http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstSpecial01/index.php?cmenuid=100 Kyodo News on the Web: Daily international, Japan news, Japan News, national and local news coverage from the newspaper, breaking news updates, technology news, sports, reviews, listings. Kyodo News (C) All Rights Reserved http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstSpecial01/index.php?cmenuid=100 en http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=489635 The Japanese Olympic Committee suggested Tuesday that the result of three silver and two bronze medals at the Vancouver Olympics was nothing to sneeze at but called for stronger efforts to compete with the country's Asian rivals. ''It was a job well done,'' said JOC senior official Haruki Uemura after a meeting to discuss ways of improving Olympic performances. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488645 Olympic 500-meter speed skating silver medalist Keiichiro Nagashima and bronze medalist Joji Kato received cash rewards from their employer Nidec Sankyo Corp. on Wednesday for winning medals. Nagashima earned 10 million yen and Kato 6 million yen, with half of the total amount coming out of company president Shigenobu Nagamori's own pocket. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488520 Seiko Hashimoto, Japan's Olympic delegation chief, said Tuesday the country needs to learn from the successes of South Korean and Chinese athletes at the Vancouver Games. ''We Asians are similar in body size, but South Korean and Chinese athletes achieved impressive results in Vancouver. We can definitely learn from their competitiveness,'' Hashimoto said at a news conference with seven Japanese medalists upon their return from Vancouver. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488513 Olympic figure skating silver medalist Mao Asada has set a goal of breaking gold medal winner Kim Yu Na's record score as she looks ahead to the 2014 Sochi Games. Asked if she would prefer that the South Korean champion does not turn pro before a possible Olympic rematch, Asada said Tuesday, ''I don't know what she's going to do. But even if she retires from amateur competition, her score will remain in place. I'd like to break it as soon as possible.'' http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488506 Olympic figure skating silver medalist Mao Asada has set a goal of breaking gold medal winner Kim Yu Na's record score as she looks ahead to the 2014 Sochi Games. Asked if she would prefer that the South Korean champion does not turn pro before a possible Olympic rematch, Asada said Tuesday, ''I don't know what she's going to do. But even if she retires from amateur competition, her score will remain in place. I'd like to break it as soon as possible.'' http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488256 The Japanese Olympic team walked away prouder than could have been expected after the conclusion of the Vancouver Olympics on Sunday. Its five medals -- the second-largest haul for the nation overseas following the 1992 Albertville Games' seven -- was surely an improvement after finishing with only one medal, albeit gold, in Turin four years ago. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488207 The average audience share Friday for the televised women's figure skating free skate at the Vancouver Olympics, during which Mao Asada won the silver medal, hit 36.3 percent in the Kanto region, 33.9 percent in the Kansai region, and 40 percent in the Nagoya area, Video Research Ltd. said Monday. According to Video Research, the viewer rating for the free program was the highest at this Olympics. It exceeded the 35.8 percent rating for the 1998 Nagano Olympic ceremony and figure skater Shizuka Arakawa's gold medal performance at the 2006 Turin Games (31.8 percent). http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488196 The Vancouver Olympics that began with the tragic death of a luger from the former Soviet republic of Georgia drew to a spectacular close on Sunday after 17 days of competition. Host Canada beat the United States in the men's ice hockey final, triggering wild celebrations around the country ahead of the closing ceremony, and placed top of the medal table with 14 golds, seven silvers and five bronzes. The United States had the most overall with a total of 37. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488181 Japanese delegation head Seiko Hashimoto expressed satisfaction with the country's medal count at the Vancouver Olympics on Sunday, praising the efforts of the athletes for winning five medals. Japan failed to win a gold medal and the haul of three silver and two bronze medals was well short of the 10 it had targeted ahead of the Games. But Hashimoto pointed out that it was a significant improvement on the lone gold won by figure skater Shizuka Arakawa in Turin four years ago. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=488160 Japan's Nobu Naruse finished 35th in the men's 50-kilometer cross country classic on the final day of action at the Vancouver Olympics on Sunday. Naruse posted a time of 2 hours, 10 minutes, 59.2 seconds in the event won by Norway's Petter Northug.