Japan look to wipe slate clean again against All Blacks - Los Angeles Times

HAMILTON, New Zealand (Reuters) - Japan plan to put a stake in the ground at the rugby World Cup and banish memories of their 145-17 humiliation at the hands of New Zealand in 1995, the teams' only previous clash at the global tournament.

The 'Brave Blossoms' have already won plaudits for their spirited 47-21 loss to France in their first pool match but face the ultimate credibility test when they take on the All Blacks in Hamilton on Friday.

"I think the game's completely changed since 1995," Japan coach John Kirwan, a former All Black winger, told reporters on Thursday. "Tomorrow evening is about being competitive.

"We've got a goal to be the most improved country at the World Cup and so that means competing last week against France, competing tomorrow night and then winning our last two games."

Kirwan said a repeat of the 1995 result was unfathomable given the improvement in the structure of Japanese rugby since 1995. A stronger domestic league and inclusion in the Pacific Nations Cup over the last five years had also helped.

Japan, ranked 13th in the world, announced themselves as regional contenders with their first Pacific Nations title this year, seeing off the likes of 10th-ranked Samoa, Tonga (12th) and Fiji (15th).

"You can't see that improvement without things happening in the background. So better high performance, good competition and a good domestic competition, those things are in place," said Kirwan.

The coach cited the rise of scrumhalf Atsushi Hiwasa, whose form this year left Australian rugby great and World Cup winner George Gregan on the bench for his club in Japan's top league.

"It's little things like that. And George has passed on a lot of knowledge to Hiwasa, so things like that have really improved our game, so I think we'll see that tomorrow night and further on in the competition," added Kirwan.

"All the guys want to give it their best shot. We want to defend with our hearts on our sleeves and we want to have the ability to hang onto the ball and play some good football.

"The result doesn't matter for us tomorrow night -- and it didn't matter last week as well. It's about playing our style of rugby and then if we can get into a situation to win the football game, then we should take it."

(Editing by Ian Ransom)

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Excessive cesium levels again found in Iwate cows

MORIOKA, Iwate Pref. — Radioactive cesium exceeding the legal limit has been detected in beef cattle in Iwate Prefecture for the first time since the ban on shipments in the region was lifted last month, officials said Thursday.

The amount of cesium found topped the government's allowable limit of 500 becquerels per kilogram in two of eight beef cattle following shipment, the officials said.

Cesium was first detected in the eight cattle in a simple test Tuesday, the officials said, adding that two of the eight were destroyed after further tests confirmed they had excessive levels.

The shipment ban was imposed following the discovery of beef contaminated with radioactive cesium from cattle raised in the northeast since the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 was triggered March 11.

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Japan and Mexico meet again - Williamsport Sun-Gazette

It may seem hard to believe, but the Little League World Series has not had a Mexican champion since 1997.

That was the year a team from Guadalupe took the title, defeating a Mission Viejo, Calif., team in the final.

The field expanded in 2001, and Little League gave the country its own region, just like it had with Canada. Canada always made some sense as its own region because of its proximity to the United States and number of kids who played the sport.

So did Mexico, which sent teams here 14 times from 1957-1998 under the old 8-team formats, with Monterrey teams winning in 1957 and 1958 with Angel Macias throwing the only perfect game in LLWS championship game history.

Japan also received its own region in 2007, as its teams have now qualified 22 times since 1962, with seven champions including last year's Edogawa Minami LL from Tokyo.

So if Seguro Social LL of Mexicali, Baja California can win two more games here, it could make some history for its home country. But first is a game today with Hamamatsu City, Japan, in the International title game. First pitch is set for noon at Lamade Stadium.

"I've always told the players they're warriors, and to win these kind of tournaments you have to face the best," said Mexico manager Francisco Picos through an interpreter. "You can't just face any lower level teams, it's the World Series. They're warriors, and they've done the best out there."

Mexico won its first three games here, opening with a 3-0 win over Kaohsiung, Taiwan, before beating Japan, 3-2, and then Maracay, Venezuela, 2-1 in the winner's bracket final. Those aren't any of the lopsided scores one often sees in the International bracket, but Taiwan, Japanese and Venezuelan teams often provide some of the strongest competition in this half of the field.

Pitching has led Mexico so far, starting with Jorge Jacobo throwing a two-hit, 12-strikeout performance against Taiwan. He figures to start today.

Alonso Garcia followed with one earned run and six strikeouts in a no-decision against Japan before Carlos Arellano picked up the win in relief. Arellano threw into the eighth inning against. Venezuela before Jacobo picked up that win in relief.

Mexico hasn't showcased the pitching depth other teams needed, such as Keystone in the United States bracket, but three wins over top teams allowed for Mexico to keep using its best throwers.

"I feel very calm about it," said Picos. "Jorge has done an impressive job for us, but I have a lot of pitching. Alonso threw an excellent game and in fact we have Bruno Ruiz as our fourth starter. The only one not eligible is Carlos because of the impressive job he just did."

Jacobo has also scored four of his team's eight runs and is hitting .400. Ulises Rodriguez leads the team in batting at .667, going 2-for-3. Kenet Delgado is 2-for-5, while Garcia is hitting .364.

Ruiz has the team's lone home run, which beat Venezuela in extra innings. He also knocked home Jacobo for the game-winning RBI vs. Japan. He has just two hits, but they've sure counted.

Japan had to work its way through consolations after the Mexico defeat last Monday. It opened with a 12-1 victory over Oranjestad, Aruba, and then rebounded from the loss to beat Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, 13-5, Langley, B.C., 4-0, and then Venezuela, 9-6.

Japan actually trailed Dhahran after allowing four runs in the second inning, but an eight-run sixth inning put the game away.

"We've been really looking forward to the rematch, but we'll have to be ready," said Japan manager Atihiro Suzuki through an interpreter.

Yohsiki Suzuki has been Japan's top overall offensive player, with three home runs and 10 RBIs to go with a .429 batting average. His 10 RBIs led the tournament through Thursday's games.

Asuya Otsuka and Kaito Suzuki lead Japan with .500 batting averages. Kazuto Takakura and Sotaro Yoshida have also homered for Japan.

Japan has plenty of pitching options after using 5 of them for short stints on Thursday. Yoshiki Suzuki, who took the loss to Mexico, would also be available to throw again, as is Ryota Matsushita, who made his pitching debut in a win over Saudi Arabia, tossing 4 shutout innings.

This is Hamamatsu City's first LLWS. Seguro Social has been here in 2005 and 2007, though it failed to advance out of pool play either time. The last Mexico-Japan International final was in 2008, when a Matamoros team beat Tokyo, 5-4. But that Mtamoros team fell in the final, 12-3, to Waipahu, Hawaii.

"Both of these teams are good teams," said Venezuela manager Gustavo Narvaez through an interpreter. "Maybe they'll both have all their best pitchers. The first game was very, very, difficult for both and the team that makes less mistakes will win this."

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Japan's economy contracts again - TheChronicleHerald.ca

A shopper watches flat-panel televisions at an electronics retailer in Tokyo. Japan’s economy contracted in the April-June quarter. (Shizuo Kambayashi / AP)

TOKYO — Japan’s economy contracted for a third straight quarter as consumer spending and factory production continued to suffer in the aftermath of the March earthquake and tsunami.

Real gross domestic product — a measure of the value of all goods and services produced domestically — contracted at an annualized rate of 1.3 per cent in the April-June quarter, the Cabinet Office said Monday.

The figures did provide a glimmer of optimism as a much bigger contraction was expected. A Kyodo News agency survey of analysts had forecast the economy to shrink 2.6 per cent.

The March 11 earthquake and tsunami killed thousands of people and wiped out large parts of Japan’s northern coast. The disasters damaged many factories in the region, causing severe shortages of parts and components for manufacturers across the country, including automakers.

The tsunami also crippled a nuclear power plant and caused a widespread power crunches, especially in the Tokyo region, adding to the headaches faced by businesses and households.

The Cabinet Office said GDP fell 0.3 per cent quarter on quarter. Consumer spending, which accounts for some 60 per cent of the economy, dipped 0.1 per cent. Capital investment by companies was up just 0.2 per cent from the previous quarter.

The figures showed that the nation’s economy slumped in wide range of areas and still needs close attention, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda said.

"We must steer the economy very carefully because we still have downside risks including the problem of the rising yen," Noda told a news conference.

Japan’s economy was struggling even before the disaster. The country lost its place as the world’s No. 2 economy to China last year.

It has faced a slew of problems including years of deflation, a rapidly aging and shrinking population and ballooning public debt.

Japanese companies have increasingly relied on overseas markets to drive growth and offset lacklustre demand at home.

But exports dropped 4.9 per cent during the latest quarter, the sharpest decline in more than two years, due to a strong yen, slowing overseas economies and a slump in domestic industrial production.

A strong yen is painful for Japan because it reduces the value of foreign earnings for exporters like auto and electronics manufacturers, and makes Japanese goods more expensive in overseas markets.

The dollar hit a record post-Second World War low of 76.25 yen in the days after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano was more upbeat about the quarterly growth figures, which he said reflected gradual improvements in consumer confidence and industrial production as the supply of parts recovers. He said growing public works investment in reconstruction projects is also expected to provide further support for the economy.

"We expect the economy to achieve a relatively high growth in the second half of this fiscal year," Yosano told reporters.

Japanese stocks reacted favourably to the smaller-than-expected contraction of the economy in the quarter right after the disaster.

The Nikkei 225 benchmark index was 0.9 per cent higher at 9,045.17 after the GDP announcement, which also sent other Asian stocks higher.

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