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February 02, 2008 01:43AM
'Letter sent floating into sky from school 15 years ago found on fish off Chiba'
Kiyoshi Kimino, owner of the fishing boat that pulled in the letter, is pictured at the Choshi Municipal Government in Chiba.CHOSHI, Chiba -- A letter sent floating into the sky from an elementary school 15 years ago has been found on a fish netted about 40 kilometers off the coast here.
Kiyoshi Kimino, 52, owner of the fishing boat "Daihachi Daitoku Maru," found the folded letter tied to the remains of a balloon caught up on a shark-skin flounder that was netted about 40 kilometers southeast off Inubosaki, Chiba Prefecture, while he was sorting out the day's catch at Choshi Port on Thursday.
"I am a first-grader. ... Please reply to me if you pick up this letter," the note read.
The Choshi Fisheries Cooperative contacted the Miyazaki Municipal Elementary School in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, and found that the letter and the balloon were released by students during a ceremony marking the 120th anniversary of the school in 1993.
Natsumi Shirahige, the author of the letter, was thrilled to hear that it had been found.
"What a wonderful story!" said the 21-year-old student from Kawasaki. Now a sophomore at Waseda University, Shirahige clearly remembers the day when she and other students released the balloon into the sky on Nov. 27, 1993.
"I still remember the balloons fading into the blue sky. I'm so happy someone read my letter," Shirahige said.
Kimino and other fishermen were also apparently surprised.
"How amazing that the letter turned up with a fish 15 years later!" said Kimino.
The letter apparently survived in the seawater for many years because it was written on oil paper with an oil-based ink pen.
The letter reads:
"To whoever picks up this letter:
I am a first-grader at an elementary school. Our school is now celebrating its 120th anniversary. In commemoration of this event, we sang and danced. Please reply to me if you pick up this letter."
Natsumi Shirahige
Miyazaki Municipal Elementary School
1795 Umakinu, Miyamae-ku, Kawasaki
iMainichi Japanj January 25, 2008
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November 08, 2007 11:07PM
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April 18, 2007 06:28AM
Same day of Virginia Massacre,Unforgivable terrorism
threaten our liberty in Nagasaki,Japan.
Nagasaki mayor dies after being shot twice
04/18/2007
The Asahi Shimbun
NAGASAKI--Nagasaki Mayor Iccho Itoh, a high-profile promoter of world peace, died early Wednesday after being shot in the back by a gangster harboring a grudge over a traffic accident, police said.
The 61-year-old mayor was pronounced dead at 2:28 a.m. at the Nagasaki University Hospital from massive blood loss due to two bullets that had reached his heart, police said.
Tetsuya Shiroo, 59, a senior member of a yakuza organization affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the nation's largest crime syndicate, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder immediately after the shooting Tuesday night. Police are now investigating the case as a murder.
Although Shiroo ranked high in the hierarchy of his crime group, police said they believe the attack was carried out on a personal level and was not organized by any yakuza organization, police said. Nagasaki prefectural police searched five locations, including Shiroo's home and his office, early Wednesday morning.
Itoh, who was running for his fourth term in Sunday's mayoral election, was shot twice from behind at close range at around 7:50 p.m. Tuesday in front of his campaign office near JR Nagasaki Station.
According to hospital officials, the bullets entered his body from the right side of the backbone, sliced his heart and were stopped at the breast bones.
Itoh was already in a state of cardio-respiratory arrest when he was taken to the hospital just after 8 p.m.
"It is possible that he was shot from point-blank range," said Kiyoyuki Eishi, a cardiovascular surgery professor at the hospital who was in charge of the operation.
"It was difficult to confirm the damaged sections and to stop the bleeding," he said. "We did our best. It is unfortunate."
Police quoted Shiroo, who has admitted he intended to kill Itoh, as saying, "I thought I would kill myself after shooting the mayor."
He also told investigators he held a personal grudge against the city government over a February 2003 accident in which his car fell into a ditch near city-ordered construction work of a sidewalk.
Shiroo said he was dissatisfied with the city's handling of the matter because officials did not respond to his requests to negotiate compensation for his damaged vehicle, according to police.
Police also quoted Shiroo as saying he had had other problems with the city.
Nagasaki city officials described Shiroo's compensation demands as more of a gangster shakedown.
They said he initially demanded 600,000 yen ($5,053) to repair the damaged fender of his car.
His demands soon escalated to more than 2 million yen ($16,843) to fix other parts of the vehicle, they said.
The city refused to pay.
Itoh, as mayor of the second city to experience the horrors of nuclear warfare, had traveled abroad to promote nuclear disarmament.
He was a front-runner in Sunday's election against a candidate fielded by the Japanese Communist Party and two independent newcomers.
The city election board said Wednesday it will accept applications for candidates to take Itoh's place in the election by 5 p.m. Thursday.
Itoh, an independent, was running without an endorsement from political parties.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the main opposition party, Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan), and other parties are planning to field a candidate in the race.
Ballots cast for Itoh through early voting procedures will be nullified.
In January 1990, Itoh's predecessor, Hitoshi Motoshima, was shot in front of Nagasaki city hall by a right-winger who was upset with Motoshima's comment that Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa, was responsible for the war.
Motoshima recovered and ran for his fifth term in 1995, but lost to Itoh. (IHT/Asahi: April 18,2007)
Horrible.Just horrible.
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