BASEBALL Shuichi Murata played hero twice Saturday, delivering a game-tying three-run homer in the eighth inning before hitting a walkoff shot in the bottom of the 10th to lift the Yokohama BayStars to a 5-4 win over the Seibu Lions. [KYODO]

KANTO An author of children’s literature who slapped an actor in the face, causing him to fall over and suffer a fatal head injury, has been arrested, police said. [MAINICHI]

TOHOKU More than 70 percent of evacuees from the magnitude 7.2 earthquake in northeastern Japan did not take any substantial preparations for a powerful temblor, a Kyodo News survey showed Friday. [KYODO]

INTERNATIONAL Japan officially apologized to Taiwan on Friday and reiterated its willingness to offer compensation for a ship collision earlier this month that sparked a diplomatic row. [KYODO]

KANTO The Kawasaki Municipal Assembly enacted an ordinance Thursday allowing residents aged 18 or older, including foreigners who have lived in the city for three years or longer, to vote in referendums. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

KANTO A university student who posted a message on an Internet site threatening to commit mass murder in Tokyo’s Shibuya district was arrested Friday, police said. [MAINICHI]

POLITICS Japan will keep pressuring the United States not to remove North Korea from its list of terrorist-sponsoring states since there has been no major progress on resolving the abduction issue, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said Thursday. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

HOKKAIDO The Hokkaido government will let members of nongovernmental organizations, including outspoken protesters, to set up base at public camping grounds near the venue of the Group of Eight Toyako Summit. [ASAHI]

SOCCER Yuji Nakazawa has told Japan to go out and “batter” Bahrain as Takeshi Okada’s men seek to wrap up the third round of 2010 World Cup qualifiers as winners of Asian Group 2 this weekend. [KYODO]

NATIONAL The number of non-Japanese who began two years of skilled practical activities after a year of training under Japan’s foreign trainee program surged to a record 53,999 in 2007, a government survey has found.

TECHNOLOGY NTT DoCoMo Inc. from today will sell waterproof cellphones that can withstand submersion in water for up to half an hour. (2) [ASAHI]

POLITICS Justice Minister Kunio Hatoyama criticized the Asahi Shimbun newspaper for dubbing him the “Grim Reaper” after he ordered the execution of 13 death row inmates since he assumed office. [MAINICHI]

TECHNOLOGY Why should kids have all the fun? That’s an attitude on display at International Tokyo Toy Show 2008, which kicked off Thursday at Tokyo Big Sight, where people of any age are bound to find something fun to play with. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

INTERNATIONAL Crown Prince Naruhito attended a ceremony Wednesday hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia to celebrate the centennial of Japanese emigration to Brazil. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

NATIONAL The number of suicides in Japan hit 33,093 last year, topping 30,000 for the 10th year in a row, a report from the National Police Agency has shown. [MAINICHI]

POLITICS Tokyo and Beijing announced Wednesday they have agreed on a plan to jointly develop gas fields in the East China Sea, shelving a thorny dispute that has plagued relations for four years. [THE JAPAN TIMES]

BUSINESS The Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission on Thursday urged the Financial Services Agency to slap an administrative fine of about 1.6 billion yen on heavy machinery maker IHI Corp. for submitting false financial statements. [ASAHI]

TOHOKU A rift extending for about 15 kilometers has appeared on the surface of the ground in five districts following the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck Japan’s Tohoku region on June 14, it has emerged. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI A 13-year-old girl suffered serious injuries when she was stabbed in the back several times by another girl from the same school, law enforcers said. [MAINICHI]

BASEBALL Two private supporters’ groups for the Chunichi Dragons sued professional baseball clubs on Thursday after an anti-gang council comprising of professional baseball clubs and police banned them from cheering for their teams. [MAINICHI]