クリーマー、開幕戦で勝利

USA TODAYより抜粋。
Paula Creamer put a frustrating second season on the LPGA Tour behind her in a hurry in the season-opening SBS Open.
The 20-year-old Creamer won her third LPGA Tour title and first in 19 months Saturday, handling the whipping wind to hold off Julieta Granada by a stroke.

"I haven't been there for a while but I remember every moment of all my wins," Creamer said. "I know that you've just got to finish the round and that's what I did. ... I knew I could do it."

Creamer closed with a 2-under 70 for a 9-under 207 total. In 2005 as a rookie, she won two LPGA Tour titles and also took two tournaments in Japan.

"It is a little relief off my shoulders," said Creamer, who earned $165,000. "I just hope it's a good season. I know I've worked hard and hopefully I'll be standing here a couple more times."

Conditions were challenging at Turtle Bay's oceanside Palmer Course, with occasional showers and tradewinds that shook the players' pony tails and nerves. Only nine of 83 players finished below par.

Granada holed a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th to tie Creamer for the lead at 8 under. But Creamer, playing in the final group, regained the lead by sinking a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 17 that went left, then veered to the right at the end.

"I saw the line and it went in," she said. "It wasn't one of those kind of putts that you expect to go in. You just want to get it close."

She smiled, hopped twice and shook her fist as the gallery cheered. Granada, meanwhile, signed autographs as she waited for a possible playoff.

Creamer, however, safely reached the 18th green in three and two-putted for par from 15 feet for the victory. She smiled and chomped the shaft of her putter.

"He's very important, so you have to give a little love and affection," Creamer said about her putter.

Creamer pulled away with a strong front nine with four straight birdies starting on No. 4, but ran into trouble on the back side.

"It was a roller coaster," she said. "I can't even explain it. I was so up-and-down out there."

With composure and a comfortable cushion, Creamer seemed to have the tournament wrapped up. But the Pink Panther sliced her drive into the marsh and wound up with a double bogey on the 396-yard 11th and missed a 3-foot par putt on 13, stumbling to 8 under. But she managed to hang on to sink the dramatic putt on 17.

Creamer said she was "kind of rusty," being the leader.

"I think that's why things were going all over the place. I haven't been there for a while," she said.

It was Creamer's first LPGA Tour victory since her eight-stroke win in France in the 2005 Evian Masters. She ended that year second to Annika Sorenstam on the money list and earned rookie of the year honors.

Creamer said this was the biggest win for her emotionally after being shut out last year and knowing how hard she worked in the offseason.

Last season, Creamer had 14 top-10 finishes, including a second-place tie at the LPGA Tournament of Champions, and crossed the $1 million mark to set an LPGA record for the most money earned in a season without a victory.

Creamer began the round tied for the lead with Sherri Steinhauer and Pressel, who was vying to supplant Creamer as the youngest winner of a full LPGA Tour event.

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写真では、上下ともピンクの服だが、ミニスカートではない。まだ寒い。

ポーラ・クリーマー優勝

SBS Open at Turtle Bay結果
１位　Paula Creamer ２０７　－９
３位　Karrie Webb ２１０　－６
４位　Lorena Ochoa ２１１　－５

多分、去年は１勝も出来なかったと思うので、幸先の良い出だしだ。背が高く、美人というほどではないが、いつもピンクの服とミニスカートで、愛らしい。

ボストンマラソン出場資格

年齢により、出場資格が異なる。
男子の場合。
３時間１０分　１８～３４歳
３時間１５分　３５～３９歳
３時間２０分　４０～４４歳
３時間３０分　４５～４９歳
３時間３５分　５０～５４歳
３時間４５分　５５～５９歳
４時間００分　６０～６４歳
４時間１５分　６５～６９歳
４時間３０分　７０～７４歳
４時間４５分　７５～７９歳
５時間００分　８０～

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ボストンマラソン出場を目指し、来年の東京マラソンに参加したい。抽選が厳しそうだ。

プリンセス雅子の本は、amazon.co.jpで2,891円

Book Description
ハンサムな王子様と結婚し、豪華なお城に移り住み、それからいつまでも幸せに暮らす――それは多くの女性が抱く夢だ。けれども、小和田雅子にとっては、そうではなかった。どこをとっても現代的で、古風なしきたりとは相容れない雅子は、ハーバード大学やオックスフォード大学で教育を受けた聡明な女性だった。だが1993年、彼女は外交官としてのキャリアを捨て、皇太子徳仁と結婚した。『Princess Masako』は、「菊のカーテン」の後ろを覗き、外からはうかがい知れない日本皇室の世界を見せる興味深い作品だ。本書では、世界最古の王朝の断絶を避けるために、なんとしても世継ぎとなる男児を生んでもらいたい宮内庁が、迷信めいたしきたりを雅子妃に強いる経緯が描かれている。成婚当初は、2600年の伝統を持つ皇室の古びた空気に雅子妃が新風を吹き込むものと期待する声もあった。だが13年後のいま、42歳の雅子妃は、適応障害との戦いが世界各国の紙面を賑わす悲劇の女性になっている。
雅子妃と日本皇室を描いたベン・ヒルズの魅力的な本書は、東京や日本の地方都市、オックスフォード、ハーバードなどの取材に基づいて書かれたものだ。また、雅子妃や皇太子の友人、恩師、元同僚をはじめ、日本、アメリカ、イギリス、オーストラリア各国の関係者にもインタビューを敢行している。その多くが、これまで公には語ることのなかった人たちだ。本書はそうした情報をもとに、皇室のもっとも暗い秘密――天皇や皇室に対する畏敬の念から、日本では決しておおっぴらに語られることのない秘密に光を当てている。さらに、天皇の役割、女性の地位、メンタルヘルスや体外受精に対する考え方、官僚の持つ権力など、日本人のほとんどが敢えて口にすることのない疑問をも投げかけている。だが何よりも本書は、悲劇的な失敗に至った恋愛の物語でもある。

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1,500円なら買う。3,000円もするのなら、他の本を買った方が良い。

Masako author slams Japan publisher - 雅子様の本 ２

CNN 2月17日版より抜粋。

The author of a book on Crown Princess Masako slammed a Japanese publisher on Saturday for its decision to cancel a translation of his biography following indignant protests from Japan's government, calling the step a "blatant attack on freedom of speech."

Japanese publishing house Kodansha said late Friday it has canceled plans to publish the Japanese translation of "Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne," written by the Australian journalist Ben Hills and released by Random House in December.

The tartly worded biography is billed on the cover as "tragic, true story" of the 43-year-old princess, a Harvard graduate who abandoned a diplomatic career to marry royalty. The book describes her as a virtual captive of the imperial palace who has been bullied by bureaucrats into depression.

Hills said in his e-mail to The Associated Press on Saturday that he was "disappointed" by Kodansha's decision. "We regard this as a blatant attack on freedom of speech." He also condemned Japan's government for exercising "censorship that would be totally unacceptable in any other advanced country" and pressuring Kodansha to surrender.

"I do not worry whether people love my book or hate my book, but they should be given the chance to read it for themselves and make up their own minds," he said, adding that he hoped to publish the book through another "courageous" publisher -- one of three that have contacted him recently.

Japan's Imperial Household Agency and its Foreign Ministry had demanded an apology from the author for "disrespectful descriptions, distortions of facts and judgmental assertions with audacious conjectures and coarse logic." But government officials declined to cite most of the passages they found problematic. The government also protested to Random House in Sydney.

Criticizing the emperor was regarded as serious crime in the first half of the 20th century. There is still a strong tradition in Japan of respect for the royal family, who are shielded from view by secretive palace officials.

The book details Masako's life in the palace, during which she has come under grinding pressure to produce a male heir to the throne. She and Crown Prince Naruhito were married in 1993. After suffering a miscarriage in 1999, she had a daughter, Aiko, in 2001.

Factual errors
Kazunobu Kakishima, editor at Kodansha, denied the company was scrapping the Japanese translation because of the government's protest. The decision, he said, came after Hills refused to acknowledge making factual errors during an interview with a Japanese television earlier Friday.

"We have come to the conclusion that it is impossible to maintain trustworthy relations with the author and thus we were forced to cancel the book," he said.

Kakishima said a "substantial number of factual errors" have been corrected through fact-checking and meetings with interviewees quoted in the book. Kakishima declined to describe any specific errors, citing privacy.

Hills, Kakishima said, had acknowledged the errors in discussions with Kodansha, approved corrections in a translated draft and even thanked the publisher for the changes.

Hills said Saturday he and his Australian publisher did not apologize for the errors "because we felt -- and feel -- that there is nothing to apologize for."

A Foreign Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity as required by protocol, denied contacting the Kodansha publishing house over the book but refused to comment on the cancellation.

Palace officials were not immediately available for comment late Friday.

Emperor Akihito's chamberlain, Makoto Watanabe, wrote to Hills earlier this month that a veteran palace reporter told him "almost every page seems to contain an error."

In one example, Watanabe said, the book erroneously called the Emperor's duties "all undemanding formal appearances at uncontroversial events."

Another passage, Watanabe said, incorrectly said Japanese royals would be unlikely to take up a cause as Princess Diana did with the Leprosy Mission.

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日本語訳は出版されなくても、原書で読めばよい。外国からは批判されることは必死。

Japan angered by Australian book 雅子様に関する本

CNN 2月14日版より抜粋。

The Japanese government has demanded an apology from the Australian author of a new book accused of defaming the imperial family through its depiction of Crown Princess Masako, officials said on Wednesday.

"Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne," written by Ben Hills, was released by Random House in December and is billed as a biography of the 43-year-old diplomat-turned-royal, who has suffered long-standing stress-induced health problems.

In official letters to the publisher and author, Japan's Foreign Ministry condemned the book as containing "disrespectful descriptions, distortions of facts and judgmental assertions with audacious conjectures and coarse logic."

Japanese media traditionally handle the Imperial family with gentle care, using honorific terms and avoiding subject matter that could be construed as inflammatory. Criticizing the emperor, who was revered as a god before World War II, was regarded as a serious crime in the first half of the 20th century.

The letter, signed by Japan's ambassador to Australia, Hideaki Ueda, was hand-delivered in Sydney on Monday, a ministry official said on condition of anonymity, citing policy.

The government took particular issue with the treatment of the birth of Princess Aiko, the only child of Crown Prince Naruhito and Masako, as well as Masako's physical condition, which has prevented her from appearing in public for extended stretches.

The letter demanded an apology and unspecified "prompt measures," adding that the biography contains "irresponsible citation of rumors" and "highly contemptuous descriptions." The Imperial Household Agency also sent a similar letter of objection.

Another Foreign Ministry official refused to specify which sections of the book prompted the protest. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the letter did not list them to avoid repeating the insults.

The author said the government's accusations were an attempt to pressure Kodansha, which plans to publish a Japanese edition of the book, not to issue it. The book is due for release in several weeks, Hills said. Kodansha officials were not immediately available for comment.

"The book is highly critical of the Imperial Household Agency and their role in persecuting Princess Masako, causing her to suffer severe depression," Hills wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "This had not been honestly reported in Japan, and the government is obviously afraid it will lead to criticism."

Random House refused to comment on the controversy, but said it supports Hills.

"We are standing by our author on this," said Karen Reid, head of publicity.

Ueda's letter stated that "the Government of Japan can by no means ignore contempt for His Majesty the Emperor who holds the constitutional status, nor contempt for other members of the Imperial family as well as the people of Japan."

Ueda also conveyed Japan's concerns on Monday to Peter Grey, deputy secretary of Australia's trade ministry, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.

In February 2001, a German magazine apologized to Japan for making fun of Crown Prince Naruhito's then-childless marriage. Aiko was born in December 2001.

The magazine, a supplement to the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, ran a picture showing the royal couple with "Tote Hose" -- literally "dead pants," but understood in Germany as "nothing going on" -- written across Naruhito's groin.

The picture prompted a complaint from the Japanese government. Germany's ambassador in Tokyo also expressed regret to Japanese officials.

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週刊誌でも報道されているし、言論の自由で仕方ないと思うが。