Olympics: Gymnastics is a family affair for trio from Japan
News On Japan via taipeitimes.com -- Jul 07
The competition at the London Olympics is already guaranteed to be intense, but three Japanese gymnasts might have an extra source of motivation as they vie for gold medals: sibling rivalry.
"When it comes to competing, of course I don't want to lose to the younger two," said Kazuhito Tanaka, 27, referring to his sister, Rie, and brother, Yusuke.
"I'd lose my standing as the big brother," he said after a training session ahead of the trip to London, where all three siblings will make their Olympics debut.
It is rare for two siblings to become top-tier athletes, three is even rarer.
For the Tanakas, whose parents were also gymnasts and their father a coach, a common dream and strong work ethic runs in the family, 25-year-old Rie told reporters at a separate practice session.
|
May 18
| China cracks down on over-the-top anti-Japan dramas |
|  China's television regulator has ordered a crackdown on dramas about the country's battles with Japan during and before World War Two and demanded they be more serious, state media said on Friday, following viewer complaints about ludicrous storylines. (Reuters  ) |
|
May 17
| Man kills 3 family members, then himself |
|  Police said Friday they have found four dead bodies in an apartment in Kashiwa, Chiba Prefecture, in what is believed to have been a family murder-suicide. (Japan Today ) |
|
May 17
| Chinese tourists a bane for Japanese hookers |
|  Shukan Post (May 24) conveys the difficulties experienced by other parts of the adult-entertainment biz in servicing customers from the communist nation.
A deri heru (“delivery health”) call-girl tells the tabloid that she is often requested to arrive at major hotels in the Shinjuku and Ikebukuro entertainment areas of Tokyo by Chinese visitors. (Tokyo Reporter) |
|
May 17
| 6 dead in freighter fire at Wakkanai |
|  Six sailors were found dead after a fire on a foreign freighter docked at a port in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
The sailors are presumed to be Russians. (NHK ) |
|
May 17
| Employee of real estate company stabbed in Tokyo |
|  Police on Friday said that a real estate company employee was stabbed by an unknown assailant in the lobby of an office building near JR Akihabara station. The man is currently in a serious condition in hospital. (Japan Today ) |
A 5-year-old boy sustained an injury at a shopping mall in Nagoya on Friday after his hand became trapped in an escalator. (Japan Today 
A 24-year-old woman was in a serious condition Friday after being stabbed by a man whom she reported to police for stalking her in Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. (Japan Today 
A 70-year-old woman has been rescued from a toilet in which she had been waiting for help for three days, Hiroshima police said Friday. (Japan Today 
A traditional dance was performed on Friday at an ancient temple in Nikko City, northeast of Tokyo. (NHK 
A bear was shot dead after it wandered into a school in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Thursday. (Japan Today