Stone monument describing tsunami terror unveiled

Stone monument describing tsunami terror unveiled

MORIOKA, Japan - A stone monument with an engraving of a poem describing the terror of a tsunami is unveiled in Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 17, 2014. Poet Yoshi Tabata, standing by the monument, experienced the two devastating tsunami that hit the northeastern Japan region in 1933 and 2011.

Central banker to run in Fukushima gubernatorial election

Central banker to run in Fukushima gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Takeshi Hachimura, a Bank of Japan official, meets with the press on Aug. 17, 2014, in the city of Fukushima where he announced he will run in October's Fukushima gubernatorial election, the first leadership race since the March 2011 nuclear disaster there. Hachimura, 55, served as the central bank's Fukushima branch manager between 2005 and 2008 and the Reconstruction Agency's policy adviser after the disaster.

Prince Akishino, Vietnam Pres. Sang

Prince Akishino, Vietnam Pres. Sang

HANOI, Vietnam - Japan's Prince Akishino (L) shakes hands with Vietnamese President Truong Tan Sang at the presidential office in Hanoi on Aug. 17, 2012. The prince, the second son of Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko, extended his gratitude to Vietnam for "much support" following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011.

New robot to be used at Fukushima complex

New robot to be used at Fukushima complex

CHIBA, Japan - Nuclear disaster minister Goshi Hosono (2nd from L) on Aug. 17, 2012, at the Chiba Institute of Technology in Chiba Prefecture, remotely controls "Rosemary," a new type of robot expected to be used in the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant's radiation-contaminated reactor buildings from September 2012. The robot can transport much heavier objects than its predecessor "Quince," used at the Tokyo Electric Power Co. complex since June 2011 to check conditions in the reactor buildings and to capture images, according to the institute.

Suzuki's Indian operation

Suzuki's Indian operation

MUMBAI, India - Senior officers of Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., an Indian subsidiary of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., stand by a new model of the Swift compact car during a rollout in Mumbai, India, on Aug. 17, 2011. Suzuki, which now commands nearly half of the passenger car market in the country, is making final arrangements to build a new passenger car plant in Gujarat, western India, sources close to the matter said Sept. 14, 2011.

Lanterns lined up in disaster-hit Fukushima

Lanterns lined up in disaster-hit Fukushima

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - The letter ''kizuna'' (bond) is formed by illuminated lanterns along the Abukuma River against the backdrop of fireworks during the annual lantern floating event in Fukushima on Aug. 17, 2011. Usually people release lanterns into the river at the summer event but the practice was withheld this year over fears of radiation contamination of the river in the wake of the nuclear plant accident.

Ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

Ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

MOSCOW, Russia - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev attends a press conference in Moscow on Aug. 17, 2011, prior to the 20th anniversary of an attempted coup in August 1991 that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Japan envoy visits Tibet

Japan envoy visits Tibet

LHASA, China - Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa takes a break at Naqu Station in the Tibetan autonomous region of China on Aug. 17, 2011, on his way to visit the Tibetan capital Lhasa to meet with local leaders. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

Japan envoy visits Tibet

Japan envoy visits Tibet

LHASA, China - Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa (front L) poses with a Tibetan man (front C) on a train bound for Lhasa on Aug. 17, 2011. Niwa arrived in the Tibetan capital the same day to meet with local leaders. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

Lanterns lined up in disaster-hit Fukushima

Lanterns lined up in disaster-hit Fukushima

FUKUSHIMA, Japan - The letter ''kizuna'' (bond) is formed by illuminated lanterns along the Abukuma River during the annual lantern floating event in Fukushima on Aug. 17, 2011. Usually people release lanterns into the river at the summer event but the practice was withheld this year over fears of radiation contamination of the river in the wake of the nuclear plant accident.

Tomari reactor resumes commercial operation

Tomari reactor resumes commercial operation

SAPPORO, Japan - Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi speaks at a news conference at the Hokkaido government office in Sapporo on Aug. 17, 2011. The No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in Hokkaido resumed commercial operation the same day after Takahashi officially gave her approval, becoming the first among reactors undergoing regular checkups to resume commercial operation in Japan in the wake of the Fukushima crisis.

Fatal boat accident in Shizuoka Pref.

Fatal boat accident in Shizuoka Pref.

HAMAMATSU, Japan - Personnel search for missing people and accident victims on Aug. 17, 2011, after a tour boat with about two dozen passengers aboard capsized on the Tenryu River in Shizuoka Prefecture earlier in the day.

Governors urge gov't to halt yen's rise, deflation

Governors urge gov't to halt yen's rise, deflation

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese governors including Aichi Gov. Hideaki Omura (C), head of a National Governors' Association project team, submit a written request for halting the yen's steep rise and pulling Japan out of deflation to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Tetsuro Fukuyama (R) at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Aug. 17, 2011.

Fatal boat accident in Shizuoka Pref.

Fatal boat accident in Shizuoka Pref.

HAMAMATSU, Japan - Personnel search for missing people and accident victims on Aug. 17, 2011, after a tour boat with about two dozen passengers aboard capsized on the Tenryu River in Shizuoka Prefecture earlier in the day.

Japan envoy visits Tibet

Japan envoy visits Tibet

LHASA, China - Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa (C) chats with Tibetan and other passengers on a train bound for Lhasa on Aug. 17, 2011. Niwa arrived in the Tibetan capital the same day to meet with local leaders. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

Johnny & Associates president's condo

Johnny & Associates president's condo

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken on Aug. 17, 2011, shows a condominium building in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, where Johnny Kitagawa, president of Japan's top male talent agency and production company Johnny & Associates, resides.

Tomari reactor resumes commercial operation

Tomari reactor resumes commercial operation

TOKYO, Japan - Takao Takahashi (L), head of the Tokyo office of Hokkaido Electric Power Co., receives a certificate for the completion of regular inspection of the Tomari nuclear power plant's reactor from Tetsuya Yamamoto, head of the nuclear power inspection division of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo on Aug. 17, 2011. The same day HEPCO resumed commercial operation of the No. 3 reactor, the first among reactors undergoing regular checkups in the wake of the Fukushima crisis to restart commercial operation.

Hokkaido Gov. Takahashi

Hokkaido Gov. Takahashi

SAPPORO, Japan - Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi replies to questions from reporters in Sapporo, Hokkaido Prefecture, on Aug. 17, 2011, after seeking approval from the prefectural assembly for resuming commercial operation of the No. 3 reactor at the Tomari nuclear power plant in the prefecture.