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Tsunami-destroyed railway station to be restored

SENDAI, Japan - East Japan Railway Co.'s Rikuchu-Yamada Station on the Yamada Line in Yamada, Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, is seen in tatters in this file photo taken on March 23, 2011, a dozen days after it was hit by the devastating earthquake and tsunami. The company and the local community agreed on Dec. 24, 2014, to restore the station, burned down by a tsunami-caused fire, as part of a project to revive the line wrecked by the disaster.

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Student from quake-hit region

GENEVA, Switzerland - Kosuke Kagaya (R), a student at the Miyagi prefectural Sendai Daisan senior high school, is pictured on a snowboarding outing in the Swiss mountain resort village of Verbier on Dec. 24, 2013. Kagaya is spending time in Switzerland until the end of the year on a project started by a Japanese woman living in the country to invite children and students from Japan's Tohoku region hit by the March 2011 disaster to a school in Switzerland.

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Condolence visit to Kim Jong Il in cold

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Koreans mourn before a portrait of the late leader Kim Jong Il in the plaza in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang on Dec. 24, 2011.

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Condolence visit to Kim Jong Il in cold

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Koreans receive hot drinks handed out in the plaza in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang as they mourn for the late leader Kim Jong Il on Dec. 24, 2011.

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Protest in Russia

MOSCOW, Russia - People take part in a rally in Moscow on Dec. 24, 2011, protesting an alleged vote counting scam in parliamentary elections.

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Condolence visit to Kim Jong Il in cold

PYONGYANG, North Korea - Nurses support people visiting the plaza in front of Pyongyang Indoor Stadium in Pyongyang on Dec. 24, 2011, to mourn for the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

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Christmas Eve in Bethlehem

BETHLEHEM, West Bank - People gather around a Christmas tree in a square near the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, West Bank, on Christmas Eve Dec. 24, 2011.

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Medalists at Japan figure skating nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Daisuke Takahashi (C), Takahiko Kozuka (L) and Yuzuru Hanyu show their medals after finishing first, second and third, respectively, at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011.

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Takahashi wins nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Daisuke Takahashi performs in the men's free skate during the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. Takahashi won the men's title at the championships.

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Japanese woman set free after daughter returns to U.S.

MILWAUKEE, United States - Nicaraguan doctor Moises Garcia holds up a photo of his daughter during a press conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Dec. 24, 2011. A Japanese woman, his former wife, who had been detained in Wisconsin on a felony charge of concealing their 9-year-old daughter from Garcia, was set free Dec. 23 after the girl was returned to him following a plea agreement reached in November.

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'Miracle pine' lit up on Christmas Eve

RIKUZENTAKATA, Japan - A pine tree that withstood the March 11 tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, is lit up amid snow on Dec. 24, 2011.

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Takahashi wins nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Daisuke Takahashi performs in the men's free skate during the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. Takahashi won the men's title at the championships.

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Christmas tree in tsunami-hit Ishinomaki

ISHINOMAKI, Japan - Kenichi Kurosawa (R), a 40-year-old plumber, and Takeru Okuda, a 19-year-old college student, stand in front of a Christmas tree in disaster-hit Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 24, 2011. Kurosawa placed the Christmas tree at the site where his home office was located, in memory of the victims of the March quake and tsunami and to wish for the reconstruction of the disaster-hit areas.

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Message to North

PAJU, South Korea - A man holds baby socks and a letter bearing a message reading ''Be alive until the day of unification'' in Paju, a South Korean city near the border with North Korea, on Dec. 24, 2011, before attaching them to one of the balloons to be floated to the North.

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Asada at national championships

OSAKA, Japan - Two-time world champion Mao Asada performs in the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. Asada, appearing in her first competition since her mother passed away on Dec. 9, placed second after the short program.

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Asada at national championships

OSAKA, Japan - Two-time world champion Mao Asada performs in the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. Asada, appearing in her first competition since her mother passed away on Dec. 9, placed second after the short program.

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Mourners visit Kim Jong Il portrait

PYONGYANG, North Korea - North Koreans visit a portrait of the late leader Kim Jong Il to pay their respects at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang on Dec. 24, 2011.

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Murakami takes lead after SP at nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Kanako Murakami performs during the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. The 17-year-old took the lead after the short program.

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Asada at national championships

OSAKA, Japan - Two-time world champion Mao Asada performs in the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. Asada, appearing in her first competition since her mother passed away on Dec. 9, placed second after the short program.

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Murakami takes lead after SP at nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Kanako Murakami performs during the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. The 17-year-old took the lead after the short program.

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Murakami takes lead after SP at nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Kanako Murakami performs during the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. The 17-year-old took the lead after the short program.

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Cerezo's Kiyotake, S-Pulse's Takahara in Emperor's Cup

OSAKA, Japan - Cerezo Osaka's Hiroshi Kiyotake (R) and Naohiro Takahara of Shimizu S-Pulse (L) play in an Emperor's Cup quarterfinal match in Osaka on Dec. 24, 2011. Cerezo advanced to the semifinals by winning a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw.

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Murakami takes lead after SP at nationals

OSAKA, Japan - Kanako Murakami flashes her smile after the women's short program at the national figure skating championships at the Namihaya Dome in Osaka Prefecture on Dec. 24, 2011. The 17-year-old took the lead after the short program.

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Protest rally in Russian Far East

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia - Demonstrators hold placards during a rally in Vladivostok, Russia, on Dec. 24, 2011, to protest the vote counting of Dec. 4's parliamentary elections.

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Footballer Kagawa turns into Santa Claus

SENDAI, Japan - Japan midfielder Shinji Kagawa in Santa Claus costume speaks at a Christmas event in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, on Dec. 24, 2011. About 300 children from soccer teams in the prefecture affected by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami were invited to the event and received jerseys and shoes as Christmas gifts.

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Finance minister Azumi at press conference

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi speaks at a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 24, 2011, after the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda agreed on the initial budget for fiscal 2012 the same day. The government plans to submit the draft budget to parliament in early 2012.

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Mitsubishi's minicar-class commercial EV

TOKYO, Japan - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. President Osamu Masuko stands next to the MINICAB-MiEV, a minicar-class commercial electric vehicle, in Tokyo on Nov. 24, 2011. The automaker will launch the vehicle in Japan on Dec. 8 as the second product in its next-generation EV lineup.

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Japan drafts record-high FY 2011 budget

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan attends a meeting with the members of his Cabinet at the premier's office in Tokyo on Dec. 24, 2010, to finalize a record-high draft budget for fiscal 2011.

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Japan drafts record-high FY 2011 budget

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks at a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 24, 2010. The government approved a record-high draft budget the same day for fiscal 2011.

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Japan drafts record-high FY 2011 budget

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda speaks at a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 24, 2010. The government approved a record-high draft budget the same day for fiscal 2011.

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45-yr-old Yamamoto re-signs with Dragons

NAGOYA, Japan - Masahiro Yamamoto, a veteran lefty of the Chunichi Dragons, attends a press conference in Nagoya on Dec. 24, 2010, after re-signing with the club in the 2011 season. The 45-year-old pitcher who earned 5 wins pledged to work hard on doubling the number of winning games in his 28th season.