Mainichi Daily News

A senior Imperial Household Agency official has expressed regrets over the announcement of Princess Aiko's absence from school drawing far wider public attention than expected.

SAYO, Hyogo -- A nurse suspected of breaking the ribs of six elderly patients' has revealed how she pushed down on the victims' chests to snap their bones, investigative sources said.

The Japan Coast Guard has begun questioning a Sea Shepherd activist who was arrested Friday on suspicion of illegally boarding a Japanese whaling vessel in Antarctic waters.

An investigation by the Ministry of Finance has confirmed that the Japanese government deposited $103 million into a zero-interest account at the U.S.

SAPPORO -- Seven residents at a nursing home for elderly people with dementia here died after a fire broke out at the facility early Saturday, razing the structure, police said.

FUNABASHI, Chiba -- A man was arrested here Friday for allegedly abusing his 5-year-old stepson, including burning the child's foot with a lighter.

KARIYA, Aichi -- A worker at a Toyota Auto Body Co.

The government decided on Friday to exclude North Korean schools in Japan from new high school tuition-free measures, but left the ultimate decision up to an assessment body to be established soon.

GENEVA -- A U.N.

Nissan Motor Co.

Japanese researchers have uncovered the process by which the controversial drug thalidomide, which has been re-approved in Japan for cancer treatment, causes birth defects -- a finding that could lead to the development of safer drugs.

SADO, Niigata -- A pair of Japanese crested ibises here has been observed engaging in courtship behavior, raising hopes for the first-ever successful pairing among ibises released into the wild in Japan, the Ministry of the Environment announced on Thursday.

The child-care allowance bill, in which parents or guardians would be granted a monthly allowance of 13,000 yen per child until they reach junior high school age, was passed by a majority in the House of Representatives Health, Labor and Welfare Committee on Friday.

YOKOHAMA -- "CP+," one of Asia's largest digital camera trade shows, kicked off at Pacifico Yokohama here on Thursday, with exhibitors touting the user-friendly features of their latest offerings.

A senior Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) lawmaker may face tax evasion allegations after part of his home compound was found to have been illegally converted from farmland.

The issue of Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna is to be discussed at a meeting on the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) -- also known as the Washington Convention, which prohibits the international trade of endangered wild species and has been signed by 175 countries -- that is set to begin in Qatar on Saturday.

The Japan Coast Guard arrested a New Zealand anti-whaling activist for illegally boarding a Japanese whaling vessel in Antarctic waters, as the vessel returned to Japan on Friday.

KAMAKURA, Kanagawa -- Tsurugaoka Hachimangu shrine here plans to restore a 1,000-year-old giant ginkgo tree, which was knocked down by strong winds earlier this week.

loon's cryin a split secondmy moonlit biography--ed markowski (Auburn Hills, MI, USA)

The sly fox peeks outOf the freshly cut grass andHis eyes turn to slit--Chi Natsume (Santa Fe, NM, USA)