slashing wasteful spending, including reducing the ranks of lawmakers, while budgeting for projects that stimulate the job market and "bring back vigor."
Kan hopes the ruling and opposition camps can agree to reduce the Lower and Upper house numbers by the end of this year, he said in a rare news conference held on the first day of the extraordinary Diet session.

Hurler Saito shines in victory over Koreans

Yuki Saito was such a certainty to take the mound against South Korea that Japan manager Tamotsu Enomoto forgot to tell him.
Luckily, Saito was ready just in case.

BOJ feuded over zero-rate call in '00

Bank of Japan Policy Board members battled in the months before ending their zero-interest-rate stance in August 2000, a move they revoked seven months later.
"It's not desirable to prolong the half-dead monetary policy and I hope to normalize it when possible," then-Gov. Masaru Hayami said at a June 28 meeting, according to transcripts of meetings from the first half of 2000 released in Tokyo on Friday.

Taue to raise secret pact, India deal

NAGASAKI (Kyodo) Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue said Friday he will express misgivings about a possible nuclear cooperation agreement with India and also the government's handling of a secret atomic pact with the United States in the Peace Declaration to be issued Aug. 9, the anniversary of the city's A-bombing.
Releasing its gist at a press conference, Taue said he will call on the government to take the lead in achieving global peace while asking people around the world to work together for that purpose.

Olympic medal Bolt's top priority

DENVER (AP) Usain Bolt says that his biggest goal at the London Olympics in two years' time will be simply to win the 100 meters gold medal again, even though he believes the distance can be run in a record-breaking 9.4-second range.
"I'm always just happy with a gold medal," the Jamaican sprint star said. "If we go there and nobody breaks a record, I'll always have the record and there's no worries for me."

DPJ lawmakers urge Kan to focus on growth, put pressure on BOJ

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan said they will press Prime Minister Naoto Kan to shift the focus of his economic policy to growth from fiscal restraint and urge the central bank to do more to tackle deflation.
A group of DPJ legislators led by Jin Matsubara compiled proposals at a meeting Friday, including pushing the Bank of Japan to buy long-term government bonds and follow a government policy of setting an inflation target of 2 percent to 3 percent.

Historic schools face doom

From August, Chuo Ward in Tokyo will start to razing two "fukko" (revival) elementary schools, and demolish a third one around two years later.
However, architectural experts, local residents and alumni oppose the plan, claiming the buildings have high cultural value and the ward is wasting taxpayer money to build new schools in their stead.

Tseng, Hull lead Women's British Open; Miyazato struggles

SOUTHPORT, England — Yani Tseng shot a 4-under 68 in the opening round of the Women's British Open at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, and is tied for the lead as she pursues her third major championship.
The rising star from Taiwan shot a bogey-free round that included a birdie and an eagle on the two finishing holes, putting her in a tie for the lead with Australian Katherine Hull.

Fans flock for Hayabusa capsule

About 13,000 people flocked to a museum Friday in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, to see the small capsule released by the Hayabusa space probe after its seven-year round trip to the asteroid Itokawa.
The capsule, retrieved in Australia in June, went on display Friday at the Sagamihara City Museum, nearly a month after the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said particles had been retrieved from the specialized container inside. JAXA is examining if the particles are from the asteroid.