LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The International Handball Federation has selected Tokyo as the venue for the Asian Olympic qualifiers, which will be replayed after being marred by dubious officiating last year, a ranking IHF official said Thursday. Japan was named over the other two candidates — Iran and Romania — after the IHF confirmed to replay the qualifiers for this summer’s Beijing Olympic Games. The Asian Handball Federation, which is run under the strong influence of Middle Eastern countries, had earlier rejected a call from the IHF to replay the qualifiers for both men and women. The Swiss-based IHF, however, agreed that the responsibility for whether to hold the matches again lay in its hands. The Japan Handball Association has proposed that the country is ready to hold the replays of the men’s and women’s qualifying tournaments at Yoyogi national gymnasium in Tokyo on Jan. 25-31.
National
Visa violators continue sit-in at Immigration
by Tomohiro Osaki
A sit-in by visa violators and their families entered its second day Tuesday in front of the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau with protesters seeking government good will. The action at the bureau in Minato Ward is being organized by the Asian People’s Friendship Society, ...