http://home.kyodo.co.jp/index.php 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/index.php en http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490406 ---------- Prosecutors question DPJ lawmaker Kobayashi over fund scandal SAPPORO - Prosecutors questioned ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Chiyomi Kobayashi on a voluntary basis Saturday in Tokyo in connection with a fund scandal involving her election campaign, sources familiar with the case said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490405 Supporters of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra poured into Bangkok on Saturday from across the country on the eve of a huge antigovernment rally in a bid to force the government to call a general election and bring the fugitive Thai leader back to power. Tens of thousands of red-shirted activists of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship warily passed through numerous security checkpoints the government has set up on the outskirts of Bangkok. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490403 Japanese speed skater Akio Ota stood on the podium for the first time on the World Cup circuit Saturday after finishing third in the men's 500 meters. Ota came home in 35.35 seconds in the final World Cup meet of the season in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490402 Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito left Nairobi on Saturday to return home via Rome, finishing his weeklong official visit to Ghana and Kenya. In Kenya where the crown prince visited from Wednesday, he met with people including Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Nobel Prize laureate Wangari Maathai, and visited a wildlife sanctuary and a paddy field where Japan has helped renovate irrigation facilities. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490400 An international conference to conserve endangered wildlife opened Saturday in Doha, Qatar, with focus on a Monaco-proposed ban on all cross-border trade in bluefin tuna from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. During the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora through March 25, Japan, a dominant consumer, will try to raise as much opposition to the proposal as possible until the last minute, Japanese Fisheries Agency officials said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490399 Japanese speed skater Akio Ota stood on the podium for the first time on the World Cup circuit Saturday after finishing third in the men's 500 meters. Ota came home in 35.35 seconds in the final World Cup meet of the season in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490398 Police officers and army soldiers patrolled road junctions and entrances to major temples in Lhasa on Saturday as tension gripped the Tibetan capital on the eve of the second anniversary of bloody ethnic riots that engulfed the city and killed at least 22 people. The identities of visitors and car drivers were meticulously examined at four checkpoints set up by authorities along the 65-kilometer highway linking the Lhasa airport and the city center. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490397 Japan's Crown Prince Naruhito attended a dinner Friday hosted by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga at a Nairobi hotel. The prince in a speech expressed hope for deeper friendship between Japan and Kenya, praising the African country as a place adored by many Japanese who love nature. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490395 A fairly strong earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 5.7 occurred Saturday night in northeastern Japan, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The epicenter of the 9:46 p.m. quake was off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture, the agency said. http://home.kyodo.co.jp/modules/fstStory/index.php?storyid=490393 One of the wild deer in Nara Park, which are designated national natural treasures, was found Saturday with a bow-gun arrow stuck in its abdomen, prompting local police to launch an investigation on suspicion of a person having violated the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties, they said. A local group protecting the deer removed the 52-centimeter iron arrow from the female deer after anesthetizing it, but the animal is not well due to the serious injuries, group members said.