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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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Afghan factions sign landmark deal on new gov't

BONN, Germany - File photos show (from L to R) Afghanistan's Northern Alliance Interior Minister Yunos Qanoni, Defense Minister Gen. Muhammed Fahim and Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, who will remain in their posts in a new interim Afghan government to be formed under a landmark deal signed in Bonn on Dec. 5, 2001. The government will be led by Pashtun tribal leader Hamid Karzai.

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(3)Nomura set to quit as Hanshin manager

TOKYO, Japan - Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura gets into his car outside his residence at Tokyo's Tamagawa-Denenchofu on Dec. 5, 2001 en route to Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, for talks with officials of the Central League club about his immediate future. He was seen set to resign after his wife Sachiyo was arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of tax evasion.

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(1)Nomura set to quit as Hanshin manager

OSAKA, Japan - File photo taken in Osaka on Nov. 27, 2001 shows Hanshin Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura, who will likely resign after his wife Sachiyo was arrested Dec. 5, 2001 on suspicion of tax evasion.

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Shinjo named among best dressers

TOKYO, Japan - New York Mets outfielder Tsuyoshi Shinjo (R) and actress Ryoko Yonekura, pose in an awards ceremony at a Tokyo hotel after being named best dressers of the year Dec. 5, 2001. Five other winners of the award, presented by the Japan Men's Fashion Unity, included Nobuteru Ishihara, minister in charge of administrative reforms, and singer Ken Hirai.

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Koizumi denies backtracking on reform agenda

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (L) shakes hands with Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party at the end of a parliamentary debate Dec. 5, 2001. The premier denied allegations that he has allowed the ruling Liberal Democratic Party old guards to influence his reform programs. ''The mass media and people who do not believe me say that I have compromised, but that is not the case at all,'' Koizumi said during the debate.

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Benetton to open 3 megastores in Osaka, Kyoto

TOKYO, Japan - Benetton Group Chairman Luciano Benetton speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on Dec. 5, 2001 on his group's plan to open three megastore outlets in Osaka and Kyoto from next February to February 2003. ''We hope to open 20 megastores in Japan by 2004,'' he said.

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(2)Nomura set to quit as Hanshin manager

NISHINOMIYA, Japan - Hanshin Tigers President Katsuyoshi Nozaki (C) is followed by reporters at the club office in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, on Dec. 5, 2001. Tigers manager Katsuya Nomura was seen set to resign after his wife Sachiyo was arrested earlier in the day on suspicion of tax evasion.