INSIDE JAPAN from our view

Suicide rate soars in Japan  Japan Timies : In 1997, Japan was merely average when it came to suicide. As in France and Germany, there were then about 17 suicides per 100,000 people — normal, if you can call it that, for an economically advanced state. Then 1998 saw something of a suicide surge — to 27 per 100,000 — and Japan became what it has been ever since: "top class" among the developed nations. Each year more than 30,000 Japanese destroy themselves. That's roughly four times the number who die in traffic accidents.

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300 attend funeral for murdered Hiroshima girl     Japan Times— A funeral was held Friday for a 7-year-old girl murdered in the city of Hiroshima earlier this week while on her way home from elementary school, with grieving family members and others expressing shock and anger at her death. About 300 people, including teachers at the school, attended the funeral for Airi Kinoshita, a first-grade student at a municipal elementary school in Hiroshima. The mourners included Ground Self-Defense Force personnel who serve with Airi's father Kenichi, 38.

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S. Korea to pull troops from Iraq  (CNN) -- South Korea -- a major supporter of President Bush's Iraq policy -- has announced plans to pull a third of its troops out of Iraq in 2006, a National Security Council spokesman said Thursday. But spokesman Fred Jones said the move is part of a governmental process, and that there was "no official communication or notification" to the United States regarding the pulling of troops.

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Magnitude 6.9 quake hits wide areas of Japan, causing small tsunamis  Japan Times:TOKYO — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.9 jolted extensive areas on the Pacific side of the Hokkaido, Tohoku and Kanto areas Tuesday morning, with small tsunamis observed in several parts of Tohoku, northeastern Japan. The quake occurred at 6:39 a.m. and a 30-centimeter tsunami reached Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, at 7:25 a.m., with smaller waves observed elsewhere, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The quake measured 3 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in the affected areas. Its focus was at a shallow depth under the seabed in the Pacific some 310 kilometers east of the Oshika Peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture.

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Goldman Sachs reports sales of Mitsubishi Motors shares  JAPAN TIMES:TOKYO — Mitsubishi Motors Corp said Monday a Goldman Sachs group company has sold a large amount of stocks in the Japanese automaker and is no longer its biggest shareholder. London-based Goldman Sachs International Ltd has reduced its interest in the carmaker from 13.45% to 1.04%, falling to seventh in the list of its biggest shareholders. The value of the deal and the stocks' buyers were not identified.

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Asashoryu off to winning start  JAPAN TIMES, FUKUOKA — Yokozuna Asashoryu made a winning start in his bid for an unprecedented seventh straight Emperor's Cup by beating fellow Mongolian Hakuho on the opening day of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament on Sunday. In other bouts, Bulgarian sekiwake Kotooshu fell to second-ranked Kakizoe, ozeki Kaio forced out Futeno and ozeki Chiyotaikai dragged down Hokutoriki.

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Model Hitomi wears a "Warm Biz" bra from Triumph International in Tokyo on Wednesday.  Japan Times : The bra, made from boa fiber, is attached to long straps which can wrap around the neck to keep the wearer warm. It was created to promote the government-led campaign, which encourages people to wear warm clothes to conserve energy.

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Japan-China airspace tension grows  TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japanese fighter jets have been scrambled 30 times to turn away Chinese planes approaching Japan's airspace in the last six months, more than twice the 13 times in the same period last year, officials have said. The increased defensive posture reflects the growing tensions between Japan and China, which are squabbling over interpretations of their wartime past, undersea gas deposits, and ownership of East China Sea islands.

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North Korean nuclear talks resume  BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Delegates to six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for another round of negotiations that will build on a disarmament agreement signed in September. The talks, which group the two Koreas, Japan, the United States, Russia and host China are to open on Wednesday and are expected to last three days.

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Fujimori under arrest in Chile  SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Peru's disgraced ex-President Alberto Fujimori, wanted there on human rights abuse and corruption charges, was arrested during a surprise visit to Chile, Peru's foreign minister said late Sunday. Fujimori, who led Peru from 1990 to 2000, has been a fugitive in his ancestral homeland Japan since he fled there in November 2000, when a corruption scandal toppled his government.

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NHK head apologizes for reporter's arrest in attempted arson  Kyodo News : NHK President Genichi Hashimoto offered an apology Sunday for one of the public broadcaster's reporters who was arrested on suspicion of setting fire at a construction site in Kishiwada, Osaka Prefecture. Appearing on a TV program, Hashimoto said, "We deeply apologize to those affected, relevant parties, and our viewers and listeners." As a penalty, Hashimoto said in a press conference later Sunday that he will give up 30% and three other executives 10% of their monthly salaries for the next three months.

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Ishihara says U.S. can't win war with China, calls U.S forces incompetent  Kyodo News. WASHINGTON — Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara used a speech in the U.S. capital Thursday to convey his views on China, arguing that economic containment is the best strategy because the United States would "certainly" lose a war with China, which he said would not hesitate to sacrifice its people on a massive scale when fighting against an enemy.

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Seventh night of violence in Paris   PARIS, France (CNN) -- Parisian suburbs have suffered a seventh straight night of violence as youths set fire to dozens of cars in at least nine areas to the north and east of the French capital. The disturbances damaged a shopping center, car dealership and primary school as more than 1,000 police were deployed to quell the unrest, which was triggered last week by the deaths of two teenagers.

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 Koizumi cautions Sugiura over remarks on death penalty   Japan Times:Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Tuesday urged new Justice Minister Seiken Sugiura to be cautious when expressing a personal view on controversial issues, a warning against his remarks the previous day in which he said he will not sign any orders for executions.

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Super Aguri Honda files F1 entry with the FIA ...Former Japanese star driver Aguri Suzuki announced Tuesday he would lead a new Formula One team next season with engines supplied by Honda. Suzuki, 45, said his "Super Aguri Formula 1" had submitted an entry form to the FIA last week.

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