Exhibition to honor antinuke Austrian writer

Exhibition to honor antinuke Austrian writer

HIROSHIMA, Japan - The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Hiroshima, western Japan, opens an exhibition Feb. 15, 2013, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Robert Jungk, an Austrian writer known for his efforts to focus international attention on the devastation caused by the 1945 atomic bombing of the city. The exhibition is due to run through March 28, 2013.

Chinese scholar returns to Japan

Chinese scholar returns to Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows Zhu Jianrong, a professor of Chinese politics and diplomacy at Toyo Gakuen University, at Tokyo's Haneda airport following his return from China on Feb. 28, 2014, after about seven months. The Japan-based Chinese scholar was detained by Chinese authorities in July 2013 on suspicion of illegal intelligence-gathering activities.

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (C) and Empress Michiko speak to residents of a temporary housing complex on Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014. The volcanic island was hit hard by mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon in October 2013. (Pool photo)

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Empress Michiko speaks to a woman and her baby at a temporary housing complex on Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014, during a visit with Emperor Akihito to the volcanic island, hit hard by mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon in October 2013. (Pool photo)

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (C) and Empress Michiko (next to the emperor) offer silent prayers in an area hit hard by mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon in October 2013 on Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014. Oshima Mayor Masafumi Kawashima is also seen in left. (Pool photo)

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (2nd from R) and Empress Michiko (far R) visit an area hit hard by mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon in October 2013 on Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014. Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe (far L) and Oshima Mayor Masafumi Kawashima (2nd from L) guided the imperial couple. (Pool photo)

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (L, facing) and Empress Michiko meet representatives of the volunteer workers who were involved in Izu Oshima Island's restoration operations after the island was hit by a powerful typhoon in October 2013, at the Oshima town hall on the island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014.

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

OSHIMA, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (L, facing) and Empress Michiko meet representatives of the volunteer workers who were involved in Izu Oshima Island's restoration operations after the island was hit by a powerful typhoon in October 2013, at the Oshima town hall on the island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014.

Chinese scholar returns to Japan

Chinese scholar returns to Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows Zhu Jianrong, a professor of Chinese politics and diplomacy at Toyo Gakuen University's Nagareyama Campus in Chiba Prefecture. Zhu, a Japan-based Chinese scholar and well-known commentator on Sino-Japanese relations, was detained by Chinese authorities in July 2013, suspected of illegal intelligence-gathering activities. He returned to Japan on Feb. 28, 2014.

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

Emperor, empress visit typhoon-hit Izu Oshima Island

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Emperor Akihito (R, facing) and Empress Michiko (standing next to him) leave from Tokyo's Haneda airport for Izu Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Feb. 28, 2014. The volcanic island was hit hard by mudslides triggered by a powerful typhoon in October 2013.

NPO member creates cookbook with refugees' recipes

NPO member creates cookbook with refugees' recipes

TOKYO, Japan - Shiho Tanaka, a Japan Association for Refugees member, has produced a home cooking book listing 45 recipes contributed by refugees from 15 countries and regions in Asia, the Middle East and Africa, hoping to raise awareness of their lives. Photo taken at the office of the nonprofit organization supporting refugees in Japan on Feb. 28, 2013 in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.

2 years after quake

2 years after quake

NAMIE, Japan - Photos show a road jammed with evacuating cars in the town of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture, on March 12, 2011 (top), the day after the massive earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan that triggered a nuclear disaster in the prefecture, and the same location on Feb. 28, 2013, where a checkpoint for a no-entry zone has been set up.

2 years after quake

2 years after quake

SENDAI, Japan - Photos show a baggage turnstile at Sendai Airport in Miyagi Prefecture on March 17, 2011 (top), shortly after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and the same location on Feb. 28, 2013. Flight services at the airport, which was inundated by the tsunami, resumed around a month after the disaster.

Norway Foreign Minister Eide

Norway Foreign Minister Eide

OSLO, Norway - Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks in an interview with Kyodo News at the ministry in Oslo on Feb. 28, 2013. He was speaking ahead of an international conference -- to be hosted by Norway on March 4-5 -- on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons.

Norway Foreign Minister Eide

Norway Foreign Minister Eide

OSLO, Norway - Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide speaks in an interview with Kyodo News at the ministry in Oslo on Feb. 28, 2013. He was speaking ahead of an international conference -- to be hosted by Norway on March 4-5 -- on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons.

Honorary envoy to Africa confab

Honorary envoy to Africa confab

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese singer Misia (L) visits the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013, to receive an appointment letter as Japan's honorary ambassador to the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development to be held in June 2013. At right is Makoto Ito, Japan's ambassador for the international conference, known as TICAD.

Japan to provide $281 mil. grant to Afghanistan

Japan to provide $281 mil. grant to Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Hiroshi Takahashi, Japanese ambassador to Afghanistan, speaks at a signing ceremony in Kabul on Feb. 28, 2013. The Japanese government the same day agreed with the United Nations to provide a $281 million grant to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan.

Riken eyes iPS clinical research

Riken eyes iPS clinical research

KOBE, Japan - Masayo Takahashi (L), an ophthalmologist who heads Riken's research team on retinal regeneration at the Riken Center for Development Biology, speaks during a press conference in Kobe, western Japan, on Feb. 28, 2013. Riken, Japan's state-backed scientific research institute, applied for government permission the same day for its plan to conduct clinical research using induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells, to regenerate retina.

U.S. commander in Japan

U.S. commander in Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Lt. Gen. Samuel Angelella, the top commander of the U.S. military in Japan, speaks during a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013.

Riken eyes iPS clinical research

Riken eyes iPS clinical research

KOBE, Japan - Masayo Takahashi (L), an ophthalmologist who heads Riken's research team on retinal regeneration at the Riken Center for Development Biology, speaks during a press conference in Kobe, western Japan, on Feb. 28, 2013. Riken, Japan's state-backed scientific research institute, applied for government permission the same day for its plan to conduct clinical research using induced pluripotent stem cells, known as iPS cells, to regenerate retina.

Abe's 1st policy speech

Abe's 1st policy speech

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech to a House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013, his first since assuming the premiership for the second time in December. Abe said Japan will restart idled nuclear reactors once their safety has been confirmed to ensure stable power supply and reduce energy costs, a statement at odds with public sentiment.

Abe's 1st policy speech

Abe's 1st policy speech

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech to a House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013, his first since assuming the premiership for the second time in December. Abe said Japan will restart idled nuclear reactors once their safety has been confirmed to ensure stable power supply and reduce energy costs, a statement at odds with public sentiment.

Abe's 1st policy speech

Abe's 1st policy speech

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers a policy speech to a House of Representatives plenary session in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013, his first since assuming the premiership for the second time in December. Abe said Japan will restart idled nuclear reactors once their safety has been confirmed to ensure stable power supply and reduce energy costs, a statement at odds with public sentiment.

China air pollution

China air pollution

BEIJING, China - Chinese people ride their bicycles in Beijing on Feb. 28, 2013, as air pollution blankets the Chinese capital.

Miss International, Peter, Paul & Mary member

Miss International, Peter, Paul & Mary member

SAGA, Japan - Ikumi Yoshimatsu (R), the 2012 Miss International winner, and Peter Yarrow of musical trio Peter, Paul & Mary, sing with children at Tosu-Kita Elementary School in Tosu, Saga Prefecture, on Feb. 28, 2013. Yoshimatsu, who used to go to the school, visited there with Yarrow as part of a goodwill mission she has been undertaking to foster friendship among children around the world.

China air pollution

China air pollution

BEIJING, China - Photo taken Feb. 28, 2013, shows an area of Beijing as air pollution blankets the Chinese capital.

Boeing explains plan to fix 787 battery problem

Boeing explains plan to fix 787 battery problem

TOKYO, Japan - Ray Conner, president of Boeing Co.'s commercial airplane division, visits Japan's transport ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013. Boeing explained to Japanese transport regulators its plan to fix the volatile lithium-ion battery used in its 787 Dreamliner, after one operated by All Nippon Airways Co. was forced to make an emergency landing in January.

Boeing explains plan to fix 787 battery problem

Boeing explains plan to fix 787 battery problem

TOKYO, Japan - Ray Conner, president of Boeing Co.'s commercial airplane division, meets the press at Japan's transport ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2013. Boeing explained to Japanese transport regulators its plan to fix the volatile lithium-ion battery used in its 787 Dreamliner, after one operated by All Nippon Airways Co. was forced to make an emergency landing in January.

Gov't proposes ADB chief Kuroda as next BOJ governor

Gov't proposes ADB chief Kuroda as next BOJ governor

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda. The government proposed to the Diet on Feb. 28, 2013, the appointment of Kuroda, an advocate of aggressive monetary easing, as the next Bank of Japan governor.

U.N. climate change convention chief in Tokyo

U.N. climate change convention chief in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, delivers a speech in Tokyo on Feb. 28, 2011. She urged Japan to play a constructive role at a climate meeting in Durban, South Africa, in terms of building emission reduction frameworks in 2013 and beyond.