Bando keeps lead as Miyazato stays in hunt at Miyagi Cup

Bando keeps lead as Miyazato stays in hunt at Miyagi Cup

RIFU, Japan - Struggling Takayo Bando held on to her overnight lead in the second round of the Miyagi TV Dunlop Ladies Open on Sept. 23 at Rifu Golf Club in Miyagi Prefecture.

Bando, Nishikawa share early lead at Belluna Ladies

Bando, Nishikawa share early lead at Belluna Ladies

KANRA, Japan - Takayo Bando watches her driver shot during the first round of the Belluna Ladies Cup at Obatago Golf Club in Gunma Prefecture on July 2. Bando shot a 4-under par 68 to earn herself a share of the lead with little-known Misato Nishikawa.

Bando keeps lead as Miyazato stays in hunt at Miyagi Cup

Bando keeps lead as Miyazato stays in hunt at Miyagi Cup

RIFU, Japan - Struggling Takayo Bando held on to her overnight lead in the second round of the Miyagi TV Dunlop Ladies Open on Sept. 23 at Rifu Golf Club in Miyagi Prefecture. (Kyodo)

Bando, Nishikawa share early lead at Belluna Ladies

Bando, Nishikawa share early lead at Belluna Ladies

KANRA, Japan - Takayo Bando watches her driver shot during the first round of the Belluna Ladies Cup at Obatago Golf Club in Gunma Prefecture on July 2. Bando shot a 4-under par 68 to earn herself a share of the lead with little-known Misato Nishikawa. (Kyodo)

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Takayo Takigawa, a native of Osaka, Japan, teaches Japanese at Kabul University in the Afghan capital in January 2015. Takigawa, who came to Afghanistan in 2005 as an aid expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, married a local man the following year and became the first Japanese-language teacher at the state-run university in 2014. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Takayo Takigawa, a native of Osaka, Japan, teaches Japanese at Kabul University in the Afghan capital in January 2015. Takigawa, who came to Afghanistan in 2005 as an aid expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, married a local man the following year and became the first Japanese-language teacher at the state-run university in 2014. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Takayo Takigawa (far L), a native of Osaka, Japan, her Afghan husband Mohammad Osman and their children, daughter Sana (2nd from R) and son Hayato, celebrate Hayato's fifth birthday at their home in Kabul, Afghanistan, in March 2015. Takigawa, who came to Afghanistan in 2005 as an aid expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, married Osman the following year and became the first Japanese-language teacher at Kabul University in 2014. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Japanese aid-expert-turned-language-teacher in Afghanistan

Takayo Takigawa, a native of Osaka, Japan, teaches Japanese at Kabul University in the Afghan capital in January 2015. Takigawa, who came to Afghanistan in 2005 as an aid expert with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, married a local man the following year and became the first Japanese-language teacher at the state-run university in 2014. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Hokkaido high school team wins national cake contest

Hokkaido high school team wins national cake contest

Members of a Hokkaido Mikasa High School team -- (from L) Misaki Taguchi, Takayo Hamada and Ikumi Kaneko -- strike a pose in Mikasa, Hokkaido Prefecture, northern Japan, on Nov. 5, 2015, after winning a national contest for high school students aspiring to become patissiers. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo