Japanese

The first time his teammates invited Koji Uehara out for dinner this spring, the Orioles' new No. 2 starter attempted to show his gratitude. "He tried to pay the tab for everybody," veteran catcher Gregg Zaun said. "It was a class move. We weren't going to let him, of course, but it was a class move." When asked about the gesture, the affable Uehara shrugged. "It's probably just Japanese style. You don't want to be rude," Ue- hara said through his interpreter, Jiwon Bang. "You want to be courteous."

Toyota Motor Corp. has ended General Motors Corp.'s 77-year reign as the world's largest automaker after avoiding the worst of the meltdown in global auto demand. GM's 2008 sales fell more than 11 percent to 8.4 million vehicles, the company said yesterday. Toyota said Tuesday that it posted a 4 percent drop to almost 9 million sales. Toyota seized the crown after boosting sales 70 percent since 1999 on demand for fuel-efficient cars. Still, bragging rights may do little to revive growth amid a recession that has forced the Japanese company to forecast its first operating loss in 71 years and spurred Detroit-based GM to seek a government bailout.

The Orioles will unveil their first Japanese import, right-handed pitcher Koji Uehara, at a news conference today at Camden Yards that is expected to be one of the most well attended in team history. Uehara, who passed his physical and finalized a two-year, $10 million, incentive-laden deal with the Orioles, has been followed closely by the Japanese media since landing in the United States on Sunday. There were 25 reporters who awaited his arrival at Washington Dulles International Airport and a handful of television crews that waited outside Camden Yards on Monday while the 33-year-old was taking his physical elsewhere.

Japanese pitcher Koji Uehara landed at Dulles International Airport yesterday and spoke briefly with a group of 25 Japanese reporters. He made just a few comments and, presumably, headed to Baltimore for his physical today. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/schmuckblog)

During next week's winter meetings in Las Vegas, the Orioles expect to have face-to-face discussions with the agents for two Japanese starting pitchers. John Stockstill, the Orioles' international scouting director, said he has set up tentative meetings with Dan Evans, the agent for Kenshin Kawakami, and Mark Pieper, who represents Koji Uehara. Orioles officials also are considering other Japanese players, including left-handed reliever Ken Takahashi, although Kawakami and Uehara fit the club's biggest need: starting pitching.

When the Orioles made a scouting push to the Far East for the first time in their history this year, it was unclear whether they had committed to being serious investors the next time a high-profile Japanese free agent became available. In the Orioles' first offseason since naming John Stockstill international scouting director, the question remains unanswered. That's primarily because the 2008 class of Japanese players entering the U.S. so far is widely considered underwhelming. There is no major league-ready impact player such as Daisuke Matsuzaka or Ichiro Suzuki.

The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, will present a re-enactment of the lives of two presidential couples who served during the "Roaring '20s" - Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge and their wives - from 11 a.m. to noon June 24. The cost for the performance is $3. Registration is required. A book sale and book hour are planned from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 26, and staff members from the Central Library will suggest summer reading picks from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The 1996 Japanese film Shall We Dance?

During the next three days, a lot of the Ravens' attention will be focused on quarterback Joe Flacco, the team's top draft pick out of Delaware. But the sleeper of the Ravens' draft is a safety of Japanese heritage out of the University of Cincinnati named Haruki Nakamura. Nakamura was a sixth-round pick, and general manager Ozzie Newsome and secondary coach Mark Carrier love the guy. "When I watched him play, he was always moving, always in motion, always getting in the film," Carrier said.

Gary Convis, 65, recently retired as chairman of Toyota Motor Manufacturing, Kentucky Inc., the first non-Japanese to lead a Toyota division. Convis began working in the auto industry after graduating from Michigan State University in 1964, when U.S. automakers overwhelmingly dominated the domestic market. First, Convis worked at General Motors' Buick division and later at Ford Motor Co. In 1984, he was recruited to become general manager at New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., a new California-based joint venture of Toyota and GM. He joined Toyota's Kentucky operation in 2000.

Dr. Henri "Henk" Theodoor Voorstad, a retired physician and World War II Japanese concentration camp survivor, died Thursday of complications from heart disease at Normandie Ridge Senior Living Community in York, Pa. He was 80. Born in Indonesia, where he lived until 1945, Dr. Voorstad was interned in a Japanese concentration camp on the Indonesian island of Java for three years as a teenager during World War II. "His experience in the Japanese concentration...