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Court rules Dec. election invalid over vote disparity

HIROSHIMA, Japan - Tetsuya Kanao, one of the lawyers who filed a lawsuit claiming the general election held in December 2012 was invalid due to significant disparities in the weight of votes, holds a press conference in Hiroshima on March 25, 2013, after the local high court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. The Hiroshima High Court ruled the same day that the results of the election in Hiroshima's No. 1 and 2 districts were invalid, becoming the first court in Japan to declare an election result void amid a series of lawsuits over disparities in the weight of votes.

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Ex-lower house speaker Kono gives interview

TOKYO, Japan - Former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono speaks during an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012.

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Plane crash in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar - Firefighting officials examine a passenger plane that crash-landed in a field near Heho airport in Shah State, Myanmar, on Dec. 25, 2012, killing two people.

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Plane crash in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar - An October 2012 file photo shows Heho airport in Shah State, Myanmar. A passenger plane crash-landed in a field near the airport on Dec. 25, 2012, killing two people.

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Plane crash in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar - Firefighting and military officials examine a passenger plane that crash-landed in a field near Heho airport in Shah State, Myanmar, on Dec. 25, 2012, killing two people.

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Plane crash in Myanmar

YANGON, Myanmar - An October 2012 file photo shows Heho airport in Shah State, Myanmar. A passenger plane crash-landed in a field near the airport on Dec. 25, 2012, killing two people.

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Japan's new envoy to China

BEIJING, China - Japan's new ambassador to China, Masato Kitera, attends a press conference at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Dec. 25, 2012.

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Japan's new envoy to China

BEIJING, China - Japan's new ambassador to China, Masato Kitera, answers reporters' questions at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Dec. 25, 2012.

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Japan's new envoy to China

BEIJING, China - Japan's new ambassador to China, Masato Kitera, answers reporters' questions at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing on Dec. 25, 2012.

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New LDP team

TOKYO, Japan - Sanae Takaichi speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012, after she was picked as policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party.

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New LDP team

TOKYO, Japan - Seiko Noda speaks during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012, after she was picked as chief of the General Council of the Liberal Democratic Party.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda speaks after being elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New LDP team

TOKYO, Japan - Members of the Liberal Democratic Party's new leadership team join hands during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012, after LDP President Shinzo Abe (3rd from L) formed it. They are (from L) General Council chief Seiko Noda, Vice President Masahiko Komura, President Abe, Secretary General Shigeru Ishiba, policy chief Sanae Takaichi and election strategy chief Takeo Kawamura.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda speaks after being elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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Remodeled Crown luxury sedan

TOKYO, Japan - Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda stands beside a fully remodeled Crown luxury sedan launched the same day during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012. Featuring an all-new design and improved safety features, Toyota renovated its most popular sedan for the first time since 2008.

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New LDP team

TOKYO, Japan - Seiko Noda (L) and Sanae Takaichi smile during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012, after they were picked as chief of the General Council and policy chief of the Liberal Democratic Party.

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Remodeled Crown luxury sedan

TOKYO, Japan - Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda stands beside a fully remodeled Crown luxury sedan launched the same day during a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012. Featuring an all-new design and improved safety features, Toyota renovated its most popular sedan for the first time since 2008.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda hold a press conference after being elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda hold a press conference after being elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda acknowledges his election as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda acknowledges his election as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda acknowledges his election as the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda replaced Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda (R) and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda shake hands after Kaieda was elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan to replace Noda at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012.

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New DPJ leader

TOKYO, Japan - Former trade minister Banri Kaieda (R) and former former transport minister Sumio Mabuchi stand on the stage before making speeches prior to an election to pick the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan at a meeting in Tokyo of DPJ lawmakers on Dec. 25, 2012. Kaieda was elected to replace Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as party head.

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LDP, Komeito coalition

TOKYO, Japan - Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe (3rd from R) and New Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi shake hands in a parliamentary building in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012. They agreed that their parties will form a coalition government after a three-year hiatus.

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LDP, Komeito coalition

TOKYO, Japan - Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe (3rd from R) and New Komeito chief Natsuo Yamaguchi shake hands in a parliamentary building in Tokyo on Dec. 25, 2012. They agreed that their parties will form a coalition government after a three-year hiatus.

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Hitachi Zosen unveils world's biggest shield tunneling machine

OSAKA, Japan - Hitachi Zosen Corp. shows to the press on Dec. 25, 2012, what it claims to be the world's largest shield tunneling machine at its Sakai plant in Osaka Prefecture. The 110-meter-long machine with a diameter of 17.45 meters and weighing some 7,000 tons will be used to drill a 2,800-meter tunnel in Seattle in the U.S. state of Washington to replace an aging elevated highway, the company said.

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Toyota launches remodeled Crown luxury sedan

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 25, 2012, in a car dealership in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, shows a fully remodeled Crown luxury sedan launched the same day by Toyota Motor Corp. in the Japanese market. Featuring an all-new design and improved safety features, Toyota renovated its most popular sedan for the first time since 2008.

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Writer of well-known A-bomb comic book 'Barefoot Gen' dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in June 2008 shows Keiji Nakazawa, author of "Hadashi no Gen" (Barefoot Gen), an iconic Japanese comic about the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing, standing near the A-Bomb Dome (shown in the background) in Hiroshima. Nakazawa died of lung cancer on Dec. 19 at a hospital in the western Japanese city, people close to him said Dec. 25, 2012. He was 73.

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Mitsubishi Motors inspected over improper handling of recalls

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken Dec. 25, 2012, shows the head office of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in Tokyo's Minato Ward. The transport ministry the same day conducted an on-site inspection at the office to examine the manufacturer's efforts to improve business following a government warning issued the previous week over its "passive" stance regarding the recall of potentially defective cars.

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Writer of well-known A-bomb comic book 'Barefoot Gen' dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in July 2011 shows Keiji Nakazawa, author of "Hadashi no Gen" (Barefoot Gen), an iconic Japanese comic about the 1945 Hiroshima atomic bombing. Nakazawa died of lung cancer on Dec. 19 at a hospital in the western Japanese city, people close to him said Dec. 25, 2012. He was 73.

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Mitsubishi Motors inspected over improper handling of recalls

TOKYO, Japan - Officials from the transport ministry enter the head office of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in Tokyo's Minato Ward on Dec. 25, 2012, to conduct an on-site inspection to examine the manufacturer's efforts to improve business following a government warning issued the previous week over its "passive" stance regarding the recall of potentially defective cars.

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Russian pipeline goes into operation

KHABAROVSK, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin (projected at the center on a screen) instructs officials to start full operation of an oil pipeline during a teleconference linking Moscow with Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East, where the opening ceremony was held, on Dec. 25, 2012. Russia plans to use the 4,756-kilometer-long pipeline, called the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean, or ESPO, oil pipeline linking Tayshet in eastern Siberia with Kozmino port near Nakhodka in the Far East to export crude oil to Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea.

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Russian pipeline goes into operation

KHABAROVSK, Russia - Russian officials jointly press a button at a ceremony in Khabarovsk in the Russian Far East on Dec. 25, 2012, to mark the commencement of full operation of a 4,756-kilometer-long oil pipeline linking Tayshet in eastern Siberia with Kozmino port near Nakhodka in the Far East. Russia plans to use the pipeline, called the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean, or ESPO, oil pipeline to export crude oil to Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea.

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Abe in stump speech

TSU, Japan - Shinzo Abe, chief of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, makes a stump speech in Tsu, Mie Prefecture, on Nov. 25, 2012, ahead of the Dec. 16 general election.

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Noda in stump speech

OSAKA, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda makes a stump speech in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, on Nov. 25, 2012, ahead of the Dec. 16 general election.

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Violinist Goto

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Japanese violinist Midori Goto. She will give concerts in Japan in July 2012 on the 30th anniversary of her debut, she said on Dec. 25, 2011.