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Top court rules order to play national anthem constitutional

TOKYO, Japan - Supporters of a 53-year-old teacher who refused to play Japan's national anthem wage a protest outside the Supreme Court on Feb. 27 after the court ruled that it is constitutional for the principal of an elementary school in Hino, Tokyo to order the music teacher to play the piano to accompany the singing of the ''Kimigayo'' during the 1999 school admission ceremony. The protest banner says, ''Unfair ruling is unacceptable.''

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Explosion at aluminum factory in Shiga Pref. injures 3 workers

HINO, Japan - A predawn explosion at Toyo Aluminum K.K. in Hino, Shiga Prefecture, badly damaged its 450-square-meter factory and sparked a fire. The head of factory operations speculated that aluminum powder inside a pipe may have generated static electricity and triggered the explosion.

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Chimpanzee demonstrates ability to operate vending machine

TACHIKAWA, Japan - Chiko, a six-year-old female chimpanzee at the Tama Zoo in the city of Hino, Tokyo, on Feb. 9 demonstrates her ability to purchase drinks from a vending machine. Chiko learned how to insert coins into the machine to purchase the beverages as part of the zoo's research studies to assess the apes' learning abilities and further develop them.