SAPPORO – Nagano Olympic gold medalist Tae Satoya took advantage of the absence of Aiko Uemura to win the women’s moguls title at the Freestyle Moguls National Championships on Saturday. Newly crowned women’s moguls World Cup champion Uemura pulled out of the meet earlier in the day because of fatigue and Satoya capitalized by scoring 25.42 points to capture her first title in 12 years and eighth overall. Osamu Ueno scored 24.78 to edge out Friday’s duals moguls winner Nobuyuki Nishi in the men’s event at Bankei Ski Resort. Uemura, the first Japanese ever to capture the moguls overall World Cup title, withdrew a day after producing a lackluster performance in the women’s dual moguls to finish eighth.
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Rice planted in former no-go zone
Farmers in the city of Tamura, Fukushima Prefecture, have begun planting rice in a district once designated a no-go zone because of radioactive fallout ejected by the disaster-hit Fukushima No. 1 power plant.