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Mayor stands in as Canadian polar bear at aquarium opening

AKITA, Japan - A polar bear greeted visitors at the July 13 opening of Oga Aquarium GAO in Akita Prefecture -- not the real one that should have arrived from Canada, but Oga Mayor Issei Sato clad in a polar bear outfit as a ''temporary stand-in.'' Sato had promised that if the polar bear, a main attraction of the new prefectural aquarium, failed to arrive in time for the opening, he would put on the outfit ''as a performance.'' ''It's hot,'' Sato said when asked by reporters how it felt. ''I hope a real bear gets here as soon as possible.'' (Kyodo)