Sakai mayoral race

Sakai mayoral race

SAKAI, Japan - Toru Hashimoto (L), Osaka mayor and Japan Restoration Party co-leader, holds a press conference in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Sept. 29, 2013, after Katsutoshi Nishibayashi, a candidate in the Sakai mayoral election, backed by Hashimoto, was defeated by the incumbent mayor by a substantial margin. To the right is Osaka Gov. Ichiro Matsui, who also serves as secretary general of the opposition party.

Sakai mayoral race

Sakai mayoral race

SAKAI, Japan - Toru Hashimoto, Osaka mayor and Japan Restoration Party co-leader, looks glazed at a press conference in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on Sept. 29, 2013, after Katsutoshi Nishibayashi, a candidate in the Sakai mayoral election, backed by Hashimoto, was defeated by the incumbent mayor by a substantial margin.

Memorial concert for March disaster victims in Havana

Memorial concert for March disaster victims in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba - Keisuke Wakao (R), an oboist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Masuo Nishibayashi (L), Japanese ambassador to Cuba, take part in a memorial concert for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at a church in the Cuban capital of Havana on Sept. 22, 2011.

Memorial concert for March disaster victims in Havana

Memorial concert for March disaster victims in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba - Keisuke Wakao (R), an oboist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Masuo Nishibayashi (L), Japanese ambassador to Cuba, take part in a memorial concert for the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at a church in the Cuban capital of Havana on Sept. 22, 2011. (Kyodo)