UNIVERSAL STUDIOS JAPAN PRESIDENT SAKATA ANNOUNCES RESIGNATION IN OSAKA, 2002-10-03 (photo)

Universal Studios Japan President Akira Sakata announces his resignation at a news conference in Osaka, western Japan October 3, 2002. After a series of scandals and a marked drop in attendance, Sakata, head of USJ Co., a subsidiary of media giant Vivendi Universal, told reporters he felt responsible for the problems that emerged over the summer at the theme park, which had attracted 11 million visitors in its first year of operations despite Japan's economic slump. The theme park took a battering following news that it had been selling out of date food, providing unpurified drinking water and using illegal amounts of explosives in its attractions. REUTERS/Keiko Kanai ES/CP