Yokohama security guard suspected of impersonating policeman

YOKOHAMA — Police sent papers Friday to prosecutors on a 27-year-old security guard in Yokohama for allegedly forging a police ID and creating a fake patrol car in order to pretend to be a policeman, police officials said. The man is suspected of stopping a car on a state road in Yokohama's Asahi Ward and asking the person inside to show him his driver's license last September.

At the time, the man wore a uniform and drove a car to which he added a red flashing light and a siren to make it seem to be a police car, the officials said. The man is also suspected of questioning people living in Yokohama's Midori Ward. He was charged with forgery of an official document for allegedly buying a fake police ID apparently via Internet auction in 2002 and customizing it to make it his own using a computer."

JAL apologizes for serving U.S. beef in in-flight meals

Japan Airlines apologized Friday for serving kids' meals containing U.S. beef from April last year to January this year on flights from Guam to Japanese airports operated by group company JALways despite Japan's import ban on U.S. beef due to risks of mad cow disease.

The Japanese carrier, however, said its inspection of a U.S. meat processor that provided the beef and scrutiny by outside experts have found no health hazards in connection with the meat served.

After Japan suspended U.S. beef imports in December 2003, JAL instructed about 80 companies providing in-flight meals to it to stop using U.S. beef.

But a Guam flight meal company mistakenly used U.S. beef in meat sauce for spaghetti for children aged 9 months old to 2 years old, JAL said.

About 5,200 meals containing the beef in question were served during the period."