This morning’s Japan-related news links:

• “Mogari No Mori,” a Japanese film directed by Naomi Kawase, has been awared the Grand Prix at the Canne Film Festival. [Link]
• The New Komeito party would refrain from supporting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s campaign for the upcoming House of Councillors election if the premier goes too far in calling for amending the Constitution, the party’s head warned Sunday. [Link]
• Ozeki Hakuho disposed of yokozuna rival Asashoryu Sunday, completing the Summer Grand Sumo Tournament with an undefeated 15-0 record a day after capturing his second consecutive Emperor’s Cup and virtually assuring his promotion to yokozuna. [Link]
• The United States and Britain asked Japan to send a military helicopter unit to Afghanistan to help maintain security but were refused, sources say. [Link]
• An international human rights group is lobbying Sri Lanka’s top donor Japan to exert greater pressure on the island nation to address spiralling violence. [Link]
• Japan, the world’s largest consumer of tuna, plans to limit bluefin tuna fishing in its own waters in a bid to help protect the species from extinction. [Link]
• The number of labor disputes involving individual workers and their employers across Japan hit an all-time high of about 187,000 during fiscal 2006 [Link]
• Amid intensifying rivalry between Tokyo and Beijing over influence in Asia, Japan is revving up its drive to strengthen relations with countries in Indochina, an economically backward but geopolitically important part of the region. [Link]
• All Nippon Airways Co is canceling all domestic flights from Haneda airport until 6 p.m. Sunday after a system glitch disrupted the reservation, ticket issuing and boarding process, causing delays of up to two hours on a number of flights. [Link]
• A photochemical smog warning issued in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture on Sunday forced 85 elementary schools in the city to postpone their planned athletic meets. [Link]
• Colored plastic shopping bags at Japanese department stores, supermarkets and other stores have been found to contain lead that is harmful when consumed by humans, a researcher said Saturday in an analysis report. [Link]
• Japan plans to pick the replacement for its aging F-4EJ Phantom fighter jets by the end of next year and its hope of procuring F-22A stealth fighters remains alive, a senior Japanese defense official has said. [Link]
• A woman’s kidney that was suspected of being cancerous was used in a transplant operation for her son last September at a hospital in Akita Prefecture. [Link]
• Okinawa police will conclude their investigation into the crash of a U.S. Marine Corps helicopter at a local university in August 2004 after handing the case over to prosecutors without identifying any suspects. [Link]
• A government panel on education eyes proposing effectively abolishing the current five-day school week for public elementary, junior and senior high schools by enabling them to offer classes on Saturdays, according to the final version of the panel’s draft second report obtained Saturday. [Link]
• Part of the head of a great image of Buddha has been unveiled on the premises of Tsubosaka Temple in Nara. [Link]
• A male oriental white stork died Saturday after living in captivity for a record 35 years at a breeding farm in Hyogo Prefecture. [Link]
• Cloud-shaped number plates will be issued for scooters in the city of Matsuyama in an effort to promote the city. [Link]
• About 80 percent of Japanese think the student baseball charter should be revised to allow for gifted high school baseball players to receive special treatment, such as tuition exemption, a survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun has found. [Link]
• A short video film exploring urban sexuality in the two metros of Bangalore and Kolkata has caught the attention of NHK, Japanese Public Broadcaster, scheduled to air the film in Japan in September. [Link]

Afternoon Update:

• Support for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet has fallen to 32 percent — the lowest since he took office last year — while disapproval ratings have risen to 44 percent, a weekend Mainichi poll has found. The poll also found that the opposition DPJ has more support than the ruling LDP. [Link]
• Izumi Sakai, the singer of Japanese pop group ZARD, died of a brain contusion at a hospital in Tokyo on Sunday afternoon after falling from stairs. [Link]
• Japan voiced its deep regret on Monday over Myanmar’s decision to extend once again the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi despite international appeals, and called for her immediate release. [Link]
• There were about one-third fewer burglaries reported in the Tokyo metropolitan area during the first four months of 2007 than at the same time last year. [Link]
• Kabuki actor Kanzaburo Nakamura held a news conference today to apologize after tax authorities accused him of concealing some 20 million yen in income. [Link]
• A draft bill to revise the law on domestic violence will add eight abusive acts involving phone calls or e-mail as reasons for a court-issued restraining order. [Link]
• A 32-year-old man was arrested Monday for beating his grandmother to death after she scolded him over his drinking. [Link]
• The Chosun Ilbo has an editorial complaining about the fact that the Japanese public always finds out about North Korea痴 missile launches before the Korean public, even though such incidents are a bigger threat to South Korean security. [Link]
• Private-sector members of a key governmental economic panel have urged the government to consider sealing “open skies” aviation deals with European countries and to allow more international flights at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, which now mainly serves domestic flights. [Link]
• A Japanese schoolboy is in hospital with serious head injuries after being hit by a bus in Singapore. [Link]
• Third-favorite racehorse Vodka won the 74th Japan Derby on Sunday, becoming the first filly in 64 years to win the second race of the Japanese triple crown. [Link]
• Jun Okamura of GlobalTalk 21 has some great commentary on how the polls are tormenting the Abe Aministration. [Link]
• News on Japan reports on the fantastic views available from urinals on the observation floors of some of Japan’s tallest towers. [Link]
• In adult movies, having a flop means much more than mere box-office failure, and whispers of a letdown see Japan’s most famous male porno star apparently facing a career crisis, according to Shukan Bunshun. [Link]