21.   Responding to the report, the Japanese companies said early Wednesday that they could not immediately confirm its contents.

22.   Schonau would not confirm its contents.

23.   The next step is a sworn statement confirming the contents of the petition.

24.   The Salvation Army report was first reported in The Washington Post Tuesday, and Fuscus confirmed its content.

25.   U.S. embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said he had not seen the document and could not confirm its contents.

26.   U.S. embassy spokesman Larry Schwartz said he had not seen the letter and could not confirm its contents.

27.   U.S. military officials have refused to confirm the content of the e-mail, saying it was intended as a private communication.

28.   United spokesman Joe Hopkins confirmed the contents of the letter, written last week and first reported earlier Tuesday by the industry publication Air Transport World.

29.   A spokesman for Merrill Lynch Japan Inc. said he was unable to confirm the contents of the statement issued in New York.

30.   A spokesman for the chief minister confirmed the content of the report to AFP.