Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui (L) announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui holds a bouquet after a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012, where he announced his retirement from baseball. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui bows after a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012, where he announced his retirement from baseball. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui becomes visibly emotional as he announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

Hideki Matsui retires from baseball

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese outfielder Hideki Matsui announces his retirement from baseball during a press conference in New York on Dec. 27, 2012. The 38-year-old slugger, a two-time All-Star and former World Series MVP with the New York Yankees, had been a free agent since his release from the Tampa Bay Rays in August 2012.

China's Xi, U.N. General Assembly President Jeremic

China's Xi, U.N. General Assembly President Jeremic

BEIJING, China - Vuk Jeremic (L), president of the U.N. General Assembly, shakes hands with Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Dec. 27, 2012. (Pool photo)

Antinuclear Tomorrow Party decides to split by year-end

Antinuclear Tomorrow Party decides to split by year-end

OSAKA, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada meets the press in Osaka on Dec. 27, 2012. The antinuclear Tomorrow Party of Japan, launched a month ago by Kada, decided the same day to split into two groups by the end of the year due to internal conflicts over personnel matters.

Arabian Oil to withdraw from oilfield development business

Arabian Oil to withdraw from oilfield development business

TOKYO, Japan - Arabian Oil Co. President Kazutoshi Hoyano (R) and Fumio Sekiya, president of its parent AOC Holdings Inc., hold a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. Arabian Oil will virtually withdraw from its long-standing oilfield development activities and significantly scale down operations, the parent company said the same day.

Kabuki master's funeral

Kabuki master's funeral

TOKYO, Japan - Nakamura Kankuro (C), son of the late Kabuki master Nakamura Kanzaburo (in portrait at top), speaks during a funeral for Kanzaburo at Tsukiji Honganji temple in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. At R is Kanzaburo's other son, Shichinosuke, and at L is Shochiku Co. Chairman Nobuyoshi Otani. (Pool photo)

Toshiba eyes more M&As

Toshiba eyes more M&As

TOKYO, Japan - Toshiba Corp. President Norio Sasaki is interviewed by Kyodo News in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. Sasaki said the company aims to pursue mergers and acquisitions in its core infrastructure business, including power generation and transmission systems, as part of its global expansion.

Nikkei climbs back to level before March 2011 quake

Nikkei climbs back to level before March 2011 quake

TOKYO, Japan - A display in Tokyo's Yaesu district shows the closing level of Japan's Nikkei stock index on Dec. 27, 2012. It closed at 10,322.98, up 92.62 points from the previous day and its highest mark since March 10, 2011 -- the day before a massive earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.

Japan new Cabinet

Japan new Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga holds a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. Suga indicated the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to review a 1993 statement on the issue of "comfort women" by Yohei Kono, Suga's predecessor as top government spokesman.

Battle of Okinawa film group to disband in March

Battle of Okinawa film group to disband in March

NAHA, Japan - Members of a civil group which has collected film footage of the Battle of Okinawa -- to highlight the misery of the war -- announce at a press conference at the Okinawa prefecture offices in Naha on Dec. 27, 2012, that it will conclude its activities on March 15 since it has fulfilled its mission. Established in 1983, the group has collected video footage from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and screened it, while producing documentary films that include testimonies from survivors of the battle.

Farewell to Kabuki master Kanzaburo

Farewell to Kabuki master Kanzaburo

TOKYO, Japan - Relatives of the late Kabuki master Nakamura Kanzaburo enter Kabuki-za theater in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. From L are Kanzaburo's sons and Kabuki actors Kankuro and Shichinosuke, Kankuro's wife Ai Maeda and (front R) Kanzaburo's wife Yoshie. Kankuro holds Kanzaburo's remains. A funeral was held later in the day for Kanzaburo. (Pool photo)

Japan new Cabinet

Japan new Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's new Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga holds a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2012. Suga indicated the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is eager to review a 1993 statement on the issue of "comfort women" by Yohei Kono, Suga's predecessor as top government spokesman.

Japan new Cabinet

Japan new Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's new Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a press conference in Tokyo in the early hours of Dec. 27, 2012. Aso, a former prime minister, assumed the posts of deputy prime minister, finance minister, and financial services minister under Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

Japan new Cabinet

Japan new Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's new Finance Minister Taro Aso speaks during a press conference in Tokyo in the early hours of Dec. 27, 2012. Aso, a former prime minister, assumed the posts of deputy prime minister, finance minister, and financial services minister under Japan's new prime minister, Shinzo Abe.

Noda announces election pledges

Noda announces election pledges

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces his Democratic Party of Japan's pledges at the DPJ headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Nov. 27, 2012. In the pledges released ahead of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election, the ruling party promised to phase out nuclear energy in the 2030s and fight deflation by cooperating with the Bank of Japan.

Noda announces election pledges

Noda announces election pledges

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces his Democratic Party of Japan's pledges at the DPJ headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Nov. 27, 2012. In the pledges released ahead of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election, the ruling party promised to phase out nuclear energy in the 2030s and fight deflation by cooperating with the Bank of Japan.

Noda announces election pledges

Noda announces election pledges

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces his Democratic Party of Japan's pledges at the DPJ headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Nov. 27, 2012. In the pledges released ahead of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election, the ruling party promised to phase out nuclear energy in the 2030s and fight deflation by cooperating with the Bank of Japan.

Noda announces election pledges

Noda announces election pledges

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda announces his Democratic Party of Japan's pledges at the DPJ headquarters in Tokyo's Nagatacho district on Nov. 27, 2012. In the pledges released ahead of the Dec. 16 House of Representatives election, the ruling party promised to phase out nuclear energy in the 2030s and fight deflation by cooperating with the Bank of Japan.

S. Korea presidential election

S. Korea presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun Hye of the ruling Saenuri Party (C) is surrounded by supporters after making her first stump speech as official campaigning began in Daejeon on Nov. 27, 2012. Park and Moon Jae In of the main opposition Democratic United Party are vying for the presidency in the Dec. 19, 2012, election.

S. Korea presidential election

S. Korea presidential election

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun Hye of the ruling Saenuri Party makes her first stump speech as official campaigning began in Daejeon on Nov. 27, 2012. Park and Moon Jae In of the main opposition Democratic United Party are vying for the presidency in the Dec. 19, 2012, election.

S. Korea presidential election

S. Korea presidential election

BUSAN, South Korea - South Korean presidential candidate Moon Jae In of the main opposition Democratic United Party makes his first stump speech as an official campaigning began in Busan on Nov. 27, 2012. Moon and Park Geun Hye of the ruling Saenuri Party are vying for the presidency in the Dec. 19, 2012, election.

N. Korean soldier defects to South

N. Korean soldier defects to South

SEOUL, South Korea - File photo shows the Gyeongui Line road from the South Korean side of the border with the North on Dec. 27, 2011. A North Korean soldier defected to South Korea on Oct. 6, 2012, across the heavily armed border after killing two of his superiors, the South's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

Star Flyer to launch regular Busan-Kitakyushu flights

Star Flyer to launch regular Busan-Kitakyushu flights

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Star Flyer Inc. President Shinichi Yonehara (L) speaks at a news conference in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Dec. 27, 2010. The company said it will launch passenger flights between Kitakyushu and South Korea's Busan in July 2012, becoming the third Japanese airline to run regular international services after Japan Airlines Corp. and All Nippon Airways Co.

Gov't, Okinawa to outline new development law

Gov't, Okinawa to outline new development law

TOKYO, Japan - Okinawa Gov. Hirokazu Nakaima speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 27, 2010, after meeting with Cabinet members. The central government and the prefecture agreed to outline the framework of a new law by the summer of 2011 to replace the current law on support for Okinawa's development, which expires at the end of March 2012.