TOKYO (AP) --  Former President George W. Bush threw out the
ceremonial first pitch Tuesday before Game 3 of the Japan Series
between the Yomiuri Giants and Nippon Ham Fighters.

Bush, wearing a Yomiuri warmup jacket, took the mound at Tokyo
Dome and threw a pitch to Giants catcher Shinnosuke Abe that
bounced once in the dirt before being caught.

Bush chatted briefly with several players after walking off the
field and watched the game in a private box with former Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Also in the box were Japanese
home run king Sadaharu Oh and U.S. Ambassador John Roos.

The Giants won the game 7-4 to take a 2-1 lead in the
best-of-seven series, Japan's version of the World Series.

Dozens of demonstrators marched outside the stadium protesting
the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that were launched by the Bush
administration in 2001 and 2003, respectively. They carried
signs saying, "Arrest Bush," "The King of War," and "Bush Go to
Jail."

One demonstrator threw his shoes at a photo of the former
president, mimicking Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi, who
launched his own footwear at Bush at a Baghdad news conference
last December.