World - Japan

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's main opposition leader Friday promised drastic government reforms but was grilled over a political fund scandal ahead of key elections that could make him the next prime minister.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Moves to oust unpopular Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso will intensify if, as many expect, his ruling bloc fares badly in a key local election on Sunday that is considered a bellwether for a coming national poll.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese wholesale prices fell at the fastest ever pace last month, data showed, deepening concern that another bout of deflation could hinder a recovery in the world's number two economy.

TOKYO (AFP) - The president of major train operator West Japan Railway Co. was indicted Wednesday over a 2005 accident that killed 107 people in the worst Japanese rail disaster in four decades.

TOKYO - The Japanese government passed a law Wednesday promising unspecified aid to victims of a rare neurological disorder — but only if they withdraw lawsuits against the government and the company that they say made them sick by dumping mercury.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan passed a law offering financial compensation to tens of thousands more victims of a mercury poisoning disaster in the 1950s blamed for generations of birth defects.

TOKYO (AFP) - The United States and Japan are planning their first official talks on the US 'nuclear umbrella' as early as this month, amid rising fears about stability in Northeast Asia, a newspaper reported.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's current account surplus in May fell a sharper-than-expected 34.3 percent from a year earlier as exports remained slow, official data has shown.

WASHINGTON - The United States says it has made progress in opening Japan's market to foreign investors.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States pressed Japan on Monday to lower barriers to exports of U.S. beef and insurance services, but praised Tokyo for other steps it has taken to open its market.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso's ruling coalition lost a key regional election at the weekend, officials said Monday, dealing a fresh blow to the embattled leader in the run-up to national polls.

TOKYO - Iran is ready to take "real and decisive" action if Israel attacks its nuclear facilities, a senior Iranian parliamentary official said Monday.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's main opposition party kept its lead among voters over Prime Minister Taro Aso's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), media polls showed on Sunday, but the gap narrowed ahead of a looming general election.

TOKYO (AFP) - Old Asia-Pacific maps from Japanese Imperial Army archives are going online for modern use, such as studying changes in forest cover or the growth of cities, a Japanese researcher said Friday.

TOKYO (AFP) - India's foreign minister on Friday called for an ambitious but fair greenhouse gas reduction target under a new climate treaty, saying any pact should not hinder the economic growth of developing countries.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko left on Friday for a 15-day goodwill tour of Canada and Hawaii, with the ageing monarch revealing his personal attachment to both destinations.

TOKYO - Japan's Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko hope to reach out to Americans and Canadians of Japanese ancestry during a two-week tour that began Friday, but they won't be going to Pearl Harbor.

TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's near-silent hybrid cars have been called dangerous by the vision-impaired and some users, prompting a government review on whether to add a noise-making device, according to an official.