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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of Japan's major political parties join hands before a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 30, 2012, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election. From L are Shozaburo Jimi of the People's New Party, Mizuho Fukushima of the Social Democratic Party, Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party, Natsuo Yamaguchi of the New Komeito party, Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan, Yukiko Kada of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), Shintaro Ishihara of the Japan Restoration Party, Yoshimi Watanabe of Your Party, Muneo Suzuki of the New Party Daichi and Yoichi Masuzoe of the New Renaissance Party.

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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of some of Japan's major political parties join hands before a debate at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Nov. 30, 2012, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election. From L are Natsuo Yamaguchi of the New Komeito party, Shinzo Abe of the Liberal Democratic Party, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda of the Democratic Party of Japan, Yukiko Kada of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), Shintaro Ishihara of the Japan Restoration Party and Yoshimi Watanabe of Your Party.

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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of Japan's 10 major political parties pose for photos after a debate in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, on the Nico Nico Douga webcast site ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - (From L) Main opposition Liberal Democratic Party head Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister and Democratic Party of Japan President Yoshihiko Noda and Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada, leader of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), take part in a debate in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, on the Nico Nico Douga webcast site ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Japan general election

TOKYO, Japan - Former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara (L) and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto hold a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, as they announced election pledges for their party, the Japan Restoration Party, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo gubernatorial election candidate Naoki Inose, vice Tokyo governor, makes a stump speech in front of JR Shinjuku Station in Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, as official campaigning began that day for the Dec. 16, 2012, election.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo gubernatorial election candidate Shigefumi Matsuzawa, former Kanagawa governor, makes a stump speech in the Nihombashi area of Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, as official campaigning began that day for the Dec. 16, 2012, election.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo gubernatorial election candidate Takashi Sasagawa, a retired lawmaker of the Liberal Democratic Party, makes a stump speech in the Asakusa area of Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, as official campaigning began that day for the Dec. 16, 2012, election.

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Tokyo gubernatorial election

TOKYO, Japan - Tokyo gubernatorial election candidate Kenji Utsunomiya, former head of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, makes a stump speech in the Yurakucho area of Tokyo on Nov. 29, 2012, as official campaigning began that day for the Dec. 16, 2012, election.

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Japan general election

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada answers reporters' questions at the prefectural hall in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 29, 2012. She formed a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), the previous day ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election, calling for phasing out Japan's reliance on nuclear power within 10 years.

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Antinuclear power party

TOKYO, Japan - Tetsunari Iida, acting leader of Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), answers reporters' questions in Tokyo on Nov. 28, 2012, after submitting an application to formally register a group of Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, as a political party, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Antinuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada speaks with reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor formally launched her new political party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), earlier in the day, which calls for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Anti-nuclear power party

OTSU, Japan - Shiga Gov. Yukiko Kada is surrounded by reporters in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, on Nov. 28, 2012. The governor announced the previous day her plan to form a new party, Nippon Mirai no To (Japan Future Party), calling for the gradual phasing out of nuclear power, ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Small parties merger

TOKYO, Japan - Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura (L) and veteran lawmaker Shizuka Kamei jointly hold a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 22, 2012. The pair said they have decided to team up their small political parties ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Small parties merger

TOKYO, Japan - Nagoya Mayor Takashi Kawamura (L) and veteran lawmaker Shizuka Kamei jointly hold a press conference in Tokyo on Nov. 22, 2012. The pair said they have decided to team up their small political parties ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election.

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Ex-PM Hatoyama may not run in election

TOKYO, Japan - Former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan answers reporters' questions at his home in Tokyo on Nov. 20, 2012, after a senior DPJ lawmaker said Hatoyama may not run in the Dec. 16, 2012, House of Representatives election.

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2 Japan parties to merge

OSAKA, Japan - Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto (R) and former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara hold a press conference in Osaka on Nov. 17, 2012. They said Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party and Ishihara's Sunrise Party will be merged ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election to counter major ruling and opposition parties.

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2 Japan parties to merge

OSAKA, Japan - Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto (R) and former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara hold a press conference in Osaka on Nov. 17, 2012. They said Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party and Ishihara's Sunrise Party will be merged ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election to counter major ruling and opposition parties.

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2 Japan parties to merge

OSAKA, Japan - Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto (L) and former Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara shake hands in Osaka on Nov. 17, 2012. They said Hashimoto's Japan Restoration Party and Ishihara's Sunrise Party will be merged ahead of the Dec. 16, 2012, general election to counter major ruling and opposition parties.

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Trophee Bompard figure skating competition

PARIS, France - Fourteen-year-old Russian junior world champion Julia Lipnitskaia performs during the women's short program at the Trophee Bompard figure skating competition in Paris on Nov. 16, 2012. Lipnitskaia led the short program of the fifth of six events on the Grand Prix circuit.

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Trophee Bompard figure skating competition

PARIS, France - Fourteen-year-old Russian junior world champion Julia Lipnitskaia performs during the women's short program at the Trophee Bompard figure skating competition in Paris on Nov. 16, 2012. Lipnitskaia led the short program of the fifth of six events on the Grand Prix circuit.

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Trophee Bompard figure skating competition

PARIS, France - Japan's Takahito Mura performs during the men's short program at the Trophee Bompard figure skating competition in Paris on Nov. 16, 2012. Mura placed second after the short program of the fifth of six events on the Grand Prix circuit.

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Trophee Bompard figure skating competition

PARIS, France - Japan's Takahito Mura performs during the men's short program at the Trophee Bompard figure skating competition in Paris on Nov. 16, 2012. Mura placed second after the short program of the fifth of six events on the Grand Prix circuit.

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Latest "Evangelion" movie premiers

TOKYO, Japan - Fans flock to a theater in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on the night of Nov. 16, 2012, as "Evangelion Shin Gekijoban: Q" (Evangelion new theatrical edition), the latest movie in the popular "Evangelion" anime franchise, premiered midnight on Nov. 16.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (C) and other lawmakers of his Democratic Party of Japan raise their fists on Nov. 16, 2012, at a general meeting in Tokyo of the ruling party's lawmakers after Noda dissolved the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (L top) is pictured at the Diet in Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2012, after dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (C) and other lawmakers of his Democratic Party of Japan raise their fists on Nov. 16, 2012, at a general meeting in Tokyo of the ruling party's lawmakers after Noda dissolved the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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S. Korean presidential candidate Ahn

SEOUL, South Korea - South Korean independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol Soo holds a press conference in Seoul on Nov. 16, 2012.

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Japan-N Korea talks

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Shinsuke Sugiyama, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, briefs reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Ulan Bator on Nov. 16, 2012, on the second day of talks between Japan and North Korea. The two countries agreed to continue consultations over the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Sugiyama said.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Catcher Ginjiro Sumitani of Japan opens the scoring of a World Baseball Classic tune-up game against Cuba with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning off right-hander Yadier Pedroso at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Catcher Ginjiro Sumitani of Japan opens the scoring of a World Baseball Classic tune-up game against Cuba with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning off right-hander Yadier Pedroso at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Right-hander Yadier Pedroso of Cuba starts a World Baseball Classic tune-up game against Japan at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Japan national baseball team members (R side) and Cuban national baseball team members line up ahead of a World Baseball Classic tune-up game at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Catcher Ginjiro Sumitani of Japan opens the scoring of a World Baseball Classic tune-up game against Cuba with a solo homer in the bottom of the second inning off right-hander Yadier Pedroso at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Noda dissolves lower house

OSAKA, Japan - Passengers at Hankyu Umeda Station in Osaka glance at television news on Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's dissolution of the House of Representatives on Nov. 16, 2012.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (far L top) is pictured at the Diet in Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2012, after dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Japan defeats Cuba 2-0

FUKUOKA, Japan - Japan national baseball team manager Koji Yamamoto (L) and Cuba national baseball team manager Victor Mesa shake hands ahead of a World Baseball Classic tune-up game at Yahoo Dome, Fukuoka, on Nov. 16, 2012. Japan held Cuba to three hits in a 2-0 victory.

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Japan-N Korea talks

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Shinsuke Sugiyama (L), director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, briefs reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Ulan Bator on Nov. 16, 2012, on the second day of talks between Japan and North Korea. The two countries agreed to continue consultations over the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Sugiyama said.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Nov. 16, 2012, shows the Diet in Tokyo's Nagatacho district, after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Japan-N Korea talks

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Shinsuke Sugiyama, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, briefs reporters at the Japanese Embassy in Ulan Bator on Nov. 16, 2012, on the second day of talks between Japan and North Korea. The two countries agreed to continue consultations over the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Sugiyama said.

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100-kg Canadian gold coin

SAPPORO, Japan - A gold coin weighing 100 kilograms is exhibited at a Hokkaido hotel on Nov. 16, 2012, to mark the 30th anniversary of the sale of Canadian gold coins in Japan.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda raises his fist on Nov. 16, 2012, at a general meeting in Tokyo of his Democratic Party of Japan's lawmakers after dissolving the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Lawmakers raise their arms to mark the dissolution of the House of Representatives in Tokyo on Nov. 16, 2012, with the general election set to take place on Dec. 16.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda (C) and other lawmakers of his Democratic Party of Japan raise their fists on Nov. 16, 2012, at a general meeting in Tokyo of the ruling party's lawmakers after Noda dissolved the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.

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Japan-N Korea talks

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia - Combination photo shows Song Il Ho (R), North Korean ambassador for talks to normalize relations with Japan, and Shinsuke Sugiyama, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry's Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, as they arrive at a Mongolian state guest house in Ulan Bator on Nov. 16, 2012, for the second day of talks between Japan and North Korea. The two countries agreed to continue consultations over the North's past abductions of Japanese nationals, Sugiyama said after the talks.

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Noda dissolves lower house

TOKYO, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Nov. 16, 2012, shows the Diet (foreground) in Tokyo's Nagatacho district, after Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the House of Representatives for a general election on Dec. 16.