FUJISAWA, Kanagawa -- A man died after being struck by a train in an apparent suicide at a railway crossing on the JR Tokaido Line early Monday, police said.

Police said the train hit the man on the crossing in Fujisawa at about 6:25 a.m. Monday, killing him instantly. They are trying to identify the victim.

Witness reports said the man slipped past a crossing bar and onto the tracks, leading police to suspect suicide. Trains were stopped on the line for about 25 minutes as a result of the accident, and subsequent delays occurred.

OGA, Akita -- Young visitors to an aquarium here might have been tempted to taunt the usually terrifying ogre on the other side of the tank's glass, but the scores of fish swimming around the costumed diver knew better than to bite the hand that was feeding them.

The Oga Aquarium GAO in Oga, Akita Prefecture, first introduced the traditional ogre, known in the region as "namahage," as a New Year's attraction in its large tank two years ago.

Every New Year's Eve locals dressed as namahage ogres visit houses in Oga, terrorizing children by screaming, "Are there any lazy bones in here? Any crying children?"

However, the diving namahage at the aquarium cannot call out under water and even waves at visitors. After overcoming their initial fear at seeing the ogre in the tank, children return the friendly gesture and wave at the diver.

The ikebana school of master Ikenobo held its traditional New Year's ikebana ceremony on Saturday at its main school in Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, and its other facilities around the country.

About 1,400 disciples, aged 11 to 97, participated in the annual ceremony that has reportedly been held since the Muromachi Period (1338-1573).

Kimono-clad students arranged flowers as ikebana master Senei Ikenobo and others looked on.

"My boyfriend is a high school teacher. He uses birth control without fail and is never demanding. I love that about him, but when I try to initiate sex, he always gives me really dirty looks. He doesn't seem to understand that women get really horny at times, too," a woman who'll turn 23 next month wrote to me in an e-mail.

Women do have sexual urges. It's really tough for the woman that she has to get her partner to understand something as basic as this. But in our world, what's regarded as perfectly normal for men can attract some unsavory attention when women want the same thing. Even though men and women have different body structures, do their sexual urges differ?

Judging by recent research that shows there is a difference between the sexes in the part of the brain called the hypothalamus, it would seem so. I'll go into difficult medical terminology for a second, but the brain has what's called a genital center. In it, there is what's called the sexual dimorphism nucleus, which is the medial preoptic area's nerve nucleus, which can be found in the hypothalamus.

The sexual dimorphism nucleus differs greatly in size between the sexes -- at least twice as large in men as in women. As the brain is structured with such large differences between the sexes, there are significant differences between male and female sexual behavior. It should be noted, though, that this is all going on in the brain.

You can measure whether sexual arousal has occurred by checking the amount of blood that has flowed to the genitals. There have been experiments to check the difference between men and women. One test showed pornography to both men and women, and found there was no difference in the level of arousal. Women became aroused when they watched pornography. However, those women who had been told in advance that they were going to see a porno movie showed an increase of blood that proved there was added arousal, while men did not become aroused until they actually saw the movie. Women's sex is strongly mental, while men's is presentational. Because of this, it's hard for other people to understand a woman's sexual urges.

In Masters and Johnson's "Human Sexual Reaction," the American sex academics point out that men quickly attain pleasure and rapidly lose interest once orgasm has been attained while women take long to be pleased and it takes them more time to come down once they have achieved climax. Brain waves have also confirmed this. There is no way to measure how much pleasure is gained, but it is a fact that the female orgasm is much more pleasurable than the climax experienced by men. Brain waves called theta waves differ in how they materialize in men and women and while women are going through orgasm, theta waves appear throughout the entire brain, while in men they are only in one little area only one-tenth of as active as in women. If a man experienced a female orgasm (which is, of course, impossible), it is said that the shock to his brain would kill him.

Considering these matters, let's get on to how the young woman should approach the boyfriend who doesn't like it when she says she's horny. Women get aroused, even though it may be difficult to tell on the surface, so it's important that she lets her boyfriend know those times when she really feels like sex. While enjoying the afterglow of sex, she should mention that the enjoyment and pleasure they just felt is the reason why she sometimes really wants to make love to her boyfriend. Everybody is gentler and more receptive after sex. Her boyfriend may listen and act on what she says during their afterglow period. It might be a good idea for her to prepare him this way.

Rather than letting him know directly that she feels like sex, don't you think it's a better idea to wait until a time when you are both receptive to each other? Rather than directly coming out and saying she wants sex, she should use a subtler way to get her message across. Maybe, the couple could work on creating signals that show to their partner that they're in the mood, maybe by playing footsies. She may do well by becoming a woman who treats a man's heart gently. (By Dr. Kunio Kitamura, special to the Mainichi)

* I used the book "Sekkusu no Subete ga Wakaru Hon (Everything There is to Know About Sex)" as a reference for this column.

NOTE TO READERS: Dr. Kitamura is on holiday this week. This column originally appeared in Japanese on the now defunct MSN-Mainichi Interactive site on June 18, 2004.

YOKOHAMA -- A man robbed a convenience store here of about 35,000 yen early Saturday, only to be arrested by police officers who were staking out the shop, investigators said.

Takuya Abe, 24, an unemployed man living in Sakae-ku, Yokohama, stands accused of robbery. He admitted that he robbed another convenience store in December last year.

"I was pinched for money. I committed another robbery in December," Abe was quoted as telling investigators during questioning.

At around 3:50 a.m. on Saturday, Abe thrust a kitchen knife at a 19-year-old employee at a Family Mart outlet in Totsuka-ku, and demanded money, local police said. He grabbed about 35,000 yen from the cash register and fled.

Officers positioned inside and outside the store immediately gave chase and overpowered Abe on the street, approximately 300 meters from the store.

Local police had dispatched officers to 21 convenience stores in Totsuka-ku and the neighboring city of Kamakura after four convenience stores in the areas were robbed of a total of 500,000 yen last month.

SAYAMA, Saitama -- A man died after he crashed his car into a traffic signal post along a national highway here Friday night, police said.

At around 9:50 p.m., a car driven by Hidenori Furukawa, 25, a resident of Sakado, Saitama Prefecture, ran up onto a stone curb along Route 16 in the Shin-Sayama district of Sayama and crashed into a traffic signal post, local police said.

Furukawa died shortly afterwards from the impact of the crash.

Skid marks left on the road shows that his car moved from the passing lane back into the driving lane just before the accident.

Local police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident.

OTSU -- Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada said the prefectural government will aim to have Lake Biwa inscribed as a World Heritage site.

At a New Year press conference on Friday, Kada said a project team will be established with the aim of getting the prefecture's lake registered as a World Heritage site.

"Through our activities, we'll show the world the appeal of Lake Biwa," Kada told the press conference.

Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake, has already been designated as a protected wetland under the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat, popularly known as the Ramsar Convention.

MITO -- A coast guard officer has been arrested for stealing a small rescue boat from the patrol vessel on which he was working after lashing out at his boss, local coast guard officials said.

The Ibaraki Coast Guard Office arrested Hiroshi Tahara, 32, a resident of Kamisu, Ibaraki Prefecture, for theft. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"I lashed out at my boss and I decided that I couldn't continue working on the patrol boat," Tahara was quoted as telling investigators. "I was unhappy with my job as my applications for holidays were rarely ever accepted."

Tahara lowered a 6.4-meter-long rescue boat from the 960-ton patrol boat Katori at around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday, and used it to escape, the officials said. He abandoned the boat along the coast of Tokai, Ibaraki Prefecture.

OSAKA -- A motorcyclist fatally assaulted a man who warned him against parking his bike illegally on a street here, police said.

Seiichi Tsukamoto, 58, an unemployed man from Sumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, stands accused of inflicting bodily injury resulting in death.

At around 10:15 a.m. on Friday, the victim, 68-year-old pensioner Shigeyuki Nakahata warned Tsukamoto not to park his motorcycle on a street in front of a supermarket in Sumiyoshi-ku, where parking is prohibited, local police said.

Tsukamoto pushed Nakahata's shoulder saying, "Other people park here." Nakahata fell down and hit his head against the ground. He was rushed to a hospital but died six hours later.

YOKOHAMA -- A man was found stabbed to death at a company office here Saturday morning, police said.

At around 10:30 a.m., prefectural police received an emergency call from an employee of a company in Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, reporting having found a dead man in the office who had been stabbed.

The police subsequently found the man in his 40s lying on ground of the second floor of the office and bleeding. He was confirmed dead.

There were no signs that the office had been ransacked, according to investigators. The office is situated in a residential area about 400 meters west of JR Higashi-Kanagawa Station.

A man found dead in the debris of a Tokyo home that was burned down in a fire Saturday morning is believed to be the owner of the house, police said.

A fire broke out at the home of pensioner Toshikazu Sawai, 64, in the Kitami district of Setagaya-ku at around 4:30 a.m. on Saturday and burned down the two-story wooden structure, local police said.

The body of a man believed to be Sawai was subsequently pulled out of the debris. Investigators are trying to confirm the identity of the body while investigating the cause of the blaze.

Sawai's 60-year-old wife and 33-year-old daughter were sickened in the fire after inhaling smoke, but are not in serious condition.

TOYOHASHI, Aichi -- A shotgun that a man lost after going hunting in a forest here on Friday was found by a large search party Saturday, police said.

The 65-year-old company employee living in Toyohashi noticed that his shotgun was missing from its case after he returned from hunting pheasants in a forest in the city's Sugiyamacho district Friday morning, and alerted police.

About 75 police officers and member of a local fire brigade began Saturday morning to search the forest and found the unloaded weapon several meters away from where he had been standing.

The man went to the forest alone Friday morning to hunt for pheasants, but left 30 minutes later without firing a shot.

OSAKA -- A gangster was injured after being shot in the right knee here early Saturday morning, police said.

Investigators are questioning the gangster, a 38-year-old member of the Yamaken-gumi affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi crime syndicate, over the details of the incident, while searching for the assailant.

At around 5:40 a.m. on Saturday, prefectural police received an emergency call from a passer-by reporting that she heard a shot near a parking lot in the Hanazono district of Nishinari-ku.

Officers rushed to the scene and found the gangster had been shot in his right knee. His injuries are expected to take about two weeks to heal.

A teenager has decided not to appeal a high court ruling that sentenced him to spend 12 years behind bars for murdering his parents, his defense lawyer said.

On Dec. 17, the Tokyo High Court reduced the 14-year prison term handed down by the Tokyo District Court to 12 years on the grounds that the teen has shown deep regret and that he had been improperly raised by his father and subjected to psychological abuse.

The 18-year-old defendant, who was 15 when he committed the crime, is satisfied with the ruling, according to the lawyer.

As prosecutors also did not appeal the ruling by the deadline, the sentence is now fixed.

The boy clubbed his 44-year-old father to death with an iron dumbbell at their home in Tokyo's Itabashi-ku on June 20, 2005, according to the ruling. He then fatally stabbed his 42-year-old mother, and blew up their home by filling it with gas and leaving a spray can on top of a burner to detonate the blast, the court found.

TAKAMATSU -- A high school boy was arrested after threatening a female official at the Kagawa Prefectural Government headquarters with a knife and demanding that he meet the governor, police said.

The 18-year-old, third-year high school student is accused of violating the Firearms and Swords Control Law. Investigators are questioning the boy, whose name is being withheld under the Juvenile Law, over the motives behind his crime.

Gov. Takeki Manabe had already left the office and nobody was injured in the incident.

At around 5:40 p.m. on Friday, the boy sneaked into the secretarial division of the prefectural government headquarters in Takamatsu, thrust a knife at a female official in her 30s and demanded that he meet the governor, local police said.

However, the high school student dropped his knife after another official urged him to stop threatening the woman. The youth was also in possession of a hammer.

AOMORI -- The driver of a tour bus that slid off a snow-covered road here Friday, killing a woman and injuring 22 others, has been arrested, police said.

Tomiaki Nakamura, 57, stands accused of negligent driving resulting in death and injury.

"Visibility was poor in the snowstorm, and the vehicle skidded after I applied the brakes," Nakamura was quoted as telling investigators.

At around 11 a.m. on Friday, the bus driven by Nakamura and carrying 33 passengers and a tour conductor, slipped along a section of Route 103 and plunged about five meters down the sloping shoulder of the national highway, local police said.

In the accident, 38-year-old Mie Miyata, a resident of Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, died after being thrown out of the bus and crushed under the vehicle. Morio Tanaka, 68, a dance studio owner from Hachioji, Tokyo, suffered serious injuries, while 21 others were slightly injured.

A man under arrested for the brutal assault, rape and robbery of a Saitama Prefecture nurse is now being linked with more cases, including a savage murder, according to Shukan Gendai (12/22-29).

Tatsuya Kiyota has already been arrested for the rape and robbery of a 20-something nurse in Kawaguchi, but the more police look into his past, the more they fear he has committed other vicious attacks, at least one of them deadly.

Kiyota, 39, a plumber's laborer from Kawaguchi, has become the prime suspect in the murder last October of Risa Watanabe, a 26-year-old woman who lived in the same apartment as the nurse Kiyota was arrested for attacking.

Kiyota denies any involvement in Watanabe's death, but police say they have collected samples of his DNA from evidence found at the scene of the brutal killing.

"Watanabe had been beaten so badly, her body was covered with bruises and she died of strangulation," a reporter for a national daily tells Shukan Post. "Her underpants had been removed and her pantyhose wrapped around her head. A black cardigan was used to tie her hands behind her back."

Kiyota lived about 2.5 kilometers from the apartment with his now ex-wife and their three children. He was apparently heavily in debt.

"Kiyota had borrowed over 1 million yen from a loanshark. His parents committed suicide about two years ago and debt collectors started coming after him from around that time," an associate of the suspect's tells the weekly. "He quit the transport company he used to work for in November 2006 and received severance pay of about 1 million yen, but that went virtually nowhere to paying off everything he owed."

One neighbor of the Kiyota family spoke highly of him.

"They seemed a happy family. Their eldest boy is disabled, but Kiyota really seemed to care for the family and took good care of his boy," the neighbor says.

A former co-worker, however, knew a different Kiyota.

"He could drink like a fish," the co-worker says. "He used to go out to bars and clubs with Filipina hostesses every night after work. He was used to dealing with women. And he used to work in the pachinko business, so he often went out playing pachinko. He really knew how to burn through the cash."

Another drinking associate adds that Kiyota and his wife did not have the best relationship, pointing out that they divorced last year.

"Kiyota didn't come into our pub after about July, but in around April last year he came in said he'd divorced because his wife had run off on him," the associate says. "A few months later, the wife came in for a drink with a few of her girlfriends and told a different story. She said he was the pits and that she hated him. The ex-wife said that even after they had agreed to separate, Kiyota refused to leave their home, so she packed up everything and left him."

Kiyota undoubtedly had some family troubles plaguing him, but he may have even more troubles with the law ahead. As well as the rape and robbery of the nurse and the DNA link to Watanabe's murder, police also believe he could have been behind yet another vicious attack on another single woman that occurred in October 2006 just a few minutes walk from the apartment where the two other cases occurred.

"A woman in her 30s was attacked from behind like in the other cases. A man in his 30s ran up as she unlocked her apartment, grabbed her arms and forced his foot into the door to stop her from closing it," a police source tells Shukan Gendai. "When the woman screamed, the guy ran away." (By Ryann Connell)

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese stock prices plunged Friday to their lowest finish since July 2006, losing ground after jittery trade on Wall Street amid concerns about the U.S. economy and rising oil prices.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei stock index lost 616.37 points, or 4.03 percent, to finish Friday's half-day session at 14,691.41 points on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The close was the index's lowest since it posted 14,500.26 points on July 19, 2006.

The TSE had been closed since last Friday for the New Year's holidays. The exchange resumes full-day trading Monday.

Wall Street closed narrowly mixed Thursday after share prices dropped sharply the previous day on weaker-than-expected data for the U.S. manufacturing sector. Record oil prices that have topped US$100 also pressured stocks on worries that higher fuel costs could slow investment, spending and growth.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 12.76, or 0.10 percent, to 13,056.72 Thursday. Crude oil futures set a fresh trading record of US$100.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Worries about the economy in the United States -- a key export market for Japanese manufacturers -- as well as the dollar's weakness against the yen sent export-oriented shares down.

Increasing oil and raw material prices also took their toll on exporters, while giving commodity stocks a boost.

"High flying blue chip exporters are going to have a tough time coping with rising commodity prices, a stronger yen and a slowing U.S. economy," said Masanaga Kono, strategist at Societe Generale Asset Management.

Nissan Motor Co. plunged 9.2 percent to 1,117 yen. Toyota Motor Corp. finished 4.3 percent lower at 5,780 yen after hitting a 12-month low of 5,740 yen.

Sony Corp. fell 6.6 percent to 5,790 yen, while Canon Inc. dropped 5 percent to 4,940 yen.

Tokyo's broader Topix index, which includes all shares on the exchange's first section, lost 63.77 points, or 4.32 percent, to 1,411.91.

Other Asian exchanges -- most of which opened 2008 on Wednesday -- have not followed Japan's lead. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index rose 2.3 percent in morning trade, while benchmark indices in China, Singapore and South Korea are up by more than 0.5 percent in afternoon trade.

In currencies, the U.S. dollar was trading at 108.98 yen at 10:50 a.m. (0150 GMT) Friday, down from 109.33 yen late Thursday in New York. The euro rose to US$1.4750 from US$1.4744.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Friday that he will abandon reshuffling his Cabinet this month as he had initially suggested.

"I'd like the current Cabinet members to continue their work," Fukuda told a New Year press conference at his official residence on Friday morning.

"Some of them have only been in office for a short period of time. The current Diet session has been extended, and the next regular session will convene shortly after it closes. I was wondering whether I should carry out a reshuffle at such a time," he said.

The next regular Diet session convenes on Jan. 18, only three days after the current Diet session closes.

While he was on a visit to China last Saturday, Fukuda suggested that he intended to shake up his Cabinet.

He also said his government will attach more importance on consumers' livelihoods. "I'd like this year to be the starting point to transform the country into one with ordinary citizens, or consumers, as its core."

HIGASHIOSAKA, Osaka -- A man who was seriously injured in a traffic accident died after five hospitals refused to treat him, police said.

Masao Nishimura, 49, a truck driver from Daito, Osaka Prefecture, was seriously injured after a minibike he was riding collided head-on with a car driven by a 28-year-old male company employee from Osaka on a municipal road in Higashiosaka at around 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

An emergency crew arrived at the scene at around 10:33 p.m. and tried to take Nishimura to a hospital, but five emergency medical centers declined to accept him.

Nishimura was finally taken to the Senri Critical Care Medical Center in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, at about 11:35 p.m., but he died from excessive bleeding at around 1:40 a.m. the next day.

Police said Nishimura had initially told the emergency crew, "I am OK."

The Nakakawachi Medical Center of Acute Medicine in Higashiosaka, which was one of the hospitals that declined to accept the patient, defended its decision.

"We had three doctors on duty as we normally do on holidays, and two of them were specialists and the other was an intern," a hospital official said. "We received calls from the emergency crew to accept the man twice, but we had no choice but to decline because we were treating two other critically ill patients."

TOYOYAMA, Aichi -- Two teenage boys were arrested Friday for robbing two junior high school boys of 23,000 yen they had received as New Year's gifts from relatives, police said.

An 18-year-old high school boy and a 17-year-old construction worker stand accused of robbery and extortion, respectively. The suspects admitted to the allegations during questioning.

The pair approached two second-year junior high school boys aged 13 and 14 in a car on a street in Toyoyama on Thursday evening, and demanded money from them, local police said.

The construction worker extorted 22,000 yen from the 13-year-old, while the high school boy hit the 14-year-old in the face and stole 1,000 yen from him, according to investigators. The names of the suspects are being withheld under the Juvenile Law.

ICHINOMIYA, Aichi -- A drunken woman has been arrested for fatally stabbing her common-law husband at her home here after they got into an argument, police said.

Mieko Ono, 58, a restaurant owner living in Ichinomiya, was initially arrested for attempting to murder Kenzo Nishimura, 62, because he was still alive. Police upgraded the charges to murder after her victim died.

"I got furious while arguing with him. I grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed him," Ono was quoted as telling investigators. Police are grilling her over the motives behind her crime.

At around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, a local fire station received an emergency call from Ono, reporting that she stabbed Nishimura. Paramedics transported Nishimura to a hospital where he died in the predawn hours of Thursday.

Ono was drunk at the time of the incident after drinking with Nishimura, according to investigators.

KIMITSU, Chiba -- Arson is suspected in a fire that burned down the waiting room of an unmanned railway station here Thursday night, investigators said Friday.

A fire broke out in the waiting room of Tawarada Station on the JR Kururi Line in Kimitsu, and burned down the five-square-meter wooden structure, local police said. Nobody was injured.

Investigators who examined the debris concluded that the fire started near a trash can. Local police suspect either that someone set fire to the waiting room or that it was caused by negligence.

Takeshi Kobayashi, the music producer behind the popular band Mr. Children, has divorced his wife Akko, his talent agency said on its Web site.

Kobayashi, 48, got divorced on Tuesday -- New Year's Day -- from Akko, 34, singer for My Little Lover, which is also produced by Kobayashi.

"We came to have different orientations in terms of music," said a statement carried on the Web site of the talent agency, which is presided by Kobayashi.

The Japanese government on Friday unveiled the logo for the Group of Eight summit to be held near Lake Toya, Hokkaido, in July.

The logo -- which shows a green seed bursting to life surrounded by an earthly blue -- was chosen from among 4,198 designs sent in by the public across Japan for the July summit, which will focus on environment and climate change.

"We expressed the coexistence of the natural environment and human beings on Earth. The logo reveals our hope that the Earth will forever remain a beautiful planet rich in greenery," said Atsuya Kondo, 18, who represents a group of five high school students from Mie Prefecture who jointly designed the logo.

"The idea behind the logo is straightforward," said a member of the jury panel that selected the logo.

The logo will be used in decorations surrounding the venue for the Toyako Summit, as well as in posters and related products. The logo will also be available for use by companies and other organizations.

NAGOYA -- A detention center guard committed suicide last year after being questioned over allegations that he sexually harassed a number of detainees, sources close to the law enforcement authorities said.

The Justice Ministry's Nagoya Regional Correction Headquarters declined to disclose the details of the incident. "It's true that a guard killed himself after being questioned. However, we're still investigating the case," an official said.

The guard, whose identity was not immediately disclosed, is accused of entering the solitary confinement cells of a number of women at the Handa branch of the Nagoya Detention Center where he worked in 2005 and 2006, and fondling their bodies.

Prison and detention center guards who assault or molest detainees can face up to seven years in prison.

An elderly man was arrested Friday for attempting to rape a junior college student in Tokyo after telling her to accompany him by posing as a police officer, police said.

Shigetsuna Kojima, 71, a resident of Kita-ku, Tokyo, is accused of attempted rape. He has been previously arrested for committing a similar crime.

Investigators are grilling Kojima over allegations that he committed similar crimes that have recently occurred in the same area.

Kojima approached the victim who was chatting with a friend on a bank of the Arakawa River in Adachi-ku, Tokyo, on Nov. 15 last year, and showed her fake police ID, local police said.

He told her to accompany him after falsely accusing her of smoking. "You were smoking, weren't you? I'll not form a case against you this time. Come with me," he was quoted as telling her.

He then attempted to rape her after threatening her by saying, "I'm not a police officer. If you scream, I'll kill you." His attempt failed after the victim managed to escape.

AOMORI -- A woman died and 11 other people were injured after a tour bus they were riding in slipped down a hill along a snowy national highway here on Friday morning.

Some 35 people, including the driver and a tour conductor, were riding in the bus. The accident occurred near the Moya Hills ski ground in Aomori at around 11:05 a.m. on Friday as the bus was heading for the city of Aomori from Lake Towada.

The bus slipped about five meters down a hill along Route 103 apparently after failing to complete a right-hand turn, according to Aomori Prefectural Police investigators.

Officials at the Moya Hills ski ground said nearly one meter of snow had recently fallen around the area and the road was icy. A snowstorm warning had been issued for all of Aomori Prefecture at the time of the accident.

The 33 passengers were scheduled to visit Aomori and Iwate prefectures on a three-day trip starting Thursday, which was planned by Club Tourism International Inc. in Tokyo.

ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi -- A man has been arrested for bashing his grandmother-in-law, and police are also investigating the suspicious death of his mother.

Katsuhiko Abe, a 41-year-old unemployed man, stands accused of inflicting bodily injury after he kicked and beat his grandmother-in-law, Tomoko, 89, with a stick at his home in Ishinomaki on Tuesday midnight.

"My grandmother-in-law was hitting my mother with a stick," Abe was quoted as telling police. "My grandmother was abusing my mother on a daily basis, and I thought 'Not again' (that day), and beat her."

The 89-year-old victim, whom Abe's grandfather had remarried, sustained head injuries and is in a coma.

Furthermore, Abe's 69-year-old mother, Hisako, died at around 9:15 p.m. Thursday. She had sustained injuries to her face, and police will investigate her cause of death by conducting an autopsy.

Abe was living with his grandmother-in-law and his mother, who was physically disabled. He was reportedly drunk when he unleashed the attack on his grandmother-in-law.

After the assault, Abe called a relative, saying, "I did a terrible thing." The relative took his grandmother-in-law and mother to a hospital, and the hospital alerted police at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

A record low of some 78 traffic deaths were reported over the New Year holiday period, the National Police Agency (NPA) said Friday.

The NPA said 78 people died in traffic accidents across the country between Dec. 29 and Jan. 3, down 13 -- or 14.3 percent -- from the year earlier. The figure is the lowest since the NPA began taking statistics in 1970.

Over the New Year holiday period, 7,937 traffic accidents occurred, a decrease of 13.2 percent from the corresponding period of last year, and 10,262 people were injured, down 11.6 percent from the year earlier.

NPA officials said there were 88 accidents involving drunk drivers, a decline of 53.9 percent from the previous year and three people died in such accidents, down 82.4 percent.

HAKUBA, Nagano -- An elderly man died after he was apparently buried under snow that had fallen off the roof of his home here, police said.

A local resident found Yukitoshi Shiojima, 74, a farmer, buried under 1.7 meters of snow near his home in Hakuba at around 7:40 p.m. on Thursday, and called an ambulance, local police said. He was rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Shiojima had left his home at about 3 p.m. after telling his family that he would go and see how much snow had piled up outside, but he failed to come back by the evening, prompting his family and neighbors to search for him.

OTSUKI, Yamanashi -- A man died after jumping in front of an oncoming train on a railway line here Thursday night, police said.

A suicide note was found at the man's home, leading investigators to suspect that he committed suicide.

At around 9:10 p.m. on Thursday, the man who lived in Otsuki jumped in front of the Kaiji No. 124 limited express train bound for Tokyo's Shinjuku from Kofu on the JR Chuo Line between Saruhashi and Torisawa stations, local police said. He died instantly.

Services on the line were temporarily suspended between Kofu and Takao stations following the incident.

The accident delayed 17 trains by up to 80 minutes, inconveniencing 3,700 passengers, including holidaymakers who were on their way home after New Year holidays, the railway operator said.

{mosimage}Nago is the largest city on the northern portion of Okinawa. Located just to the south and east of Motobu Peninsula, it is home to several small museums, a brewery, and many ecological attractions.

Nago is the perhaps best known for its cherry blossoms. Because Okinawa is Japan's southernmost prefecture, the island receives the country's first blossoms of the year, typically in late January or early February. Thus, during these two months, people across Japan watch the forecast in anticipation of the city's first burst of blossoms. The city holds its annual Cherry Blossom Festival and first hanami (cherry blossom viewings) of the year in Nago Central Park, at the base of the Nago Castle ruins. At the festival, vendors sell typical matsuri (festival) fare such as takoyaki (balls of fried dough stuffed with octopus), yakitori (grilled, skewered meats, typically chicken or pork), and yakisoba (stir-fried noodles and vegetables), while also hawking wares such as inflatable toys.

The city of Nago curves around Nago Bay. Highway 58 travels along the seafront and curves toward Mt. Yaedake and the area's many mikan (tangerine) orchards on the northwest side of the city. Just a short distance from Highway 58 is the city's "guardian," a massive, 300-year old gajyumaru (banyan) tree that grows in the middle of a traffic circle. Nearby is Nago Museum, which hosts displays of rice planting and farming as well as whale hunting pictures and displays. Next door to the Nago Museum is the Orion Brewery. There, you can tour the factory and see for yourself how Okinawa's famous local beer is made, completing your tour with a taste of the island's best brew. Only a few hundred feet northeast of Orion Brewery are the Nago Castle ruins, which are located up a lengthy flight of stairs and past several torii. Though nothing of the castle remains, the area has a children's park and a magnificent view of Nago Bay.

Another nearby attraction is Busena Terrace Resort, located only about 10 kilometers southeast of the city. Famous for its splendid underwater observatory in which visitors can have an excellent showing of many aspects of marine life, this resort is typical of the many commercial endeavors overtaking Okinawa's coastline. Another wonderful sight are the Nakijin Castle ruins, which overlook the northern coast and the Motobu Peninsula. Nakijin Castle was the 14th century fortress of Hokuzan, the northernmost of the three Ryukyu principalities.

Nago epitomizes the slow, laid-back nature for which Okinawa is famous. Except for blossom time, Nago goes virtually unseen by tourists and foreigners. For those willing to venture north, buses run through Motobu from central Nago, so sightseeing is simple. All sights are also easily accessible by car, and once in the city, navigation is easy and most sights can be easily reached on foot.

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The number of corruption cases involving local government officials hit 159 cases in fiscal 2006, the largest number in 10 years, the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry said.

The figure is up 19 cases from the previous year, according to a survey conducted by the ministry that supervises local governments.

In the year up to March 2007, the number of local government officials involved in these corruption cases totaled 191, a figure that is also the highest in the past decade. It represents an increase of 43 people from the year earlier.

By criminal category, there were 97 cases of embezzlement of taxpayers' money involving 107 officials and 40 bribe-taking cases involving 58 officials, accounting for 86 percent of the total.

Komazawa University won the 84th Tokyo-Hakone intercollegiate relay race held on Jan. 2 and 3.

This is the first time in three years that Komazawa has won the annual New Year's event. It was the university's sixth ekiden (relay race) championship.

On Wednesday, Waseda University led the first half of the race, run over a 108-kilometer course from Tokyo to Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture, finishing five hours, 33 minutes and eight seconds, with Komazawa one minute and 14 seconds behind.

However, Komazawa came from behind in the second half of the race on a 109.9-kilometer course from Hakone to Tokyo Thursday, finishing the total race in 11 hours, five minutes and one second.

TSUMAGOI, Gunma -- An employee at a ski field here died Thursday after his arm became stuck in the automatic door of a descending gondola causing him to fall some 15 meters, local police said.

Masashi Ito, 63, a part-time worker from Okegawa, Saitama Prefecture, was helping customers disembark from gondolas at the summit station of the Palcall Tsumagoi Ski Resort in Tsumagoi at around 11:20 on Wednesday morning.

A passenger left their gloves inside a gondola, prompting Ito to reach into the descending gondola to retrieve them, local police said. However, one of his arms became stuck in the gondola's automatic door and was dragged off the boarding platform into space high above the ski slope.

Another employee at the station spotted Ito hanging in midair and stopped the gondola by pushing an emergency button. However, Ito subsequently plunged some 15 meters to the ground below -- the equivalent of a five-story fall.

He was conscious when taken to hospital, but his condition worsened the following day and he subsequently died at around 2 a.m. on Thursday.

Local police are looking into the case that could constitute professional negligence resulting in death.

Five people died in the Kanto area on Tuesday and Wednesday after choking on sticky "mochi" rice cake, it was learned Thursday.

In Tokyo, a total of 13 people were rushed to hospital on New Year's Day and the following day after choking on mochi, according to the Tokyo Fire Department. Two of them -- a 59-year-old man from Ota-ku and an 83-year-old man from Adachi-ku -- died on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

A 71-year-old man from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, a 76-year-old man from Tomioka, Gunma Prefecture, and another man living in Yokohama also died after choking on the bubblegum-textured rice cake.

Mochi is traditionally served during the New Year's period in Japan.

BANDO, Ibaraki -- A 7-year-old girl died and five other people were injured when two cars collided at an intersection here, police said.

Yuka Kawanago, 7, died after a van she was riding in, driven by her mother Rie, 30, collided with another car driven by Hitomi Kizuka, 28, at an intersection in Bando at around 1:20 p.m. on Wednesday.

The girl was riding in the backseat of the van when the collision occurred.

The girl's mother, Rie, a housewife from Oyama, Tochigi Prefecture, and the other driver Kizuka, who is a part-time worker from Bando, as well as three others in the two vehicles were slightly injured in the accident.

The largest opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) will submit a bill to the Diet aimed at toughening gun controls so that firearms will be stored under collective surveillance rather than at individual owners' homes.

The latest move comes in the wake of a shooting spree at a sport club in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, last month which left two dead. A gun legally possessed by the suspected shooter was used in the rampage.

The DPJ has decided to submit an amendment to the law controlling firearms and swords at the next regular Diet session.

Under the current regulations, guns legally possessed by individuals generally should be stored at home, but under the DPJ's plan, guns would have to be stored collectively and kept under surveillance somewhere outside of the home, such as at rifle ranges.

The DPJ also aims to revise the law so that gun permits can be easily cancelled when gun owners are deemed a safety risk.

The number of fatalities from traffic accidents last year totaled 5,743, marking a decline of seven consecutive years and falling below 6,000 for the first time in 54 years, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.

The NPA attributes the decline in the fatalities to the toughening of DUI penalties under the revised Road Traffic Law, and campaigns to promote the wearing of seatbelts.

On the other hand, the number of injuries from traffic accidents topped 1 million for the ninth consecutive year, reaching 1,034,515 last year, the NPA said. The figure, however, decreased from the previous year by 63,684.

According to the NPA, the number of overall traffic accidents in 2007 stood at 833,019, 53,845 fewer than the figure reported in the previous year and about one-third of the record high reported in 1970.

For fatalities by prefecture, Aichi had the worst record at 288, followed by Hokkaido at 286 and Tokyo at 269. The safest prefectures were Tottori at 34, Shimane at 42 and Okinawa at 43.

There were 6,880 accidents caused by drunk drivers between January and November last year, a decline by 3,902 from the same period the year before, while fatal accidents involving drunk drivers numbered 395 -- also a decrease by 183 from the corresponding period of the previous year.

SAGA -- Police may have altered investigative reports in a bid to make the documents consistent with their initial probe into a series of murders in which a truck driver was first accused then acquitted of killing three women here.

Prosecutors have determined that the Saga Prefectural Police altered an expert's evaluation of the series of murders in which three women were found dead in Kitagata (present-day Takeo), Saga Prefecture, in 1989.

A 45-year-old former truck driver was indicted in the cases shortly before the statute of limitations ran out. However, he was later acquitted of the murder charges.

Prosecutors at one point during the trial looked into having the evaluation redone, according to the latest revelation.

A total of 100 million yen that former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma was allegedly loaned by an acquaintance was paid with an anonymous check, sources close to him said.

The acquaintance, who previously served as an auditor at nursing care equipment sales company OTI, said he borrowed 100 million yen from the firm and personally handed an anonymous check for 100 million yen to Kyuma in January 2006.

When asked why he used an anonymous check, he explained that he did not know Kyuma's bank account number.

Kyuma said he subsequently converted the check into cash and deposited the full amount into his own account. He subsequently transferred 85 million yen of the deposit into the account of a company where he serves as an executive, and transferred it to a woman to buy land on Tokunoshima Island, Kagoshima prefecture, from her.

Such anonymous checks are sometimes used in crimes because the senders of the money can remain anonymous, financial industry insiders say.

ENIWA, Hokkaido -- A man died and a woman remains unconscious after being rescued from an apartment here that was damaged in a fire late Wednesday, police said.

At around 8 p.m. on Wednesday, a fire broke out at the apartment of Toshio Miura in the Bunkyomachi district of Eniwa, and destroyed part of the structure, local police said.

A man believed to be Miura and an unidentified woman were rescued from the apartment, but he later died and she remains unconscious. Police are trying to confirm their identities.

YOKOHAMA -- A high-ranking police officer, who faces punishment for his involvement in a manipulative spiritual-pressure sales scam, has admitted getting paid about 2.4 million yen for working as an accountant for the operator of the scam, police sources said.

Kanagawa Prefectural Police are expected to press charges against Superintendent Sumio Yoshida, 52, for violating the Local Public Service Law, which bans local government officials from involvement in commercial activities.

During questioning, Yoshida acknowledged that he accepted approximately 2.4 million yen from Bibitto Tokyo Aoyama Salon, the operator of the scam, for working as its accountant. He had initially denied the allegations.

Bibitto Tokyo Aoyama operated a manipulative spiritual-pressure sales scam under the guise of a "healing salon."

SHITARA, Aichi -- A 3-year-old boy remains unconscious after being rescued from a reservoir here owned by his grandparents Wednesday, police said.

At around 9:55 a.m. on Wednesday, Hikaru Tamakoshi was found at the bottom of a reservoir in Shitara by his 41-year-old father, investigators said. He was airlifted to hospital where he remains unconscious.

Local police suspect that he accidentally fell into the pond and are investigating the cause of the accident. The reservoir is owned by the parents of Hikaru's mother, police said.

A resident at a low-cost lodging facility in Tokyo was arrested over a fatal stabbing in the house Wednesday after he was ordered to move out, police said.

Koshin Okabe, 55, who claims to be a part-time worker, stands accused of murder.

Okabe had been a resident of Sakura Sekimachi Minami House in Tokyo's Nerima-ku -- a cheap lodging house run by a nongovernmental organization for those who have lost their jobs due to illness or accidents -- for less than a month.

"I got upset because the head of the facility told me yesterday to leave," Okabe was quoted as telling police as he admitted to the allegations.

An employee of the lodging made an emergency call to police at around 12:30 a.m. on Wednesday saying, "There's a man here with a knife in his hand acting violently."

Officers rushed to the scene and found a man lying on the floor, bleeding from the stomach. The victim, believed to be the 60-year-old head of the facility, died about three hours later, police said.

Okabe was at the scene and was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, but police upgraded the charges to murder after the victim died.

Police suspect that Okabe stabbed the victim with a knife inside the room of the person in charge of Sakura Sekimachi Minami House at around 12:25 a.m. on Wednesday.

Okabe has been living at the facility since about three weeks ago, police said.

The Imperial Family appeared before the public during the annual New Year's greeting ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

"I am pleased to celebrate the New Year with you. At the beginning of the year, I pray for the happiness of the people and the peace of the world," Emperor Akihito told the crowd who gathered at the Imperial Palace.

Also in attendance were Empress Michiko, Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, as well as Prince Akishino and Princess Kiko.

FUJIMI, Saitama -- A man has been arrested for fatally hitting another during an argument outside a pub late last year while he was drunk, police said.

Masamichi Takano, 23, a part-time worker from Sayama, stands accused of inflicting bodily injury resulting in death.

Takano admitted to attacking his victim. "He hit me, so I fought back," he was quoted as telling investigators during questioning.

At around 5:10 a.m. on Sunday, Takano got into an argument with the victim, 26-year-old Masashi Mochizuki from Fujimi, at a parking lot after drinking at a nearby pub, local police said. Takano then hit Mochizuki, who consequently died, according to investigators.

Takano was arrested after turning himself in to local police on Tuesday.

MEXICO CITY -- Rescue operators are continuing to search for a Japanese woman who went missing while diving off Cozumel Island late last year, local officials said.

The name of the 40-year-old diver is being withheld at the request of her family members.

The woman participated in a diving tour around Cozumel, eastern Mexico, on Dec. 30 and entered the sea at about 11 a.m. from a diving boat, but failed to return, according to the Japanese Embassy in Mexico.

The Mexican Navy has dispatched boats and aircraft to search for the woman. Cozumel is known as a popular diving spot.

SAGA -- A limited express train was delayed by 30 minutes on New Year's Eve after it was learned that no conductor was scheduled to ride it, railway officials said.

A six-carriage limited express train bound for Hakata in Fukuoka was unable to depart from Saga Station at about 10 a.m. on Monday because there was no conductor aboard, Kyushu Railway Co. said.

The train left the station 30 minutes behind schedule after a conductor from another train that arrived at the station got on.

A 47-year-old supervisor at the company's Hakata conductor's office forgot to assign any conductor to the train when he made the work schedule for December, company officials said. The train involved operates only during the year-end period.

FUKUOKA -- A body found in the remains of one of two houses that burned down here early Wednesday morning is believed to be that of an elderly resident, police said.

According to police, a fire broke out in the two-storied wooden home of 76-year-old Katsuhiro Imura in Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday.

The fire burned down the house and a vacant house nearby before being extinguished about two hours later.

A body was found in the remains of Imura's house. Police believe the body to be Imamura's but are trying to confirm the identity.

ROKKASHO, Aomori -- Workers at a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant here raised the alarm after some 800 liters of machine oil leaked from a fuel shredder inside the plant and began to emit smoke.

The incident that took place on Tuesday evening posed no danger to the surrounding area but is categorized as grade-B accident under the safety agreement with the local government, Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. (JNFL), the operator of the plant, said.

About 800 liters of machine oil leaked inside the plant in Rokkasho at around 6:05 p.m. on Tuesday while spent nuclear fuel was being shredded, according to JNFL.

Workers noticed smoke rising from the leaked oil and alerted the local fire station.

JNFL suspended the plant's operations and is looking into the cause of the accident. The company suspects that the shredder had sustained some kind of damage.

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's prime minister has begun posting English-language messages on the video-sharing Internet site YouTube in an apparent bid to raise his country's international profile.

In his online New Year's message for 2008, Fukuda speaks in English about the challenges facing the world in the coming year and promises to play a leading role in finding solutions.

"Of these challenges, those that concern the environment seriously affect all who live on this earth. Japan's mission is to play a major role in this area," Fukuda says in the video set against a backdrop of leather-bound books at his official residence.

"We will contribute to creating a world where people can live peacefully," he says in the five-minute clip -- rarely smiling, in line with his dour image.

As of Wednesday morning, the English video clip had been viewed 385 times, while a Japanese-language version had been viewed 1,465 times. Neither had yet prompted any viewers to post comments on the site.

The clip is part of the "YouTube LDP Channel" launched last month by Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party. It features official party videos designed to reach a younger, wider and more global audience.

English is widely used throughout Asia as an international language of diplomacy, commerce and general communication.

The channel hosts about two dozen video clips, including messages from LDP executives, a video summarizing the party's history and a lawmaker playing a traditional Japanese banjo.

Fukuda will also make frequent appearances on the channel, according to LDP multimedia chief Taro Kono.

"The LDP is the very first Japanese party to launch a channel on YouTube," Kono said in another clip. "I hope you tune in when you have nothing else to do."

Fukuda already sends out a weekly e-mail magazine in English and Japanese outlining his beliefs and policies.

The initiative comes amid recent efforts by Japan -- which is trying to win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council -- to boost its international clout.

Tokyo sent troops to Iraq on a non-combat humanitarian mission in 2003, and joined rescue efforts after a tsunami devastated large parts of southern Asia in 2004. It withdrew from Iraq last year, but maintains an air force presence in Kuwait.

FUJISAWA, Kanagawa -- Arson is suspected in a fire that destroyed large sections of the former residence of the late American architect J.H. Morgan (1873-1937) early Wednesday morning, police said.

The structure was being repaired after it was badly damaged in another fire in May last year in which arson is also suspected.

The fire broke out at the Old Morgan House in Fujisawa at around 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, local police said.

The blaze destroyed an extension of the main building and a separate wooden annex before being extinguished about two hours and 15 minutes later, police said.

No one was injured in the fire, which police suspect to have been arson. The buildings were under repair after they were nearly burned down in another suspicious fire that took place on May 12 last year.

Built in 1931, the residence was home to J.H. Morgan, an American architect hailing from Buffalo, New York. Morgan came to Japan at the age of 46 and is known for designing the former Marunouchi Building and Nihon Yusen Building in Tokyo as well as other historic landmarks in Yokohama, Kobe and other cities in Japan.

IWANUMA, Miyagi -- A young girl died after a van driven by her grandfather collided with another car at an intersection here Tuesday, police said.

At around 2:50 p.m. on Tuesday, a van driven by the victim's grandfather, 58-year-old Yoshinobu Hayasaka, collided with a car at an intersection along a municipal road in the Takekuma district of Iwanuma, local police said.

Anmi Hayasaka, 9, a third-year elementary school girl from Tokyo who was a passenger of the van, died from massive head injuries, while two others in the same vehicle suffered slight injuries.

The accident occurred at a blind intersection without traffic lights, police noted.

A moderate earthquake jolted Hokkaido in the early hours of Wednesday, the Meteorological Agency said.

There were no reports of casualties or damage to property, prefectural police said. No tsunami warning was issued following the quake.

The temblor that struck at around 1:20 a.m. registered 3 on the 7-point Japanese intensity scale in Urakawa. The focus of the earthquake, estimated at 4.6 on the open-ended Richter scale, was located about 60 kilometers below the ground in the southern Tokachi district of Hokkaido.

UTSUNOMIYA -- Nearly 100 schoolchildren and teachers suffered diarrhea late last year after allegedly being infected with norovirus from cake served in their school lunch, local government officials said.

The Tochigi Prefectural Government has ordered the cake shop in the Tochigi Prefecture town of Nasu that produced the cakes to suspend its operations for three days beginning on Wednesday as a punitive measure.

A total of 98 children and teachers at a number of public elementary and junior high schools in the prefecture complained of diarrhea and other problems involving their digestive organs after eating cakes during school lunch on Dec. 25, the officials said. None of them was in serious condition.

Infection with norovirus, previously known as "Norwalk-like virus," affects the stomach and intestines, causing gastroenteritis, or "stomach flu."

The prefectural government's sanitation division suspects that they were infected with norovirus through contaminated cakes.

KAMEOKA, Kyoto -- A man under arrest for attempting to set fire to a warehouse here is suspected of involvement in 10 other arson cases that have occurred in the city since January last year, investigators said.

Akira Kawamoto, 35, an unemployed man from Nantan, Kyoto Prefecture, who was earlier arrested for shoplifting at a DIY store, has been hit with a new arrest warrant for attempted arson of an uninhabited structure.

In the specific case for which he was slapped with the new warrant, on Dec. 18 Kawamoto set fire to a magazine on the property of a house in Kameoka in an unsuccessful bid to burn down a warehouse, local police said.

Eleven fires in which arson is suspected occurred in Kameoka between January and December last year, including the one for which he is under arrest. In one blaze that occurred on Nov. 1, the annex of a house was burned down. Nobody was injured in any of the 11 fires.

TAKAYAMA, Gifu -- Four climbers died after being hit by an avalanche on a mountain here in the early hours of Tuesday, police said.

Gifu Prefectural Police rescue workers confirmed the four dead at a nearby mountain lodge. They have been identified as Keiji Ichikawa, 51, Takeshi Nishii, 31, Koichi Echizenya, 60, and Shinichi Kanazashi, 45.

At around 12:15 a.m. on Tuesday, a climber made an emergency call from his mobile phone, reporting that several people were buried under snow on Mount Yarigatake in Takayama after being hit by an avalanche.

Local police said seven people from two groups were hit by the avalanche and subsequently dug out by other climbers who happened to be there.

The four were apparently alive -- although unconscious -- when they were pulled from the snow, but were later confirmed dead by rescue workers.

The rescue workers and the three surviving climbers are expected to stay at the mountain lodge Tuesday night before climbing down the mountain on Wednesday, police said.

Three people were slightly injured after a gas tank exploded at a sushi bar in downtown Tokyo on New Year's Day, police said.

At around 11:50 a.m. on Tuesday, an explosion occurred in the kitchen of a sushi bar in the Kameari district of Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, local police said.

Two workers suffered burns and a 20-year-old passer-by suffered damage to his ear, but none of them is in serious condition. Two customers who were at the establishment escaped unhurt.

Employees have told investigators that a gas tank for a cooking burner exploded. Local police are investigating the exact cause of the blast.

MINAMISATSUMA, Kagoshima -- A man has been arrested for attacking his parents with a hammer at their home here, killing his father and seriously injuring his mother, police said.

Ryuji Mori, 34, an unemployed man, stands accused of murder and attempted murder. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"I was angry at my parents," he was quoted as telling investigators.

Mori was mentally unstable, but police arrested him after deeming that he can be held responsible for the crime.

At around midnight on Monday, Mori hit his 60-year-old father Miyoshi and 61-year-old mother Koko with a hammer at their home in Minamisatsuma, while the victims were asleep, local police said. Miyoshi died two hours after the incident while Koko remains in serious condition.

Mori suffered slight injuries after hitting his own head with the hammer in an unsuccessful attempt to commit suicide.

"I dumped the hammer in a thicket," he reportedly told police.

Mori has looked after Koko, who needs nursing care after she suffered a stroke about two years ago, local residents said.

SHIZUOKA -- Police have launched a murder investigation after an elderly woman was found dead at her home here Monday night with her hands and feet bound.

At around 9 p.m. on Monday, a local resident visited Terue Shiratori, 73, at her home in Suruga-ku, Shizuoka, and found her dead in her bed with her hands and feet bound, and alerted police. Investigators are treating the case as murder.

A woman living nearby had visited Shiratori's home earlier in the day, but she did not come to the door. The woman telephoned Shiratori that night, but after she failed to answer, the concerned woman contacted a neighbor, who went to the home of the elderly woman and found her dead, according to investigators.

Shiratori lived at home alone.

TAKAMATSU -- More than 100 postcards that were supposed to be delivered on New Year's Day arrived on Saturday at a residence here after a postal service company got the address mixed up, it has been learned.

The New Year's postcards were reportedly delivered to the home in Takamatsu on Dec. 29 instead of Jan. 1 when the company confused the home with another residence in the city that had requested early delivery. Officials said the cards were accidentally delivered by a worker in charge of collection and delivery.

The Shikoku Branch of Japan Post Service Co. said that it is possible to have New Year's postcards delivered early if an advance request is made.

KITAKYUSHU -- A roller coaster car slammed into the carriage ahead after the coupling gear between the two cars came loose, leaving 13 passengers injured, police said.

The accident occurred at the Space World amusement park in Kitakyushu at about 1:40 p.m. on Monday. Officials said the coupling gear between the third and fourth carriages of a roller coaster operating at the park came loose, and the fourth carriage slammed into the third carriage as it was approaching the disembarkation point.

Thirteen of the 20 passengers suffered slight injuries in the accident.

Fukuoka Prefectural Police have launched an investigation into the accident on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in injuries.

The number of births in Japan during 2007 reached about 1.09 million, marking a decline from the previous year, a population survey report by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has shown.

The report, released on Monday, showed that the number of births was 3,000 fewer than during 2006, when the figure increased for the first time in six years.

The natural population growth, calculated by subtracting the number of deaths from the number of births, recorded a negative figure of minus 16,000, the report showed. It was the second year for the population to decrease after the first-ever minus figure was recorded in 2005.

NAGOYA -- A man has been arrested for slashing his married girlfriend and her 7-year-old son at the victims' home here, slightly injuring them, during an argument about their breaking up, police said.

Kazuo Ishibashi, 57, a driver from Midori-ku, Nagoya, stands accused of attempted murder. Investigators are grilling him over the motives behind his crime.

Ishibashi visited his 40-year-old lover's home in Minato-ku, Nagoya, at about 9 a.m. on Tuesday to discuss breaking up when they got into an argument, local police said. Ishibashi slashed her head and that of her 7-year-old son with a kitchen knife, leaving them with slight wounds.

Alerted by the woman's 32-year-old husband, police officers rushed to the victims' home and arrested Ishibashi.

The victims' family are all foreign nationals, according to local police.

Tokyo's Ueno Zoo it set to hold a mouse exhibition to commemorate 2008 as the Year of the Rat as its opens its gates on Wednesday, zoo officials said.

The zoo holds events with animals each year based on the creatures listed in the Chinese zodiac. Starting on Wednesday, it will launch a "mouse amusement park" with about 40 mice performing tricks such as tightrope walking.

As the mice skillfully use their tails to make their way across a tightrope attached to ginkgo trees, 12 "panda" mice with black ears and necks will look on from gallery seats.

The event will also feature a photo exhibition of rodents such as prairie dogs and porcupines.

As the tightrope-walking mice mark the start of the year at Ueno Zoo, the administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda faces a tough start to the year with an opposition-controlled House of Councillors and dwindling support ratings, sparking speculation that it may have to do a high-wire act of its own.

NAGOYA -- Two men died after plunging from an apartment complex here in the predawn hours of Tuesday, shortly after a voice calling for help was heard, police said.

Police found one of the men collapsed on the ground near an elevator hall, and the second lying on an eave above the hall in the apartment complex in Nagoya's Nakagawa-ku at about 2:05 a.m. on Tuesday, after a resident made an emergency report. The men were confirmed dead soon afterward.

One of the victims was identified as 76-year-old Akira Sawamura, who lived on the seventh floor of the apartment block. The other victim was thought to be in his 30s.

Investigators said a resident living in the building reported hearing a man calling "help" at about 1:55 a.m. on Tuesday. Two thuds were heard soon afterwards. The two men are thought to have fallen at about the same time, with Sawamura landing on the eave.

The place where the men were found was not directly under the apartment where Sawamura lived, police said.

The younger victim was wearing a red T-shirt, navy-colored pants and a black jumper. Reports said Sawamura was living with a man aged in his 30s, and police are trying to confirm the information and the man's identity.

Emperor Akihito gave a New Year's message expressing his hope for a society marked by trust as the Imperial Family welcomed the start of 2008 on Tuesday.

"It is my hope that the new year will bring happiness to each and every one of you, and that efforts will continue to be made to build a society in which people all over the world can live in mutual trust," the Emperor said in a message delivered via the Imperial Household Agency.

In the message, Emperor Akihito also referred to last year's powerful earthquakes off Chuetsu and the Noto Peninsula, saying, "Last year, there were earthquakes in Ishikawa Prefecture and Niigata Prefecture, and my sympathies go out to those affected who are facing hardships as they live through the harsh winter in those regions."

Former Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma received 100 million yen from an acquaintance two years ago, but failed to declare it when he disclosed the details of his assets as a Cabinet member, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned.

Kyuma and the acquaintance claim that the money was extended as a loan, although none of the former minister's assets were put up as collateral.

The 64-year-old man, whose son is the president of nursing care equipment sales company OTI in Tokyo, said Kyuma had asked him in 2005 to extend a loan to him because he wanted to buy land. OTI borrowed 100 million yen from a bank and loaned it to the man in November that year.

In January 2006, the man used the money to extend the loan to Kyuma, who at that time headed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party General Council. Kyuma wrote a promissory note, but did not put up any of his assets as collateral.

Kyuma failed to declare the 100 million yen in a report on his assets that he published after he became Defense Agency director general in September 2006.

Kyuma told the Mainichi that he is supposed to repay the debt in full over a three-year period from January 2006, adding that he has already repaid at least 18 million yen.

He said the interest rate on his debt is clearly stated in the promissory note, but he declined to specify what it was.

Kyuma was appointed as director general of the Defense Agency in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He became defense minister in January last year after the agency was upgraded to a ministry, but resigned six months later over his controversial remarks that the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was inevitable.

The government will exempt biofuel from import tariffs in fiscal 2008 as part of its efforts to help prevent global warming, officials said.

The government will submit a bill to revise the Temporary Tariff Measures Law to exempt ethyl tertiary-butyl ether (ETBE) from import duties during a regular Diet session to convene in January.

ETBE is produced by combining bioethanol, which is made by fermenting corns or other plants, and isobutene, a kind of petroleum-based gas.

Bio-gasoline -- gasoline containing 3 percent ETBE -- has been sold at 50 gas stations in and around Tokyo since April 2007 at the same price as regular gasoline.

However, the costs of producing bio-gasoline are six to seven yen higher than regular gasoline per liter, with the extra costs footed by oil wholesalers and the government.

Over a one-year period from April 2008, the government will exempt the 3.1 percent import tariffs on ETBE to help promote the use of the eco-friendly fuel.

The government is aiming to increase the use of ETBE to 500,000 kiloliters in fiscal 2010, the target set by the Kyoto Protocol.

MORIOKA -- Two traffic accidents involving a total of 15 vehicles occurred on the Tohoku Expressway amid snowstorms Monday morning, leaving six people injured, police said.

Four people were injured and taken to a hospital after 11 vehicles were involved in a traffic accident on the Tohoku Expressway in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture, at around 10:30 a.m. on Monday, according to prefectural police.

Around the same time, two others were injured and rushed to hospital in a collision involving four vehicles on the expressway about 100 meters north of the other accident scene.

None of the injuries were reportedly serious, police said.

"I couldn't see anything due to the snowstorms. When I was about to step on the brake, my car hit another car in front of us," said a 45-year-old man from Saitama Prefecture, who was headed to a skiing ground in Iwate Prefecture.

The snowstorms caused the suspension of traffic between the expressway's Kitakami-Ezuriko and Towada interchanges.

NARA -- A 66-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly strangling his son to death, police said.

Haruo Nishigami, 66, from Soni, Nara Prefecture, was arrested on suspicion of murder for strangling his 35-year-old son Kiyohiko. Nishigami has admitted to the allegations.

"My son went violent and was out of control," Nishigami was quoted as telling investigators.

A relative of Nishigami reported to police that someone had collapsed at Nishigami's home at around 7 p.m. on Sunday. Police found Kiyohiko, lying dead on a futon.

Nishigami allegedly used a rope to strangle his son at around 6 p.m. on Sunday, police said.

More than 100 shotgun shells stolen from a Tokyo resident's home have been found dumped on a Tokyo street, police said.

A passer-by found a plastic bag containing the ammunition in a cardboard box on a street in the Hongo district of Bunkyo-ku at around 11:20 a.m. on Sunday, local police said. Officers confirmed that the plastic bag contained 119 shells.

Investigators had initially thought that about 150 shells were stolen from the 65-year-old man's home, also in Bunkyo-ku. However, it later emerged that he had used about 30 while hunting, leading police to believe all the ammunition is accounted for.

SHIMONOSEKI, Yamaguchi -- An elderly woman held at a detention center here hanged herself in her cell, officials said, apparently without her cellmates realizing.

At around 7:25 a.m. on Saturday, a guard at Shimonoseki Detention Center discovered the woman, in her 70s, had hanged herself in her cell. She was pronounced dead shortly after being admitted to a hospital.

Two other detainees who were also in the same room were asleep and unaware of her suicide, according to the officials.

YOKOHAMA -- A high-ranking police officer faces punitive measures for his involvement in a manipulative spiritual-pressure sales scam, prefectural police officials said.

Kanagawa Prefectural Police are expected to take punitive measures against superintendent Sumio Yoshida, 52, in January at the earliest.

They are consulting with the National Police Agency over whether the force should fire Yoshida for violating the Local Public Service Law. He has already been removed from the post of head of the force's security division.

Yoshida is accused of playing an active role in a cult operating under the guise of a "healing salon."

MINAMISATSUMA, Kagoshima -- A man died and his wife was left seriously injured after a mystery attacker assaulted them in their home, police said.

A local fire station received an emergency call from an anonymous man in the early hours of Monday, asking it to dispatch an ambulance to the home of Miyoshi Mori, 60, in Minamisatsuma.

Mori and his wife had both been hit on the head with a blunt object. Police are searching for their assailant on suspicion of murder.

Mori died two hours later while his wife, 61-year-old Koko, suffered serious head injuries, but is conscious.

There is no sign that their home was ransacked.

TOKAI, Aichi -- A house fire here claimed the lives of a mother and her two children, police said.

A fire broke out at the house of Koji Nishida, 38, in Tokai at around 2 a.m. Sunday, sweeping through the two-storied concrete building before being extinguished.

The bodies of Nishida's wife Yoshiko, 38, and her son Aozora, 8, and daughter Sakura, 7, were found on the second floor of the house. Nishida himself managed to escape.

Nishida's wife and their two children were sleeping on the second floor, while Nishida was sleeping on the first floor when the fire broke out, local police said. Nishida noticed the fire and tried to rescue his family, but the fire spread too quickly, police quoted him as saying.

ETAJIMA, Hiroshima -- The body of a 96-year-old woman was found in the wreckage of her home following a house fire, police said.

At around 3:45 a.m. on Sunday, a fire broke out at the home of Hatsuko Yanagida, 96, in Etajima, burning down the structure and damaging her son's house next door, local police said.

A woman's body believed to be that of Yanagida was found from the debris of her home. Police are trying to confirm her identity while investigating the cause of the fire. Investigators said the victim, whose legs are handicapped, used a coal foot warmer in her room.

Popular male duo Kobukuro won the Japan Record Award's top prize on Sunday, with their hit song "Tsubomi."

The winners of the 49th annual award were announced at the New National Theatre in Tokyo's Shibuya-ku on Sunday.

The best singer award went to the all-male R&B group Exile, known for their hit song "Toki no Kakera," while the best rookie award went to all-girl group C-ute, who are produced by Tsunku (producer of Morning Musume).

The award is sponsored by Japan Composer's Association and other music-related entities.

YOKOHAMA -- A fire that killed an elderly woman here is highly unlikely to have been caused by an electric fault as initially thought, say police.

Hanai Kamitori, 83, died at her house in Isogo-ku, Yokohama, after her electric reclining bed caught fire Saturday morning, local police said.

However, on examining the bed investigators confirmed that it was unplugged. They are continuing to probe the cause of the blaze.

Two care workers who were taking care of Kamitori told police that Kamitori did not use the electric function of the bed and always left it unplugged.

KASHIWA, Chiba -- A professional bicycle racer has been arrested for breaking into a high school here in an attempt to molest members of the school's volleyball club who were staying there for a training camp, police said.

Tomoyuki Mitsui, 33, from Daisen, Akita Prefecture, stands accused of trespassing. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"I sneaked into the school in order to molest girls," Mitsui was quoted as telling investigators.

At around 2 a.m. on Sunday, Mitsui sneaked into one of the buildings of Kashiwa Municipal High School, where its female volleyball club members were sleeping, through an unlocked second-floor window, local police said.

One of the members noticed Mitsui, and alerted the club's coach by sending an e-mail to his mobile phone. Four teachers overpowered Mitsui.

Mitsui belongs to the Aomori branch of the Japan Professional Cyclist Union, and is a Class-A cyclist, the second highest rank following Class-S.

OSAKA -- A senior student at Kinki University has succeeded in producing a cloned mouse, and experts believe he's probably the youngest in the world to clone a rodent.

Masahiro Morita, 22, a senior at Kinki University in Osaka, cloned a female mouse from somatic cells in June and named her Suzu. The mouse gave birth to 10 offspring in September through natural mating.

"I was surprised myself because I had thought I would be lucky if I could succeed (in cloning) by the time I graduate. My teachers, senior students and friends helped me, too," said Morita.

Morita joined a research team at the School of Biology-Oriented Science and Technology at the university in September last year and started to learn embryologic engineering.

It usually takes nearly a year to master the basic technology to clone a mouse from somatic cells and even skilled experts only have a 2 percent chance of successfully producing a cloned mouse from cloned embryo.

"He (Morita) had practiced (cloning) for an extraordinarily short period of time, and it's really amazing. I assume he may possibly be the youngest in the world (to succeed in cloning)," a cloning expert at the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research said.

ONGA, Fukuoka -- A lemon tree that bears 11 different kinds of fruit is earning attention for a resident here who has had it growing in his garden for years.

The tree, which is about 30 years old, is growing in the garden of 71-year-old Onga resident Manabu Fukushima. It is loaded with 11 kinds of fruit including dekopon, hassaku orange, iyoyan, amanatsu, and banpeiyu, a variety of pummelo.

Fukushima started receiving citrus tree saplings from neighbors about 15 years ago, and grafted them onto his lemon tree because he wanted to eat the fruit quickly. Since then, the varieties of fruit have gradually increased. Now locals often come too see the unusual tree.

Successful grafting can produce fruit in one to three years.

"The harvesting is really fun," Fukushima says. "Next year I want to increase the varieties."

YUFU, Oita -- A hot spring tourist association here is launching a skin lotion using minerals from hot spring water, it has been learned.

The Yufuin hot spring tourist association is set to begin selling the spray-on lotion, named "Yufuin Mist", on Jan. 1. It contains hot spring minerals with only nitrogen added.

Association officials said that there were many hot spring products such as bathwater additives that differed greatly from the colorless, odorless nature of the Yufuin hot spring, so the association tied up with a manufacturer to create the lotion and "set the record straight."

The lotion, which contains no preservatives or alcohol, costs 1,260 yen for an 80-gram bottle. A total of 5,000 bottles will be placed at inns and stores that belong to the tourist association.

An association representative said that the lotion produced a mist when sprayed, but added, "Your memories of the hot spring won't grow misty."

There is no scientific proof of whether aphrodisiacs or other sex boosters actually enhance sexual performance.

Rhinoceros or deer horns are, for instance, said to be symbols of an erect penis, olives to represent the testicles and oysters resemble the female labia. In the same way, capsicum is said to heat up the body and eating okra improve lubrication in the vagina, perpetuating beliefs that grew up because of these items' resemblance to the genitalia or their functions. Of course, "sex is all in the mind," so people who believe these things may help them may also feel that they did help them if they felt they performed better, and if they didn't feel that, the people would feel, quite irresponsibly, like they hadn't consumed enough of these items or prepared them the wrong.

Supplements made from creatures like Japanese snakes called mamushi or habu, cobras, sea snakes or seals work on the same precept. They all claim to be rich in ingredients like amino acid, zinc, minerals, vitamins and the like that are said to power the reproductive organs. Countless other plants are said to have similar effect, like wolfberry, yohimbine and fungi like plant worm and the like.

What creatures associated with sexual virility -- like the mamushi, habu and cobra -- have in common is that they're fairly high up on the food chain and perceived as being "strong." Most of the plants, too, grow in mountainous areas or are wild plants, surviving in tough environments, so they also have the perception of being strong. Maybe people yearn for this strength, and that image has become linked to their supposed effects on sexual strength.

Speaking of the connection between food and sex, there has recently been some interesting research that suggests male chimpanzees woo females by providing them with forbidden fruit.

Scottish primate expert Kimberly Hockings spent over a year in Guinea observing how male wild chimpanzees would regularly steal produce such as rice, corn, potatoes, papayas, bananas, oranges and pineapples from farms or orchards near where they lived and then go back and present the fruits of their labor to female chimpanzees. When the males searched for booty, they would become nervous and scratch their bodies.

"We believe the males may be using crop-raids as a way to advertise their prowess to other group-members, especially the opposite sex. Such daring behavior certainly seems to be an attractive trait and possessing a sought-after food item, such as papaya, appears to draw even more positive attention from the females," Hockings said.

Putting it simply, the male chimpanzees desiring sex would divide their food with the female they were after, while the female would show a fondness to the male that brought her the most food that she would not show to other chimps.

Though this behavior applied in the world of chimpanzees, look at human society and it's easy to see that a partner who sought only sex and didn't work or bring in any money would be more likely to get a fight than any physical intimacy.

But, as far as a relationship between food and sex goes, I think what it all comes down to is how well a couple communicates and if that's good, it's going to beat the most luxurious food of all. (By Dr. Kunio Kitamura, special to the Mainichi)

{mosimage}The Okinawa island of Kourijima. This island is surrounded by emerald green waters and only became accessible by bridge in recent years. Kourijima features only a small fishing port and most of the island is covered in sugarcane and open fields.

In order to reach this Kourijima, travelers must first take a bridge across Yagachi island. Yagachi island features a campground and a few small minshuku, or inexpensove island hotels/rooms, where visitors can stay overnight.

Kourijima Photos

Please click a thumbnail to load a high resolution image. {gallery}Kourijima{/gallery}

DETROIT (AP) -- Industry analysts are predicting a lackluster end to an already dismal year for automakers in the U.S., likely the worst in nearly a decade.

Holiday discounts failed to bring consumers out of their funk, and December sales are expected to fall around 4 percent, which would bring the full-year total for U.S. auto sales to 16.1 million vehicles, the lowest volume since 1998.

Sales have been hurt by consumer anxiety over gas prices, the housing crunch and the overall weakening economy.

Industry watchers warn that the 2008 auto sales performance could be even weaker.

"Given the current economic challenges and the uncertainty associated with the upcoming presidential election, we do not anticipate that 2008 will be any more robust for the car business," said Jesse Toprak, chief economist for the auto information site Edmunds.com. Toprak said there is little promise for a turnaround until 2009.

Japanese automakers also are expected to see lower sales in December, particularly as the housing crunch continues to dampen demand in California, their most important market.

Toprak predicts Toyota's sales will be down 3 percent compared with last December, while Honda Motor Co.'s will fall 1 percent. Nissan Motor Co. will likely be flat, he said. Nissan has bucked the slow sales trend in recent months on the strength of its new Rogue crossover and Versa subcompact.

Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold said in a recent note to investors that he is even more concerned about 2008 auto sales than he was a year ago, since consumer sentiment and employment levels are continuing to deteriorate. Nesvold said the U.S. has not seen a meaningful downturn in auto sales in 15 years and is long overdue for one.

"In a nutshell, if consumers don't feel good about the world or employment is slipping, they tend to delay major expenditures such as a new house or car, if possible," he said.

December is Ford Motor Co.'s last chance to hold on to its longtime position as the No. 2 automaker by U.S. sales. Toyota Motor Corp., which outsold Ford by 15,000 vehicles in November, is on track to overtake Ford this year.

Robert Barry, an auto analyst with Goldman Sachs, predicts Ford's sales will fall 3 percent in December compared with a relatively weak December 2006. Barry said Ford is struggling because it is at a low point in its product cycle, with a major redesign of the F-150 pickup and a new crossover not due out until next year. In the meantime, it is being hurt by aggressive incentive spending by Toyota and other rivals.

Nesvold predicts Ford's sales could fall as much as 12 percent in December, pointing out that the automaker's newly rebadged Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable sedans and Taurus X crossover have seen disappointing results all fall. But Nesvold said the Ford Edge crossover and Ford's smaller sport utility vehicles have held up well.

General Motors Corp. could see an even sharper decline of 14 percent due to a planned cutback in sales to rental fleets, Barry said. In a note to investors, Barry said he expects GM to cut fleet sales by 30 percent in December, the same amount the automaker cut fleet sales in November. Ford also has been slashing sales to rental fleets all year in an effort to shore up resale value and brand image.

Barry said Chrysler LLC will likely see double-digit drops in December, particularly since the automaker's car sales shot up 48 percent last December thanks to brisk sales of the Chrysler Sebring and 300 sedans. Chrysler's newly redesigned minivans could significantly boost December sales, Nesvold said. But if they do not, analysts may have to lower their expectations for the vehicles.

Actress Takako Matsu has tied the knot with musician Yoshiyuki Sahashi, according to her official Web site.

Matsu, 30, said she met 46-year-old Sahashi in 2001 through their music activities.

Matsu is the second daughter of kabuki actor Koshiro Matsumoto, and the sister of kabuki actor Somegoro Ichikawa and actress Kio Matsumoto.

Former professional baseball player Tsuyoshi Shinjo said he and his celebrity wife Shiho Okochi have divorced.

"Today, we'd like to report that Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Shiho Okochi ended their marriage, became friends, and will lead separate lives," a joint statement placed on Shinjo's official Web site said.

Shinjo, 35, who also played in the U.S. major leagues, married 36-year-old Okochi in 2000.

LIMA, Peru (AP) -- Former President Alberto Fujimori, on trial for murder and kidnapping, told the court on Friday that he "saved Peru" by stamping out a bloody Maoist rebel movement.

Fujimori is facing up to 30 years in prison for allegedly ordering the 1991 military death-squad killings of 15 people at a barbecue in Lima's Barrios Altos neighborhood and the 1992 slayings of nine students and a professor at Lima's La Cantuta University.

Fujimori, 69, has repeatedly denied that he authorized human rights violations during his 1990 to 2000 government.

"It was total chaos," Fujimori said on Friday. "That's why I say this out loud: I saved Peru."

Earlier this week, Fujimori told the court that if there were abuses during his administration, they were isolated acts and not his responsibility.

Fujimori has denied having any knowledge of the death squad's activities, and has said he never authorized Vladimiro Montesinos, his now-jailed intelligence chief, to lead a dirty war against the Marxist Shining Path rebels.

On Friday, Tomas Livias, who was paralyzed from the waist down after he was shot 27 times in the 1991 Barrios Altos massacre, testified Friday that he received death threats "all the time," after the slayings, warning him not to speak out against Fujimori.

Livias said that two men visited him in the hospital where he was recovering after the massacre and offered him bribes.

He said the pair told him that if he did not speak against Fujimori, the president would "take care of all your needs."

In 2000, Fujimori fled to Japan, where his parents were born, as his government collapsed amid a corruption scandal involving Montesinos. He flew to Chile in 2005 in an apparent attempt to stage a return to Peruvian politics.

Chile instead extradited him to Peru in September to stand trial on corruption and human rights abuse charges.

BEIJING (AP) -- Japan's visiting Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda met schoolchildren and tossed a baseball with his Chinese counterpart Saturday, in some lighthearted moments a day after talks to improve historically strained ties with China's leaders.

"Prime Minister Fukuda said the spring has come in our relations and after 2 1/2 hours of talks, I truly feel that the spring of China-Japan relations has indeed arrived," said Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

Fukuda's China visit, which ends Sunday, has been hailed by both sides as a success and has produced agreements to cooperate on fighting climate change and increase youth exchanges.

Arrangements were being made for China's President Hu Jintao to visit Japan next year -- the first such trip by a Chinese head of state in 10 years.

With China-Japan ties often strained by disputes over territory, resources and wartime history, Fukuda's four-day visit -- his first as prime minister -- apparently marked another turning point toward warmer relations.

"China-Japan relations have never faced this kind of opportunity, and I believe China and Japan should become creative partners to build a better Asia and world," Fukuda said Friday in a speech at Peking University, calling both countries "major presences in the world."

The next day, Fukuda and Wen -- wearing full baseball uniforms -- played a game of catch after a breakfast meeting at a state guesthouse. The pair laughed, joked and chased stray balls as journalists and a half-dozen Chinese players looked on.

Wen wore a gray jersey from Kyoto's Ritsumeikan University, where he played baseball with students during a visit to Japan in April. The back of the jersey had his name and the number 35 -- for the 35th anniversary of Japan-China diplomatic relations. Fukuda, a baseball player in high school, wore a plain red and white uniform.

Fukuda also visited a Beijing elementary school, whose students will cheer for Japanese athletes during the Beijing Olympics, which begin in August. He smiled and waved at about 100 children who had lined the school sports field, bouncing in time to music while waving pompoms, stuffed Olympic toys and Chinese and Japanese flags.

The Japanese leader was also scheduled to tour a Toyota plant in the industrial port city of Tianjin. Though the main purpose of his visit was to improve diplomatic relations and discuss thorny issues such as a long-running dispute over gas reserves in the East China Sea, economic ties would not be ignored, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

"China has been developing very rapidly and Japanese investment and Japanese businesses are coming to China," said ministry spokesman Mitsuo Sakaba. "So for expanding Japanese economic and business relations with China, is it is important for Japanese leaders to look on-the-spot at how the local cities are developing."

Talks with Wen and Hu touched on climate change, with Tokyo eager to help China tackle pollution problems that are increasingly felt across the sea in Japan. Officials also discussed North Korea -- a close Beijing ally that abducted Japanese citizens during the 1970s and '80s.

North Korea admitted in 2002 it kidnapped 13 Japanese citizens, then sent five home and said the remaining eight were dead. Japan has demanded proof of the deaths, however, and says more of its citizens may have been taken.

No progress was expected on the East China Sea territorial issue, but both Fukuda and Wen said they wanted to resolve it as quickly as possible.

In his Peking University speech, Fukuda referred to Japan's invasion and occupation of China. "I believe we can prevent mistakes in the future only if we properly look at the past, and have the courage and wisdom to repent what we must repent," he said.

Before returning home he will visit Qufu, the birthplace of the ancient philosopher Confucius. The visit is a nod to the influence of Chinese culture in Japan, demonstrating "the common cultural background between the Chinese people and Japanese people," Sakaba said.

Roads were crowded and bullet trains and flights leaving Tokyo were fully booked on Saturday as the rush of people traveling to their hometowns for the New Year started.

JR officials said that the Nozomi No. 1 bullet train leaving Tokyo at 6 a.m., bound for Hakata, was packed to 150 percent of its seating capacity. Other trains leaving Tokyo were also full beyond their designated capacity, officials said, as were some bullet trains on the Tohoku, Joetsu and Nagano Shinkansen lines. The return rush is expected to peak on Jan. 3 for train services.

On the outbound section of the Tomei Expressway, traffic was backed up for 19 kilometers in Kanagawa Prefecture and for 13 kilometers in Aichi Prefecture as of 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. However, due to a tendency of people taking New Year's breaks at different times, no major traffic congestion occurred. Returning traffic is expected to be at its busiest on Jan. 2 and 3.

Airlines reported that almost all flights leaving Haneda Airport on Saturday were full. Since the New Year's period this year falls on days making it easier for people to take long breaks, flights back into Tokyo are expected to be the most crowded on Jan. 5 and 6.

Narita Airport also saw a rush of people leaving the country on New Year's vacations. A Narita International Airport Corp. representative said that about 700,000 people were expected to leave the country between Dec. 21 and Jan. 7, with returning flights busiest on about Jan. 5.

A total of 4,675 teachers at public schools in Japan took leave due to mental ailments such as depression in fiscal 2006, a survey by the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry has found.

It was the 14th year in a row for the figure to increase. The number was about triple the total recorded in fiscal 1997, when 1,609 took leave due to such problems.

"The relationship between teachers and children and their parents is becoming more complicated, and stress is rising with increased workloads," a ministry comment on the results said.

Ministry officials said that 7,655 of about 920,000 teachers at public schools took sick leave during the year. Among these, the number who took leave due to mental ailments such as depression, adjustment disorders, acute stress, and schizophrenia was 497 higher than the figure recorded the previous year. These teachers accounted for more than 60 percent of the educators who took sick leave.

Home and health problems emerged among cases in which teachers in their 40s and 50s took sick leave. There were also cases in which teachers in their 20s had trouble adapting to their work environment or worried about a lack of ability.

The ministry has indicated it will introduce support for teachers through such measures as mental health training and the formulation of programs to help teachers return to their workplace.

Besides those who fell ill, the ministry's survey showed that 1,159 educators were punished during the year -- 96 fewer than during the previous year. A total of 187 teachers were sacked under disciplinary measures and 10 resigned under instruction, while another 16 were dishonorably removed from their positions.

The number of teachers who were subjected to disciplinary action or received warnings hit 4,531 -- 445 more than during the previous year. Altogether, 2,390 teachers were disciplined or warned over traffic accidents, 424 were disciplined or warned about corporal punishment, and 190 faced such action over indecent behavior.

NAGOYA -- A local government official has been awarded 25,000 yen in compensation for being detained for two days on a molestation charge of which he was later acquitted, his lawyer said.

The Nagoya Summary Court has handed down the decision in response to a demand made by the 44-year-old official of the Aichi Prefectural Government under the Criminal Compensation Law.

He was arrested for molesting a university student on a JR Chuo Line train on Jan. 13 last year, and released the following day after he admitted to the allegations.

However, he subsequently pleaded not guilty to the charges. In October this year, the Nagoya Summary Court found him not guilty of violating an Aichi prefectural ordinance prohibiting people from creating a nuisance over the case, citing a lack of evidence.

The acquittal was fixed after prosecutors abandoned appealing the ruling to a higher court.

CHIBA -- A self-employed man has been indicted for attempting to smuggle marijuana by putting the drugs in more than 100 separate bags and swallowing them, law enforcers said.

Yutaka Arai, 36, a resident of Hachioji, western Tokyo, stands accused of violating the Cannabis Control Law.

Arai put 297.31 grams of marijuana, with a street value of 2.35 million yen, into 120 small bags and swallowed them before arriving at Narita Airport from Bangkok International Airport on Dec. 8 in an unsuccessful bid to smuggle them into Japan, prosecutors said.

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is considering reshuffling his Cabinet in mid-January, government sources said.

Fukuda will aim to prop up the support ratings, which have plummeted over the past few weeks, by reshuffling his Cabinet, with an eye to dissolving the powerful House of Representatives for a snap general election, according to the sources.

Fukuda is expected to replace most of the ministers taken over from the Cabinet of his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, who abruptly resigned in September.

The Cabinet shakeup will likely occur around Jan. 13 or 14, after the new anti-terrorism bill, which is certain to be voted down by the opposition-controlled House of Councillors, is passed into law in a second vote in the House of Representatives, which requires a two-thirds majority.

Forty-seven people were sentenced to death in Japan in 2007, marking the highest figure on Supreme Court records going back to 1980, a Mainichi survey has shown.

A total of 107 people are on death row with fixed sentences, the highest year-end figure in the postwar era, the survey also found.

A tendency to toughen sentences out of consideration for the feelings of crime victims is thought to be behind the high number of death penalty rulings.

From 1980, the number of people sentenced to death each year ranged between five and 23, but in 2001 the figure climbed to 30. In 2004, the number reached 42, and after declining to 38 in 2005, it hit 44 in 2006.

Death sentences for 23 people were set this year. Five of these dropped their appeals, and 18 had their appeals thrown out by the Supreme Court. The death penalty was inflicted on nine people this year, the survey found.

IGA, Mie -- A kindergarten boy is dead, after he was found floating in a hot spring bath at a hotel here during a sports club camp, police said.

At around 8:45 p.m. on Thursday, Yosei Hirose, 5, from Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, was found floating in the bath at Wel Sunpia Iga, local police said. He died shortly afterwards in hospital.

The boy was participating in a camp organized by Osaka sports club Jacpa with about 80 teammates aged between 3 and 13. Eleven instructors were supervising them.

YOKOHAMA -- Prosecutors have decided not to indict 12 members of a top university rugby club, who admitted to smoking marijuana and were also accused of possessing the illegal drug.

Kanagawa Prefectural Police sent an investigation report to the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office accusing the 12 members of Kanto Gakuin University rugby club, aged 19 to 22, of violating the Cannabis Control Law. The Cannabis Control Law has no penal provision for those who use marijuana.

The 12 were allegedly in possession of marijuana they received from Keiji Umeno, 21, and Taiki Nakamura, 21, former club members, between July and August this year.

Umeno and Nakamura are under indictment for growing marijuana plants at their dormitory in Yokohama. They have been expelled from the university.