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Former volleyball coach Matsudaira dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Japan men's national volleyball team head coach Yasutaka Matsudaira being tossed into the air by members of his team after winning the gold medal at the Munich Olympics in September 1972. The Japan Volleyball Association said Jan. 5, 2012, that Matsudaira died from a lung condition at a Tokyo hospital on Dec. 31, 2011. He was 81.

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Former volleyball coach Matsudaira dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo taken in July 2001 shows former Japan men's national volleyball team head coach Yasutaka Matsudaira. Matsudaira, who steered the country to the gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympics, died from a lung condition at a Tokyo hospital on Dec. 31, 2011, the Japan Volleyball Association said Jan. 5, 2012. He was 81.

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Lawyer Takimoto

TOKYO, Japan - Lawyer Taro Takimoto answers reporters' questions after meeting Makoto Hirata, a former leading member of the AUM Shinrikyo cult, at a police station in Tokyo on Jan. 3, 2012. Hirata has been detained at the police station since turning himself in to police late on Dec. 31, 2011, after being on the run for more than 16 years.

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Japan's Ioka defends WBC title

OSAKA, Japan - REMOVING HYPHEN FROM THAI CHALLENGER'S NAME WBC minimumweight champion Kazuto Ioka of Japan celebrates his technical knockout win over Thai challenger Yedgoen Tor Chalermchai in Osaka on Dec. 31, 2011. Ioka defended his title for the second time.

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Japan's Ioka defends WBC title

OSAKA, Japan - REMOVING HYPHEN FROM THAI CHALLENGER'S NAME WBC minimumweight champion Kazuto Ioka of Japan (back) hits Thai challenger Yedgoen Tor Chalermchai in the first round of a bout in Osaka on Dec. 31, 2011. Ioka won by a technical knockout in the first round to defend his title for the second time.

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New Year decoration at makeshift barber shop in Iwate Pref.

OTSUCHI, Japan - Tetsuro Abe puts up a New Year decoration around the entrance of his makeshift barber shop in the disaster-hit town of Otsuchi in Iwate Prefecture on Dec. 31, 2011. The barber shop, which was opened by his father and had been in business for 40 years, was washed away by the March 11 tsunami.

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Samoa shifts to west of dateline

APIA, Samoa - An employee at a post office in Apia, the Samoan capital, on Dec. 28, 2011, shows stamps commemorating the South Pacific island nation's shift from east of the international dateline to west of it on Dec. 31, 2011.

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Weak euro, dollar vs yen

TOKYO, Japan - A display in Tokyo shows the euro trading at 99.97-100.05 yen (2nd column) in the early hours of Dec. 31, 2011. The top column shows the dollar trading at 76.99-77.02 yen.

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Okinawa pref. assembly member Sakima to run for Ginowan mayor

GINOWAN, Japan - Atsushi Sakima, an executive member of the Okinawa prefectural chapter of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party and a member of the Okinawa prefectural assembly, in Ginowan on Dec. 31, 2011, declares his intention to run in the Ginowan mayoral election slated for February 2012. The city in Okinawa Prefecture currently hosts the Futenma Air Station, a key U.S. Marine Corps base which is planned to be relocated from a densely populated area.

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Pair of big "kadomatsu" decorations in Ishinomaki

ISHINOMAKI, Japan - A car passes between a pair of big "kadomatsu" New Year decorations erected on a road near temporary homes for people affected by the March 2011 disaster in Ishinomaki in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Miyagi on Dec. 31, 2014.

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Toyota Aqua hybrid compact car

NAGOYA, Japan - Photo shows Toyota Motor Corp.'s Aqua hybrid compact car. The automaker said Feb. 1, 2012, the number of orders placed for the Aqua as of Jan. 31, 2012, was about 120,000, greatly exceeding its sales goal of 12,000 units a month. The car was released on Dec. 26, 2011.

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Ozawa indicted over fund misreporting

TOKYO, Japan - Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 28, 2010, expressing his will to appear before a parliamentary ethics panel to explain his alleged involvement in a funds scandal. Ozawa was indicted on Jan. 31, 2011, over accounting irregularities involving his political funds body.

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Chinese pavilion of Shanghai Expo reopens

SHANGHAI, China - People line up on Dec. 1, 2010, to purchase tickets for the Chinese pavilion that featured at the World Expo in Shanghai. The expo ended in October, but the Chinese pavilion, one of the expo's most popular attractions, has reopened through May 31, 2011.

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China pavilion of Shanghai Expo reopens

SHANGHAI, China - People visit the Chinese pavilion that featured at the World Expo in Shanghai on Dec. 1, 2010. The expo ended in October, but the Chinese pavilion, one of the expo's most popular attractions, has reopened through May 31, 2011.