Ex-Taiwan president to visit Japan

Ex-Taiwan president to visit Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, seen in this undated photo, left for Japan on Sept. 19, 2014, for a seven-day vacation that will take him to several parts of the country. The trip to Japan is his sixth since he stepped down as president and his first since 2009.

Tragedy of 10-meter-tall breakwater put in sharp focus

Tragedy of 10-meter-tall breakwater put in sharp focus

SENDAI, Japan - A photograph of the 10-meter-tall coastal breakwater (L) in the Taro district of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, taken on July 19, 2009, indicates the structure was not high enough prior to the 2011 quake-tsunami disaster as the other picture taken on Sept. 1, 2014, shows most of the nearby houses gone. Part of the breakwater will be kept to show what remained just after the devastating tsunami hit.

Wild serows cross slope made from Yamba Dam-related reclaimed land

Wild serows cross slope made from Yamba Dam-related reclaimed land

NAGANOHARA, Japan - Two wild Japanese serows cross a slope made from reclaimed land on the Agatsuma River in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, on Sept. 19, 2009. The land was developed as part of the Yamba Dam construction project, which the new administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has decided to cancel to cut wasteful public works spending.

A-bomb survivors in N. America examined by Hiroshima doctors

A-bomb survivors in N. America examined by Hiroshima doctors

LOS ANGELES, United States - Makoto Matsumura, a physician of the Hiroshima Prefecture Medical Association, examines Eiko Fukushima, a 78-year-old atomic-bomb survivor from Hiroshima, now living in Los Angeles, at a suburban Los Angeles hospital on Sept. 19, 2009.

Matsui homers in Yankees rout of Mariners

Matsui homers in Yankees rout of Mariners

SEATTLE, United States - New York Yankees designated hitter Hideki Matsui homers over the right-field fence in the fourth inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sept. 19, 2009. Matsui went 1-for-3 with an RBI as the Yankees won 10-1.

Anti-coup protest held amid tight security in central Bangkok

Anti-coup protest held amid tight security in central Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thousands of supporters for exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather around the statue of King Chulalongkorn in the Royal Plaza, located between Government House and the Parliament, in Bangkok on Sept. 19, 2009, the third anniversary of the 2006 coup against Thaksin.

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho beats Kotoshogiku at autumn sumo

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho beats Kotoshogiku at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Hakuho throws down sekiwake Kotoshogiku on the seventh day of the 15-day Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009.

Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu still in front at autumn sumo

Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu still in front at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu pushes third-ranked maegashira Tamanoshima out of the ring at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009, remaining unbeaten during the first seven days of the 15-day competition.

Rome deputy mayor apologizes to Japanese man

Rome deputy mayor apologizes to Japanese man

TSUKUBA, Japan - Deputy Rome Mayor Mauro Cutrufo (R) gives a silver plate with an emblem of Rome to Yasuyuki Yamada, a 35-year-old business owner from Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, at an Italian restaurant at the Tokyo Midtown complex in the Roppongi district on Sept. 19, 2009. Cutrufo, now in Japan to attend an event related to Italy, invited Yamada to the restaurant and apologized to him for having been given an outrageous bill after eating at a famous restaurant in Rome in June.

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu suffers 1st loss at autumn sumo

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu suffers 1st loss at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu is thrown down by third-ranked maegashira Kakuryu on the seventh day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009, suffering his first loss in the 15-day event.

3 candidates in LDP presidential election debate in Tokyo

3 candidates in LDP presidential election debate in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Three candidates running in the presidential election for the opposition Liberal Democratic Party -- (from L to R) former Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, former Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono and former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki -- join hands at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2009, before their public debate session.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

MOTEGI, Japan - Scott Dixon of New Zealand holds the winner's trophy during the award ceremony after winning the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture on Sept. 19, 2009.

Daiki Kameda confident ahead of WBA flyweight title fight

Daiki Kameda confident ahead of WBA flyweight title fight

OSAKA, Japan - Daiki Kameda poses for photos after a press conference in Osaka on Sept. 19, 2009. Kameda said he is confident that he can outlast Thai champion Denkaosen Kaowichit in the WBA flyweight title match at Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium on Oct. 6.

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

MOTEGI, Japan - Scott Dixon of New Zealand steers his car at the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture on Sept. 19, 2009.

H&M opens flagship store in Tokyo's Shibuya

H&M opens flagship store in Tokyo's Shibuya

TOKYO, Japan - Shoppers enter a flagship store of Swedish fashion chain H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB in Tokyo's Shibuya, one of Japan's fashion centers particularly for young people, on Sept. 19, 2009. It opened near the Shibuya 109 Building, which houses many clothing shops popular with young women.

Rakuten beats Softbank

Rakuten beats Softbank

FUKUOKA, Japan - Rakuten Eagles' Takeshi Yamasaki is congratulated by manager Katsuya Nomura (2nd from L) after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning of a game against the Softbank Hawks at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka on Sept. 12, 2009. The Eagles' victory over the Hawks left third-placed Rakuten with a magic number of 19 to reach the Pacific League Climax Series playoffs.

Ex-Finance Minister Shiokawa dies at 93

Ex-Finance Minister Shiokawa dies at 93

Photo taken in July 2009 shows former Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa. Shiokawa, who served as finance minister in the early 2000s and was nicknamed "Shiojii" (Grandpa Shio), died of pneumonia at a hospital in Osaka city on Sept. 19, 2015, aged 93. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Matsui homers in Yankees rout of Mariners

Matsui homers in Yankees rout of Mariners

SEATTLE, United States - New York Yankees designated hitter Hideki Matsui homers over the right-field fence in the fourth inning of a game against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle on Sept. 19, 2009. Matsui went 1-for-3 with an RBI as the Yankees won 10-1. (Kyodo)

A-bomb survivors in N. America examined by Hiroshima doctors

A-bomb survivors in N. America examined by Hiroshima doctors

LOS ANGELES, United States - Makoto Matsumura, a physician of the Hiroshima Prefecture Medical Association, examines Eiko Fukushima, a 78-year-old atomic-bomb survivor from Hiroshima, now living in Los Angeles, at a suburban Los Angeles hospital on Sept. 19, 2009. (Kyodo)

Rome deputy mayor apologizes to Japanese man

Rome deputy mayor apologizes to Japanese man

TSUKUBA, Japan - Deputy Rome Mayor Mauro Cutrufo (R) gives a silver plate with an emblem of Rome to Yasuyuki Yamada, a 35-year-old business owner from Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, at an Italian restaurant at the Tokyo Midtown complex in the Roppongi district on Sept. 19, 2009. Cutrufo, now in Japan to attend an event related to Italy, invited Yamada to the restaurant and apologized to him for having been given an outrageous bill after eating at a famous restaurant in Rome in June. (Kyodo)

Anti-coup protest held amid tight security in central Bangkok

Anti-coup protest held amid tight security in central Bangkok

BANGKOK, Thailand - Thousands of supporters for exiled former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gather around the statue of King Chulalongkorn in the Royal Plaza, located between Government House and the Parliament, in Bangkok on Sept. 19, 2009, the third anniversary of the 2006 coup against Thaksin. (Kyodo)

Wild serows cross slope made from Yamba Dam-related reclaimed lan

Wild serows cross slope made from Yamba Dam-related reclaimed lan

NAGANOHARA, Japan - Two wild Japanese serows cross a slope made from reclaimed land on the Agatsuma River in Naganohara, Gunma Prefecture, on Sept. 19, 2009. The land was developed as part of the Yamba Dam construction project, which the new administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has decided to cancel to cut wasteful public works spending. (Kyodo)

Ex-Taiwan president to visit Japan

Ex-Taiwan president to visit Japan

TOKYO, Japan - Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui, seen in this undated photo, left for Japan on Sept. 19, 2014, for a seven-day vacation that will take him to several parts of the country. The trip to Japan is his sixth since he stepped down as president and his first since 2009. (Kyodo)

3 candidates in LDP presidential election debate in Tokyo

3 candidates in LDP presidential election debate in Tokyo

TOKYO, Japan - Three candidates running in the presidential election for the opposition of the Liberal Democratic Party -- (from L to R) former Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, former Senior Vice Justice Minister Taro Kono and former Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki -- join hands at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo on Sept. 19, 2009, before their public debate session. (Kyodo)

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu suffers 1st loss at autumn sumo

Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu suffers 1st loss at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Bulgarian ozeki Kotooshu is thrown down by third-ranked maegashira Kakuryu on the seventh day of the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009, suffering his first loss in the 15-day event. (Kyodo)

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho beats Kotoshogiku at autumn sumo

Mongolian yokozuna Hakuho beats Kotoshogiku at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Hakuho throws down sekiwake Kotoshogiku on the seventh day of the 15-day Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009. (Kyodo)

Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu still in front at autumn sumo

Mongolian yokozuna Asashoryu still in front at autumn sumo

TOKYO, Japan - Mongolian yokozuna (grand champion) Asashoryu pushes third-ranked maegashira Tamanoshima out of the ring at the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan on Sept. 19, 2009, remaining unbeaten during the first seven days of the 15-day competition. (Kyodo)

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

MOTEGI, Japan - Scott Dixon of New Zealand steers his car at the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture on Sept. 19, 2009. (Kyodo)

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

New Zealand's Scott Dixon wins Indy Japan 300 mile auto race

MOTEGI, Japan - Scott Dixon of New Zealand holds the winner's trophy during the award ceremony after winning the IndyCar Series' Indy Japan 300 mile auto race at Twin Ring Motegi in Tochigi Prefecture on Sept. 19, 2009. (Kyodo)

H&M opens flagship store in Tokyo's Shibuya

H&M opens flagship store in Tokyo's Shibuya

TOKYO, Japan - Shoppers enter a flagship store of Swedish fashion chain H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB in Tokyo's Shibuya, one of Japan's fashion centers particularly for young people, on Sept. 19, 2009. It opened near the Shibuya 109 Building, which houses many clothing shops popular with young women. (Kyodo)

Daiki Kameda confident ahead of WBA flyweight title fight

Daiki Kameda confident ahead of WBA flyweight title fight

OSAKA, Japan - Daiki Kameda poses for photos after a press conference in Osaka on Sept. 19, 2009. Kameda said he is confident that he can outlast Thai champion Denkaosen Kaowichit in the WBA flyweight title match at Osaka Municipal Central Gymnasium on Oct. 6. (Kyodo)

Rakuten beats Softbank

Rakuten beats Softbank

FUKUOKA, Japan - Rakuten Eagles' Takeshi Yamasaki is congratulated by manager Katsuya Nomura (2nd from L) after hitting a two-run homer in the first inning of a game against the Softbank Hawks at Yahoo Dome in Fukuoka on Sept. 12, 2009. The Eagles' victory over the Hawks left third-placed Rakuten with a magic number of 19 to reach the Pacific League Climax Series playoffs. (Kyodo)