
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
The country experiences severe cold weather and temperatures drop to record lows at 38 locations nationwide.
The Defense Ministry's Okinawa bureau chief denies trying to sway the way ministry officials and their relatives may vote in Ginowan's mayoral election or encouraging them to support a specific candidate, but admits his actions could be construed as unlawful.
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ATTENTION SHOPPERS
Feb. 4, 2012
Evacuation management employees at the Isetan department store in Shinjuku Ward shout instructions Friday during an earthquake drill as part of a Tokyo-wide alert exercise led by the metropolitan government that involved about 10,000 people.
KYODO PHOTO
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
Feb. 4, 2012
Monkeys huddle for warmth Friday at Takasakiyama Natural Zoo in the city of Oita as Kyushu experienced record low temperatures. In the town of Kusu, Oita Prefecture, the mercury hit minus 14.7 degrees.
KYODO PHOTO
SNOW-WHERE TO HIDE
Feb. 2, 2012
A man clears snow from the roof of a shopping arcade in Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture, on Wednesday. A cold front has dumped heavy snow on extensive parts of Japan, killing at least 51 this winter.
KYODO PHOTO
A TAXING TIME
Feb. 2, 2012
Residents of the Miyagi Prefecture communities of Sendai, Natori and Watari, which were devastated by the March 11 quake and tsunami, file income tax returns at a tax office extension center Wednesday in Sendai. The tax offices in the three municipalities have been more crowded than usual this year because people whose homes were damaged are claiming deductions.
KYODO PHOTO
SPILLING THE BEANS
Feb. 2, 2012
"Fukumusume" lucky girls toss beans Wednesday during a "setsubun" event at the top of Tsutenkaku Tower in Naniwa Ward, Osaka. Setsubun, which literally means "seasonal separation," is usually meant to celebrate the arrival of spring on Feb. 3 by throwing beans to drive evil spirits away. The annual event on the tower is usually held a few days early.
KYODO PHOTO
TRYING TO GET BACK ON TRACK
Feb. 1, 2012
Votive messages, made of scallop shells and paper, express wishes for full resumption of the Sanriku Railway, in the city of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Tuesday. Services have been only partially resumed since the quake and tsunami on March 11.
KYODO PHOTO
HOPING TO GET LUCKY
Jan. 31, 2012
Men clad in thongs try to grab a good-luck charm during the annual Somin Festival early Monday in Okushu, Iwate Prefecture. In 2008, the festival stirred controversy when it issued an ad featuring a hairy, nearly naked man.
KYODO
READY FOR TRAFFIC
Jan. 31, 2012
Fireboats hold a drill Monday in Tokyo Bay in preparation for the Feb. 12 opening of the 2.6-km Tokyo Gate Bridge, which connects reclaimed land with the Wakasu district in Koto Ward. Some 90 firefighters and rescue workers took part.
KYODO
FUJI IN THE SKY WITH DIAMOND
Jan. 30, 2012
The sun gleams as it sets on Mount Fuji on Sunday as seen from Nippori Fujimizaka in Arakawa Ward, Tokyo. This event, known as "Diamond Fuji," only happens twice a year. Dozens of areas in Tokyo are named Fujimizaka (hill for viewing Mount Fuji), but this is the only one where the volcano can still be seen from the ground.
KYODO PHOTO
BLAZE OF GLORY
Jan. 29, 2012
Fireworks and flames from Mount Wakakusa light up the night sky Saturday over Nara during "Wakakusayama yaki," an annual event dating back to the Edo Period where visitors pray for peace and for the souls of the dead. This year's event attracted about 180,000 people.
KYODO
SOMETHING TO SNEEZE AT
Jan. 28, 2012
Reporter Natsumi Hotta of Weathernews Inc. shows off the Pollen Robo, which gauges air pollen concentrations and displays the levels with five-color orbs, Friday in the city of Chiba. It also sends data to the weather service.
YOSHIAKI MIURA
PROTECTING THE TREASURE
Jan. 27, 2012
Firefighters shoot jets of water into the air during a fire drill Thursday at Horyuji Temple in the town of Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture. The drill started after part of the temple, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was gutted by a fire in 1949.
KYODO
POWDER PUFF
Jan. 27, 2012
An "anko" monkfish colored a rare golden yellow instead of the species' usual dark color is displayed Tuesday by fishery official Mitsunori Miyamoto in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, a port widely known for its fugu haul.
KYODO
COOL CUSTOMER
Jan. 26, 2012
Ice cream maker Shinsaku Katahira from Date, Fukushima Prefecture, gets a trophy Tuesday for his coffee ice cream at the 33th International Exhibition for the Artisan Production of Gelato, Pastry, Confectionery and Bakery in Rimimi, Italy. He is still in business, but Date has largely been evacuated.
AP
ASSET PROTECTION
Jan. 25, 2012
Firefighters perform a drill Tuesday at Okunitama Shrine in the Tokyo suburb of Fuchu ahead of cultural asset fire prevention day on Jan. 26. About 100 people, including Shinto priests and local volunteer fire brigade members, took part in the drill based on the premise that a quake had hit and the shrine and its visitors needed saving.
KYODO PHOTO
NEVER GIVE UP ON GOALS
Jan. 23, 2012
A woman buys a Daruma doll at an outdoor stall Saturday during the city of Futaba's Daruma Ichi festival, which is being held this year in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture. Futaba lies in the 20-km hot zone around the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, and a group of former residents organized the festival to preserve its 300-year history and give evacuees an occasion to get together.
KYODO PHOTO
ENTER THE DRAGON
Jan. 23, 2012
A dance troupe performs in Beijing on Sunday. Asian communities around the world kicked off celebrations over the weekend for the start of the new lunar year on Monday, with families congregating together to usher in the year of the dragon.
KYODO PHOTO
BROUGHT TO LIGHT
Jan. 23, 2012
Lights on the famed "gassho-zukuri" thatched-roof houses shine in the village of Shirakawa in Gifu Prefecture on Saturday. The houses, which are on UNESCO's World Heritage list, will be lit from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends until Feb. 18.
KYODO PHOTO
WHERE THERE'S SMOKE ...
Jan. 22, 2012
Smoke rises from a fire in a restaurant area near JR Oji Station in Kita Ward, Tokyo, on Saturday morning. The fire, which may have been caused by an electric heater, injured five people and disrupted railway services on the Keihin-Tohoku, Utsunomiya and Takasaki lines for up to five hours, affecting about 224,000 passengers.
KYODO
ALL TOGETHER
Jan. 20, 2012
Displaced by the March 11 disasters, temporary housing residents exercise Wednesday at a community center in Yamamoto, Miyagi Prefecture. Besides fitness, the weekly, two-hour workout is intended to foster a sense of community.
KYODO
WELL DO YOU FEEL LUCKY, KID?
Jan. 20, 2012
A child cries as a traditional drummer in a "namahage" (demon) costume performs on a street in Tokyo on Sunday. Namahage are part of a traditional event in Akita Prefecture in which men dressed as demons visit homes to frighten kids, drive away evil spirits and bring good luck to residents.
AP
DAFFADOWNDILLIES
Jan. 19, 2012
Daffodils are in full bloom at Kasai Rinkai Park in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Despite the winter chill, visitors to the park can enjoy 2,800 sq. meters of daffodils planted by park employees and local volunteers. The flowers are expected to be in bloom until around mid-February.
SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO
NOW YOU SEE IT
Jan. 18, 2012
The 34-meter-tall Eastern Tower of Nara's eighth-century Yakushiji Temple, a designated national treasure, has part of its moveable temporary enclosure up Tuesday. The pagoda, which will be covered by mid-February, will undergo extensive repairs out of public view until 2018.
KYODO PHOTO
MAKING THEIR MARK
Jan. 16, 2012
Dressed in colorful kimono, young women who celebrated adulthood at last week's Coming of Age festival participate in the annual "toshiya" archery contest held at Sanjusangendo Temple in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, on Sunday. About 2,000 young adults participated in the traditional contest, in which arrows are fired at targets 60 meters away.
KYODO PHOTO
BRUSH WITH LIFE
Jan. 16, 2012
Jissho Hasegawa, a monk at the Daichiin Temple in Chita, Aichi Prefecture, writes the characters "fuku" (luck) and "ju" (longevity) Saturday on wooden containers for beans that will be thrown during the Setsubun festival on Feb. 3 to celebrate the beginning of spring. Hasegawa says that while writing the characters, he remembers the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and prays for the reconstruction of the devastated areas.
KYODO PHOTO
CUT THE CARP
Jan. 13, 2012
Chef Hakuin Tatami gets ready to slice up a carp during the annual New Year's ritual "manaita biraki" (first use of the cutting board) Thursday at Houonji Temple in Taito Ward, Tokyo.
SATOKO KAWASAKI
COUNTING BLESSINGS
Jan. 13, 2012
Bank employees count offerings of money made to Imamiya Ebisu Shrine in Osaka, known for its god of commerce, on Thursday, the day after the three-day Toka Ebisu festival ended. Although some 940,000 people visited the shrine during the festival, it was the lowest turnout in a decade because of the sluggish economy, the shrine said. Even so, the offerings may amount to the usual ¥45 million.
KYODO
CHALKLESS BOARD
Jan. 13, 2012
Touching its 80-inch screen with a pen, a Sharp Corp. employee demonstrates how to use the company's Big Pad at a press unveiling in Tokyo Tuesday. The new interactive electronic displays, which use giant glass panels normally installed in flat-screen TVs, take the place of conventional white boards in offices and schools.
AP
NAILED IT
Jan. 12, 2012
Lu Xiao Jing, an employee of nail jewelry maker Yuki Co., shows off "bejeweled nails" during International Jewelry Tokyo at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward on Wednesday. The six nails in this photograph cost a combined ¥1,745,000.
SATOKO KAWASAKI PHOTO

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Panasonic forecasts a record net loss of ¥780 billion for the current year, becoming the latest consumer electronics giant to predict declining earnings due to the strong yen, a slowing global economy and natural disasters.
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