Cubs is targeting Fukudome

--- Translation of Japanese into English ---

MLB team Chicago Cubs target Kosuke FUKUDOME who is negotiating with his current team Dragons. Sun Times that is Chicago's popular newspaper said Cubs have a lot of interesting about him who has possibility of being traded to another team with Free Agent System.

According to this source, Cubs is searching about japanese famous starter Hiroki KURODA who belongs to Hiroshima Carp. Recently, he declared "Free Agent" therefore he can choice in where he want to play baseball not only in japan but also in United States.

General Manager Hendry said if he would suit our team we will not have hesitation about acquirement of him. Last three or four years, japanese players who came from NPB to MLB have made great job for us.

Additionally, they said Cubs is officially starting to acquire Rocky's field player Kazuo MATSUI who have had a right about Free Agent.



--- Translation of English into Japanese ---
カブスが福留に興味・シカゴ紙が報道

シカゴ・サンタイムズ紙は、中日からフリーエージェント（ＦＡ）となる可能性がある福留孝介外野手にカブスが興味を示していると伝えた。

同紙によれば、カブスは広島からＦＡ宣言した黒田博樹投手についても調査を続けており、ヘンドリー・ゼネラルマネジャー（ＧＭ）も「チームに合うのであれば、ためらわずに獲得に乗り出す。ここ３、４年（日本から大リーグに）来ている選手は非常にいい仕事をしている」と話している。

さらに同紙は、カブスがロッキーズからＦＡとなった松井稼頭央内野手の獲得に本格的に動くとも伝えている。



--- Vocabulary ---

Target : 狙う
Current : 現在の
Be traded to another team : 移籍する
Search : 調査する
Declare : 宣言する
Acquirement : 獲得
Additionally : 加えて
Officially : 公式に
Right : 権利

Crimes Committed By Repeat Offenders

60 percent of crimes in Japan committed by repeat offenders
Nearly 60 percent of crimes in Japan are committed by repeat offenders, with about 30 percent of all convicted criminals having committed at least one previous crime, a white paper released by the Ministry of Justice has shown.

"There is a need to work to thoroughly uncover the cause of crimes at the stage of the first offense, and provide specific individual treatment," a comment in the white paper says.

In collecting the results, the Justice Ministry randomly sampled 1 million adults who had been convicted of crimes in the past. It found that about 29 percent of the criminals had received guilty sentences at least two times. Excluding traffic-related crimes, about 58 percent of the crimes were committed by repeat offenders.

A total of 45 percent of people whose first conviction was for theft committed another crime, compared with 42 percent whose first offence was a violation of the Stimulants Control Law. Thirty-three percent of people whose first crime was for violent behavior or injuring someone returned to crime. Altogether 17 percent of convicted murderers went on to commit another crime, and 0.9 percent of these subsequent crimes were murders.

By age, about 43 percent of the people who returned to crime were aged between 20 and 24 at the time of their first offense, while about 19 percent were aged between 25 and 29, and 12 percent were aged between 30 and 34.

The percentage of repeat offenders who committed a large number of crimes was highest among those in their 50s, standing at 41 percent.

"The need is rising for criminal justice bodies to work together, as is the case with work, education, medical welfare and private organizations," the white paper says.

crime : 犯罪
commit : （犯罪を）犯す、約束する
offender : 犯罪者
convict : 有罪判決を出す
criminal : 犯人
white paper : 白書、政府の公式報告書
ministry of justice : 法務省
uncover : 明らかにする
work to : 努力する
thoroughly : 徹底的に
collect : 集める、纏める
randomly : 不規則に
sample : 抽出する
guilty esntence : 有罪判決
exclude : -を除外する
for theft : 窃盗で
Stimulants Control Low : 覚醒剤取締法
Altogether : 全く、全体で、全部で
subsequent : 次の、続く
body : 団体、集まり

Death Sentence

Death sentence upheld for man who killed 2 housewives in Kanagawa
The death sentence was confirmed for a man convicted of murdering two housewives after the top court dismissed an appeal on Tuesday filed by the defendant.

Koichi Shoji, 53, an unemployed man of no fixed address, will be sent to the gallows for killing two housewives in murder cases in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 2001.
The third petty bench of the Supreme Court rejected Shoji's appeal on Tuesday, which confirmed the death sentence he was handed by the lower courts. Earlier rulings convicted Shoji of burglary and murder in the 2001 murder cases.

In handing down the ruling on Tuesday, the judge said, "The defendant's responsibility is extremely grave for killing two innocent people brutally during a short period of time."



---Vocabulary---
Death sentence : 死刑判決
Uphold : 進展する、支持する
Confirm : 確認する、承認する
Convict : 有罪判決を出す
Top court : 最高司法府
Dismiss : 解放する、解任する、追放する、退ける
Appeal : 上訴
File : 提起する
Defendant : 被告人
Gallow : 絞首刑
In murder case : 殺人事件
Third petty bench : 第三小法廷
Petty : 小さい
Bench : 法廷
Hand : -を手渡す
Lower court : 下級裁判所
Earlier : 前の
Ruling : 判決
Burglary : 窃盗、泥棒
Hand down : （判決を）言い渡す
Judge : 裁判官、判事
Resonsibility : 責任、義務
Extremely : 極度に
Grave : 重大な、深刻な
Brutally : 残酷に

Survey about sleeping was conducted

Japanese sleeping less, working more, gov't survey shows

The average amount of sleep Japanese people get each night has fallen to its lowest level in 20 years, while working hours have increased, a survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has shown.

The results of the ministry's basic survey on social life indicate that many Japanese are working hard but not getting enough sleep.

The survey is conducted every five years, questioning about 180,000 people aged 10 or over from roughly 80,000 households. The amount of sleep people in Japan get has been falling among both men and women ever since the first survey was conducted in 1986.

People aged between 45 and 49 got the least amount of sleep, with the average standing at 7 hours, 5 minutes a night. Next was a group of people aged between 40 and 44, who got an average of 7 hours, 9 minutes sleep each night.

Sleeping the longest was the group of people aged 85 or over, who got 9 hours, 47 minutes of shut-eye on average.

The survey also showed that working hours were increasing. Up until 2001, the amount of time people spent working had fallen, but a turnabout was subsequently seen with an increase in 2006, when the latest survey was conducted.

Regular workers and employees worked for an average of 7 hours, 11 minutes a day -- an increase of 15 minutes compared with five years earlier. Other employees worked for an average of 4 hours, 27 minutes a day, marking an increase of 13 minutes.

The overall average amount of time people spent on meals each day was 1 hour, 39 minutes -- 1 minute more than five years before, but when restricted to the groups of people aged between 45 and 64, the amount fell by between 1 and 3 minutes on average.



---Vocabulary---
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications : 総務省
Social life : 社会生活
Conduct : 行う
Roughly : およそ
Houeshold : 家族、世帯
Shut-eye : 一眠り
Up until : -まで
Turnabout : 方向転換
Subsequently : その後に、その次に
Regular worker : 常用労働者
Employee : 会社員
Restrict to : 制限する
Meal : 食事

Jockey Yutaka Take notches up 3,000th JRA win

Top jockey Yutaka Take clocked up his 3,000th Japan Racing Association (JRA) win on Saturday, becoming the first to achieve the record.

The 38-year-old jockey reached the milestone when he finished first in a race in Kyoto on Saturday.

Take made his debut in March 1987. In July 1995, he notched up his 1,000th win, and he reached the 2,000-win mark in record time in September 2002, becoming the youngest jockey with that many wins.

In July this year, he broke the record for the most number of JRA wins when he surged past the 2,943 wins set by 59-year-old former jockey Yukio Okabe, who retired in March 2005.

Former jockey Takemi Sasaki, who retired in 2001, still holds the all-time record for local racing, with 7,151 victories.



<Vocabulary>
notch up : 達成する
click up : 記録する
milestone : 筋目、画期的な出来事
make a debut : デビューする
surge : -を波立たせる
all-time record : 史上最高記録

Red Panda at Sapporo Zoo

Cute red panda Koko steals the show at Sapporo zoo

A red panda is stealing the show at Sapporo Maruyama Zoo, standing on two legs in a fashion similar to Futa, another popular red panda in Chiba Prefecture.

The 1 1/2-year-old red panda, named Koko, was brought to the zoo in Sapporo in October. Previously, she had lived with her family at Saitama Children's Zoo in Higashimatsuyama, but was moved to Sapporo to find a mate.

"She's walking around full of curiosity," a 34-year-old keeper at the zoo said, explaining that the red panda was spending time checking out her new environment.

Another red panda, or lesser panda, that achieved huge popularity in Japan is Futa, who is being kept at Chiba Zoological Park. While Koko may not have the same nationwide popularity as Futa, for the time being she looks set to be Sapporo's favorite.



---Vocabulary---
steal the show : 話題をさらう
in a fashion : 一応は、曲りなりに
similar to : -と似ている
1/2 : one-half
bring : つれてくる
mate : 仲間
walk around : 歩き回る、散歩する
full of curiosity : 好奇心が強い
keeper : 持ち主、万人、飼育係
environment : 環境、生活環境
achieve popularity : 評判になる
achieve : 獲得する
popularity : 人気、評判
huge : 巨大な
zoological : 動物に関する
nationwide : 全国的な
for the time being : 当分の間
look : 思われる
set to be : -にすることが決まっている
favorite : お気に入りの

Ex-NOVA boss questioned for breaking LSL

Ex-NOVA boss questioned for breaking Labor Standards Law

Nozomu Sahashi, the founder of the failed NOVA Corp., has been questioned for breaking the Labor Standards Law by failing to pay his employees, government sources said.

Officials of the Osaka Labor Bureau of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry questioned Sahashi, 56, last Monday. They are considering whether to file a criminal complaint with law enforcers, accusing him of violating the Labor Standards Law.

During questioning, Sahashi admitted that the company failed to pay wages to employees. "We tried to raise the money to pay wages by all means, but we couldn't," he was quoted as telling bureau officials.

NOVA's financial situation took a dive after the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry imposed a six-month ban from making long-term contracts with students in June for its unfair business practices.

It has not paid salaries for September and October to Japanese employees and wages for October to instructors. The unpaid wages amount to about 4 billion yen.



---Vocabulary---
Labor Standards Law : 労働基準法
founder : 設立者
failed : 経営の破綻した
break : 違反する
fail to : しない、できない
employees : 従業員
welfare : 幸福、福祉、福利厚生
consider : 熟考する
file : 申請する
criminal complaint : 刑事告発
law enforcer : 法執行機関
enforcer : 執行者
accuse : 責任を問う、責める、訴える
admit : 認める
raise : 調達する
by all means : なんとしてでも
quote : 引用する
bureau : 事務局、局
official : 役人
quoted at telling : -に述べたと伝えられる
financial situation : 財務状況
take a dive : 急落する
ministry : 省庁、大臣、内閣
impose : 課す、負わす
unfair : 不正な
business practice : 商行為、ビジネス手法
instructor : 指導者、講師
amount : 合計-に達する（to）
billion : 10億

Dragons win Japan Series with perfect game

The Chunichi Dragons were perfect.
Daisuke Yamai and Hitoki Iwase combined for the first perfect game in Japan Series history Thursday as the Dragons defeated Trey Hillman's Nippon Ham Fighters 1-0 to win the team's first title in 53 years.

Yamai, playing in his sixth professional season, struck out six over eight perfect innings and Iwase retired the final three batters in order in the ninth.
It was the first perfect game or no-hitter in the 57-year history of the Japan Series, Japan's version of the World Series.

Tyrone Woods scored the only run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Ryosuke Hirata in the second inning as the Dragons won the best-of-seven series in five games.
It was a disappointing end to five years in Japan for Hillman, who was hired as manager of the Kansas City Royals.
"I'm very disappointed that it's over," said Hillman. "You want the series to go on as long as it can go but we weren't able to take it back to our ballpark."

Norihiro Nakamura, who had four RBIs in five games, was named series MVP.

The Fighters were attempting to repeat as Japan Series champions. They defeated the Dragons in five games to win the 2006 title.
Nippon Ham pitcher Yu Darvish took the loss despite striking out 11 and giving up one run on five hits over seven innings.

After Iwase retired Eiichi Koyano on a grounder to end the game, the Fighters sat motionless in their dugout as Chunichi's players celebrated on the field before their home fans at Nagoya Dome.
Yamai was a surprise starter for Chunichi manager Hiromitsu Ochiai. Many expected ace Kenshin Kawakami to get the start instead.

Despite the loss, Hillman said he was grateful for his time in Japan as manager of the Fighters.
"This was a very rewarding experience for me," said Hillman. "I like to think I'm a better person because of the time I've spent in this society."



---Vocabulary---
Combine : 結合する（他）、継投策で抑える（野球で）
Retire : 引き下がる（自）、アウトにする（野球で）
In order : 順番に、調子よく
Score : 得点を取る（野球で）
Run : 得点（野球で）
Sacrifice fly : 犠牲フライ
Best-of-seven : 7試合制（4戦先勝）
Disappointing : 失望させる（形）、期待はずれの（形）
Disappoint : 落胆させる（他）、失望させる（他）
As long as : -の間は、-さえすれば
Name : -を命名する（他）
RBI : Run Batted In=打点
Attempt : 試みる
Take the loss : 負ける
Give up : 得点を許す（野球で）
Grounder : ゴロ（野球で）
Motionless : 静止して、じっとして
Celebrate : 祝杯を挙げる、浮かれ騒ぐ
Instead : 変わりに
Rewarding : 報いのある、実りのある
Reward : 褒美、報いる
Society ; 社会、クラブ

Naturally ecological Silver Group

We often say, “grandma knows best.” Their wisdom ranges from ‘putting a garlic wrapped in a muslin and put it in a rice pale to keep the bugs away,’ ‘a glass can be cleaned using potato peels,’ ‘use unused wraps to make bags,’ etc. These silver age women have ample tricks of the trade that requires no money.

They are obviously not something you have to know or else and there are products you can buy to get the same results. However, if you do know, you can rid of all ‘unnecessities’ in life, tricks for a smart way of living. It’s not something they were taught in school or read in a book but a naturally acquired knowledge and technique as the generation who lived through a time of not having much materially.

This is why these ladies have a serious doubt towards this consumeristic way of life. “That extra plastic inside cracker packages aren’t necessary,” “too much over-wrapping,” “people replace something with new ones even if it’s still useable,” are some of their criticism about products out there. And they are not shy about sharing their piece of mind about the younger generation. The ‘MOTTAINAI’ spirit that advocates ‘using something until it becomes unusable’ and ‘think of ways to recycle before chucking it in a bin’ in this day and age when ecological issues are high on many people’s minds is actually their way of life as naturally eco-conscious individuals. For the silver ladies, the so-called new trends such as “3R (reuse/reduce/recycle)”, “slow life,” and “LOHAS” are mere extension of the lives they have always lived.

Let’s think about this for a moment. Do we ourselves have the knowledge that will win the comment, “Grandma knows best” when we age to be grandparents? With global warming becoming an increasing concern, isn’t it vital for us to incorporate these wisdoms of the generation before and pass it on to the generation after?



---Vocabulary---
naturally : 生まれつき
ecological : 環境保護の
grandma : おばあちゃん
wisdom : 知恵
range : 及ぶ、広がる、範囲（名）
garlic : にんにく
muslin : 布
wrap : 包む、布、包装紙
pale : 棚、範囲
keep away : 隔離する
bug : 虫
peel : 皮
ample : 豊富な
trick : 裏技、こつ
trade : 取引、仕事、職
obviously : 明らかに
rid of : 免れる、脱する
unnecesity : 不必要
generation : 世代、世代の人々
materially : 物質的に
serious : まじめな、重大な、深刻な
doubt : 疑い
consumeristic : 大量消費の
cracker : お菓子のクラッカー
necesarry : 必要な
usable ： 使用可能な（=useable）
criticism : 批評、非難、批判
shy : 内気な、照れ屋の
piece of : 一切れの、断片の
piece of mind : 小言、説教
advocate : 主張する、推奨する、擁護する
chuck : 投げる、捨てる
bin : ゴミ箱、容器
conscious : 意識、意識した
individual : 個人
so-called : いわゆる
such as : 例えば-など
reduce : 減らす
extention : 延長、拡張、内線（cf）
mere : 単なる

Dragons even Japan Series one game apiece

Starter Kenichi Nakata gave up one run over eight innings Sunday as the Chunichi Dragons downed the Nippon Ham Fighters 8-1 to even the best-of-seven Japan Series one game apiece.

Nakata gave up three hits and walked only one batter while striking out five in a 106-pitch effort at Sapporo Dome.

The series now moves to Nagoya Dome for three games beginning on Tuesday.

Norihiro Nakamura doubled in a pair of runs in the top of the fourth inning when the Dragons took a 4-0 lead.

Fernando Seguignol, who hit a three-run homer in Saturday's 3-1 win for the Fighters, responded with a solo shot in the bottom of the fourth, but that was all the scoring for Trey Hillman's team.

South Korean outfielder Lee Byung-kyu hit a two-run homer in the sixth and Masahiko Morino added another two-run blast in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Hillman was hired by the Kansas City Royals to be their manager a week ago and is in his last year in Japan after a successful five-year stint as manager of the Fighters.

The best-of-seven series is a rematch of last year's championship, which the Pacific League's Fighters won in five games.

Nippon Ham starter Ryan Glynn took the loss after giving up four runs on three hits over 3-1/3 innings.

It is the first time in 14 years that the same teams are playing each other in the Japan Series in two consecutive years. The Seibu Lions and Yakult Swallows were the last teams to do so in 1992-1993.



---Vocabulary---
Solid : 固体、すばらしい（形）
Even : 等しい、同等の
Apiece : 個々に、おのおのにつき
Give up : （野球で）得点を許す、ヒットなどを許す
Run : （野球で）得点
Best-of-seven : 7試合中4試合に勝てばよい
Effort : 取り組み、努力
Double : （野球で）2ベースを打つ
Take a lead : （野球で）リードする
Respond : 対応する、（ここでは）反抗する
Hire : 雇う（他）、雇われる（自）
Stint : 期間
1/3 : one third、3分の1
Consecutive : 連続した
blast : 一振り、突風
our of reach : 手の届かないところへ