Japanese researchers trigger onset of mad cow disease in cows
January 17, 2006Japanese researchers have succeeded for the first time in Japan in infecting cows with mad cow disease in an experiment, an animal laboratory in Hokkaido said Wednesday. The Hokkaido Animal Research Center said the researchers triggered the onset of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in three cows in an experiment in which the cows were injected with abnormal prions extracted from BSE-infected cows.
Nukaga urges Rumsfeld for compromise in realignment talks
January 17, 2006Japan's Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga urged U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a meeting Tuesday to make some compromises in ongoing talks on realignment of the U.S. military presence in Japan. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Nukaga refused to specify what matters Japan wants the United States to compromise on, but said the two defense chiefs agreed to accelerate working-level talks to draft a unified implementation plan, possibly by the end of this month, in order to begin seeking local support before finalizing the plan by March.
Killer of Japanese-Brazilian family gets 165 years in jail in Brazil
January 17, 2006A man was sentenced Tuesday to 165 years in prison by a court in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for killing a family of five Brazilians of Japanese descent and injuring another family member in a robbery in the city in September last year, Brazilian media reported. Ricardo Francisco dos Santos, 26, broke into the house of Tadashi Yonekura, 68, in Sao Paulo, whom he was acquainted with, on Sept. 10.
Swimming: Sano sets 400 medley national record at World Cup meet
January 17, 2006Hidemasa Sano rewrote his national record in winning the men's 400 meters individual medley on the opening day Tuesday of a World Cup short-course swimming meet in Sweden. Sano powered home in 4 minutes, 06.98 seconds, shaving .09 of the record he set at this meet last year, to beat Lukasz Wojt of Poland (4:08.65) and third-placed Axel Petterson of Sweden (4:17.65).
Japan postpones satellite launch due to technical glitch
January 17, 2006The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said Wednesday it has indefinitely postponed the launch of a land-observation satellite, originally scheduled for Thursday, due to a technical glitch in the launch vehicle. The H-2A rocket carrying the Advanced Land Observing Satellite was set to be launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture Thursday morning.
Japan denies claim armed group killed 4 Japanese troops in Iraq
January 17, 2006An armed group claimed in a statement published Tuesday on its website that it killed four Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force troops stationed in Samawah, southern Iraq, in an attack on a GSDF vehicle, but the GSDF there denied the claim. The GSDF in Samawah said it did not come under attack and was operating as usual. Iraqi police also rejected the group's claim.
Tokyo stocks open sharply lower after U.S. shares fall
January 17, 2006Stocks opened sharply lower Wednesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange after overnight falls on the U.S. stock market and amid concern over Japanese prosecutors suspecting Livedoor Co. of violating the securities law. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 236.22 points, or 1.49 percent, to 15,569.73. The broader Tokyo Stock Price Index of all First Section issues was down 28.24 points, or 1.73 percent, to 1,603.37. The Second Section also fell.
2 die, 3 missing in oil tank explosion in Ehime
January 17, 2006Two people died and three others went missing in an explosion at a Taiyo Oil Co. crude oil tank in Imabari, Ehime Prefecture, Tuesday afternoon, police said. At least two people were slightly injured in the 2:20 p.m. accident, they said.