WOODLAND, Calif. — Yolo County Supervisor Mariko Yamada on Feb. 28 announced her candidacy for the 8th Assembly District before supporters in Fairfield and Woodland, the county seats of Solano and Yolo counties.

The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) has appointed Floyd Mori, who had been serving as its director of public affairs and Washington D.C. representative, as the organization's newest national executive director, the organization announced in a statement dated Feb. 23.

By JANICE TANG
Kyodo News

TOKYO — Japan's top government spokesman on March 7 reiterated that there will be no new apology regarding wartime sex slaves in response to a resolution pending in the U.S. Congress and that discussions on the "comfort women" issue should not continue any further in an "unconstructive" manner.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Kyodo) — A U.S. lawmaker spearheading legislation urging the Japanese government to "officially" apologize for pressing women into sexual servitude during World War II cited an "overwhelming historical record" of the practice, following reported remarks by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disputing that such evidence of coercion exists.

A design created by Izumi Kurokawa of Sherman Oaks, Calif. was selected as the winning entry for the 40^th annual Northern California Cherry Blossom Festival's Poster Contest.

The annual awards dinner of the National Japanese American Historical Society, Inc. will be held in tribute to the Nisei, the organization announced. The NJAHS Awards Dinner will be held on Saturday, March 31, with 6 p.m. no-host cocktails and 7 p.m. dinner, at the Miyako Hotel in San Francisco’s Japantown.

The California Japanese American Community Leadership Council (CJACLC) announces that applications for the 2007 Nikkei Community Internship (NCI) program are available for prospective interns and organizations. Now in its sixth year, 64 interns and 14 Japanese American community groups in Los Angeles and the Bay Area have participated in the program.

NAHA, Japan (Kyodo) — Business activity linked to the U.S. military boosted the Okinawan economy by around 200.6 billion yen ($1.74 billion) in fiscal 2004, accounting for 5.3 percent of the prefecture's gross income, according to an estimate released March 7 by the prefectural government.

AOMORI, Japan (Kyodo) — Police arrested an American man March 2 on suspicion of involvement in the murder of his former Japanese wife, whose body was found in the trunk of a burned car on railway tracks in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, last July, police officials said.

By Koya Segi
Kyodo News

TSUMAGOI, Japan — Devoted husband Kiyotaka Yamana, 47, headed off to work one recent morning with the idea of sending a bouquet of flowers to his beloved wife that evening, but had pressing business to attend to and did not return home until one o'clock the next morning.

By MIWA MURPHY
Kyodo News

NEW YORK — Japanese agriculture minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka stirred a small controversy last November when he proposed an initiative to ban low–quality sushi and other "corrupt" dishes often served at overseas Japanese restaurants, saying they would damage the reputation of Japanese food.

By BEN HAMAMOTO
Nichi Bei Times

"The Cats of Mirikitani," which has already won the Audience Award at New York's Tribeca film festival, will make its Northern California premiere at Sacramento's Time of Remembrance program and at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival.

Reviewed by KERWIN BERK
Nichi Bei Times Contributor

Baseball is often used as a metaphor for the American Dream. The thinking goes that the rules are universal, the playing field is even and your success or failure is based solely on your ability and determination.

JUPITER, Florida (Kyodo) — Daisuke Matsuzaka had a solid outing in his first spring start for the Boston Red Sox against a major league squad March 6, shutting out the Florida Marlins over three innings.