Japan play down medals hopes for Beijing
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When Japan's top women wrestlers greeted the new year by plunging into the icy depths of Tokyo Bay, shivering onlookers chuckled in disbelief.
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Japan on Friday requested an apology and explanation from China over a submarine that intruded into Japanese waters, but Tokyo restrained its protest to avoid further straining relations with Beijing.
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ATHENS: Already flushed with Olympic success, Japan toasted Mizuki Noguchi on Monday after her brave marathon victory gave the country a 13th gold medal in Athens.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing expressed hope on Friday that a rapprochement in ties with Tokyo would stay on course, but also mentioned the wartime past that haunts relations.
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LOS ANGELES  - Viewership of the summer  Olympics cooled off for NBC on Thursday as the competition in  Athens winds down.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda played a friendly game of catch during his visit to China on Saturday, a symbol of warming ties between the North Asian rivals despite a row over gas resources in disputed waters.
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Mizuki Noguchi won the women&#39;s marathon at the Athens Games, holding off world champion Catherine Ndereba of Kenya to earn Japan the title for the second straight Olympics.
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Latest updates from Athens on a mixed day so far for Britain's medal hopes.
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Japan wants to hold a leaders' meeting   with China in October, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said on   Wednesday, adding that a visit to Beijing by new Prime Minister   Shinzo Abe was one option.
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Air pollution in Beijing will not significantly improve before next year's Olympic Games, a UN report suggests.
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ATHENS (Kyodo) Masae Ueno captured the women&#39;s 70-kg gold medal, but Hiroshi Izumi had to settle for silver in the men&#39;s 90-kg in the judo competition at the Athens Olympics on Wednesday.
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Tourists seeking their own Olympian challenge while attending the Beijing Games this August might be tempted to get behind the wheel of a rental car and take a spin on the roads of the Chinese capital.
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Japan&#39;s Olympic hammer-throw champion Koji Murofushi, one of Asia&#39;s few medal hopefuls, barely qualified for the final at the world championships here Saturday.
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The U.S. and allied navies conduct war games off India. But some of the participants are hoping Beijing won't notice
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Japan grappled Wednesday with the fallout from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a Tokyo war shrine, as diplomats reportedly worked to mend frayed ties with China and South Korea.
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A string of disappointing economic reports released Tuesday heightened concerns that Japan's recovery may be fading fast.
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AS the excitement of the Athens Olympic Games fades, the build-up to Beijing 2008 is in full swing. The countdown to China began last weekend when Beijing&#39;s mayor took possession of the Olympic flag at the Athens closing ceremony.