World

TOKYO (Kyodo)--Sony Corp. said it will recall about 440,000 VAIO laptop computers from around the world for free repairs of defects that could cause overheating.

The Japanese consumer electronics giant said such defects could lead to overheating in 280 models of its VAIO TZ series of the laptop computer produced from May 2007 to July of this year.

According to Sony, five people in Japan and two abroad have sustained minor burns due to overheating.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (Kyodo) — A Republican administration under John McCain would look forward to Japan’s leadership role in Asia and worldwide, according to the 2008 Republican Party platform adopted Sept. 1.

“Our long-standing alliance with Japan has been the foundation for peace and prosperity in Asia, and we look for Japan to forge a leadership role in regional and global affairs,’’ the document said.

The platform was adopted on the opening day of the four-day Republican National Convention.

HIROSHIMA — While in Japan to attend the G8 Speakers’ Conference in Tokyo and Hiroshima, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and other conference participants visited the Hiroshima Cenotaph and Peace Memorial Museum on Sept. 2.

Pelosi entered the following inscription in the visitors’ register at the museum: “The visit to Hiroshima is a powerful reminder of the destructiveness of war, underscoring the urgency for all nations to promote peace and to build a better world.”

HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) — U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid flowers
at a monument in Hiroshima dedicated to atomic-bomb victims, becoming the highest serving U.S. dignitary to visit the city on which the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in 1945.

Pelosi paid a floral tribute at the Hiroshima Peace Park along with her Group of Eight counterparts ahead of the start of a meeting of lower house speakers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the U.S.

TOKYO (Kyodo)--A Japanese aid worker was confirmed dead in Afghanistan on Wednesday, Aug. 27, after his body was found by local police and identified by a Japanese Embassy official, a day after he was kidnapped in the eastern part of the war-torn country, the Japanese government said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the killing, with a spokesperson telling Kyodo News in a telephone interview the group had killed a Japanese person and will continue to kill until all foreigners are out of Afghanistan.

Thursday, August 21

My last day is today.

They say time flies when you’re having fun and I guess that’s true, because I leave to go home tomorrow morning.

WASHINGTON —In an Aug. 13 letter to Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, JACL National Director Floyd Mori chided the Spanish men’s basketball team for its pose in an advertisement in a leading Spanish newspaper, which many found to be racially offensive.

The advertisement, which shows members of the basketball team pulling back the corners of their eyes, was shot prior to the Olympics for Seur, a courier company that sponsors the team.

Local judoka Sayaka Matsumoto has had some time to relax and watch the games since her competition last Saturday. Here is her latest dispatch from the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Friday, August 15

Today marks the last day of judo competition, with the men and women’s heavyweight divisions.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics are in full swing after a dramatic and awesome opening ceremony. East Bay judoka Sayaka Matsumoto got little chance to let it sink in before her highly anticipated match with two-time Olympic gold medalist Ryoko Tani of Japan.

The match went the full five minutes, with Matsumoto giving her all. Alas, Tani showed why she is possibly the world’s most successful female judoka as she beat Matsumoto by two half-points.

(Editor's note: Following is another letter home from Sayaka Matsumoto of the East Bay Judo Institute in El Cerrito, who is part of Team USA at the Beijing Games.)

Friday, August 8

I can't believe it. Before I left to come here, I was interviewed by NHK for this program that aired in Japan about me going to the Olympics.

They asked me a lot of questions about Ryoko Tani, arguably the most successful female judoka of all time. I have never worked out with Tani and never fought her in a tournament.