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Outgoing Miyazaki Gov. Higashikokubaru

MIYAZAKI, Japan - Outgoing Miyazaki Gov. Hideo Higashikokubaru speaks at a press conference in Miyazaki City on Dec. 28, 2010. Higashikokubaru said he has not decided on his future course after the end of his term on Jan. 20, 2011, denying media reports that he is likely to run in a Tokyo gubernatorial election in the spring of 2011.

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Lawson's President Niinami

TOKYO, Japan - Takeshi Niinami, president of Lawson Inc., speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010. Niinami said the Japanese convenience store chain operator intends to establish its second overseas business headquarters in Singapore as early as April next year.

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Ozawa at center of DPJ rift

TOKYO, Japan - Ichiro Ozawa, a power broker in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, leaves the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010, after meeting with Prime Minister Naoto Kan. Ozawa spurned Kan's call to testify before a parliamentary panel over a fund reporting scandal, an issue which has caused a rift in the DPJ.

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Protesters against S. Korean drill

SEOUL, South Korea - Protesters demonstrate against a South Korean live-fire artillery drill in the Yellow Sea in front of the National Defense Ministry in Seoul on Dec. 20, 2010. South Korea conducted the drill from the island shelled by North Korea despite Pyongyang's threats to retaliate if the drill went ahead.

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Catholic church on Nagasaki island

FUKUOKA, Japan - Dec. 20, 2010 photos shows former Gorin Church standing in front of a small fishing port on Hisaka Island, Nagasaki Prefecture. The wooden church has an exterior that resembles a Japanese house.

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Honda tests practicality of EVs, plug-in-hybrid

SAITAMA, Japan - Honda Motor Co. President Takanobu Ito (L) and Saitama Gov. Kiyoshi Ueda shake hands in front of an electric vehicle in Wako, Saitama Prefecture, on Dec. 20, 2010. Honda, in cooperation with the prefectural government, began practicality tests of its EVs, plug-in-hybrid cars and other next-generation vehicles in the prefecture.

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Richardson in N. Korea

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is photographed in Pyongyang on Dec. 20, 2010, after his flight to Beijing was canceled due to thick fog.

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Japan-Djibouti leaders talks

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan (R) and Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh shake hands at the premier's office in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010. Guelleh promised Kan that his government will continue to extend cooperation to Japan's Self-Defense Forces in fighting piracy in waters off Somalia.

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Catholic church on Nagasaki island

FUKUOKA, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 20, 2010, shows Egami Church on Naru Island, Nagasaki Prefecture. The church, constructed in 1917, is a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage site.

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Ozawa at center of DPJ rift

TOKYO, Japan - Ichiro Ozawa (C), a power broker in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, heads for a meeting at the parliamentary building in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010. Ozawa spurned a call by Prime Minister Naoto Kan the same day to testify before a parliamentary panel over a fund reporting scandal, an issue which has caused a rift in the DPJ.

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Guangzhou motor show

GUANGZHOU, China - The Guangzhou motor show opens in the southern Chinese city on Dec. 20, 2010. More than 600 companies including parts makers are participating in the eight-day event.

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Japan, S. Korea seal civil nuclear pact

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara (L) and South Korean Ambassador to Japan Kwon Chul Hyun shake hands after signing an agreement to exchange nuclear-power technologies between the two countries at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010.

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Ambassador Niwa visits Nanjing

NANJING, China - Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa speaks to reporters after arriving at a hotel in Nanjing on Dec. 20, 2010, making his first trip to the Chinese city where anti-Japanese sentiment remains deep-rooted due to the 1937 massacre there by Japanese soldiers.

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Dongfeng Nissan's Venucia

GUANGZHOU, China - Toshiyuki Shiga (2nd from L), chief operating officer of Nissan Motor Co., unveils a prototype of the Venucia car at the Guangzhou motor show in the southern Chinese city on Dec. 20, 2010. The vehicle has been developed and produced by Nissan's joint venture with Dongfeng Motor Group.

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S. Korea conducts live-fire drill

SEOUL, South Korea - People watch the news about a South Korean live-fire artillery drill on Yeonpyeong Island at Seoul station Dec. 20, 2010. South Korea conducted the drill from the island shelled by North Korea despite Pyongyang's threats to retaliate if the drill went ahead.

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Ambassador Niwa visits Nanjing

NANJING, China - Japanese Ambassador to China Uichiro Niwa speaks to reporters after arriving at a hotel in Nanjing on Dec. 20, 2010, making his first trip to the Chinese city where anti-Japanese sentiment remains deep-rooted due to the 1937 massacre there by Japanese soldiers.

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Catholic church on Nagasaki island

FUKUOKA, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 20, 2010, shows a window with hand painted flowers of Egami Church on Naru Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is a candidate for UNESCO World Heritage site. The followers who offered their services in building the church are said to have not had sufficient funds to afford colored glass for the window.

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S. Korea conducts live-fire drill

SEOUL, South Korea - People watch the news about a South Korean live-fire artillery drill on Yeonpyeong Island at Seoul station Dec. 20, 2010. South Korea conducted the drill from the island shelled by North Korea despite Pyongyang's threats to retaliate if the drill went ahead.

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RBI king Fighters' Koyano ups salary to 146 mil. yen

SAPPORO, Japan - Nippon Ham Fighters third baseman Eiichi Koyano, the Pacific League RBI title holder, gets into the Christmas spirit at the club's head office in Sapporo on Dec. 20, 2010, after successful negotiations to extend his contract with an annual salary increase of 60 million yen to 146 million yen. Koyano pledged to work hard in the 2011 season ''to mark better numbers in all categories.''

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Kan fails to convince Ozawa to testify on scandal

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Naoto Kan (C) answers reporters' questions after meeting with Ichiro Ozawa, a power broker in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, in Tokyo on Dec. 20, 2010. Kan said he failed to convince Ozawa to testify before a parliamentary ethics panel over a fund reporting scandal. On the right of Kan is DPJ Secretary General Katsuya Okada.

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Eagles' Yamasaki renews 250 mil. yen contract

SENDAI, Japan - The Rakuten Eagles' Takeshi Yamasaki speaks during a press conference on Dec. 20, 2010, at the ball club's head office in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture. The 42-year-old veteran re-signed with the Eagles for an estimated 250 million yen plus incentives, unchanged from the 2010 season.

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Carp ace Maeda reels in over 100 million yen plus bonus

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Hiroshima Carp pitcher Kenta Maeda holds a board showing 100 million yen after renewing his contract at Mazda Stadium in Hiroshima on Dec. 20, 2010. Maeda, winner of the Sawamura Award, Japan's equivalent of the majors' Cy Young, in the past season signed an estimated 120 million yen deal for 2011 and a 30 million yen bonus for winning the pitcher's triple crown.

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Honda's Everus at Guangzhou motor show

GUANGZHOU, China - A Chinese joint venture of Honda Motor Co. unveils its Everus brand car at a motor show in Guangzhou on Dec. 20, 2010.

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Nagoya mayor tenders resignation

TOKYO, Japan - Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura (L) tenders a letter of his resignation to Nagoya municipal assembly chief Toshiaki Yokoi (front) at Nagoya city hall on Dec. 20, 2010, after his tax cut bill was voted down by the assembly. Kawamura plans to run in an upcoming mayoral election.

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China's Oct.-Dec. GDP grows 10.7% on year, 2009 GDP up 8.7%

BEIJING, China - Shoppers walk past a well-known luxury brand store in a shopping district of Beijing, China, on Jan. 20, 2010. China said the following day that its economy grew 10.7 percent in the October-December quarter from the same period last year and expanded 8.7% for 2009.

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Huge image of tiger laid out in Ibaraki Pref. national park

HITACHINAKA, Japan - A huge image of a tiger, made of pine cones, is laid out on Dec. 20, 2009, at the National Hitachi Seaside Park in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki Prefecture, which visitors can view by riding on the park's Ferris wheel. The park asked visitors to collect fallen pine cones in the park and to put them in wooden frames laid out to depict a tiger in recognition of 2010 as the year of the tiger in the Eastern zodiac.

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Figure skater Kim carries Olympic torch

HAMILTON, Canada - South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu Na waves to the crowd during the relay for the Olympic torch for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on Dec. 20, 2009, in Hamilton, Canada, the final leg of the torch's global tour. Kim lives an hour's drive from Hamilton in Toronto, where she practices.

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Figure skater Kim carries Olympic torch

HAMILTON, Canada - South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu Na carries the Olympic torch for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games on Dec. 20, 2009, in Hamilton, Canada, the final leg of the torch's global tour. Kim lives an hour's drive from Hamilton in Toronto, where she practices.