N. Korea announces 2008 census report

N. Korea announces 2008 census report

PYONGYANG, North Korea - People attend a governmental meeting on a census report in Pyongyang on Dec. 16, 2009. The North Korean government announced its population was about 24 million as of Oct. 1, 2008.

High-end and merry, takeout food replacing restaurant dinners

High-end and merry, takeout food replacing restaurant dinners

TOKYO, Japan - A chef smiles holding a roast beef Christmas dish priced at 24,150 yen, which can be ordered for takeout, at Chef's Garden Terrace restaurant at Hotel Okura in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Food corners in department stores as well as restaurants are seeing solid sales of takeout food this holiday season as more people are deciding to celebrate Christmas at home to save money and avoid the new flu.

Japan's Amano takes office as IAEA head

Japan's Amano takes office as IAEA head

VIENNA, Austria - Japanese diplomat Yukiya Amano, new chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, is photographed at its head office in Vienna on Dec. 1, 2009. Amano took office as director general of the U.N. nuclear watchdog the same day.

Seven & I to buy stake in Pia

Seven & I to buy stake in Pia

TOKYO, Japan - Seven & I Holdings Co. President Noritoshi Murata (R) and Pia Corp. President Hiroshi Yanai shake hands during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. The major retailer said the same day it will buy a stake of 20 percent in the ticketing and entertainment information company.

Olympic medalists protest budget cut plan

Olympic medalists protest budget cut plan

TOKYO, Japan - Olympics gold medalist wrestler Saori Yoshida (R) and Olympics sliver medalist fencer Yuki Ota speak at a press conference at a Tokyo hotel on Dec. 1, 2009. Yoshida and Ota joined the chorus of protest at a government plan to cut sports-related budgets.

Olympic medalists protest budget cut plan

Olympic medalists protest budget cut plan

TOKYO, Japan - (2nd from R) Olympics gold medalist gymnast Hiroyuki Tomita speaks at a press conference at a Tokyo hotel on Dec. 1, 2009. Tomita joined the chorus of protest at a government plan to cut sports-related budgets.

Hatoyama's 'change of government' wins buzzword award

Hatoyama's 'change of government' wins buzzword award

TOKYO, Japan - Toshio Ogawa, chief of the Public Relations Committee of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's ruling Democratic Party of Japan, poses for photographers in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Hatoyama's signature phrase during the general election campaign, ''seiken kotai'' (change of government), has been selected as this year's top buzzword.

Asahi aiming for 1.6 tril. yen in sales by 2012

Asahi aiming for 1.6 tril. yen in sales by 2012

TOKYO, Japan - Hitoshi Ogita, president of Asahi Breweries Ltd., briefs reporters on the company's long-term business plan during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Ogita said the company is aiming to increase sales to 1.6 trillion yen in its 2012 business year as it looks to growth in Asia and other overseas beverage markets amid saturated demand at home.

Thai rookie cartoonist wins Japan award

Thai rookie cartoonist wins Japan award

TOKYO, Japan - This photo shows the cover of the ''manga'' comic book ''Super Dunker'' drawn by Thai rookie cartoonist Jakraphan Huaypetch. The book won the Japanese Foreign Ministry's International Manga Award for this year on Dec. 1, 2009.

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

TOKYO, Japan - Bunroku Yoshino, former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's American Bureau, is photographed before a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Yoshino admitted for the first time in court that Japan and the United States concluded a secret agreement on the 1972 reversion of Okinawa.

BOJ to inject 10 tril. yen in emergency fund supply

BOJ to inject 10 tril. yen in emergency fund supply

TOKYO, Japan - Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa speaks during a news conference at the BOJ's head office in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009, after an extraordinary meeting of the central bank's Policy Board. The BOJ decided to inject about 10 trillion yen into the financial system, introducing a new emergency fund-supply operation to lower longer-term interest rates to fight deflation.

BOJ to inject 10 tril. yen in emergency fund supply

BOJ to inject 10 tril. yen in emergency fund supply

TOKYO, Japan - Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa speaks during a news conference at the BOJ's head office in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009, after an extraordinary meeting of the central bank's Policy Board. The BOJ decided to inject about 10 trillion yen into the financial system, introducing a new emergency fund-supply operation to lower longer-term interest rates to fight deflation.

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

TOKYO, Japan - Bunroku Yoshino, former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's American Bureau, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Yoshino admitted for the first time in court that Japan and the United States concluded a secret agreement on the 1972 reversion of Okinawa.

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

Ex-diplomat admits Japan, U.S. had secret pact

TOKYO, Japan - Bunroku Yoshino, former chief of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's American Bureau, speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Yoshino admitted for the first time in court that Japan and the United States concluded a secret agreement on the 1972 reversion of Okinawa.

Japanese airlines begin measuring carry-on luggage

Japanese airlines begin measuring carry-on luggage

TOKYO, Japan - A security inspector checks the dimensions of a carry-on bag before it enters an X-ray machine at a security checkpoint at Haneda airport in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. Japanese airlines imposed restrictions the same day on the size of carry-on luggage allowed on to domestic flights in an effort to reduce delays caused by passengers trying to stow over-sized bags in cabin baggage compartments.

Bill to set up fund for A-bomb sufferers enacted

Bill to set up fund for A-bomb sufferers enacted

TOKYO, Japan - A plenary session of the House of Representatives approves a bill to establish a fund for atomic bomb sufferers in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009, although the members of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party abstained from voting. The bill will establish a 300 million yen fund to compensate people who are suffering from radiation-linked illnesses due to the 1945 atomic bombings and have lost compensation lawsuits against the state.

Bill to set up fund for a-bomb sufferers clear lower house panel

Bill to set up fund for a-bomb sufferers clear lower house panel

TOKYO, Japan - Health minister Akira Nagatsuma bows in appreciation after the House of Representatives' Health, Labor and Welfare Committee approved a bill to establish a fund for atomic bomb suffers in Tokyo on Dec. 1, 2009. The bill, expected to clear a plenary session of the lower house later in the day, will establish a 300 million yen fund to compensate people who are suffering from radiation-linked illnesses due to the 1945 atomic bombings and have lost compensation lawsuits against the state.

ANA's 'Mohawk' livery revived after 20 years

ANA's 'Mohawk' livery revived after 20 years

TOKYO, JAPAN - An All Nippon Airways Boeing 767, painted in the airline's retro ''Mohawk'' livery, leaves Tokyo's Haneda airport for Miyazaki on Dec. 1, 2009. ANA will operate the plane -- adorned with a blue stripe along the top of the fuselage resembling a Mohican hair-style and a Leonardo da Vinci helicopter design on the tail fin -- between Tokyo and cities in Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures through 2013. The 'Mohawk design decorated the company's aircrafts from 1969 through 1989.

Taiwanese representative office opens in Sapporo

Taiwanese representative office opens in Sapporo

SAPPORO, Japan - Taiwan's Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (front L) shakes hands with Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi at an opening ceremony for the Sapporo office of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office of the East Asia Relations Commission on Dec. 1, 2009. Sapporo has become a popular destination for Taiwanese tourists and Wang said he hopes the de facto consulate will serve to promote economic and cultural cooperation between Taiwanese and Japanese in Hokkaido.