Mainichi Daily News articles from May 2006, page 4

Mainichi Daily News archives from May 2006

Yokozuna Asashoryu pulls out of sumo tournament with elbow injury.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Yokozuna Asashoryu announced on Tuesday that he has withdrawn from the current Summer Grand Sumo tournament after he suffered an injury to his right elbow on Monday. Asashoryu was injured after falling...

USEN to postpone absorbing ailing Livedoor.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Major cable broadcasting company USEN Corp. is set to postpone absorbing scandal-tainted Livedoor Co., which was to be carried out by the end of this year, until next year or later, sources said. USEN made...

Final Fantasy fans to get triple treat.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) LOS ANGELES -- Square Enix on Monday announced it is developing two new versions of the hugely popular role playing game Final Fantasy for Sony's next generation PlayStation 3 game console, along with another...

Auditor faces suspension for window-dressing Kanebo's accounts.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) An audit company involved in the window-dressing of Kanebo, Ltd.'s accounts will be suspended from business for 1 to 2 months, Kaoru Yosano, minister for financial services and economic and fiscal policy, said...

Toyota boss in US steps down in wake of sexual harassment lawsuit.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) WASHINGTON -- Toyota Motor North America President Hideaki Otaka, who is the subject of a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a female employee, announced his resignation on Monday. Otaka, 65, made the...

Lonely cop ruptures parked car's tire.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- A police officer arrested for rupturing a tire on a parked car has told investigators he was lonely because he was living away from his family, investigators said. "I'm living by myself because...

Chinese restriction on production of disposable chopsticks hits Japan hard.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A restriction that the Chinese government has placed on the production of disposable wooden chopsticks to protect forests is beginning to affect Japanese box lunch companies, restaurants and pubs, industry...

Driver nabbed for avoiding tollgate fees with written declarations.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SHIZUOKA -- A man who handed in written declarations when he passed through expressway tollgates, using them as an excuse not to pay the full fee, has been arrested, police said. The man, Ken Matsui, 28, an...

2 workers die when driverless truck runs down slope.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) TAISHI, Osaka -- A driverless truck plowed down a steep slope here Tuesday morning, fatally hitting two civil engineering workers, police said. At around 7:25 a.m., a truck went down about 16 meters on a...

PlayStation 3 to go on sale in Japan on Nov. 11 for 62,790 yen.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) LOS ANGELES -- Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation 3 next-generation video game console will go on sale in Japan on Nov. 11, the company has announced. Sony said the console would be sold in Japan for...

Shinbashi loses its beat after ban on street performers.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Street performers and vendors have disappeared from a square near JR Shinbashi Station in downtown Tokyo after local authorities decided in March to crack down on them under the Road Law. Street performers...

Bomb scare probe reveals cake and undies.
May 10, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) FUKUOKA -- Dozens of officers from the prefectural police explosive disposal unit examined suspicious unattended bags found at a university here in the fear they contained a bomb, only to unearth cake and...

Shizuka Arakawa retires from competitive skating, turns pro.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) YOKOHAMA -- Olympic gold medallist Shizuka Arakawa announced Sunday night that she is turning professional and has retired from competitive figure skating. "I've got no regrets about giving up competition,...

Voice actress Machiko Soga dies at 68.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Well-known voice actress Machiko Soga, who played the role of Q-Taro in the popular animated film, "Obake-no Q-Taro" ("Ghost Q-Taro") in the 1960s and 1970s, has died at her home in western Tokyo, police said....

Koizumi's criticism of governors' retirement allowances causes stir.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's remarks that retirement allowances for governors and mayors are too high have created a stir among local governments. "Local government's financial situations will likely...

Thief attacks noodle restaurant employee with hammer, makes off with 2.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) notebooks SHIBUKAWA, Gunma -- A robber who attacked an employee of a noodle restaurant here early Monday morning stole only two notebooks after being told that there was no money, police said. At around...

'My Japan' photo contest: Japan at work.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) What's your view on work in Japan? Why not share it with the world through the MSN-Mainichi Daily News "My Japan" photo contest. This week's theme is "Japan at Work" -- people, places and products, or...

Yamagata murder suspect told police he resented victim for years.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) IIDE, Yamagata -- A 24-year-old man arrested on suspicion of brutally stabbing a camera store operator and his son to death here on Sunday has told police that he had held feelings of resentment toward the son...

Aiful's business suspended over illegal loan activities.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Major consumer lender Aiful Corp. halted business at all its 1,700 outlets on Monday after being handed a suspension order by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) over aggressive debt collection tactics and...

Carpenter busted for stabbing 16-year-old ex-girlfriend to death in Kobe.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KOBE -- A carpenter was arrested for stabbing his 16-year-old former girlfriend to death in the parking lot of a convenience store here in the predawn hours of Monday, police said. Manabu Kawamoto, 27, a...

Nonprofit foundation head busted for embezzlement.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The head of a nonprofit foundation, arrested Monday for embezzling 10 million yen from the organization, is suspected of pocketing hundreds of millions of yen over the past several years, investigators said. ...

6 elementary schools in Sapporo receive calls threatening to kill children.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAPPORO -- Six municipal elementary school here received phone calls from a man on Monday morning who threatened to kill children at the schools, local education authorities said. Ainosato Nishi, Ainosato...

7 Nagoya welfare school employees arrested over man's death.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NAGOYA -- Seven people including the director of a Nagoya-based facility for socially withdrawn people were arrested Monday over the death of a 26-year-old man at the facility, law enforcers said. Police...

Singer Keiko Matsuyama dies at 69.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Popular singer Keiko Matsuyama, also known as "Okei-chan," died of pancreatic cancer at a hospital in Saitama Prefecture on Sunday, her family said Monday. She was 69. Funeral services for her will be...

Tires falling off large vehicles prompts gov't to beef up inspections.
May 9, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry is set to step up inspections on tires on large trucks and buses following a serious of accidents in which tires fell off such vehicles, officials said. The...

Female teacher suspended for sending sexual emails to student.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KITAKYUSHU -- A female elementary school teacher has been suspended from work for six months for answering e-mails sent from one of her students in a sexual manner, education officials said. Officials of...

JR West worker arrested over bullet train ticket scam.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- A former West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) employee has been arrested over a bullet train ticket scam at a station in Osaka Prefecture, police said. Susumu Ushio, who has since been dismissed from...

Woman busted for strangling daughter with rope in apartment.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa -- A woman was arrested early Wednesday for murdering her daughter, who was found dead at an apartment here Monday along with the victim's brother and three young children, police said. ...

NHK won't go to court over subscription payments until investigation is.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) complete NHK will not seek a court order demanding that households refusing to pay subscription fees make payment until it completes in-house investigations into an embezzlement scandal involving a former...

Local gov't needs to pay 40 billion yen to buy US base land.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAGAMIHARA, Kanagawa -- The local government will be required to pay up to 40 billion yen to buy a 17-hectare land lot that U.S. forces will return to Japan, city officials said. The Sagamihara Municipal...

Less students favor revising Constitution.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) An opinion poll among students has found that 48 percent were in favor of revising Japan's Constitution, a drop of 7 percent from earlier surveys. Takane Kawashima, assistant professor at Meiji University...

4 elderly climbers found safe after becoming lost on mountain.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) HAMAMATSU, Shizuoka -- Four elderly climbers who became lost when they were descending from a mountain were found safe and rescued by the police on Wednesday. Shizuoka police began a search for two men and...

2 die when light plane crashes after taking off in Hyogo.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) TOYOOKA, Hyogo -- Two men died when the light plane they were riding in crashed and burst into flames immediately after it took off from an airport here Wednesday morning, police said. The two have been...

4 hospitalized after gas leaks at house.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OBIHIRO, Hokkaido -- Four people collapsed and were taken to hospital on Wednesday after they apparently inhaled gas that leaked from a cracked pipe, police said. After receiving an alert from the family...

Lack of teeth tied to increased medical expenses for elderly.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Elderly people with fewer teeth are required to pay more medical expenses, a survey conducted by a group of researchers has shown. "People who care about their own teeth are highly interested in the health...

Trains, airports, expressways heavily congested with holidaymakers leaving.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Tokyo Trains, airports and expressways were heavily congested with holidaymakers leaving Tokyo as the last half of the Golden Week holiday period got under way on Wednesday. Traffic jams on expressways out...

Japan imports record amount of mineral water in 2005.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Japan imported a record 407,000 tons of mineral water from around the world in 2005, Tokyo Customs House officials said. The record amount of imported mineral water was worth about 26.3 billion yen. ...

Evangelion Special: Genesis of a major manga.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) In October 1995, the TV Tokyo network started screening an anime series that was to change the cartoon business forever. The program was called "Shin Seiki Evangerion" or "Neon Genesis Evangelion" as it...

Evangelion Special: Phenomenon to Legacy.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) At 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 4, 1995, two years of hard work finally came to fruition as "Shin Seiki Evangerion" (Neon Genesis Evangelion) hit Japanese TV screens. The series was based on the concept of the battle...

Muneo Suzuki's Tokyo home ransacked during Golden Week.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) The Tokyo home of House of Representatives politician Muneo Suzuki was apparently robbed while he was away during Golden Week, police said. A security company alerted police after a burglar alarm at...

TV chopper wreaks havoc at country pottery fair.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) SAGA -- Nine pieces of earthenware on display at a local Arita-style pottery market were smashed when the downward airflow from a broadcaster's helicopter covering the event blew them over, police said. A...

Known sex offender molests schoolgirls after ignoring principal's warning.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KUMAMOTO -- A middle-aged junior high school teacher has been dismissed for molesting two female students at a school here, officials said. Kumamoto Prefectural Board of Education officials said that the...

Victim's BBS posts reveal little on queer case of quintuple killings.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa -- A young woman found dead at an apartment here after being strangled by her mother had posted messages on an Internet bulletin board indicating that she was having trouble with friends and...

Potential Hanshin exec slams planned merger with Hankyu.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A businessman that the Murakami Fund, a major shareholder in the Hanshin Electric Railway Co., has recommended as a full-time member of its board, has criticized the Osaka-based railway operator over its...

Lifelink seeks public support on suicide prevention law.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Members of non-profit organization Lifelink will ask people to sign a petition urging Japan's Diet to legislate on measures to prevent people from committing suicide. The drive for signatures, supported by...

Staff shortages force scores of hospitals to drop out of emergency system.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A total of 63 hospitals since January last year have withdrawn from the national rotation of accepting patients who need emergency hospitalization, mainly due to a shortage of doctors, a Mainichi Shimbun survey...

Quake-damaged town hosts traditional bull-wrestling match.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OJIYA, Niigata -- Some 2,000 spectators witnessed a traditional bull-wrestling event held on Wednesday in Ojiya, one of the hardest-hit areas in the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu earthquakes. The onlookers cheered...

Armed gang robs gas station of 1 million yen.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KITAKATA, Fukushima -- A gang of men broke into a gas station here Wednesday night, threatened an employee with a knife and made off with about 1 million yen in cash, police said. The employee was not...

Street smoking ban fails to curb filthy butt habits.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NAGOYA -- A ban placed on smoking in the street in designated areas of Nagoya has helped deter smokers from public puffing, but has not discouraged them from discarding their butts willy-nilly, city officials...

Son scares off bear after elderly dad seriously injured in attack.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NIKAHO, Akita -- An elderly man was seriously injured after being attacked by a bear while picking wild plants in the mountains here Thursday morning, police said. At around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, an adult...

Korean heartthrob has tens of thousands of fans swooning at Tokyo Dome.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) South Korean superstar Lee Byung Hun and a host of special guests enchanted some 42,000 fans during a special fan event at Tokyo Dome on Wednesday. As part of the event, Lee chatted with actress Choi Ji...

4 youths killed in highway crash.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) DAZAIFU, Fukuoka -- Four youths died after a car they were riding in rolled over on a national highway here early Friday, police said. Investigators are grilling the 18-year-old driver of the car,...

Jobless man tries to burn way into jail.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) ASAHIKAWA, Hokkaido -- A man arrested for setting fire to an apartment complex has told investigators that he committed the crime because he wanted to go to jail, police said. Shiro Nagano, 52, a jobless...

Vandals smash dozens of windows at Maebashi junior high school.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) MAEBASHI -- A total of 27 windows were found broken at a public junior high school here early Friday, police said. Alerted by a security company, police officers rushed to Maebashi Municipal Daigo Junior...

Child's corpse found with 4 bodies resembles murder suspect's missing son.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa -- The corpse of one of three children found dead at an apartment here along with a slain woman and her dead brother is similar in size to the eldest son of the woman under arrest for the...

Giant flounder caught off Kanagawa gets off the hook.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) MIURA, Kanagawa -- One of the world's biggest flounders, caught off the coast of Kanagawa Prefecture earlier this week, is to be donated to an aquarium instead of being eaten, it has been learned. The...

Hotel employee found murdered at front desk.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OITA -- An employee at a busy hotel was found murdered near the front desk early Friday morning, police said. At around 5 a.m., Yoshiko Shintaku, 65, an employee of the Luna Seifu hotel in the Sako district...

Japanese boys just want to play ball, girls want to work with food.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Becoming a baseball player is the most popular aspiration for young boys when it comes to a future job, while the most popular option for girls is to work in a food store, an annual survey has shown. ...

3-year-old swept into Hokkaido river after falling down drain.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OTARU, Hokkaido -- A 3-year-old boy was left unconscious and in serious condition after falling down a drain and being swept into a river here, police said. Police said the 3-year-old fell into a drainage...

Diver dies mysteriously off Okinawa islands.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) TOKASHIKI, Okinawa -- A 41-year-old diver died after being pulled from the water near the Kerama Islands here after he began acting abnormally, officials said. Officials on the 19-ton diving boat "Kafu"...

Man seriously injured in encounter with mother bear and cub.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) UOZU, Toyama -- A man was seriously injured after being attacked by a bear while picking wild plants in the mountains here with two of his friends Friday, police said At around 8 a.m., Mineyuki Sakamoto, 58, a...

Car magazine editor's fight against traffic accident fine ends in not guilty.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) ruling A car magazine editor who took legal action against a 400,000 yen fine he was given for professional negligence resulting in injury after he injured a motorcyclist in a traffic accident has been cleared...

Flash of brilliance, fearless fisherman and 'wake-up' make-up your images of.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Japan A flash of brilliance in the form of a time-lapse shot of a deliveryman; a plucky fisherman defying nature, and a group of women commuters were the winning shots in this week's My Japan readers' contest....

Double-killer mom headed back to Japan.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A Japanese woman currently jailed in Canada for leaving her two babies to die of starvation while she went off on a weeklong sex romp with her boyfriend is headed back to her homeland, according to media...

Kameda beats Nicaraguan boxer Fajardo with second-round TKO.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Japanese flyweight boxer Koki Kameda, ranked fourth by the World Boxing Council (WBC), pummeled Nicaraguan boxer Carlos Fajardo on Friday, winning a technical knockout in the second round of their fight in...

More World Cup tickets go on sale for Japan games.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Organizers of the 2006 World Cup in Germany started selling tickets from returns Saturday, including those for Japan's three preliminary games, which had earlier supposedly been completely sold out. The...

Disappointed Ai-chan expected better than World Championship bronze.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) NARITA -- Ai Fukuhara said she expected more than the bronze medal she helped the Japanese women's team pick up at the World Table Tennis Championship in Bremen, Germany. Fukuhara returned to Japan on...

Wasabi-leaf whammy added to simple sushi creates super taste sensation.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) With its elaborate packaging, at first glance the Kinmedai no Wasabi-ba Zushi ekiben seems to be more like pricey cakes than a boxed lunch sold at railway stations. But there's no doubt the Kinmedai no...

Foreigner molests female police officer on train.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) OSAKA -- A Vietnamese national who thrust his private parts up against a female police officer as they rode a packed commuter train has been arrested, police said. Kyoto resident Van Linh Tue, 29, a...

Women twice as likely to give up train seats for expectant mothers, survey.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) shows Women are more than twice as likely as men to give up a seat on the train to a pregnant woman, according to a survey by baby product manufacturer Combi Corp. If travelers were going to give up their...

Evangelion Special: From phenomenon to legacy.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) At 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 4, 1995, two years of hard work finally came to fruition as "Shin Seiki Evangerion" (Neon Genesis Evangelion) hit Japanese TV screens. The series was based on the concept of the battle...

Would-be rescuer's body found in lake.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) CHINO, Nagano -- A man who went missing while trying to rescue a drowning girl in a lake here has been found dead, police said. The body of Hirofumi Iwasaki, 34, a employee of Kawasaki, was found Friday at...

Mamma Tour brings breast cancer patients back to hot springs.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) FUKUOKA -- A Fukuoka physician has arranged hot spring resort tours for breast cancer patients so they can relax together and avoid any embarrassment they may feel at others seeing their post-operation bodies....

Man arrested for kicking father to death after spat over farm.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KAMEOKA, Kyoto -- A man has been arrested for fatally kicking his father after getting into an argument over rice planting, police said. Shinji Oi, 30, of Kameoka, is accused of inflicting bodily injury...

Thai, Malaysian men arrested over killing of 2 Japanese in Thailand.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) BANGKOK -- Thai police have arrested a 64-year-old Malaysian man and a 62-year-old Thai man on suspicion of killing two Japanese men who were murdered overseas, law enforcers said. The suspects, whose names...

Railway heroes inspire Tokyo man to write letter of praise to JR.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A Tokyo man who was stranded in a train on the JR Gono Line in Akita Prefecture for eight hours when the area was struck by a blizzard in February sent a letter to JR, praising railway workers' efforts to get...

Murakami Fund takes a bite of TBS.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) An investment fund led by former bureaucrat Yoshiaki Murakami has secured a 3 to 4 percent stake in Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), becoming a major shareholder in the broadcaster, it was learned Saturday. ...

Car crashes down exit at busy Tokyo subway station.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A car rammed into a subway station exit after veering onto the sidewalk in Tokyo's Minato-ku on Saturday, plunging down 30 steps before coming to a halt, police said. Police said the vehicle rammed into an...

Evangelion Special: For producer Otsuki, success not always a bed of roses.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) Toshimichi Otsuki, working as producer in tandem with director Hideaki Anno, helped create "Evangelion," a manga that changed the cartoon business in Japan. Evangelion led the way in forming the...

Clothing on body found to match that of missing child from 1984.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) HIRATSUKA, Kanagawa -- A shirt found on the body of a child, which was discovered along with five other bodies -- including that of a woman slain by her own mother -- in an apartment here, is identical to that...

Women and masturbation -- not an issue to play around with.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) All right, I know this isn't an issue that I should be bringing up in the respectable Mainichi, but I was inspired by an e-mail I received from a woman I'll call Miss W, who asked about masturbation. ...

Giant 9 kilogram bamboo shoot found in Wakayama.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) WAKAYAMA -- A farmer has recently found a huge bamboo shoot in his bamboo grove. The bamboo sprout picked by farmer Sadao Seto, 73, is 55 centimeters long and 25 centimeters around and weighs 9.3 kilograms....

Kohikan offers all-you-can-eat 'Nagoya-style' breakfasts.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) A major coffee shop chain, the Tokyo-based Kohikan, has launched a "Nagoya-style" all-you-can-eat breakfast service consisting of bread and boiled eggs at the regular coffee price of 380 yen. The service is...

'Article 9' Constitution rice crackers a hit in Kumamoto.
May 8, 2006... (From Mainichi Daily News) KUMAMOTO -- A coffee shop here is leaving a lasting impression on customers with rice crackers containing the text of the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's Constitution. Furatto, a coffee shop located in...