Cockroaches 'plague G-8 summit'

Cockroaches 'plague G-8 summit'

TOKYO (AFP): Fast-breeding giant cockroaches threaten to plague world leaders at a Group of Eight summit to be held in Japan from July 21-23, a Japanese newspaper said in an April Fool's report on Saturday.

"Some of the cockroaches are reaching abnormal lengths of 35 centimeters and the government is concerned over its ability to keep them from marring the event," said the Japan Times.

But a staff writer at the English-language newspaper, Kanako Takahara, admitted the report, which had taken in many readers, was a joke. April Fool's jokes are rare in the Japanese-language press.