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Animation figures museum in Japan

Photo taken on Nov. 12, 2025, shows part of a collection of animated character figures on display at the Bankyo Figure Museum in Taki, Mie Prefecture, central Japan. The museum, located inside a factory of Bankyo Pharmaceutical Co., exhibits about 40,000 items collected by company president Nobuo Matsuura.

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Animation figures museum in Japan

Photo taken on Nov. 12, 2025, shows part of a collection of animated character figures on display at the Bankyo Figure Museum in Taki, Mie Prefecture, central Japan. The museum, located inside a factory of Bankyo Pharmaceutical Co., exhibits about 40,000 items collected by company president Nobuo Matsuura.

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31st SAG Awards - Arrivals - LA

Eleanor Matsuura arrives at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States. Photo by Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM

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31st SAG Awards - Arrivals - LA

Eleanor Matsuura arrives at the 31st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards held at the Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall on February 23, 2025 in Los Angeles, California, United States. Photo by Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM

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Webb Reveals New Structures Within Iconic Supernova

Handout - Webb’s NIRCam (Near-Infrared Camera) captured this detailed image of SN 1987A (Supernova 1987A). At the center, material ejected from the supernova forms a keyhole shape. Just to its left and right are faint crescents newly discovered by Webb. Beyond them an equatorial ring, formed from material ejected tens of thousands of years before the supernova explosion, contains bright hot spots. Exterior to that is diffuse emission and two faint outer rings. This image reveals a central structure like a keyhole. This center is packed with clumpy gas and dust ejected by the supernova explosion. The dust is so dense that even near-infrared light that Webb detects can’t penetrate it, shaping the dark “hole” in the keyhole. Despite the decades of study since the supernova’s initial discovery, there are several mysteries that remain, particularly surrounding the neutron star that should have been formed in the aftermath of the supernova explosion. August 31, 2023. Photo by NASA, ESA, CSA, M. Matsuura (Cardiff Un

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Japan's Matsue, Taipei to enhance exchanges

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Masataka Matsuura (L), the mayor of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin pose for photos after signing a memorandum to enhance tourism and cultural exchanges between the two cities in Taipei on July 25, 2014. Matsue began exhibiting its local peonies at an annual flower exhibition in Taipei nine years ago.

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Matsue promotes famed peony, tourism in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Matsue Mayor Masataka Matsuura (R) presents Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin with a pot of the western Japan city's famous peony during a visit to the Jianguo Holiday Flower Market on Jan. 25, 2014.

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Suicide prevention slogan dropped

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada responds to questions from Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Daigo Matsuura (bottom R), who displays a sign showing a government slogan aimed at preventing suicides, during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session at the Diet building in Tokyo on Feb. 6, 2012. The government decided to withdraw the controversial slogan GKB47, a play on the name of pop idol group AKB48.

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Sunken Mongol Empire ship found off Nagasaki Pref.

NAGASAKI, Japan - Yoshifumi Ikeda (R), a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, speaks at a press conference in Nagasaki on Oct. 24, 2011. Ikeda announced a recent discovery of the hull of a ship off the island of Takashima in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is believed to be part of a Mongol Empire ship that apparently sank during an invasion attempt against Japan. In the second attack by the Yuan Dynasty in 1281, a large number of vessels are believed to have sunk off the island due to a storm.

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Sojitz begins shipment of farmed bluefin tuna

SASEBO, Japan - Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2010, in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, shows Sojitz Tuna Farm Takashima Co.'s first shipment of farmed bluefin tuna ahead of the high-demand yearend and new-year season. Major trading house Sojitz Corp., which wholly owns Sojitz tuna farm, is the first Japanese trading company to enter into tuna farming, while an international commission decided to slightly reduce the bluefin tuna fishing quota for 2011.

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Sojitz begins shipment of farmed bluefin tuna

SASEBO, Japan - People involved with a tuna farming project pose for photos during a ceremony to commemorate Sojitz Tuna Farm Takashima Co.'s first shipment of farmed bluefin tuna on Dec. 8, 2010, in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture. Major trading house Sojitz Corp., which wholly owns Sojitz tuna farm, is the first Japanese trading company to enter into tuna farming, while an international commission decided to slightly reduce the bluefin tuna fishing quota for 2011.

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UNESCO to hold World Heritage concerts in Japan, France in Nov.

TOKYO, Japan - Koichiro Matsuura (R), director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and Japanese musician Missa Johnouchi (L), who has been named an Artist for Peace by the organization, announce in Tokyo on Aug. 4 that UNESCO will hold concerts in Japan and France in November as part of its campaign to preserve World Heritage sites.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with priest Shunkai Matsuura of Toshodaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 after presenting the temple with a miniature ''ship of friendship.'' (Pool photo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd from L) and his wife Liu Yongqing (2nd from L) listen to traditional Japanese court music at Toshodaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 with temple priest Shunkai Matsuura (2nd from R). (Pool photo)

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Defense force officer arrested over confidential data leak

URAGA, Japan - A car carrying Maritime Self-Defense Force Lt. Com. Sumitaka Matsuura arrives at a police station in Uraga, south of Tokyo, on Dec. 13. Matsuuchi was arrested for allegedly taking materials, including highly confidential data, from the computer system taskforce in the U.S. Aegis defense system, in violation of Japan's bilateral agreement with the United States.

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UNESCO reappoints Matsuura as director general

PARIS, France - UNESCO reelected Koichiro Matsuura (file photo) of Japan as its director general at its general meeting on Oct. 12. Matsuura, 68, will begin serving a second, shortened four-year term on Oct. 21 as the chief of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

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UNESCO set to reappoint Matsuura as director general

PARIS, France - UNESCO decided Sept. 19 to renominate Koichiro Matsuura (file photo) of Japan to be its director general for a second, shortened four-year term. Fifty-five of 58 member states on UNESCO's Executive Board voted for his reappointment. Matsuura will be formally reappointed during UNESCO's general conference on Oct. 12.

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UNESCO to transform tsunami alert system into global network

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius - UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura speaks in an interview with Kyodo News in Port Louis on Jan. 12. He said UNESCO will establish a tsunami alert system in the Indian Ocean region by June 2006 and transform its early warning system into a global network by June 2007. Matsuura was in Mauritius to attend the U.N. international meeting on the sustainable development of small-island developing countries.

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Koizumi meets UNESCO chief Matsuura in Paris

PARIS, France - Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi meets UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura (L) at a Paris hotel April 29. The two discussed restoring and preserving war-damaged Iraqi cultural assets.

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S. Korea requested UNESCO's mediation in textbook affair

GENEVA, Switzerland - Koichiro Matsuura, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), speaks at his office in Geneva on Sept. 5. He said South Korea has asked the UNESCO to mediate over its textbook dispute with Japan.

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UNESCO holds protest exhibit over destruction of Buddhas

PARIS, France - Koichi Matsuura, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), makes a speech June 5 opening an art exhibition at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris organized to protest the Taliban's destruction of Buddhist monumental sculptures in Afghanistan. Standing at left is Japanese painter Ikuo Hirayama, who serves as UNESCO's goodwill ambassador.

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UNESCO chief advocates common textbooks for Mideast children

PARIS, France - UNESCO General Director Koichiro Matsuura (file photo) proposed May 28 offering common school textbooks to Middle Eastern children as part of efforts to restore peace in the region. Expressing concern over intensifying conflicts in the Middle East, Matsuura stressed the importance of education as ''the first step toward peace.''

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S. Korea attracts record 4 million foreign tourists

Hideo Matsuura (2nd from R), a Japanese national, on Dec. 9 becomes the four millionth foreign tourist to South Korea this year. Matsuura, who arrived at Seoul's Kimpo international airport from Tokyo at noon, was welcomed by representatives from the South Korean tourism industry with a shower of gifts prepared by the Korea National Tourism Organization and Korean Air including a free ticket.

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (R) shakes hands with priest Shunkai Matsuura of Toshodaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 after presenting the temple with a miniature ''ship of friendship.'' (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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China's Hu visits Nara on last leg of official visit to Japan

NARA, Japan - Chinese President Hu Jintao (3rd from L) and his wife Liu Yongqing (2nd from L) listen to traditional Japanese court music at Toshodaiji Temple in Nara Prefecture on May 10 with temple priest Shunkai Matsuura (2nd from R). (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

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Ex-Osaka resident produces salt in western Japan mountains

Mitsutaka Matsuura, a 65-year-old former Osaka resident, watches boiling seawater in a giant iron pot at his salt-making factory in the depopulated Irokawa district of Nachikatsuura town on the Pacific coast on Feb. 4, 2015. The district started accepting immigrants from urban areas about 40 years ago, with these new residents now accounting for about 45% of its population. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Matsue Castle designated as national treasure in Japan

Matsue Mayor Masataka Matsuura speaks at a press conference in the western Japanese city on July 8, 2015, after the main stronghold of Matsue Castle was designated as a national treasure by the culture ministry. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Beatles tribute bands continue to support disaster-hit Tohoku

Vocalist and bassist Hirofumi Matsuura of the Foresail, a tribute band of the Beatles, holds a concert flyer in the city of Fukushima, Japan, in June 2015. He leads a joint campaign with other Beatles tribute bands to support reconstruction of the Tohoku region devastated by the March 2011 disaster. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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JAEA chief briefs science minister on plan to improve Monju safety

Shojiro Matsuura (L), president of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, reports to science and technology minister Hakubun Shimomura on a plan to improve the safety of its Monju prototype fast breeder reactor at the latter's office in Tokyo on March 23, 2015. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japanese mayor presents big peony flowers to Taipei city

Masataka Matsuura (C), mayor of Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, presents a pot of peony flowers to a senior official of the Taipei municipal government in the Taiwanese city on Feb. 14, 2015. Matsue displayed its brand of peony flowers at a floral fair held for five days through Feb. 18 in the Lunar New Year holiday season. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Nagasaki region steps up efforts to avert potato chip crisis

Photo taken in June 2017 in Matsuura in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, shows a man holding a basket of Nagasaki Kogane (Nagasaki Gold) potatoes. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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JAXA's flight director happy at Japan cargo mission's success

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency flight director Mayumi Matsuura meets the press at the Tsukuba Space Center in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo, on Aug. 25, 2015. She expressed relief as Japanese astronaut Kimiya Yui aboard the International Space Station successfully captured the Kounotori5 unmanned supply spacecraft by maneuvering a robotic arm. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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UNESCO set to reappoint Matsuura as director general

PARIS, France - UNESCO decided Sept. 19 to renominate Koichiro Matsuura (file photo) of Japan to be its director general for a second, shortened four-year term. Fifty-five of 58 member states on UNESCO's Executive Board voted for his reappointment. Matsuura will be formally reappointed during UNESCO's general conference on Oct. 12. (Kyodo)

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Defense force officer arrested over confidential data leak

URAGA, Japan - A car carrying Maritime Self-Defense Force Lt. Com. Sumitaka Matsuura arrives at a police station in Uraga, south of Tokyo, on Dec. 13. Matsuuchi was arrested for allegedly taking materials, including highly confidential data, from the computer system taskforce in the U.S. Aegis defense system, in violation of Japan's bilateral agreement with the United States. (Kyodo)

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Defense force officer arrested over confidential data leak

TOKYO, Japan - The photo taken in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, on Sept. 20, 2007 shows Maritime Self-Defense Force Lt. Com. Sumitaka Matsuura, who was arrested on Dec. 13 for allegedly taking materials, including highly confidential data, from the computer system taskforce in the U.S. Aegis defense system, in violation of Japan's bilateral agreement with the United States. (Kyodo)

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UNESCO to transform tsunami alert system into global network

PORT LOUIS, Mauritius - UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura speaks in an interview with Kyodo News in Port Louis on Jan. 12. He said UNESCO will establish a tsunami alert system in the Indian Ocean region by June 2006 and transform its early warning system into a global network by June 2007. Matsuura was in Mauritius to attend the U.N. international meeting on the sustainable development of small-island developing countries. (Kyodo)

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UNESCO reappoints Matsuura as director general

PARIS, France - UNESCO reelected Koichiro Matsuura (file photo) of Japan as its director general at its general meeting on Oct. 12. Matsuura, 68, will begin serving a second, shortened four-year term on Oct. 21 as the chief of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. (Kyodo)

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UNESCO chief calls for Japan's greater commitment to Africa

TOKYO, Japan - U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Director General Koichiro Matsuura, holds up his new book on Africa during an interview with Kyodo News at a Tokyo hotel on Sept. 29. (Kyodo)

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Suicide prevention slogan dropped

TOKYO, Japan - Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada responds to questions from Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Daigo Matsuura (bottom R), who displays a sign showing a government slogan aimed at preventing suicides, during a House of Councillors Budget Committee session at the Diet building in Tokyo on Feb. 6, 2012. The government decided to withdraw the controversial slogan GKB47, a play on the name of pop idol group AKB48. (Kyodo)

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Japan's Matsue, Taipei to enhance exchanges

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Masataka Matsuura (L), the mayor of Matsue in Shimane Prefecture, western Japan, and Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin pose for photos after signing a memorandum to enhance tourism and cultural exchanges between the two cities in Taipei on July 25, 2014. Matsue began exhibiting its local peonies at an annual flower exhibition in Taipei nine years ago. (Kyodo)

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Sojitz begins shipment of farmed bluefin tuna

SASEBO, Japan - Photo taken on Dec. 8, 2010, in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, shows Sojitz Tuna Farm Takashima Co.'s first shipment of farmed bluefin tuna ahead of the high-demand yearend and new-year season. Major trading house Sojitz Corp., which wholly owns Sojitz tuna farm, is the first Japanese trading company to enter into tuna farming, while an international commission decided to slightly reduce the bluefin tuna fishing quota for 2011. (Kyodo)

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Sojitz begins shipment of farmed bluefin tuna

SASEBO, Japan - People involved with a tuna farming project pose for photos during a ceremony to commemorate Sojitz Tuna Farm Takashima Co.'s first shipment of farmed bluefin tuna on Dec. 8, 2010, in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture. Major trading house Sojitz Corp., which wholly owns Sojitz tuna farm, is the first Japanese trading company to enter into tuna farming, while an international commission decided to slightly reduce the bluefin tuna fishing quota for 2011. (Kyodo)

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Sunken Mongol Empire ship found off Nagasaki Pref.

NAGASAKI, Japan - Yoshifumi Ikeda (R), a professor at the University of the Ryukyus, speaks at a press conference in Nagasaki on Oct. 24, 2011. Ikeda announced a recent discovery of the hull of a ship off the island of Takashima in Matsuura, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is believed to be part of a Mongol Empire ship that apparently sank during an invasion attempt against Japan. In the second attack by the Yuan Dynasty in 1281, a large number of vessels are believed to have sunk off the island due to a storm. (Kyodo)

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Coronavirus-related arrest of woman

Photo taken April 6, 2020, at Kita police station in Nagoya, central Japan, shows a disinfectant stolen by a 74-year-old woman from a local hospital. Shizuko Matsuura, who was arrested the same day, has said she did so after being unable to find it at a drugstore in the middle of the coronavirus crisis. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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New coal-fired power station in southwestern Japan

Photo taken Dec. 16, 2019, shows a turbine inside the newly completed No. 2 unit at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Matsuura coal-fired power plant in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Dec. 16, 2019. The unit is set to begin operation on Dec. 20. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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New coal-fired power station in southwestern Japan

The newly completed No. 2 unit (R) at Kyushu Electric Power Co.'s Matsuura coal-fired power plant is unveiled to the media in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Dec. 16, 2019. The unit is set to begin operation on Dec. 20. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Petition for return of abductees from N. Korea

Akihiko Matsuura (4th from L), head of industrial union UA Zensen, hands a letter of signatures it collected with the aim of realizing return of Japanese abductees from North Korea, to Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga in Tokyo on April 4, 2019. Seen next to Matsuura is Hajime Matsumoto, whose sister Kyoko is one of the abduction victims. (Pool photo) (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Torrential rains in western Japan

Ayumi Matsuura, 34, examines on July 12, 2018 her house in Mabi, Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture, which was severely damaged by the torrential rain and flooding that hit a wide area of western Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Japanese man wins N.Y. youth ballet competition

Japanese ballet dancer Yuma Matsuura dances at this year's Youth America Grand Prix competition in New York on April 18, 2018. He won top prize. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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S. Korea requested UNESCO's mediation in textbook affair

GENEVA, Switzerland - Koichiro Matsuura, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), speaks at his office in Geneva on Sept. 5. He said South Korea has asked the UNESCO to mediate over its textbook dispute with Japan.