ILEA001207252: Japanese actress performs life story of war-displaced woman

Japan actor plays lead role in Chinese WWII TV drama

SHANGHAI, China - Japanese actor Koji Yano attends an event in Shanghai, China, on Dec. 23, 2014, to promote a Chinese TV drama in which he plays a lead role. The drama depicts a Japanese man's support for Chinese resistance against the Japanese military during World War II.

Hiroshima church revives 1947 Christmas service

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Some 50 people aged 19 to 85 sing during a Christmas service at the Hiroshima Nagarekawa church on Dec. 13, 2014, in Hiroshima using the same program including prayers and bible readings as the service held at the church on Dec. 24, 1947, two years after the U.S. atomic bombing of the western Japan city in World War II. The original church was located some 800 meters from the hypocenter.

Actor Takakura poses with actress at press event

TOKYO, Japan - Famed Japanese actor Ken Takakura (L) and actress Sayuri Yoshinaga pose at a press conference in Tokyo in March 1979 to announce the production of the 1980 Japanese film "Doran" (tumult) depicting a young army officer and his wife during the turbulent days before World War II. Takakura died of illness at 83 on Nov. 10, 2014.

Monument for WWII Nazi deserters unveiled in Vienna

VIENNA, Austria - A monument for Nazi army deserters during World War II is unveiled in front of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna on Oct. 24, 2014. Seen from above, the X-shaped monument is embedded with the word "alone" in the center surrounded by "all" written many times, suggesting how an individual should behave under dictatorship.

Japan envoy offers flowers at 'Leyte Landing' ceremony

PALO, Philippines - Tetsuro Amano, Japanese deputy chief of mission to the Philippines, offers a wreath of flowers in Palo on the Philippine island of Leyte on Oct. 20, 2014, at a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the "Leyte Landing" during World War II that freed the country from Japanese occupation in 1941.

Comedian Nishikawa, actress Natsuki before 'Massan' tram

OSAKA, Japan - Comedian Kiyoshi Nishikawa (L) and actress Yoko Natsuki stand in front of a Hankai Tramway Co. streetcar made in the 1920s on Oct. 9, 2014, in Osaka, western Japan. The streetcar sports logos and images of public broadcaster NHK's morning serial drama "Massan" in which the two play roles. The drama is based on the life story of Masataka Taketsuru, founder of Nikka Whisky and considered the "Father of Japanese whisky," and his wife Rita.

Yamaguchi, former film star known as Li Xianglan, dies at 94

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in 1974 shows Yoshiko Yamaguchi, a China-born Japanese singer and actress who became a House of Councillors member that year. Yamaguchi, who appeared in several films under the name of Li Xianglan, died of heart failure on Sept. 7, 2014, aged 94, her office said Sept. 14.

'Bunraku' puppet theater to be performed across Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Yohei Sasakawa (R), chairman of the Nippon Foundation, and noted puppeteer Kanjyuro Kiritake (2nd from R) strike a pose with others in Tokyo on Aug. 27, 2014. Sasakawa launched a "Japan Bunraku" project on the same day to promote the traditional Japanese puppet theater through performances across Japan on a ready-to-assemble temporary stage, funded by the foundation, starting with performances at Tokyo's Roppongi Hills next March.

Actress Godai to perform 'Yokohama Rosa' in NY

TOKYO, Japan - Actress Michiko Godai practices for one-woman play "Yokohama Rosa" in Yokohama on Aug. 14, 2014, for the first overseas performance in New York next spring. The play portrays the life of a real-life Japanese woman who worked as a prostitute for officers of the occupation forces after the end of World War II in the Yokohama area, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Actress Godai wants to convey war tragedy in NY