Seventy-seven percent of people in Japan think that the statute of limitations on murders should be abolished, a Mainichi poll has found.

Under Japan's current statute of limitations, legal proceedings cannot be initiated for murder cases after 15 years, or 25 years for murders committed after 2005.

However, 77 percent of respondents in the Mainichi poll said the statute should be eliminated for murder, while just 15 percent said it should be kept. By gender, 75 percent of males and 78 percent of females were in favor of abolishment.

Under a 2004 revision to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the statute of limitations on murders that occurred from 2005 onwards was increased to 25 years. The period on outstanding cases remained at 15 years so as not to cause sudden unfairness to people accused in crimes. However, 68 percent of the people questioned in the telephone survey said they thought it was strange for the time period to be split depending on when the murder was committed. Only 21 percent said the difference stood to reason.

The adoption of a U.S.-style John Doe charge system for crimes such as rape -- under which charges can be filed without knowing a person's identity if DNA evidence is left at the scene, thereby halting the statute of limitations -- was supported by 69 percent of respondents, while 15 percent said such a system should not be implemented.

In May this year, the National Association of Crime Victims and Surviving Families approached the Liberal Democratic Party's Research Commission on the Judiciary System over abolishment of the statute of limitations on murders.

The issue came into focus recently when Kazuyoshi Miura, 60, was taken into custody by U.S. authorities in Saipan in February over a shooting in Los Angeles that occurred about 27 years earlier, and it was reported that for heinous crimes in the United States there is no statute of limitations.

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OSAKA -- An Asiana Airlines jet made an unscheduled landing at Kansai International Airport early Wednesday after one of its passengers fell ill and later died, aviation officials said.

A 61-year-old South Korean man suffered a cardiac arrest during Asiana Airlines Flight 204 bound for Los Angeles from Incheon Airport near Seoul at around 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the officials.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200 twin-engine jet with 303 passengers and crewmembers aboard, landed at Kansai International Airport at around 2 a.m. However, a doctor who was aboard the flight pronounced him dead.

The jet took off from Kansai International Airport for Los Angeles at 4:18 a.m. on Wednesday.

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KIMINO, Wakayama -- The decomposed body of a woman has been found on a mountain here, police said Wednesday.

A man who was cutting grass on a mountain in Kimino noticed a strange odor Saturday afternoon, and alerted police. Officers found the body nearby.

The body is believed to be that of a woman in her 20s to 40s and about 150 centimeters tall, who died several months ago of unknown causes. Police are still trying to identify her.

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NAGOYA -- A man who stole a dog from its owner said he dog-napped the corgi because he was lonely, police said.

Naoto Kobayashi, 43, is accused of habitual theft. He admitted to the allegations.

"I was lonely, so I wanted to have a dog," he was quoted as telling investigators. He had stolen another dog from the victim three years ago, according to local police.

Kobayashi stole the corgi worth about 10,000 yen from the home of its 53-year-old owner in Nakagawa-ku, Nagoya, sometime between the night of June 21 and the following morning, investigators said.

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OITA -- The Oita Prefectural Board of Education (BoE) will investigate a corruption scandal linked to the hiring of teachers and fire any educators found to have passed exams illicitly, it has emerged.

Senior BoE member Katsuyoshi Eto, 52 -- now under arrest for taking bribes -- is believed to have been asked to hire about 40 people, roughly half of the number who passed the elementary school teaching exams during fiscal 2007 and 2008. Sources close to the investigation say that at least a dozen or so teachers are believed to are believed to have passed exams illicitly.

Education board officials said that when past exam data that has been seized by police is returned and analyzed, they will offer jobs to any found to have missed out on a position because of the scandal. School workers who were hired illicitly will be fired, and any staff found to have been unfairly promoted to administrative positions will be subject to disciplinary action.

In addition, the board is also planning reform in education administration through measures including the establishment of a project team to prevent similar scandals in the future.

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A bottle of sauce sold at a Tokyo supermarket has been found laced with herbicide in what police believe is a case of forcible obstruction of business.

At around 11:30 a.m. on June 28, a customer at the Ito-Yokado Supermarket's Minowa outlet in Arakawa-ku found a sticker bearing a handwritten message, "Danger! Poisoned" on a bottle of sauce for grilled chicken.

A Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) investigation revealed that the sauce had been contaminated with the herbicide glyphosate. While not deadly, glyphosate can cause nausea, headaches and diarrhea if ingested.

Officials at Ebara Foods Industry, Inc. which produced the sauce said the company has not received any threatening calls or letters.

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OKAZAKI, Aichi -- A young hijacker who took over an expressway bus at knifepoint was arrested Wednesday after police led the bus into a parking area and persuaded him to give himself up, law enforcers said.

Police said the driver of the vehicle, operated by JR Tokai Bus, called police on his mobile phone at about 12:50 p.m. on Wednesday, saying a young man with a knife had holed himself up in the vehicle.

Aichi Prefectural Police led the bus, which was on the Tomei Expressway in the city of Okazaki, to the Miai Parking Area, where they managed to persuade the hijacker to give himself up. There were 10 other passengers on board, but none of them were injured.

When questioned, the hijacker reportedly told police, "I'm 14 years old." Police are trying to confirm his identity.

JR Tokai Bus officials said that the bus had left Nagoya Station at noon, heading for Tokyo Station. Miai Parking Area is located in Okazaki.

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OTSU -- A woman has been ordered to spend 2 1/2 years behind bars for repeatedly flinging her baby daughter to the floor, leaving her with serious brain injuries.

The Otsu District Court convicted Izumi Kusano, 23, a jobless woman living in Kinomoto, Shiga Prefecture, of attempted murder.

"The victim was subjected to abuse by her mother, whom she trusted. The consequences of the crime are grave and tragic," Presiding Judge Yuko Tsuboi said during sentencing.

However, the judge handed down a shorter prison term than eight years demanded by prosecutors, as the defendant called for an ambulance following the incident in a bid to save her daughter.

Kusano lost her temper after her 4-month-old daughter wouldn't stop crying, and hurled her onto the floor at their home nine times on the evening of March 15 this year, leaving her with heavy brain injuries, according to the ruling.

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OSAKA -- The Osaka District Public Prosecutors Office has filed charges against Nozomu Sahashi, the former president of bankrupt English language school operator Nova Corp., accusing him of embezzlement.

Sahashi, 56, has reportedly admitted to the charges against him.

"I gave the orders, and used money entrusted by company members," he was quoted as saying.

The indictment in the Osaka District Court brings a series of Osaka Prefectural Police investigations into Nova to a conclusion. Prosecutors apparently abandoned the idea of forming a case against Sahashi on suspicion of aggravated breach of trust in connection with Nova's Ochanoma Ryugaku business, judging that it would be difficult to prove that the former president had caused Nova damage to benefit himself or a third party.

Sahashi deposited 320 million yen taken from the account of a mutual aid society for Nova employees into another account at the same bank on July 20, 2007. He then converted the cash into checks and deposited it into an account of Nova Corp. affiliate Nova Kikaku, according to the indictment. The money was apparently used to refund students who cancelled their contracts.

Prosecutors have decided to suspend an indictment against Toshihiko Murata, former president of Nova Kikaku.

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Writer Yang Yi made history on Tuesday by becoming the first Chinese national to win the prestigious Akutagawa Prize for literature.

Yang's novel "Toki ga Nijimu Asa" (A morning when time blurs), was selected as the winner of the 139th Akutagawa Prize in Tokyo on Tuesday. It's the first time since the prize was founded in 1935 for it to be awarded to a work written by an author whose native language is not Japanese.

"I'm thankful to write a novel in Japanese as a foreigner, and have it receive this kind of appraisal. I'm very happy," the 44-year-old said. "Of course, I want Chinese people to read it too."

Yang, who is from the Chinese city of Harbin, came to Japan in 1987 at the age of 23, and began studying Japanese at a Japanese language school, and then at Ochanomizu University. Her debut work, "Wan-chan," was also nominated for the Akutagawa Prize. "Toki ga Nijimu Asa," set in China and Japan, depicts the dreams and frustrations of Chinese youths.

According to the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Literature, Yang is the fifth Akutagawa Prize winner of foreign nationality. However, the four other winners were South Koreans or North Koreans who'd been familiar with the Japanese language from a young age.

Another literary award, the Naoki Prize, was also announced Tuesday. The award went to 47-year-old novelist Areno Inoue for her work "Kiriha e" (To the coal face).

The Akutagawa and Naoki prize ceremonies will be held in Tokyo on Aug. 22. The winners receive a pocket watch and a 1 million yen cash prize.

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OSAKA -- A kitten that has taken on the task of looking after two younger kittens at a park here is drawing smiles from locals.

The felines are living at Konohana Park in Konohana-ku, Osaka.

A 70-year-old man who visits the park every morning said that a newborn male kitten was found at the park in September last year. It was skinny and couldn't open its eyes fully. Feeling sorry for it, local residents gave it food and it started living in the park.

In mid-April, three more newborn kittens were found huddled together under a park bench.

At first, the older kitten didn't pay any attention to the younger kittens. However, one rainy night about two weeks later, the older kitten was seen protecting the younger kittens from the rain, as if he were a parent. The younger kittens were sheltered from the rain while the older one was left soaking wet.

After that, the older kitten started looking after the younger ones. Only two of the younger kittens now remain, but the older kitten continues to feed them and reportedly huddles together with them when they go to sleep. Now the cats are apparently a popular attraction among children in the area.

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HIGASHIDORI, Aomori -- A body found floating in the sea here may be that of one of three missing people aboard a helicopter that crashed into the sea earlier this month, coast guard officials said.

At around 3:55 p.m. on Tuesday, a man found the body floating face-down in the sea about 1.8 kilometers south of a fishing port in Higashidori, and alerted the local coast guard office. Coast guard officers are trying to identify the body.

The crash occurred on July 6, when a helicopter chartered by Asahi Broadcasting Aomori (ABA) apparently smashed nose-first into the sea off Cape Oma in Aomori Prefecture.

Its co-pilot Hiromitsu Kikuchi, 43, was found dead in the helicopter's fuselage. Three other people aboard the helicopter -- 57-year-old captain Kumio Koge, ABA presenter Shingo Kimura, 28, and cameraman Shinji Omori, 39 -- remain missing.

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In a bid to curb a surge in telephone-based fraud, the National Police Agency (NPA) and the Ministry of Justice on Tuesday compiled an "action plan to eradicate billing fraud."

NPA data shows that the amount of losses from billing fraud, in which criminals convince victims to transfer money into a designated account, stood at about 13.74 billion yen for the period between January and May. The figure is 1.6 times higher than the 8.39 billion yen in losses recorded during the same period in 2007. It is feared that this year's total could surpass the record worst figure of 28.4 billion yen recorded in 2004.

Under the plan, officials will seek assistance from financial and other related organizations to limit damage. The plan designates automatic teller machines (ATMs) as the last line of defense. Law enforcers will seek help from financial institutions, asking workers to talk to victims to prevent them from sending money, and ask institutions to prevent crime group members wearing such disguises as sunglasses or hats from using ATMs.

Officials will also advise institutions to lower the amount of money that elderly people can use in one day, and be on the lookout for people who appear to be receiving instructions from criminals on mobile phones while operating ATMs.

Since cell phones are commonly used in such crimes, police also plan to seek assistance from cell phone companies, asking them to boost identity checks when customers are handed cell phones, and limiting people from signing up for many cell phone lines.

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A 19-year-old who refused to give his name while facing charges for stealing 50,000 yen's worth of CDs was fined 200,000 yen in a ruling at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday.

From the investigation stage of the case, the teen refused to give his name, and he was charged as "Metropolitan Police Department Tsukiji Police Station Detention No. 1."

During the investigation stage, the man said he had been abused by his father since he was in elementary school, and had his wages from his part-time job taken from him.

"I don't want to be returned to my father so I'm not going to give my name or address," he was quoted as saying.

Immediately before handing down the ruling, Judge Shinichiro Sato urged the 19-year-old to give his name, but he just silently nodded.

The teen was then told, "If you get arrested again as an adult, this ruling will bear a big influence. Think carefully and try hard." The youth nodded again in response.

The 19-year-old was convicted of stealing 16 CDs from a store in Tokyo's Ginza on April 8. When his trial opened on July 7, he was asked for his name and address but said, "I cannot tell you," and only provided his birthday.

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The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry is set to urge textbook publishers to clearly state in junior high school textbooks that Japan has sovereignty over the disputed Senkaku Islands, officials said.

The ministry will ask the publishers to mention Japan's sovereignty over the islands in social studies textbooks they will edit and publish based on new curriculum guidelines to be enforced in the academic year of 2012, according to the officials.

Four of the existing 14 junior high school textbooks on geography and civics mention the Senkaku Islands.

Tokyo recognizes the Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China and Taiwan, as belonging to the Okinawa Prefecture city of Ishigaki.

After World War II, the Senkaku Islands were placed under U.S. occupation as part of the Nansei Islands that include Okinawa. They were returned when Okinawa was returned to Japan's sovereignty in 1972.

In the 1970s, China and Taiwan began to make claims over the Senkaku Islands.

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Hundreds of passengers were made to get out of a Tokyo subway train after a passenger reported a strange smell that officials later said probably came from a woman's nail polish.

Officials said a passenger on a train on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line traveling from Ogikubo to Ikebukuro Station told the conductor at about 10:10 a.m. on Tuesday that there was a smell like paint thinner in one of the carriages.

Tokyo Metro officials made passengers get out and checked the train, but failed to find anything unusual.

Immediately before the smell was reported, however, a woman was seen applying nail polish, and officials believe this was the source of the smell.

Tokyo Metro officials said that 20 passengers in the third carriage of the train, where the smell was reported, got out at Shinjuku Station, emptying the carriage. The remaining 680 passengers got out at Shinjuku-sanchome Station, the next stop on the line, and the inside of the train was examined. Timetables were not affected as a result of the incident.

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Major electric appliance retailer Bic Camera Inc. has been ordered to pay tens of millions of yen in back taxes for concealing approximately 330 million yen in taxable income, sources close to the firm said.

The Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau inspected Bic Camera and pointed out that it failed to declare about 330 million yen as taxable income over a four-year period up to August 2006, according to the sources.

Specifically, taxation officials recognized that some 330 million yen that Bic Camera gave to Toshima Kikaku, an affiliate, through a business associate to help it repay debts, was a donation subject to tax.

The company has already amended its tax return.

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CHIBA -- Two legs thought to belong to a woman whose torso was recently found at Chiba Port were found in the sea on Monday, about 300 meters away from where the torso was discovered, police said.

Investigators said weights had been tied to the legs in a similar manner to how the torso had been weighed down. The legs had been severed at the thigh, and each measured about 60 centimeters in length, police said.

Investigators said that the right leg had been broken around the shin. The legs had been tied with a white rope which was attached to a bag containing concrete, resembling the way the torso had been tied down. There were no shoes or socks on the feet, whose size was 22 centimeters.

The cuts on the legs and the torso matched fairly closely, police said, adding that they planned to perform an autopsy on Wednesday.

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A Tokyo man has been arrested for posting a message on an online bulletin board threatening to indiscriminately kill people at a railway station that does not exist, police said.

Yusuke Sakiyama, 32, an unemployed resident of Itabashi-ku, stands accused of obstruction of business. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"I didn't think threatening to attack a railway station that doesn't exist would constitute a crime," he was quoted as telling investigators.

Sakiyama posted a message on an online bulletin board on June 28, threatening to launch an indiscriminate attack at "Ueno Station on the Saikyo Line," local police said.

"I'll show you how to avoid being arrested after threatening to launch an attack," the message read. "At 9 p.m. today, I'll murder many people at Ueno Station on the Saikyo Line."

As the JR Saikyo Line does not go through Ueno, police officers were on alert at other platforms at Ueno Station.

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An appeal court scrapped the acquittal of a former chairman of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. on Tuesday for filing a false report with the government over a fatal accident to avoid recalling a massive number of vehicles.

The Tokyo High Court ordered Takashi Usami, 67, to pay a fine of 200,000 yen for violating the Road Trucking Vehicle Law.

It also ordered Akio Hanawa, 67, former managing director of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC), and Tadashi Koshikawa, 65, former operating officer of the company, and MMC as an entity to pay 200,000 yen each in fines. They had been found not guilty by the lower court.

The defendants are poised to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court, their defense lawyers said.

The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry ordered Mitsubishi Fuso to report an accident in which a tire that fell off a truck manufactured by MMC hit a woman and her two children in Yokohama in January 2002, killing the woman and injuring the children, according to the ruling. Mitsubishi Fuso was founded by splitting MMC's truck and bus business division.

Even though Mitsubishi Fuso suspected that the hub that connected the wheel to the axle was weak, the company falsely reported to the ministry that the accident was attributable to faulty maintenance work and that there was no need to recall vehicles of the same type.

It also covered up an accident in which a hub that became worn broke, and falsely told the ministry that similar accidents could be prevented if hubs that became worn by 0.8 millimeters or more were replaced.

In December 2006, the Yokohama Summary Court acquitted the defendants after judging that the ministry did not issue the order to file the report in the name of the land, infrastructure, transport and tourism minister.

The law does not apply to those who make false reports unless the orders to file reports are made in the name of the minister.

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KAWASAKI -- A man facing charges of attempted murder over the stabbing of a woman on a road here in April 2007 was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in a ruling at the Kawasaki branch of the Yokohama District Court on Monday.

Handed the sentence was Hirokazu Suzuki, 27, an unemployed resident of no fixed address who had maintained he was innocent. In handing down the ruling, Presiding Judge Kenji Katoya heavily criticized the attack.

"It was a despicable crime, and its impact on local society was great," the judge said.

Suzuki was convicted of stabbing a 40-year-old woman two times in the back with a knife on a road in Kawasaki's Miyamae-ku at about 10:25 p.m. on April 5, 2007, leaving her with serious injuries that required three month's treatment.

During the trial, lawyers argued that Suzuki wasn't the criminal. However, the court rejected the argument, saying that the DNA of blood found on the shoes that the defendant was wearing on the day of the crime matched the victim's DNA. It also cited a testimony from a witness that said the defendant's physical features and build closely matched those of the criminal.

In a separate attack in a tunnel in Miyamae-ku in September 2006, a woman was stabbed to death in a similar way. Prosecutors had questioned Suzuki over his possible involvement in that attack, but Suzuki declined to give a testimony, saying, "I cannot answer."

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JOETSU, Niigata -- Two workers died in an explosion that ripped through a gas pipeline tunnel here early Tuesday, police said.

The explosion occurred in a tunnel where excavation work was being carried out for Teikoku Oil Co.'s natural gas pipeline in the Utsuo district of Joetsu at about 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Niigata Prefectural Police identified the two victims as Haruo Watanabe, 53, from Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, and Shinsaku Hirakawa, 35, from Fukui. Three other workers were in the area at the time but none of them were injured.

At the time of the explosion, the two workers were at the end of a tunnel that had been excavated to a length of about 850 meters. Measuring about 2.7 meters in diameter, the planned length of the tunnel was 1,550 meters. Watanabe and Hirakawa had reportedly been using heavy machinery and gunpowder to carry out the excavation work.

Another worker in the tunnel at a point about 200 meters away noticed the blast and raised the alarm. Watanabe and Hirakawa were taken out about three hours later, but they had reportedly already died, suffering serious burns.

Teikoku Oil Co. officials said the total length of the natural gas pipeline will be 66.7 kilometers. It is due to be completed in September next year.

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Over 60 percent of the public do not think Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda exercised appropriate leadership as chairman of the Group of Eight (G8) summit in Hokkaido earlier this month, a Mainichi Shimbun poll has suggested.

Of the respondents, 27 percent said they think Fukuda showed appropriate leadership when he chaired the July 7-9 Hokkaido Toyako Summit, while 62 percent believe he failed to do so, according to the results of the survey.

An overwhelming majority -- 83 percent -- said their evaluation of the prime minister remains unchanged after the G8 summit.

The approval rating for the Fukuda Cabinet, which plummeted to 18 percent in May, slightly rose to 21 percent in June, and then to 22 percent in the latest poll conducted after the summit. The disapproval rating for his administration fell 6 percentage points from the previous survey in June to 54 percent.

These figures demonstrate that Fukuda failed to use the conference as a springboard to increase public support for his administration.

The survey has also shown that the Fukuda Cabinet has failed to garner enough backing from supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito that make up the ruling coalition. Only 54 percent of LDP supporters and 48 percent of Komeito backers responded that they support the Fukuda Cabinet.

The Mainichi Shimbun surveyed 1,060 people randomly selected across the country by telephone last weekend.

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TOKYO (AP) -- Fishermen across Japan went on a massive one-day strike Tuesday to protest skyrocketing fuel prices, the latest blow to the country's foundering fish industry.

The strike was expected to be the biggest ever for Japanese fisherman, involving about 200,000 boats from all the country's major fishing unions. A protest march with thousands of demonstrators was planned for midday in central Tokyo.

The one-day stoppage will probably have only a minor effect on local fish prices, though buyers at markets said prices were higher Monday as demand rose in anticipation of shortages.

The rich variety of marine life pulled from Japan's coastal waters has long served as the country's staple food source, and the origin of its raw fishy delicacies famous around the world. Japan's fisherman are a source of national pride, and the country has flouted international pressure to stop whaling and adopt tougher environmental standards.

But Japanese are gradually losing their taste for fish, as they eat more meat products and opt for meals that are easier to prepare. Faced with the shift in eating patterns at home, cheaper competition from abroad and stocks depleted by years of overfishing, Japan's fishermen say they are fighting to survive and cannot bear rising fuel costs without help from the government.

"Fisherman have exceeded the limits of what they can do on their own, and in the current situation face mounting losses when they set out to catch fish," the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said in a statement.

The federation, which represents almost half a million members in Japan's fishing industry, has backed the strike, joining a host of other organizations. They say boat fuel prices have tripled over the last three years and are calling for swift government measures including tax breaks and financial support.

Last month a squid fishing association said around 3,000 squid boats halted operations across Japan due to skyrocketing fuel costs, the first strike by the domestic fishing industry to protest soaring oil prices.

Tuesday's strike by Japanese fisherman is the latest in an international wave of protests by workers in fuel-intensive industries. Truckers, taxi cab drivers and fisherman in Asia, Europe and the U.S. have gone on strike to demand their governments provide relief from soaring fuel costs.

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TOKYO (AP) -- Japan's central bank left interest rates steady Tuesday amid concerns that rising inflation is sapping consumer demand, deflating business sentiment and pointing toward an econonic slowdown.

The seven-member Bank of Japan policy board voted unanimously during a two-day meeting to take a wait-and-see approach and keep the benchmark overnight call rate unchanged at 0.5 percent.

In its statement, the central bank underscored the impact of soaring gas and food prices, rising material costs and signs of slower global growth that are weighing on the world's second-largest economy.

It lowered Japan's economic growth prospects for this fiscal year through March, downgrading its projection for real gross domestic product to a 1.2 percent rise from 1.5 percent forecast in April. At the same time, the central bank said it now sees core inflation excluding volatile fresh food prices increase 1.8 percent compared with its April outlook of 1.1 percent.

"The Bank ... will carefully assess the future outlook for economic activity and prices, closely considering the likelihood of its projections as well as factors posing upside of downside risks, and will implement its policies in an accordingly flexible manner," the policy board said in the statement.

The central bank has not tightened monetary policy since February 2007, and economists predict it won't make any moves for about a year.

Japan's core inflation, which excludes volatile fresh food prices, rose 1.5 percent in May from a year earlier, the quickest pace since a consumption tax hike in March 1998.

Merrill Lynch economists Takuji Okubo and Masayuki Kichikawa project inflation in the coming months to exceed 2 percent --the upper limit of the Bank of Japan's target inflation range. But the central bank is unlikely to replicate a rate hike by its European counterpart anytime soon, they said in a research report.

"As long as wage growth remains subdued, we see little risk of a temporary shock to the CPI turning into persistent inflation," they said. "The BOJ is likely to wait out the global storm of commodity inflation without tightening."

Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa was slated to hold a press conference after the meeting -- the first time he will speak publicly following the announcement of a government bailout plan of U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The next Bank of Japan policy board meeting is scheduled for August 18-19.

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NAGOYA -- A man has been arrested for kicking a Chihuahua to death because he was scared of it, police said Tuesday.

Yoshiyuki Tanaka, 44, a company employee from Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, stands accused of destroying property.

He admitted to the allegations during questioning. "I was scared of the dog," he was quoted as telling investigators. Police have already referred him to public prosecutors.

Tanaka kicked the 4-month-old Chihuahua in the stomach on a sidewalk in Chikusa-ku at around 4:50 p.m. on Sunday, local police said. The dog died from a rupture of its internal organs.

He attempted to walk away from the scene, but a 47-year-old man who passed by overpowered him and handed him over to police.

The dog, which weighed only two kilograms, was being walked by its owner, a 40-year-old man.

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Fishermen across Japan suspended operations on Tuesday as part of a huge protest by 16 main fishing organizations to highlight hardships caused by surging fuel prices.

The one-day fishing suspension by organizations including the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations and the Japan Fisheries Association, representing about 200,000 fishing vessels altogether, was the first nationwide fishing stoppage sparked by high fuel prices.

Since the suspension halted the supply of nearly all fresh fish, there is a possibility that fish prices could temporarily be affected.

Under the move, the commercial operation of most domestic fishing boats was suspended. In addition to boats in home waters, vessels fishing for tuna and other fish in the open sea refrained from unloading fish at ports in Japan on Tuesday. Fish farming operators were also due to suspend shipments.

The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations said that the estimated going rate of A-type heavy oil used in fishing boats was 115,400 yen per kiloliter, roughly triple the price five years ago. For coastal fishing boats under 20 tons, the cost of fuel accounted for about 23 percent of operating costs in 2006, but recently it has reportedly passed 30 percent.

However, since the price of fish is decided by demand, including bidding at fish markets, it has been difficult to shift the increased costs to fish prices. As a result, the number of fishermen being driven toward operating at a loss is increasing.

In fiscal 2007, the government established a 10.2 billion yen fund in its supplementary budget to aid energy conservation for fishing boats, but fishing organizations and some ruling government politicians are calling for more drastic follow-up measures.

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NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- Bulgaria's Kotooshu, the first European to win a major sumo title, came back from an opening-day loss and snatched his first win at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament on Monday.

The 25-year-old Emperor's Cup defending champion, who is looking for promotion to sumo's highest rank of grand champion, drove out his opponent with several thrusts to rise to 1-1 in the 15-day Nagoya tournament.

Kotooshu, whose real name is Kaloyan Mahlyanov, made sumo history in May by becoming the first European to win an Emperor's Cup. He will reach the highest rank if he takes the title again this tournament.

Mongolian grand champion Asashoryu, 27, beat 20-year-old Russian wrestler Wakanoho by grabbing his belt and quickly throwing him to the ground. Fellow Mongolian grand champion Hakuho also defeated his opponent, Aminishiki, by throwing him down.

Asashoryu, who was upset on the opening day, is aiming for his 23rd Emperor's Cup. Hakuho is shooting for his seventh title. He hasn't won since beating his compatriot on the last day of the New Year's meet.

In other bouts, champion Chiyotaikai won his second bout, while veteran Kaio was twisted down to defeat. Champion Kotomitsuki also won.

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Japanese rock singer Kiyoshiro Imawano, who recently made a comeback after overcoming cancer of the larynx, has been diagnosed with cancer again, it has been learned.

The artist's agency announced Monday that cancer had spread to Imawano's left ilium. The 57-year-old has cancelled all of his scheduled performances.

Agency officials said that recently Imawano felt a pain in his leg, and when he went to get it checked out, it was learned that the cancer had spread. The singer reportedly has already started making hospital visits to undergo radiation therapy for the cancer.

"I was prepared for this, so I don't feel down at all," Imawano said in a message on his Web site. "It means the blues are far from over."

In February this year, Imawano made a comeback with a concert at Nippon Budokan for the first time in 19 months after overcoming cancer of the larynx.

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TOKYO (AP) -- A British hedge fund said Monday it will accept the Japanese government's rejection of its proposal to raise its stake in a major utility -- although it added that it still doesn't agree with the reasoning behind the order.

The Children's Investment Master Fund had proposed raising its stake in J-Power -- Japan's largest electricity wholesaler -- to as much as 20 percent from 9.9 percent. The government rejected that proposal earlier this year, citing potential disruptions to public order.

The fund has contested the decision as lacking transparency and including incorrect information and false premises.

But it said the government was unlikely to change its mind. The fund will now instead focus on improving corporate governance at J-Power, it said in a statement.

"It is disconcerting that legitimate investors who want to improve corporate governance of privatized and listed companies can be so hastily characterized as threats to public order," John Ho, director of the fund, said in a statement.

Japan has a law that requires government approval before foreign companies can hold stakes of more than 10 percent in companies in sensitive sectors such as utilities, broadcasting and weapons manufacturing.

Other nations have similar regulations.

The standoff has raised questions about how smoothly Japan has adapted to its self-trumpeted growing needs to open its markets to foreign investment.

Foreign investors have been blocked in high-profile takeover attempts recently, fueling fears that overseas investors will be discouraged when the nation sorely needs new capital to keep its modest growth going.

Ministry officials have said that an increased stake could allow the British fund to control decisions at J-Power, whose full name is Electric Power Development Co. That could, in turn, hurt Japan's overall energy policies, they say, including a key nuclear power plant project.

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TOKYO (AP) -- Brazilian Marquinhos scored his league-leading 11th goal Sunday in Kashima Antlers' 4-1 win over FC Tokyo.

Kashima moved top of the J-League first division with 31 points from 16 games.

Cabore gave Tokyo the lead in the 59th minute but Marquinhos equalized four minutes later. The defending J-League champions got three more goals from Masashi Motoyama and substitutes Shinzo Koroki and Danilo.

Kashima is two points clear of the Urawa Reds and Nagoya Grampus. Urawa lost 2-0 away to Oita Trinita and Grampus edged Kashiwa Reysol 1-0 on Saturday.

In Sunday's other games, Consadole Sapporo defeated JEF United Chiba 3-0, while Albirex Niigata edged the Yokohama F Marinos 1-0 for its fifth win in six matches.

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