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S O C I E T Y

WIRE REPORTS

Avril Lavigne to perform with Ai Otsuka, Puffy in Tokyo Canadian rock singer Avril Lavigne, 23, will perform in a concert at Tokyo Dome on Sept 16 together with Japanese artists Ai Otsuka, 25, and… Police search seafood firms over false labeling of eel products Police raided sites related to two seafood companies Thursday to investigate a false-labeling scandal in which the firms allegedly sold grilled eels farmed in China… Assembly member's trespassing case filed with prosecutors Police have filed an investigative report with prosecutors on a municipal assembly member of Kokubunji, Tokyo, for allegedly trespassing on a condominium building to distribute… Youth defrauds woman of 4.5 million yen by lying to her that her son needed bail money An 18-year-old unemployed youth has been arrested for defrauding a woman out of 4.5 million yen after lying to her that her son had been arrested for secretly taking photos of a woman and that he needed money to pay bail, police said. Kansai University student on trial for selling marijuana expelled from institution SUITA, Osaka -- Kansai University expelled a student standing trial for selling marijuana, officials said. Corporal punishment in Japan: gobsmacking results I’m gobsmacked that a smack in the gob is considered acceptable corporal punishment by about three in five Japanese! This is just one result from a genuinely shocking survey on corporal punishment. Demographics Between the 23rd and 25th of June 2008 467 members of the CLUB BBQ free email forwarding service completed a pirvate internet-based questionnaire. 52% [...] Police suspect woman found dead in Iwate river was murdered in separate location KAWAI, Iwate -- A young woman whose body was found in a river here was likely murdered in a separate location, police investigators have found. Beaten homeless man said assailant remained silent during vicious bat attack A homeless man who suffered serious injuries after being beaten in the head by a bat-wielding attacker in March has provided details on the attack, branding it "bullying of the weak." Suspicions grow that drip death at clinic was caused by in-house infection IGA, Mie -- A bacterium was detected in the blood of a female patient who died after being administered with an intravenous drip at a clinic accused of sloppy hygiene control, police said. New Maglev Shinkansen line to start from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo The new Shinkansen line for superconductive, magnetically levitated (Maglev) trains that will travel between Tokyo and Osaka will likely start from Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, railway company sources said.

(AFP/File) - Chinese fans wave flags and chant before the start of Japan vs North Korea game in the East Asian Women's Football Championships, in Chongqing, in February. Japan who played China next faced the prospect of a stadium packed with Chinese fans still angry at their neighbour's World War II aggression.(AFP/File/Peter Parks)

DAILY REPORTS

Jul 04 Pet dogs fighting crime on Japanese streets (ABC News) Jul 04 Getting 'buried alive' in Japan is hot stuff (CNN) Jul 04 It's 'Jaws' vs 'Tsunami' in US-Japan hot-dog eating showdown (AFP) Jul 03 Not all is lost for Pinay in Okinawa rape (abs-cbnnews.com) Jul 03 Japanese doll a hit with older women (Los Angeles Times) Jul 03 Child porn and sex crimes: A slap on the wrist for 20 years of secret images (Mainichi) Jul 03 'Dreams Come True' member marries rock vocalist (Mainichi) Jul 03 5 guilty over fatal Kabukicho fire (Asahi) Jul 03 Smokers face more and more anti-smoking restrictions in Japan (earthtimes.org) Jun 29 Cannabis in Japan: Can they really be so naive? (cannazine.co.uk) Jun 29 Ancient Japanese 'Naked Sushi' Tradition Catches On in Florida (FoxNews.com) Jun 29 Aussie geisha speaks out (Japan Times) Jun 29 U.S. enka singer takes Japanese soul by storm (Japan Times) Jun 28 Daihachi Oguchi, 84, Japanese Drummer, Dies (New York Times) Jun 28 Mainichi suspends reporter over 'vulgar' English column (Kyodo) Jun 28 Crime declarations rampant on Web since Akihabara stabbing case (Kyodo) Jun 27 Police to extend cash reward period for tips in Lindsay Hawker case (Kyodo) Jun 27 Teenage male arrested for murdering father (Kyodo) Jun 26 Energy-tight Japan splashes out on posh privies (MSNBC) Jun 24 What Japanese race queens think of our men (The Star) Jun 24 Japanese police arrest 19-year-old man for threatening stabbing spree at Tokyo Disneyland (AP) Jun 24 Three Japanese found dead in Hawaii tourist plane crash (Japan Times) Jun 24 Japanese 'dogman' robs stores to feed pets: police (AFP) Jun 22 British man may have been involved in seizing of whale meat (Kyodo) Jun 22 The homeless do a doughnut (Japan Times) Jun 22 Pachinko gets political (Japan Times) Jun 22 Painfully ridden; pleasurably driven (Japan Times) Jun 20 Japanese piggy bank helps savers enjoy romance (Reuters) Jun 20 Kitano receives lifetime achievement award at Moscow film festival (Kyodo) Jun 19 BBC denies dumbing down as it buys the format for gut-churning Japanese show (Times Online) Jun 19 Mah-jong enthusiasts monopolize Osaka Pref. park facility (Yomiuri) Jun 18 Retrial acquits man of illegally staying in Japan (Kyodo) Jun 18 Japan's Booming Sex Niche: Elder Porn (Time) Jun 18 Lasting legacy of Brazil's Japanese (BBC) Jun 18 Man who killed Japanese student in 1995 executed in Oklahoma (Kyodo) Jun 17 Serial killer of girls Tsutomu Miyazaki executed (Kyodo) Jun 17 Japan's crown prince departs for Brazil trip without ailing princess (Straits Times) Jun 17 Is Japan more dangerous than it was 10 years ago? (Japan Times) Jun 17 Death toll from Japan earthquake rises to 10 (International Herald Tribune) Jun 16 Teen held after net murder threat (Asahi) Jun 16 JR Yamanote Line - Ikebukuro (neilduckett.com) Jun 15 Rural girls must flirt (Japan Times) Jun 15 Keeping a roof over one's head is not easy (Japan Times) Jun 15 Salarymen don't want to see light of day (Japan Times) Jun 14 Former gangster castle in Roppongi now being demolished (Tokyo Reporter) Jun 14 Japan, seeking trimmer citizens, decides to measure millions of waistlines (International Herald Tribune) Jun 13 The company dorm: More than a place to rest (Asahi) Jun 12 Poor households to get free digital TV tuners (Asahi) Jun 11 Put up with smelly smalls to save planet, Japanese wives told (AFP) Jun 11 US military jails Marine for sexual misconduct in Japan (AFP)