KANSAI A Kobe woman who randomly attacked three other women at JR Osaka Railway Station has been arrested, police said. (1) [MAINICHI]

KANSAI A man who suggested assassinating Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto in a message on an Internet bulletin board has been arrested, law enforcers in Osaka said. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI Police are poised to begin an investigation into former Nova Corp. President Nozomu Sahashi upon suspicion of embezzlement, sources said. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI Two women sustained minor injuries when they were cut on the arm in separate incidents on a platform of JR Osaka Station on Sunday afternoon.

KANSAI Police and other authorities tightened security throughout the city on Friday, both on the ground and across waterways, as the Group of Eight finance ministers meeting got under way here. [YOMIURI]

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]

KANSAI A woman in her 80s died in Hyogo Prefectural Nishinomiya Hospital in March after an intern inserted a feeding tube, which was supposed to deliver nutrients directly to the woman’s stomach, into her lung instead, the hospital said Wednesday. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI The Osaka prefectural government has come under fire from residents who allege it has allowed part of a public park in Sakai to be taken over by a select group of mah-jong enthusiasts. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI The Osaka Prefectural Board of Education will establish a high school, which is to be comparable to a high school attached to a university of education, will be the first of its kind attached to a local government, according to the Education, Science and Technology Ministry.

KANSAI A 58-year-old man indicted on suspicion of murdering a man in Osaka last month was rearrested Friday after admitting to robbing and killing a 24-year-old female Chinese student in 2000 in the city, according to police. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI Two police officers were injured Friday, one seriously, after a minivan hit them from behind on a street in Yodogawa Ward, Osaka, early Friday morning, police said. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI An Osaka meat wholesaler that sold about 1.6 tons of beef products through mail order and on the Internet falsely claimed they were made of high-quality Matsuzaka and Tajima beef, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI A 52-year-old policewoman is to be appointed head of the high-tech crime control office Friday, the Kyoto prefectural police said. Masako Koyama, deputy chief of the living and environment section, will lead the investigation of cybercrime with 16 subordinates and be promoted to superintendent. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI Cigarette-addicted public sector employees in Osaka might want to consider a job change. Osaka Governor Toru Hashimoto revealed on Tuesday he is investigating the possibilities to enforce a total cigarette ban for prefectural employees during working hours. (1)

KANSAI A 24-year-old man on trial in the Kyoto District Court charged with violating the Copyright Law admitted Tuesday he created a computer virus and used copyrighted animation footage to spread it on the Internet. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI A teenager who fatally stabbed a convenience store part-time worker who chased him because he had stolen two six-packs of beer was Tuesday sentenced to life imprisonment by the Osaka District Court. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI Osaka University announced Monday that 218 members of its teaching and administrative staff worked 44,710 extra hours without overtime pay in the last two years for a total of 106.6 million yen in unpaid wages. [YOMIURI]

KANSAI Labor union “General Union” representing teachers from bankrupt English conversation school chain Nova Corp. filed for aid with the Osaka prefectural labor relations commission on Monday, claiming that Nova’s successor, Nagoya-based G.communications Co.’s refusal to attend negotiations falls under unfair labor practices. (4)

KANSAI A woman and two boys plunged five meters to the ground over the weekend after a cable came loose from a lift pole and they were thrown from their chair, police in Yabu, Hyogo Prefecture said. [MAINICHI]

KANSAI Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto was criticized face-to-face by a 30-year-old staff member over his plans for reforming the administrative modus operandi of the Osaka prefectural government, at a meeting Thursday morning. [YOMIURI]