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Int'l emergency summit in Jakarta

JAKARTA, Indonesia - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (L) and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are set to sit at an international emergency summit held in Jakarta on Jan. 6 in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami disaster that claimed an estimated 150,000 lives.

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Machimura plays down N. Korean report

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks at a press conference at the Foreign Ministry on Jan. 4. He played down a report by North Korea's state-run news agency suggesting Pyongyang would cut off abduction talks with Japan.

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Cabinet ministers meet over food poisoning incidents

TOKYO, Japan - (From L to R) Health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, state minister in charge of quality-of-life policy affairs Fumio Kishida, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura attend a meeting of Cabinet ministers at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Feb. 4 to discuss the recent poisoning incidents involving Chinese-made frozen ''gyoza'' dumplings.

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Chinese leader Jia meets with Foreign Minister Machimura

TOKYO, Japan - Jia Qinglin (L), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, meets with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura at the Foreign Ministry's Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo on Sept. 13. Jia is currently on a weeklong visit to Japan.

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Chinese leader Jia Qinglin feted by Foreign Minister Machimura

TOKYO, Japan - Jia Qinglin (L), member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, toasts with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura during a banquet held in his honor at the Foreign Ministry's Iikura guesthouse in Tokyo on Sept. 13. Jia is currently on a weeklong visit to Japan.

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Machimura, Yang to step up efforts on N. Korea's denuke process

SYDNEY, Australia - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (L) and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi shake hands at a hotel in Sydney on Sept. 6 at the beginning of their talks. The two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Machimura, Yang to step up efforts on N. Korea's denuke process

SYDNEY, Australia - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (R) and his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi shake hands at a hotel in Sydney on Sept. 6 prior to their talks. The two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of a ministerial meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. (Pool photo by Kyodo News)

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Japan should be permanent member of U.N. Security Council: Finland

TOKYO, Japan - Visiting Finnish Foreign Minister Ilkka Kanerva is in talks with new Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura at the Foreign Ministry on Aug. 28. Kanerva told Machimura his country is in favor of Japan becoming a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

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Policy expert Machimura returns as foreign minister

TOKYO, Japan - New Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks at a press conference on Aug. 27. Machimura is a policy expert who heads the largest faction of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

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LDP leader candidates in discussions

TOKYO, Japan - Five candidates running in the upcoming presidential election of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party -- (from L) Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara and former economic and fiscal policy minister Yoshimasa Hayashi -- hold discussions at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Sept. 15, 2012.

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LDP leader candidates in discussions

TOKYO, Japan - Five candidates running in the upcoming presidential election of the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party -- (from L) Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, LDP Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara and former economic and fiscal policy minister Yoshimasa Hayashi -- join hands prior to their discussions at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Sept. 15, 2012.

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LDP leadership race

TOKYO, Japan - Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks during an event for Liberal Democratic Party leadership election candidates to make speeches at the LDP headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 14, 2012. Five men including Machimura filed their candidacies in the Sept. 26, 2012, presidential election of the Japanese main opposition party.

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LDP leadership race

TOKYO, Japan - (from L) Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba, former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Nobuteru Ishihara and Yoshimasa Hayashi, a former economic and fiscal policy minister, attend an event to make speeches at the headquarters of the main opposition party in Tokyo on Sept. 14, 2012. The five men filed their candidacies in the Sept. 26, 2012, LDP presidential election.

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LDP candidate heading for victory in by-election

SAPPORO, Japan - Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, fielded by the main opposition Liberal Democratic Party, celebrates at his election office in Sapporo on Oct. 24, 2010, after early returns show he is assured of victory in the House of Representatives by-election in the Hokkaido No. 5 constituency. The seat was left vacant after a ruling Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker resigned over an election campaign scandal.

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Ex-Foreign Minister Machimura narrowly wins reelection

SAPPORO, Japan - Former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks to supporters in Sapporo on Aug. 30 after losing in Hokkaido's No. 5 single-seat constituency in the House of Representatives election. But Machimura, also a past chief Cabinet secretary, regained a seat in the proportional representation block.

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Ex-Foreign Minister Machimura narrowly wins reelection

SAPPORO, Japan - Former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura of the Liberal Democratic Party bows to supporters in Sapporo on Aug. 30 after losing in Hokkaido's No. 5 single-seat constituency in the House of Representatives election. But Machimura, also a past chief Cabinet secretary, regained a seat in the proportional representation block.

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Ex-Prime Minister Koizumi to retire politics

TOKYO, Japan - Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (C) leaves the office of a political faction led by former Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura in Tokyo on Sept. 26 after talks with former prime ministers Yoshiro Mori and Shinzo Abe as well as Machimura. Koizumi told them of his intention to retire from politics.

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Fukuda reshuffles his Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, who retains his post in the Cabinet reshuffle, announces the new lineup of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's Cabinet, during a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Aug. 1.

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Fukuda to reshuffle Cabinet

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of the Liberal Democratic Party and the LDP's junior coalition partner New Komeito (L-R: New Komeito Secretary General Kazuo Kitagawa, New Komeito chief Akihiro Ota, Prime Minister and LDP chief Yasuo Fukuda, LDP Secretary General Bunmei Ibuki, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura of the LDP) gather at the prime minister's office Aug. 1. Ota said Fukuda sought New Komeito's cooperation in the reshuffling of his Cabinet later in the day.

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Media center for G-8 summit opens

HOKKAIDO, Japan - (From L to R) Hokkaido Gov. Harumi Takahashi (2nd from L in center), Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka cut the tape July 5 in a ceremony to open the International Media Center in the village of Rusutsu in Hokkaido for the July 7-9 Group of Eight Summit to be held in the Lake Toya resort area in the northern Japan prefecture.

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1,402 bureaucrats received favors from cabbies, 151 punished

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura speaks at a news conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on June 25. Machimura said that a total of 1,402 ministry and agency bureaucrats have received favors in such forms as cash and cans of beer from taxi drivers when being taxied home late at night after work using taxpayer money, adding that the government has punished 151 of them.

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N. Korea to look into abduction cases of Japanese nationals

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura speaks at a press conference in Tokyo on June 13 about Japan-N. Korea working-level talks held June 11-12 in the Chinese capital of Beijing.

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Japan shelves dispatching defense force for China quake aid

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura announces May 30 that Japan has shelved a plan for its Air Self-Defense Force to airlift relief supplies for victims of a major earthquake that hit China's Sichuan Province. ''Considering, among others, cautious views emerging in some quarters in China, and after discussions between Japan and China, we have decided to forgo transportation using SDF aircraft,'' Machimura said at a press conference.

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PM ready to talk to Ozawa over BOJ chief nomination: Machimura

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura speaks to reporters at the Prime Minister's Office on March 10, saying Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is ready to meet with Ichiro Ozawa, leader of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan, over the government decision to appoint Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Toshiro Muto as successor to BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui. The opposition camp, which opposes Muto's appointment, controls the House of Councillors, which must ratify the nomination.

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Gov't to present candidate for next BOJ chief March 7: Machimura

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura told a press conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on March 6 that the government will present its candidates for the next governor and two deputy governors of the Bank of Japan to the Diet on March 7.

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Gov't deplores alleged rape, urges U.S. to prevent recurrence

TOKYO, Japan - Vice Foreign Minister Mitoji Yabunaka (L) meets with Joseph Donovan, deputy chief of mission at the U.S. Embassy in Japan, at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Feb. 12 over the alleged rape of a 14-year-old girl by a U.S. Marine in Okinawa. Japan has lodged a protest with the United States over the incident and has called for thorough measures to prevent similar occurrences, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said.

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Japan probes food poisoning surrounding Chinese-made dumplings

TOKYO, Japan - (From L to R) Health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, farm minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura attend a meeting at the Diet building in Tokyo on Jan. 31 over food poisoning suspected to have been caused by Chinese-made frozen dumplings following the revelation Jan. 30 that at least 10 people were taken ill.

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G-8 summit logo underlines coexistence of environment, humankind

TOKYO, Japan - The logo for July's Group of Eight summit in Hokkaido is unveiled during a ceremony at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Jan. 4 with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (2nd from R) and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (R) attending. Atsuya Kondo (2nd from L), an 18-year-old high school student in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, and four other junior and high school students jointly created the logo. At left is Hokkaido Governor Harumi Takahashi.

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Upper house panel begins deliberations on antiterrorism law

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda (R) responds to questions during a session of the House of Councillors' Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense on Dec. 4 as ruling and opposition lawmakers started substantive deliberations on a bill that would allow Japan to resume its refueling support for a multinational fleet engaged in antiterrorism operations in and near Afghanistan. (From L to R) are Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura, Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

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Gov't panel to reform Defense Ministry holds 1st meeting

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (2nd from R) speaks at the outset of the first meeting of a government panel of experts studying ways to drastically reform the Defense Ministry in response to recent scandals including a bribery case involving a former top defense bureaucrat.

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Machimura explains bill on Japan's refueling mission

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (standing) explains the contentious bill that would allow Japan to resume its refueling mission in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan on Nov. 29 at a session of the upper house committee on foreign affairs and defense. At right is Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

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Moriya's arrest 'extremely deplorable': Machimura

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura speaks at a news conference at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Nov. 28 after former Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya was arrested by prosecutors on suspicion of taking bribes from a defense equipment trader while he was still the top defense bureaucrat.

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Upper house starts deliberating bill on refueling mission

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (front) explains the contentious bill that would allow Japan to resume its refueling mission in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan on Nov. 28 as the opposition-controlled House of Councillors started deliberating the bill. In the background is Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

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Japan calls on N. Korea to resolve abduction issue on anniversary

NIIGATA, Japan - Shigeru and Sakie Yokota, the parents of Megumi, who was abducted to North Korea from Niigata 30 years ago when she was 13, attend a meeting in Niigata on Oct. 15 calling for public support on the abduction issue. Oct. 15 marks the fifth anniversary of the repatriation of five Japanese abductees from North Korea and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura renewed calls for North Korea to resolve the abduction issue. North Korea says Megumi committed suicide, a claim rejected by Japan.

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Kin ask gov't to seek early resolution of N. Korea abduction issue

TOKYO, Japan - Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (2nd L) meets with the parents of Megumi Yokota and relatives of other Japanese abducted to North Korea at the prime minister's office on Oct. 5 where the families urged the government to seek an early resolution to the abduction issue. Sitting opposite to Machimura are Megumi's father Shigeru Toyota (4th R) and his wife Sakie (3rd R).

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Interpellations at House of Councillors

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda, Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura (R to L, back row) listen from the government bench as Kumiko Aihara of the Democratic Party of Japan questions the government during a plenary session of the House of Councillors on Oct. 5.

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Fukuda hammers out moderate, talks-oriented policies

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda gives a key policy speech at a House of Representatives session in Tokyo on Oct. 1. In back are (from L to R) Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura and Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura.

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Machimura announces new Cabinet lineup

TOKYO, Japan - Newly appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura announces the Cabinet lineup of new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Sept. 25.

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Machimura vows to remain committed to Afghan reconstruction

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (R) chats with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Sept. 23 prior to a U.N.-sponsored meeting at the United Nations on the reconstruction of Afghanistan. To Karzai's right is U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Machimura told the gathering that Japan will remain committed to the stability and reconstruction of Afghanistan.

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Machimura meets with U.N. chief

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (L) and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon pose for a photo prior to their meeting at the U.N. headquarters on Sept. 22. They discussed the issues of climate change and U.N. reform in addition to continuing Japan's refueling operation in the Indian Ocean, Japanese officials said.

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Japan tells Afghanistan refueling operation will continue

NEW YORK, United States - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (L) and Afghan President Hamid Karzai pose for a photo prior to their talks at a New York hotel on Sept. 22. Machimura expressed Japan's resolve to continue the antiterrorism refueling operation in the Indian Ocean.

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Rice seeks Japan's continued role in Afghan mission

NEW YORK, United States - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura shake hands at the start of their talks at a New York hotel on Sept. 23. Rice told Machimura the United States hopes Japan remains committed to its role in the U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan, Japanese officials said.

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Machimura succeeds Mori as head of LDP's largest faction

TOKYO, Japan - Former Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (in file photo) replaced former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori as head of the governing Liberal Democratic Party's biggest faction Thursday, faction members said on Oct. 19.

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Machimura signals that beef imports may resume by year-end

WASHINGTON, United States - Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura is surrounded by reporters at the White House in Washington on Oct. 28 after talks with White House National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

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Machimura, Rice agree to jointly pursue U.N. dues reform

WASHINGTON, United States - Visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura speaks to reporters in Washington on Oct. 28 after a dinner with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

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Japan, U.S. boost military integration

WASHINGTON, United States - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (L), U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (2nd from L), U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (2nd from R) and Japanese Defense Minister Yoshinori Ohno (R) hold a joint news conference after their security talks at the Pentagon in Washington on Oct. 29.

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S. Korean foreign minister criticizes Yasukuni visit

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon (R) and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura pose for photos prior to their meeting in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Ban harshly criticized Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent visit to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

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S. Korean foreign minister criticizes Yasukuni visit

TOKYO, Japan - South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon (3rd from L) and Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura (2nd from R) are in talks at the Foreign Ministry's guest house in Tokyo on Oct. 27. Ban harshly criticized Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's recent visit to the war-related Yasukuni Shrine.

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Japan, N. Korea agree to hold talks from Nov. 3 in Beijing

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura announces at a news conference at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 26 that Japan and North Korea agreed to hold senior working-level talks from Nov. 3 in Beijing.

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Iraqi minister asks Japan to extend SDF mission in Samawah

TOKYO, Japan - Iraqi Municipalities and Public Works Minister Nisreen Berwari (R) shakes hand with Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura at the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo on Oct. 24 prior to their talks. She asked Japan to extend the Self-Defense Forces' humanitarian and reconstruction mission in Samawah, southern Iraq, beyond the current deadline of mid-December.