TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota Motor Corp. sold 4.8 million vehicles worldwide in the first half of the year, up 2 percent from the same period a year ago, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.

Toyota's global vehicle sales have been about the same recently as those of U.S. automaker General Motors Corp., the world's top automaker.

Toyota spokesman Hideaki Homma said the company sold 4,817,941 vehicles globally during the first six months of the year.

GM was expected to release figures later in the day.

Automakers have been struggling lately to maintain sales momentum amid soaring motor fuel prices. Toyota has a reputation for high-mileage cars such as its hit gasoline-electric Prius hybrid, but it is still facing the challenge of sluggish auto markets in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Expectations have been high that the pace of Toyota's recent global sales growth will diminish despite stronger sales in emerging markets, such as India.

Toyota has said it expects to sell 9.85 million vehicles worldwide this year, up 5 percent from last year. But it may lower that target when it updates its strategy next month.

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TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese shares rose Wednesday as investors took heart from an overnight rally on Wall Street and a further drop in oil prices.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index gained 127.97 points, or 0.97 percent, to close at 13,312.93.

"Sentiment turned positive in line with gains in the U.S. market yesterday," said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities Co. Ltd. Investors bought banking stocks on easing worries over the U.S. financial sector, he said, and the lower oil prices helped boost sentiment.

A softer yen also pushed gains in export-linked stocks, Miura said. A weak yen makes Japanese goods price competitive abroad and boosts the value of repatriated profits by local exporters.

Banking giant Mizuho Financial Group Inc. jumped 4.29 percent to 583,000 yen. Nomura Holdings Inc., Japan's largest securities business group, rose 2.59 percent to 1,626 yen.

Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co., which sells products under its Panasonic brand, rose 2.76 percent to 2,235 yen. Electronics maker Hitachi Ltd. added 1.70 percent to 779 yen; Sony Corp. was unchanged at 4,380 yen.

Japan's top automaker, Toyota Motor Corp., edged down 0.81 percent to 4,870 yen.

The Topix index of all Tokyo Stock Exchange First Section issues rose 1.21 percent to 1,303.35.

In currencies, the dollar stood at 107.26 yen midafternoon in Tokyo, little changed from overnight in New York but up from 106.50 yen in Asian trading hours Tuesday. The euro stood at US$1.5786, compared with US$1.5784 in New York.

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NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- Hakuho overpowered Mongolian compatriot Ama on Wednesday to take a big step toward winning the Emperor's Cup at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament.

In the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, grand champion Hakuho came bursting out of the faceoff and shoved sekiwake Ama (7-4) out in a matter of seconds.

With four days left in the 15-day meet, Hakuho, who improved to a perfect 11-0, has a three-win lead over a group of four wrestlers tied at 8-3.

In other major bouts, Chiyotaikai wrapped up the winning record he needs to maintain his ozeki status and dealt a serious blow to Kotomitsuki's title chances with a win over his fellow ozeki.

Chiyotaikai drove his opponent back after the faceoff and then dodged to his side as Kotomitsuki's momentum carried him to the dirt surface. Both wrestlers stand at 8-3.

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu shoved out No. 5 maegashira Miyabiyama to pick up his eighth win against three losses. Miyabiyama dropped to 6-5.

Ozeki Kaio forced out No. 3 maegashira Tochinonada (4-7) to post his seventh win against four losses.

Lower-ranked Toyohibiki, a No. 13 maegashira, also has an 8-3 record after forcing out No. 10 maegashira Tamanoshima, who dropped to 6-5.

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The man arrested over a fatal stabbing at a bookstore in the Tokyo city of Hachioji on Tuesday has told police that he bought the knife used in the attack nearby, and didn't care who he stabbed.

Arrested over the attack that claimed the life of Mana Saiki, a 22-year-old worker at a bookstore in the Keio Hachioji Station building, was Shoichi Kanno, 33.

When questioned over the attack, Kanno reportedly told police, "I bought the knife near the scene." Police are investigating his motives for targeting the bookstore and are trying to identify the store where the knife was bought.

Investigators said that Kanno was responding to questioning in a straightforward manner. He reportedly told them, "My work wasn't going well and I bought the knife after deciding to kill someone. I was frustrated. I didn't care who (I attacked)."

Police said Kanno stabbed Saiki near the entrance of the bookstore on the ninth floor of the station building at about 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday as she was arranging books, and then attacked a female customer who was standing nearby.

Saiki's cause of death is believed to be loss of blood from a stab wound on the left side of her chest. An autopsy was due to be performed on Wednesday.

After the attack, Kanno used an elevator to flee to the ground floor, but left the knife behind. A bag containing a medical institution's registration card bearing Kanno's name was found near where Saiki had collapsed.

Kanno's 69-year-old father said that Kanno had gone on to high school after junior high school, but dropped out. He applied to join the company where he was currently working in late April, but broke a finger immediately after starting his job and had to take time off.

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There were 67 cases of random street killings or attempted killings across the nation over 10 years between 1998 and 2007, the National Police Agency (NPA) has announced.

The figure peaked in 1998, when there were 10 cases of random street killings or attempted incidents across the nation. Since then, the annual figure has stood at less than 10. In 2007, there were eight incidents, double the figure of the previous year.

This year, there have already been eight cases of random street assaults, as of July, including cases that took place in the shopping streets of Tokyo's Togoshiginza in January; in front of JR Arakawaoki Station in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki Prefecture; and in Tokyo's Akihabara in June, which killed and injured 17 people.

The NPA has recently been on high alert as people will wear lighter clothes during summer, making them more subject to fatal injuries if stabbed.

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The government has decided not to rehire any of the 867 Social Insurance Agency workers who have a history of disciplinary action when it employs people for the organization that will take over the agency, it has been learned.

After discussing the measure at the meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party's Health, Labor and Welfare division on Wednesday, the government is set to approve a basic plan not to rehire any of the employees for the new "Nihon Nenkin Kiko" in a Cabinet meeting as early as July 29.

At a meeting of the same Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) division on July 17, the agency had expressed its intention not to rehire any employees found to have been concentrating on union activities while receiving wages from the agency, along with those employees' superiors. It also indicated it would not rehire about 250 employees who had been suspended or been subject to pay reductions in the past.

However, since the LDP requested that the measure be extended to all workers who had received disciplinary action in the past, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare had been reviewing the issue.

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe had taken a cautious approach to a total ban on rehiring employees that had a history of disciplinary action, as such action included cases in which workers were disciplined for driving over the speed limit.

However, the LDP appeared unwilling to compromise over the issue, and the ministry changed its stance, saying such a change was necessary in order to gain approval from the ruling parties.

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A defendant facing a jury will be able to wear a tie and shoes under the citizen judge system that will be introduced in Japan, the Justice Ministry has announced.

The ministry's decision came in response to a request filed by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations (JFBA). The ministry had previously not permitted a defendant to wear a tie and shoes because a tie could be used to commit suicide and shoes could help the defendant escape. Defendants usually wear sandals during a trial.

The JFBA has demanded defendants be allowed to wear a tie and shoes, claiming that the appearance of a defendant without a tie and wearing sandals could give a bad impression to citizen judges and therefore lead them to prejudge the defendant.

During a mock trial held at the Tokyo District Court on Tuesday, a person playing the role of a defendant was wearing a tie and shoes. He was also sitting next to his lawyer, instead of sitting in the dock as has always been the case with defendants.

The tie to be allowed under the citizen judge system will be a clip on type, while the shoes to be allowed are imitation leather and without a heel. The items will be lent out to defendants who want to wear them during a trial.

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NAGOYA -- Chubu Electric Power Co. has repaid more than 17 million yen to households for overcharged electricity over the past 18 years, the company has announced.

The firm said on Tuesday that it had overcharged a total of 324 households in Aichi, Gifu, Mie and Nagano prefectures as well as part of Shizuoka Prefecture for electricity bills over the past 18 years between 1990 and May this year.

The error was caused due to a mistake when the company set up timers at households to regulate hours for power distribution for use in electric water heaters and floor heating systems late at night.

Among the 324 overcharged households, the company has repaid a total of some 17.43 million yen to 316 households that the company could get in touch with.

The error first surfaced at a household in Nagano Prefecture in July last year. In January this year, the company started checking about 450,000 households where the timers are installed.

There were 1,347 households where timers were mistakenly set up. Among them, the company found it had overcharged 324 households.

The largest overcharged amount per household was 330,000 yen.

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A throng of Harry Potter fans flocked to book stores on early Wednesday, eagerly awaiting the release of the Japanese translation of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series.

About 1.8 million first editions of the new book that is divided into two parts will go on sale at bookstores around the country.

Bookstore Kumazawa in Tokyo's Hachioji drew 168 fans standing in a long line before its opening at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, the same time of the book launch. The book's translator, Yuko Matsuoka, visited the bookstore before the opening wearing a witch's costume.

"You're going to get the most interesting book you've ever read. Be careful not to read it all in one day," she said to the fans. After counting down to the release time with fans, Matsuoka handed out the new book to each of them.

A 29-year-old woman from Tokyo's Katsushika-ku who waited from around noon on Tuesday, said she wanted to read the book as soon as possible.

"I love the Harry Potter books that take me to a magical world in a second. I stood in line to get the new book because I wanted to read it as soon as possible. It's sad that there will be no more Harry Potter stories in the future," she said.

The first six volumes of the series, which have sold a total of over 400 million copies around the world, have sold 22.47 million copies in Japan since 1999. Many fans are highly interested in the seventh volume, in which Harry's destiny is finally unveiled.

Tsutaya Co. Ltd., which is expected to sell the largest number of the new book in Japan, stocked about 140,000 copies -- the highest in the company's history -- after receiving about double the number of reservations compared with past volumes.

The Japanese version of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," published by Say-zan-sha is priced at 3,990 yen for a set containing the first and second parts.

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AIZUWAKAMATSU, Fukushima -- A man and a woman were found collapsed at the bottom of a cliff apparently after they fell dozens of meters off a trail while climbing a mountain, police said.

Namiko Kondo, 59, a piano instructor, and Ken Sakai, 59, a self-employed man, both from Aizuwakamatsu, were found collapsed on a slope at the bottom of a cliff on Mt. Otodake (1,416 meters high) in Aizuwakamatsu by firefighters at around 10:25 a.m. on Wednesday.

The two climbers did not respond to firefighters' calls, and rescuers are trying to confirm their safety.

Officials suspect that they fell off a mountain trail and tumbled dozens of meters below as there are traces of such a slip.

According to Aizuwakamatsu Police Station, Kondo and Sakai entered Mt. Otodake early Sunday morning, but they did not return at night as scheduled.

Firefighters started looking for them after members of their families filed requests for a search on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.

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KAWAGUCHI, Saitama -- A schoolgirl accused of stabbing her father to death may have pretended to be her brother when her teacher called her home after she skipped an exam the day before the killing, it has emerged.

The 15-year-old female student skipped an additional English conversation exam held at her private junior high school on the day before she allegedly stabbed her 46-year-old father at their home in Kawaguchi at around 3 a.m. on July 19, police said.

According to the school, her homeroom teacher called her home at around 11 a.m. on July 18, after she failed to show up for the exam. The person who picked up the phone told the teacher, "My sister is lying down because she caught a cold."

However, her 12-year-old brother later told police, "I don't know about the phone call." He actually came home around noon on July 18 after attending a closing ceremony at his elementary school.

Investigators suspect that the additional test may have had some kind of influence on the student's state of mind immediately before she allegedly committed the crime.

The student's 49-year-old mother told police, "Neither I nor my husband knew about the additional exam."

Meanwhile, the lawyer for the student, who interviewed her for the first time at Urawa-Nishi Police Station on Tuesday, said, "She responded to my questions unwaveringly. I had the impression that she is an obedient girl."

The vice principal of her school said, "When she entered our school, she had wanted to become a pharmacist in the future. However, she struggled with math around the end of her second year and said that she wanted to major in liberal arts and get a job with which she could travel around the world."

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YOKOHAMA -- A police sergeant and three other officers who provided cigarettes and a cell phone to a detainee have been punished, while another officer accused of injuring a detained youth was reported to prosecutors, law enforcers said.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police Inspection Office announced punishments, including at least one 10 percent pay cut for six months, for the four officers on Tuesday. Among the four were a 56-year-old officer from Kagacho Police Station, and a 47-year-old senior officer.

Investigators said that the four supplied snacks to a 43-year-old truck driver who was being held on suspicion of intimidation, after he made a row during a police night shift in January. Later the man made threats, saying, "I'll tell your bosses (that you've violated regulations). I'll go wild." In response, the officers handed him cigarettes and gave him access to a cell phone on about 90 occasions. Their actions were uncovered in March.

In addition, police announced that a 39-year-old officer accused of violently treating three youths who made a row at a facility for juveniles at Kawasaki Police Station had been reprimanded. He was reported to public prosecutors on suspicion of injuring one of the youths.

"We want to work to prevent recurrences of such incidents," an Inspection Office official said.

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NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- Grand champion Hakuho improved to a perfect 10-0 at the Nagoya Grand Sumo tournament on Tuesday with a bulldozing win over Kotoshogiku.

The Mongolian yokozuna firmly gripped Kotoshogiku's belt while driving the sekiwake toward the straw ridge, then shoved him out in the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium.

Seeking his seventh Emperor's Cup, Hakuho also marked the 10-0 perfect winning streak for the first time since he climbed to sumo's top rank last year. He has a two-win lead over ozeki Kotomitsuki, who also won Tuesday.

Kotomitsuki pushed sekiwake Ama to the edge of the ring, grabbed the opponent's belt from behind and shoved him out, improving to 8-2. Ama slipped to 7-3.

Ozeki Chiyotaikai had his third defeat against seven victories as lower-ranked Tochinonada sent him flying out of the ring. Tochinonada, a No. 3 maegashira, is 4-6.

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu chased No. 4 maegashira Wakanosato toward the straw ridge and tossed him out, improving to 7-3. Wakanosato slipped to 4-6.

Another ozeki, Kaio, collected an easy victory to improve to 6-4 when Futeno slumped to the dirt surface on his knees.

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OITA -- A senior official of a local newspaper asked the Oita Prefectural Board of Education to have his daughter pass an employment exam to become an elementary school teacher, the company has announced.

The Oita Godo Shimbunsha in Oita announced on Tuesday that Katsunori Matsuo, 52, head of the company's project department, had asked the Oita Prefectural Board of Education, by way of a manager of the Oita Municipal Board of Education, to have his daughter employed as an elementary school teacher.

Matsuo's daughter passed the exam for the 2008 academic year after her scores were padded. She was reportedly informed of her success in the exam from the manager of the municipal board of education before the applicants' test results were announced.

Matsuo admitted to the allegations after an in-house investigation and was demoted to a lower position in the department. His superior, Koichiro Abe, 68, manager of the project bureau, was punished with a pay cut for one month.

However, the manager of the municipal board of education has denied that he did Matsuo's daughter any favors.

According to the newspaper company, Matsuo met with the manager of the municipal board of education at a party venue in Oita in October 2006. When Matsuo told the municipal board official, "My daughter is seeking to become an elementary school teacher," the latter reportedly replied, "If your daughter passes the first-stage exam, please let me know."

Matsuo's daughter passed the first-stage exam in July 2007, and Matsuo asked the municipal board of education official to have her employed before the second-stage exam was held in September 2007.

Matsuo then sent a gift worth 5,000 yen to the municipal board official at the end of 2007, after the applicants' test results were announced in October the same year.

Matsuo's daughter had earlier failed the elementary school teacher employment exam on three occasions and had been working as a temporary teacher.

She passed the first-stage exam for the 2008 academic year on her own, but her scores in the second-stage exam were reportedly padded by 60 points so that she could pass the final exam.

Oita Godo Shimbun is a prefectural newspaper and has a circulation of about 230,000 copies.

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KIRYU, Gunma -- A 15-year-old boy who admitted to fatally attacking a first-year high school student found near a bicycle parking lot here has been arrested, police said.

The teen, whose name was withheld because he is a minor, was arrested on suspicion of inflicting injuries on the victim resulting in death. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations against him.

The victim was identified as Satoshi Hoshino, 15, a first year student at a private high school.

Police suspect that trouble had erupted between the attacker and the victim over information posted on an Internet profile site. They accuse the arrested teen of hitting and kicking Hoshino in the head and face at an empty lot in Kiryu at about 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, causing him to die.

Investigators said that the teen and several friends moved Hoshino to an area near a bicycle parking lot at the Jomo Electric Railroad's Nishikiryu Station and phoned for an ambulance at about 6:05 p.m., saying, "Someone has collapsed." Hoshino was taken to a hospital, but was confirmed dead soon afterwards.

The teen arrested over the attack had attended the same high school as Hoshino until June, but dropped out, police said.

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HACHIOJI -- A woman was stabbed to death and another woman was wounded in a knife attack at the Keio Line's Hachioji Station building on Tuesday evening, police said.

Mana Saiki, a 22-year-old university student who had been working part-time at a bookstore on the ninth floor of the building was stabbed in the chest and died soon afterwards, police said. A customer at the bookstore, 21-year-old Natsuki Harada, was also stabbed in three places, including the chest, but her injuries were not life-threatening.

Police received an emergency call after the attack at about 9:40 p.m. on Tuesday. They found a man on a road nearby who admitted having stabbed the pair, and immediately arrested him.

Arrested was Shoichi Kanno, 33, a company worker from Hachioji. He was reportedly not acquainted with either of the victims.

When questioned by police, Kanno reportedly said, "I had trouble at work, and I consulted with my parents about it but they didn't help me out. I then thought I wanted to kill people randomly and bought a knife."

Police also quoted Kanno as saying that trouble had erupted between him and his family over work, and that he had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to kill people.

Investigators said that Saiki was arranging books at the store when she was attacked. Harada was standing next to her. The knife used in the stabbing was found in the bookstore.

Kanno had reportedly been working on a trial basis at a company in Hachioji that produced aircraft parts. He was found near a police box several hundred meters away from the station, and when police questioned him over the crime, he reportedly said, "I did it."

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Fewer workers are feeling a sense of job satisfaction amid the recent surge in non-regular employment and the introduction of a merit-based pay system, a government report has found.

The White Paper on Labor for 2008, announced by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Tuesday, pointed out that workers' sense of satisfaction has been on the decline in terms of employment security and a sense of fulfillment from their jobs.

It was the first time that the white paper cited a sense of satisfaction among workers.

The white paper quoted data from a Cabinet Office's survey and pointed out that the percentage of people who said they were satisfied with employment stability declined from 33 percent in 1978 to 14.8 percent in 2005.

Likewise, the white paper said workers' satisfaction with their jobs dropped from 30.5 percent to 16.6 percent and their satisfaction with income increases decreased from 23.7 percent to 6.2 percent.

"The merit-based pay system, which companies have introduced in order to raise motivation among workers, has not necessarily been successful. The operation of wage systems needs to be improved," the white paper said.

Meanwhile, the white paper said the percentage of non-regular workers -- apart from part-time workers -- increased from 38 percent in 2001 to 44 percent in 2006 and pointed out that non-regular workers have a relatively lower sense of job satisfaction compared to regular workers.

"There are rising anxieties and dissatisfaction among workers who cannot be employed as regular workers. It is true that non-regular employment is effective in terms of cost reduction, but it does not serve to boost vocational capability and plays a negative role in terms of labor productivity," the white paper said.

The white paper referred to long-term employment and the seniority system that were prevalent at Japanese companies but became subject to criticism when Japan was losing international competitiveness. "There is a move to revaluate them," the white paper said.

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OITA -- Police have searched education board offices in connection with additional bribery allegations involving former Oita Prefectural Board of Education senior official Katsuyoshi Eto, who allegedly received cash vouchers in return for the illicit promotion of school officials.

Eto, 52, who is already under arrest for accepting bribes in connection with a corruption scandal linked to the hiring of teachers, allegedly received cash vouchers worth a total of 1.1 million yen in return for providing favors to three school officials at Saiki, Oita Prefecture, after they asked Eto to promote them.

Oita Prefectural Police on Monday raided the Saiki Municipal Board of Education and the prefectural board of education's branch office in Saiki, Oita Prefecture.

According to police, the three officials -- a 53-year-old female principal, a 50-year-old male vice principal and a 49-year-old female vice principal at public elementary schools in Saiki -- are alleged to have bribed Eto.

Eto allegedly received 100,000 yen worth of cash vouchers from the woman who became principal, as well as 500,000 yen each from the man and the woman who became vice principals, at a hotel restaurant in Beppu, Oita Prefecture, in late March, in return for providing them favors at the time of their appointment exams.

The three bribe-givers turned up at the Saiki Police Station on July 8 to explain the background of the case. The two vice principals have admitted to police that the vouchers they gave Eto were meant as a "reward." Prefectural police are set to establish a case against them on bribery charges.

However, the female principal admitted to the facts cited by police but said the cash vouchers she gave Eto were meant to be a "compliment."

Police also searched the trio's schools on Tuesday.

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Prosecutors on Tuesday appealed to the Supreme Court a high court decision to open a retrial for two men convicted over a 1967 murder and robbery case in Ibaraki Prefecture.

On July 14, the Tokyo High Court upheld a lower court decision to retry Shoji Sakurai, 61, and Takao Sugiyama, 61, after declaring there are serious doubts about the credibility of their statements, raising reasonable doubts about their convictions.

Sakurai and Sugiyama were released on parole in 1996 after they were sentenced to life imprisonment and spent 18 years behind bars.

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A fiscal 2008 white paper on economic and fiscal policy released on Tuesday underscores the need for a consumption tax hike to finance social security programs.

Minister for Economic and Fiscal Policy Hiroko Ota submitted the annual report to a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, government officials said.

As the source of funds for social security programs in the era of an aging society, the report emphasized the advantage of the consumption tax, which does not single out active workers for excessive financial burden. It then pointed to the possibility of raising the 5 percent tax levied on virtually all goods and services to finance social security programs.

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The number of students who spend most of their school time at the nurse's office has been on the increase over the past few years, a survey has found.

A study by the Japanese Society of School Health found that the number of elementary school students who mainly stayed at the school nurse's office in 2006 increased about 1.7 times from the figure recorded five years before, while the number for high school counterparts doubled over the same period.

"There are an increasing number of children who suffer mental health problems and they visit the nurse's office," said a representative of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which commissioned the survey.

The survey, conducted in October 2006, covered 1,102 elementary, junior high and senior high schools across the nation.

According to the results, there were 2,391 students who were either at the school nurse's office all the time or spent their time at the nurse's office other than during certain class hours.

The figure represents a sharp increase from the previous survey conducted in 2001, in which there were 1,247 such students at 887 schools across the nation.

When the figures were converted into units of 1,000, the number of students who spent most of their time at the nurse's office was 2.0 students at elementary schools (1.2 students in 2001), 6.6 students at junior high schools (5.6 students in 2001) and 2.8 students at high schools (1.4 students in 2001).

The survey also revealed that nurses at 37 percent of the elementary schools had found that students were abused at their home or other places, an increase by 16 percentage points from the figure in the 2001 academic year. Nurses at 36 percent of junior high schools responded the same, an increase by 20 percentage points from the 2001 academic year.

At the 742 elementary and junior high schools surveyed, 582 students were found to have been abused.

School nurses noticed sign of bullying at 30 percent of elementary schools, 65 percent of junior high schools and 45 percent of high schools. Nurses also detected self-inflicted injuries at 73 percent of junior high schools and 82 percent of high schools.

Meanwhile, the percentage of schools that found students suffering from either diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, asthma or atopic dermatitis increased at all the schools surveyed compared to the figure five years ago.

At 74 percent of the elementary schools, students who suffer -- or were alleged to suffer -- from developmental disorder were confirmed. The disorder was newly included as an item in the latest study.

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The government on Tuesday designated six cities across the country as models for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, officials said.

The six municipalities -- Obihiro and Shimokawa in Hokkaido, Yokohama, Toyama, Kitakyushu and the Kumamoto Prefecture city of Minamata -- are aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 66 percent from their respective base years.

The "Fukuda vision," which the government announced prior to the G8 summit in Hokkaido earlier this month, calls for 60 to 80 percent reductions from the current level by 2050.

The central government wants to help these model cities achieve their goals, and urge other local governments to step up their efforts to prevent global warming, according to the officials.

The six model cities' plans include the use of renewable energy sources and biofuel and greater utilization of mass transportation systems.

The Yokohama Municipal Government, which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 60 percent from the 2004 level by 2050, plans to offer to reduce the fixed property tax on eco-friendly houses that meet certain standards.

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SAITAMA -- An Urawa Reds soccer team supporter was arrested Tuesday for hurling PET bottles containing water at fans of rival Kawasaki Frontale after getting furious when his team lost, police said.

Makoto Kitajima, 21, an unemployed man from Asaka, Saitama Prefecture, stands accused of assault. He admitted to the allegations during questioning.

"After it became clear that Urawa would lose, I searched trash cans for PET bottles and prepared to hurl them. I initially intended to hurl them at Kawasaki players," he was quoted as telling investigators.

The incident occurred at Saitama Stadium in Midori-ku on Monday night after Kawasaki Frontale beat Urawa Reds 3-1, local police said.

Kitajima poured water into four PET bottles and hurled them at fans at around 7:50 p.m., according to investigators. The bottles hit a 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman, both supporters of Frontale. They were apparently not injured.

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YOKOHAMA -- An elderly, ailing camel kept at a zoo here is inspiring visitors with its efforts to keep on living.

"Tsugaru," a female Bactrian camel kept at the Nogeyama Zoo in Yokohama's Nishi-ku is believed to be 32 years old, the equivalent of over 90 years old in human terms. It is probably the nation's oldest surviving camel.

While some visitors get surprised at the weakness of the camel, zookeepers do not hesitate to make it appear in public. "Some visitors are moved by the sight of the camel striving to survive," one of the zookeepers says.

A sign on the camel's cage reads, "I am receiving proper treatment, so please don't worry."

Tsugaru was born on a farm in Aomori Prefecture in around 1976, but it struggled to find a home. A male company executive from Yokohama, who felt sorry for the camel, bought it in 1982 and donated it to the Nogeyama Zoo.

The camel became popular and was nicknamed, "Tsugaru-san." However, about six years ago, it became unable to walk due to arthritis of its forelegs.

The camel only manages to raise its 300-kilogram body when it is given food and medicine. Zookeepers are helping the camel undergo walking rehabilitation.

For the rest of the day, however, the camel remains lying down. Zookeepers administer medicine to the camel and replace a bandage attached to its stomach to prevent bedsores.

After it became weak from the heat, an electric fan was installed in the camel's cage last year.

While some visitors have complained to the zoo, saying, "The camel should not appear in public," other visitors are sympathetic. An elderly visitor worried about the camel often comes to visit it and a preschool child wrote to the camel, saying, "Please have a long life."

A 36-year-old self-employed man from Yokohama, who visited the zoo with his child, said, "I hope my child will become considerate of elderly people after seeing the camel striving to live."

Masahiro Takeuchi, director of the zoo, said, "If it was living in the wild, the camel may have already died, but it is also a way of life to strive to live in a zoo. I hope it will be an opportunity for visitors to become more considerate of others."

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Short-tempered Japanese men are less prone to heart attack, according to a Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry research team.

This tendency is in sharp contrast to that of their European and American counterparts. The research results have been posted on the online edition of the International Epidemiological Association bulletin.

The research team led by Osaka University Prof. Hiroyasu Iso surveyed about 86,000 men and women in Japan aged between 40 and 69 about their behavior.

After analyzing their answers, the team divided them into two categories -- Type A who are inpatient, competitive and aggressive and easily get angry and Type B whose personalities are the opposite of Type A people.

Those in Type A and Type B were further divided into two groups each, depending on the extent of their tendencies.

By 2003, 669 of the people covered by the research had suffered heart disease, with some ailments leading to a heart attack.

People with the strongest tendency of B have a 32 percent greater risk of suffering from heart disease than those with the strongest tendency of A, according to the results.

People in Type A consume more alcohol or cigarettes than those in Type B.

There were no statistically significant differences between women in Type-A and Type-B, according to the research results.

Iso said he suspects that many people who appear to be moderate are actually short tempered and are pretending to be moderate in order to work in harmony with others.

"Japan is a society in which importance is attached to cooperating. Therefore, some Type-B people are apparently suppressing their emotions and get stressed out, raising the risk of suffering from heart disease," he said. "I guess many Japanese men with the strong tendency of Type A are releasing stress by drinking or doing something else."

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Sweltering heat hit Japan on Monday, the last day of a three-day holiday and the start of the summer break at many schools across the nation.

In Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, the day's highest temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius was recorded, which was followed by 35.6 degrees Celsius in Nagano; 35.5 degrees Celsius in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, and 32.9 degrees Celsius in Tadami, Fukushima Prefecture.

In Tokyo, the thermometer pointed to 30.3 degrees Celsius, marking the 10th consecutive day that the temperature in the capital topped 30 degrees Celsius. Many pedestrians in Tokyo's posh Ginza district were using parasols to avoid the strong rays of the sun.

According to the Meteorological Agency, the heat wave that hit the Kanto region was triggered by a high pressure system covering a wide area over the sea south of Japan, which sent in warm air into the region.

The agency said the heat wave will continue across Japan as the high atmospheric pressure system over the Pacific Ocean gradually gathers force and covering the entire archipelago.

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UBE, Yamaguchi -- The mothers of some students at a junior high school here, where a boy arrested for hijacking a bus last week is enrolled, have shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), local psychological counselors say.

The number of people who have visited the Yamaguchi Counseling Association, a nonprofit organization (NPO) in Ube, or phoned it for counseling, which had stood at three to four a day, doubled following the incident that occurred in Aichi Prefecture on July 16.

Shunji Sonoda, president of the NPO, says 29 people sought counseling between July 17 and 21. Twenty-seven of them are the mothers of students at the school where the teenage hijacker attended.

Five of them have shown symptoms of PTSD. One of them complained that she became frightened whenever she heard cars or ambulance sirens. Another said she suddenly woke up in the middle of the night.

Some others said they did not know how to boost their relationship with their children while others asked how to prevent their children from going into a wild rage.

Sonoda pointed out that the parents and the school of the boy who hijacked an expressway bus failed to notice any problems with his mental and psychological condition.

"To prevent a recurrence, it is indispensable to grasp the depth of the hidden mental and psychological conditions of children," he said. He intends to urge the prefectural and municipal boards of education to conduct psychiatric tests on children at each school under their jurisdiction.

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Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is poised to hold talks with the leader of the ruling coalition partner Komeito, Akihiro Ota, before the end of this week over a possible Cabinet reshuffle, coalition sources said.

Many members of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and Komeito feel that Fukuda will shake up his Cabinet after the approval of budgetary request guidelines for fiscal 2009 on July 29.

Influential legislators from the coalition are calling for a delay in the convening of an extraordinary Diet session to late September from late August as initially planned.

Some of them say if the session begins in late September, new Cabinet ministers can secure enough time to prepare for deliberations even if Fukuda carries out a reshuffle in late August, according to the sources.

With these opinions in mind, Prime Minister Fukuda is expected to make a final decision on a reshuffle after holding talks with Ota.

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NAGOYA, Japan (AP) -- Grand champion Hakuho collected an easy victory against Wakanosato on Monday, staying in the sole lead with a perfect record at the Nagoya Grand Sumo tournament.

Bidding for his seventh Emperor's Cup, the Mongolian yokozuna quickly seized Wakanosato's belt and threw down the No. 4 maegashira to the dirt in the day's final bout at Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium. Hakuho improved to 9-0 on the ninth day of the 15-day tournament. Wakanosato slipped to 4-5.

Ozeki Kotomitsuki and sekiwake Ama each had second defeats, falling two victories behind the leader and sharing the three-way second spot at 7-2.

Mong