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Geisha establishments court new business

KOCHI, Japan - A female customer (L) enjoys chatting with a geisha girl during a women-only group dinner plan accompanied by "ozashiki asobi," or playing games with geisha girls and watching their dancing performance, offered by a traditional "ryotei" Japanese restaurant in Kochi, Kochi Prefecture, on Dec. 28, 2012.

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Geisha establishments court new business

KOCHI, Japan - Women watch geisha girls (C) dance during a women-only group dinner plan accompanied by "ozashiki asobi," or playing games with geisha girls and watching their dancing performance, offered by a traditional "ryotei" Japanese restaurant in Kochi, Kochi Prefecture on Dec. 28, 2012.

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Aso holds phone talks with Geithner

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso (C) answers reporters' questions at the ministry in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012, after holding a 30-minute phone conversation with U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Aso said he had asked Geithner to address uncertainty over U.S. fiscal policy, while acknowledging the over-valuation of the yen has been correcting recently.

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New Foreign Minister Kishida

TOKYO, Japan - New Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida is interviewed by Japanese media organizations in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012.

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1950 Chinese diplomatic draft sees Senkakus as part of Ryukyus

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in June 2011 shows (from front) Minamikojima, Kitakojima and Uotsuri islands, part of the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, which China and Taiwan also claim. A Chinese diplomatic draft in 1950 on a peace treaty with Japan indicated Chinese recognition of the Senkaku Islands as part of the Ryukyu Islands, sources familiar with the document said Dec. 28, 2012.

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New industry minister Motegi

TOKYO, Japan - New industry minister Toshimitsu Motegi is interviewed by Japanese media organizations in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012. Motegi said that confirming the safety of nuclear reactors will be given priority over anything else in resuming their operation and the state will fulfill its responsibility in the process.

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New economic policy minister Amari

TOKYO, Japan - New economic and fiscal policy minister Akira Amari is interviewed by Japanese media organizations in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012.

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New Defense Minister Onodera

TOKYO, Japan - New Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera is interviewed by Japanese media organizations in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012.

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New Finance Minister Aso

TOKYO, Japan - New Finance Minister Taro Aso is interviewed by Japanese media organizations in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012.

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Shiga gov. announces split of antinuclear Tomorrow Party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada (L) announces at a press conference in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Dec. 28, 2012, a split of the antinuclear Tomorrow Party of Japan into two groups only a month after its inception. Powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa (R) sat next to her at the conference. Kada will leave the party with House of Representatives member Tomoko Abe to form a separate party, while party members supporting Ozawa will take the party, which is renamed "Seikatsu no To" (Party of People's Lives).

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Shiga gov. announces split of antinuclear Tomorrow Party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada (L) and powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa hold a press conference in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Dec. 28, 2012, to announce a split of the antinuclear Tomorrow Party of Japan into two groups only a month after its inception. Kada will leave the party with House of Representatives member Tomoko Abe to form a separate party, while party members supporting Ozawa will take the party, which is renamed "Seikatsu no To" (Party of People's Lives).

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Abe meets abductees' kin

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (2nd from L) speaks during a meeting at his office in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2012, with relatives (R) of Japanese nationals kidnapped by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s. Abe, known for his hard-line stance toward North Korea, vowed to resolve the long-stalled abduction issue.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Shonan Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a former governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, speaks as a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election at a joint press conference with other candidates at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Takashi Sasagawa, a retired lawmaker who formerly headed the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's General Council, speaks as a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election at a joint press conference with other candidates at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inose speaks as a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election at a joint press conference with other candidates at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Kenji Utsunomiya, former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, speaks as a candidate for the Tokyo gubernatorial election at a joint press conference with other candidates at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Candidates for the Tokyo gubernatorial election -- (from L) Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a former governor of adjacent Kanagawa Prefecture, Kenji Utsunomiya, former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inose and Takashi Sasagawa, a retired lawmaker who formerly headed the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's General Council -- hold a joint press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Candidates for the Tokyo gubernatorial election -- (from L) Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a former governor of adjacent Kanagawa Prefecture, Kenji Utsunomiya, former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inose and Takashi Sasagawa, a retired lawmaker who formerly headed the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's General Council -- hold a joint press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Candidates for the Tokyo gubernatorial election -- (from L) Shigefumi Matsuzawa, a former governor of adjacent Kanagawa Prefecture, Kenji Utsunomiya, former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, Tokyo Vice Gov. Naoki Inose and Takashi Sasagawa, a retired lawmaker who formerly headed the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party's General Council -- join hands at a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, before official campaigning for the Dec. 16 election begins the following day.

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Antinuclear power party

TOKYO, Japan - Tetsunari Iida, acting leader of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), answers reporters' questions in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, after submitting an application to formally register a group of Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, as a political party, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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JAL to serve KFC meals on some int'l flights

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, shows Kentucky Fried Chicken dishes that Japan Airlines Co. said the same day it will serve on some of its international flights to U.S. and European destinations for three months starting Dec. 1.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.