Recipients of Order of Culture

Recipients of Order of Culture

TOKYO, Japan - Recipients of the Order of Culture (from L) architect Tadao Ando, stage director Yukio Ninagawa, medieval historian Haruko Wakita, Nobel laureate chemist Akira Suzuki, nuclear physicist Akito Arima, Nobel laureate chemist Eiichi Negishi and fashion designer Issey Miyake pose for a photo session at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2010, a national holiday, Culture Day. They received the Order of Culture from Emperor Akihito.

Prime Minister Hatoyama talks with ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

Prime Minister Hatoyama talks with ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

TOKYO, Japan - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (L), accompanied by House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki, speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 7, 2009, after talks with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.

Opposition demands Suzuki testify before vote on budget

Opposition demands Suzuki testify before vote on budget

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of four opposition parties are in talks in the Diet building Feb. 27. Seated from L to R are Takako Doi of the Social Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa of the Liberal Party, Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party of Japan, and Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party. They said Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki should address questions about a series of scandals before legislators vote on the fiscal 2002 budget.

19 flu deaths suspected at Mie mental hospital

19 flu deaths suspected at Mie mental hospital

Yukio Suzuki, medical affairs policy councilor with the health and welfare department of Mie Prefecture, western Japan, speaks to reporters Feb. 10 as 19 patients at a private mental hospital in the prefecture are suspected to have died of influenza between Jan. 8 and Feb. 4. The 19, including five women and ranging in age from 34 to 87, died at Tado Hospital in the town of Tado, after showing typical symptoms of influenza.

Opposition demands Suzuki testify before vote on budget

Opposition demands Suzuki testify before vote on budget

TOKYO, Japan - Leaders of four opposition parties are in talks in the Diet building Feb. 27. Seated from L to R are Takako Doi of the Social Democratic Party, Ichiro Ozawa of the Liberal Party, Yukio Hatoyama of the Democratic Party of Japan, and Kazuo Shii of the Japanese Communist Party. They said Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Muneo Suzuki should address questions about a series of scandals before legislators vote on the fiscal 2002 budget.

Recipients of Order of Culture

Recipients of Order of Culture

TOKYO, Japan - Recipients of the Order of Culture (from L) architect Tadao Ando, stage director Yukio Ninagawa, medieval historian Haruko Wakita, Nobel laureate chemist Akira Suzuki, nuclear physicist Akito Arima, Nobel laureate chemist Eiichi Negishi and fashion designer Issey Miyake pose for a photo session at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Nov. 3, 2010, a national holiday, Culture Day. They received the Order of Culture from Emperor Akihito. (Kyodo)

Prime Minister Hatoyama talks with ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

Prime Minister Hatoyama talks with ex-Soviet President Gorbachev

TOKYO, Japan - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev (L), accompanied by House of Representatives member Muneo Suzuki, speaks to reporters at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on Dec. 7, 2009, after talks with Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. (Kyodo)

Ex-Kokumin Bank chief gets 30-month prison term

Ex-Kokumin Bank chief gets 30-month prison term

TOKYO, Japan - Yukio Okonogi (L), former president of the now-defunct Kokumin Bank, and Hideyuki Suzuki (R), former vice president of the bank, enters the Tokyo District Court building on Aug. 30 to hear a ruling on them over the bank's illegal loans. Okonogi was sentenced to two and a half years in prison while Suzuki was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for four years. (Kyodo)

4 execs of failed Kokumin Bank held over loan scandal

4 execs of failed Kokumin Bank held over loan scandal

TOKYO, Japan - Hideyuki Suzuki (C), former vice president of the failed Kokumin Bank, is arrested in Tokyo on Nov. 30 on suspicion of dubious lending to a Tokyo karaoke-parlor management company. Suzuki, 66, was nabbed along with Yukio Okonogi, 66, president of the second-tier regional bank when the loans were made and two other former bank executives.

19 flu deaths suspected at Mie mental hospital

19 flu deaths suspected at Mie mental hospital

Yukio Suzuki, medical affairs policy councilor with the health and welfare department of Mie Prefecture, western Japan, speaks to reporters Feb. 10 as 19 patients at a private mental hospital in the prefecture are suspected to have died of influenza between Jan. 8 and Feb. 4. The 19, including five women and ranging in age from 34 to 87, died at Tado Hospital in the town of Tado, after showing typical symptoms of influenza. ==Kyodo