Imperial garden party

Imperial garden party

TOKYO, Japan - Emperor Akihito (pictured from behind) and Empress Michiko (next to emperor) talk with Olympic wrestling gold medalist Saori Yoshida during a party at Tokyo's Akasaka Imperial Garden on Oct. 25, 2012. Around 1,700 people, including lawmakers, top bureaucrats and a wide range of celebrities, attended the garden party hosted by the imperial couple.

Foreign visitors shun Japan

Foreign visitors shun Japan

KANSAI AIRPORT, Japan - A foreigner walks with a suitcase through a lobby of Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture on April 6, 2011. Immigration officials said the same day the number of foreigners arriving at Kansai airport from March 18 to 23 after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami stood around 1,700 a day, less than half of the daily average before the disaster.

Foreign visitors shun Japan

Foreign visitors shun Japan

OSAKA, Japan - Photo shows a duty free service counter at a department store in Osaka with no customers on April 5, 2011. Immigration officials said the same day the number of foreigners arriving at Kansai airport in Osaka Prefecture from March 18 to 23 after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami stood around 1,700 a day, less than half of the daily average before the disaster.

Sony to launch world's 1st OLED TV in Dec. on Japan market

Sony to launch world's 1st OLED TV in Dec. on Japan market

TOKYO, Japan - A model holds up Sony Corp.'s 11-inch television employing organic light emitting diode technology during an unveiling at Sony's head office in Tokyo on Oct. 1. Sony said it will begin selling the world's first OLED TV, featuring a 3-millimeter-thick display, from December in Japan with a suggested retail price of 200,000 yen, or around $1,700.