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Japanese Princess Akiko

KYOTO, Japan - Princess Akiko, a member of the Japanese Imperial Household, is interviewed by Kyodo News at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, western Japan, on Dec. 17, 2011, ahead of her 30th birthday on Dec. 20. The princess, a researcher on Japanese art, has been working as a postdoctoral fellow at the university's Kinugasa Research Organization since October 2009. Her father is Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito.

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Japanese Princess Akiko

KYOTO, Japan - Princess Akiko, a member of the Japanese Imperial Household, is pictured during an interview with Kyodo News at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, western Japan, on Dec. 17, 2011, ahead of her 30th birthday on Dec. 20. The princess, a researcher on Japanese art, has been working as a postdoctoral fellow at the university's Kinugasa Research Organization since October 2009. Her father is Prince Tomohito of Mikasa, a cousin of Emperor Akihito.

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Two-time A-bomb survivor Yamaguchi

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows the late Tsutomu Yamaguchi speaking in Nagasaki in June 2009 about his experience of surviving the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese Embassy in London has sent a written protest against the BBC for introducing him as ''The Unluckiest Man in the World'' in its TV program that aired on Dec. 17, 2010, with the show's personalities and the audience laughing. A producer of the show has apologized via e-mail.

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Japan's Kokura fabrics promoted overseas

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Dyeing and weaving artist Noriko Tsuiki shows off a strip of hand-woven Kokura-ori fabric at her atelier in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009.

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Chaplin home to become museum in 2012

CORSIER-SUR-VEVEY, Switzerland - Actor, movie director and producer Charlie Chaplin lived in this 19th-century manor, in this photo taken Dec. 17, 2009, until he died in 1977.

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Ceylon Blue butterflies wintering on Amami-Oshima Island

AMAMI, Japan - This photo taken Dec. 17, 2009, on Amami-Oshima Island off Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu shows Ceylon Blue Glassy Tiger butterflies, a semitropical species. The butterflies, whose scientific name is ideopsis similis, with distinctive light-blue patterns on their wings, can be seen in wooded areas of the island where they spend the winter.

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Ceylon Blue butterflies wintering on Amami-Oshima Island

AMAMI, Japan - This photo taken Dec. 17, 2009, on Amami-Oshima Island off Japan's southwestern main island of Kyushu shows Ceylon Blue Glassy Tiger butterflies, a semitropical species. The butterflies, whose scientific name is ideopsis similis, with distinctive light-blue patterns on their wings, can be seen in wooded areas of the island where they spend the winter.

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Japan, China hold talks on COP15 sidelines

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao shake hands in Copenhagen on Dec. 17, 2009. Japan and China failed to reach an accord on a new framework to combat climate change during the talks on the sidelines of the COP15 U.N. climate conference. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan's 1st bioethanol plastic bottles

TOKYO, Japan - Masahiko Uotani (L), chairman of Coca-Cola (Japan) Co., shows off plastic bottles made using bioethanol on Dec. 17, 2009. The beverage maker said its introduction of the product in March will be the first in Japan.

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Snow-covered World Heritage site in Japan

SHIRAKAWA, Japan - A worker tries to remove snow in the Shirakawago area, a World Heritage site, in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Dec. 17, 2009. The area had 42 centimeters of snowfall as of 4 p.m., this season's heaviest, as cold air moved along the Sea of Japan coast.

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Japan's 1st bioethanol plastic bottles

TOKYO, Japan - This Dec. 17, 2009 photo shows plastic bottles made using bioethanol that Coca-Cola (Japan) Co. will introduce in March, for the first time in Japan.

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Snow-covered World Heritage site in Japan

SHIRAKAWA, Japan - Children trudge through the snow on their way home from school in the Shirakawago area, a World Heritage site, in Shirakawa, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan, on Dec. 17, 2009. The area had 42 centimeters of snowfall as of 4 p.m., this season's heaviest, as cold air moved along the Sea of Japan coast.

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Ichiro practices at Giants training field

KAWASAKI, Japan - Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (L) speaks to an acquaintance's child before his workout at an indoor training field of the Yomiuri Giants in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Ichiro worked out for about one hour, sharing the field with members of the Giants.

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Honda renovates Acty Truck, 1st in 10 yrs

TOKYO, Japan - This photo shows the Acty Truck that Honda Motor Co. released on Dec. 17, 2009 after its first full renovation in 10 years. The minitruck has a larger space inside and can make sharper turns.

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Ichiro works out in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki stretches during a workout at an indoor training field of the Yomiuri Giants in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Ichiro worked out for about an hour, sharing the field with members of the Giants, one of the most popular Japanese baseball clubs.

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Hatoyama leaves for COP15

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) waves as he leaves Tokyo's Haneda Airport for Copenhagen, with his wife Miyuki, on Dec. 17, 2009 to attend the 15th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hatoyama will participate in the final phase of negations with leaders from 110 countries at the convention.

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Papa Matsui happy with son's joining Angels

KANAZAWA, Japan - Masao Matsui, the father of slugger Hideki Matsui, is photographed at Matsui Hideki Baseball Museum in Nomi, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Masao said his son should be ''delighted'' to play for his new club, the Los Angeles Angels, wearing his signature number, 55.

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Ichiro works out in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (R) is about to start practice holding his glove and bat at an indoor training field of the Yomiuri Giants in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Ichiro worked out for about an hour, sharing the field with members of the Giants, one of the most popular Japanese baseball clubs.

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Survivor of S. Korea fire returns to Japan

FUKUOKA, Japan - Masaru Kasahara, the sole survivor of a deadly fire at an indoor shooting range in Busan, South Korea, is taken to a helicopter ambulance shortly after arriving at Fukuoka airport on Dec. 17, 2009. Kasahara, who suffered severe burns in the Nov. 14 blaze, has recovered to the point where he can eat and speak, prompting doctors to allow his return to Japan.

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Ichiro practices at Giants training field

KAWASAKI, Japan - Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki stretches during a voluntary workout at an indoor training field of the Yomiuri Giants in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Ichiro worked out for about an hour, sharing the field with members of the Giants.

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Hatoyama leaves for COP15

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama speaks to reporters outside the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2009, prior to his departure to Copenhagen where he will participate in the 15th Conference of Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. Hatoyama said he will try to involve the world's large emitters in the new framework to combat climate change.

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Ichiro practices at Giants training field

KAWASAKI, Japan - Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki jogs during a voluntary workout at an indoor training field of the Yomiuri Giants in Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Dec. 17, 2009. Ichiro worked out for about an hour, sharing the field with members of the Giants.

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Survivor of S. Korea fire leaves for Japan

SEOUL, South Korea - Masaru Kasahara, the sole survivor of a deadly fire at an indoor shooting range in Busan, South Korea, is carried on a stretcher as he leaves a hospital in the city on Dec. 17, 2009. Kasahara, who suffered severe burns in the Nov. 14 blaze, has recovered to the point where he can eat and speak, prompting doctors to allow his return to Japan.

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Korean President Lee, Chinese Vice President Xi meet

SEOUL, South Korea - Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L) and Korean President Lee Myung Bak shake hands at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on Dec. 17, 2009, prior to their talks. Lee was quoted as telling Xi that the South Korean president wants China to play a ''bigger role'' to achieve North Korea's denuclearization.

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S. Korea president, China vice president meet

SEOUL, South Korea - Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (L) and South Korean President Lee Myung Bak meet at the presidential Blue House in Seoul on Dec. 17, 2009. Lee told Xi he wants China to play a ''bigger role'' to achieve North Korea's denuclearization.

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Emperor, empress visit news photo exhibition

TOKYO, Japan - Emperor Akihito (R) and Empress Michiko view photos displayed at a 2009 news photo exhibition at Mitsukoshi department store in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2009. The couple looked at photos featuring themselves and other imperial family members in a corner set up in commemoration of their 50th wedding anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the emperor's enthronement. (Pool photo)

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Hatoyama, Kan talk before meeting

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama (L) and Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan talk prior to a Cabinet meeting at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 17, 2009.

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Comedian Hazama enters Asia on run-and-sail Earth Marathon

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Japanese comedian Kampei Hazama (C), now on a run-and-sail trip around the world, poses with some Japanese people living in Turkey after entering the Asian part of Istanbul from the European side by crossing the Bosphorus Bridge on Dec. 14, 2009. The 60-year-old comedian left Osaka in western Japan on Dec. 17, 2008, for his Earth Marathon covering 20,000 kilometers on land and 16,000 km at sea.

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Comedian Hazama enters Asia on run-and-sail Earth Marathon

ISTANBUL, Turkey - Japanese comedian Kampei Hazama, now on a run-and-sail trip around the world, celebrates after entering the Asian part of Istanbul from the European side by crossing the Bosphorus Bridge on Dec. 14, 2009. The 60-year-old comedian left Osaka in western Japan on Dec. 17, 2008, for his Earth Marathon covering 20,000 kilometers on land and 16,000 km at sea.