This morning’s Japan-related news links:

• In what might possibly be his most important tournament in a bid to clear his name of any accusations surrounding match-fixing, Asashoryu appears to be unraveling before everyone’s eyes. The Mongolian grand champion suffered his second consecutive defeat at the Spring Grand Sumo Tournament on Monday, falling to rival and former ozeki Miyabiyama a day after losing to countryman Tokitenku on the opening day at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. [Link]
• Ampontan blasts English language reporting on the Shinzo Abe/Comfort Women issue in his latest update, entitled “The foreign press on Abe: Making it up as they go along.” [Link]
• Japan is launching a TV ad campaign to boost public support for its effort to resolve North Korea’s abductions of Japanese citizens. The first commercial will be broadcast on 114 commercial TV stations across the nation March 15-31, the Cabinet Office said. [Link]
• Japan’s economy grew at the fastest pace in three years in the fourth quarter, as rising overseas demand prompted companies to boost spending on factories and machinery. [Link]
• After finally reaching an agreement Monday with fisheries cooperatives, the land ministry plans to start building a fourth runway at Haneda Airport in Tokyo this month, about a year behind schedule. [Link]
• Researchers from Hokkaido University have succeeded in creating artificial blood vessels using collagen derived from the skin of salmon. [Link]
• Adamu from Mutantfrog comments on Shinzo Abe’s decision not to reshuffle his cabinet before this summer’s elections. [Link]
• A village government in the Kerama Islands of Okinawa Prefecture has mapped out a plan to charge tourists and others who enter the village an entry tax of 100 yen. The Zamamison government, which expects to pocket 11 million yen annually from the new tax, plans to use the funds to get rid of crown of thorns starfish that eat coral, as well as to preserve sea turtles. [Link]
• Japan hopes French President Jacques Chirac will continue wielding influence as a Japan advocate after he retires, Japan’s top government spokesman said Monday, after Chirac has said he will not be running for reelection. [Link]
• Much-hyped Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka (Dice-K) allowed two homers and four runs in four innings against the Baltimore Orioles in his third outing of the spring on Sunday. [Link]

Afternoon Update:

• All 11 stations on the Osaka municipal subway’s Imazatosuji Line, which opened in December, have water leaks in about 60 locations in total, according to the Osaka Municipal Transportation Bureau. [Link]
• The number of foreigners employed directly by Japanese companies stood at a record 222,929 as of June 1, 2006, up 24,549 from a year earlier, the government said Monday. The number is the highest since the government began collecting such data in 1993, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said. [Link]
• A man has been arrested for threatening to kill ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) legislator Yukari Sato if she runs in the next election, police said. [Link]
• The government adopted bills Tuesday that feature allowing crime victims to question defendants or witnesses in court and make statements like closing arguments in seeking penalties. [Link]
• An All Nippon Airways turboprop plane safely made an emergency landing at Kochi Airport on Tuesday morning without its front landing gear. [Link]
• A Japanese construction worker in Aichi prefecture has unearthed a treasure box which was made of plastic but stuffed with 50 million yen (424,000 dollars), police said Monday. [Link]
• A high school girl in Fukushima has been arrested for lacing a classmate’s drink with a bleaching agent at their school, causing her to suffer chemical poisoning. Apparently the girl and a couple of her friends had wanted to punish their classmate after a minor argument, so they poisoned her. [Link]
• Japan will not relax its import terms for American beef despite Washington’s announcement that an international animal health organization has decided to categorize the United States as a country that can export beef regardless of cattle age, a senior farm ministry official said Monday. [Link]
• Environmental officials from South Korea, Japan, China and international organizations have flocked to a meeting in South Korea in an attempt to join hands in their fight against yellow dust that continues to threaten the health of people in the region. [Link]
• Scandal-tainted confectionery maker Fujiya Co. resumed operations at itsSaitama factory in Niiza today after a two-month suspension following revelations that it used expired ingredients to produce cakes. [Link]