Anheuser-Busch InBev has formally informed EU anti-trust regulators of its plan to sell SABMiller’s premium European brands to try to secure approval for its $100bn-plus (€876m) takeover of the London-based brewer.

Public support for Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe has fallen after the passage of controversial national security bills,

Japanese media are reporting that a man has died after setting himself on fire in a public park in apparent protest over the country’s military policies.

The Liberal Democratic Party’s victory in Japan’s parliamentary election yesterday ensures Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister for health reasons in 2007 after a year in office, will get a second chance to try to lead Japan out of its economic slump.

The Japanese government has agreed to buy several privately owned islands in the East China Sea that are controlled by Japan but also claimed by China, media reports said.

Toyota is to recall 270,000 Lexus and other vehicles worldwide to fix faulty engines in the latest quality lapse at the car maker.

The president of car giant Toyota faced a huge backlash from the Japanese media today for failing to offer a convincing explanation over the massive worldwide car recall.

A newspaper poll projected that Japan’s main opposition party will secure a landslide victory against Prime Minister Taro Aso’s incumbent party in Sunday’s elections.

Japan’s prime minister Taro Aso dissolved the powerful lower house of parliament today, setting the stage for an election next month that could transform the country’s political power structure.

Japan’s number one chipmaker Toshiba Corp is to shut down several semiconductor plants in Japan to cope with a plunge in global demand for electronics goods, a major Japanese newspaper reports.

The FTSE 100 Index ended the last session before Christmas on a losing note today amid more bleak news for the retail sector.

The FTSE 100 Index was on the back foot today amid more bleak news for the retail sector in the run-up to Christmas.

Dairy Milk confectionery firm Cadbury today agreed to sell its Australian drinks business to Japanese brewer Asahi for £550m (€578m).

Japan’s transport minister resigned today after a string of gaffes, dealing a major blow to Prime Minister Taro Aso who took office less than a week ago, reports said.

Japan plans to follow up its first lunar satellite orbit this month by sending an unmanned probe to land on the moon by 2015, news reports said today.

A FRESH scandal broke out in Japan’s time-honoured sport of sumo as a teenage novice died after being beaten with a beer bottle by his stable master.

Former Foreign Minister Taro Aso declared his candidacy today to replace Japan’s prime minister, running as the conservative choice against dovish former Cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda.

Japan’s scandal-embroiled agriculture minister resigned today, taking responsibility for a shattering election defeat for the ruling party.

Japan’s prime minister faced growing calls to resign today, a day after his coalition suffered a humiliating election defeat that claimed the job of his ruling party’s secretary general and may trigger a Cabinet overhaul.

A top power company official defended safety standards at an earthquake-ravaged nuclear plant in Japan today, even as the government pressed for more details about radioactive leaks.

Japanese police today rescued a hostage 24 hours after she was taken captive by her ex-mobster husband in a shooting spree that killed one policeman and left three other people wounded, news reports said.

Police believe a body found in a Japanese apartment is that of a missing British teacher, it was reported today.

NORTH Korea’s top nuclear envoy has told former US officials that Pyongyang wants more than half a million tonnes of fuel oil a year in return for suspending its atomic reactor, a Japanese daily said yesterday.

Japan’s central bank will end the country’s 0% interest rate policy next week, paving the way for an interest rate increase of 0.25%, news reports said today.

Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi today announced the withdrawal of 600 ground troops from southern Iraq, saying they had accomplished their humanitarian mission.

Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi’s stunning triumph in parliamentary polls has handed the leader a new mandate to harness his revitalised ruling party and turn promises into action for a range of sweeping economic reforms.

A Japanese college student was today sentenced to two years in jail, suspended for three years, for his part in a group suicide attempt that left one dead.

US officials met with North Korean counterparts in New York last week to discuss American policy toward the Stalinist state, the US Embassy in Tokyo said today.

Former US President Bill Clinton said today that his wife, Hillary, would be an excellent choice as the first female leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

AN IRISH waste management company yesterday announced plans to establish Europe’s first asbestos recycling plant of its kind.

An Irish waste management firm is reportedly planning to build a €10m asbestos recycling plant in Killala, Co Mayo.

A Frenchman believed to be linked to the al-Qaida terrorist network may have been in Japan during the 2002 World Cup finals, when the country was on alert for a possible terror strike, a Japanese newspaper said.

The three Japanese civilians taken hostage in Iraq have faced a whirlwind of criticism since returning home, it emerged today.

NORTH Korea yesterday accused the United States of plotting a nuclear attack on the communist country and condemned Washington’s decision to send additional long-range bombers to Guam.

Japan is preparing to overhaul its laws on car recalls in response to a massive cover-up of defective vehicles, according to a national newspaper.

Japan plans to step up its battle against BSE by adopting strict European standards and individually test roughly 1 million cattle across the country, it was reported today.

Electronics giants Toshiba and Hitachi are planning large-scale job cuts amid a slump in global demand for information technology.

Japan’s ruling coalition has drafted a Bill that would pay some 70 billion yen (£388m) in compensation to leprosy victims once exiled to remote, Government-run colonies, it was reported today.

Japan plans to reduce its economic growth forecast for the current fiscal year because of economic weakness in the US.

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has been berated for finishing a round of golf after hearing about the submarine accident off Hawaii that left nine Japanese people missing.

Pilots in Japanese airspace reported more than 500 cases last year of on-board computers warning them to change course to avoid colliding with other aircraft.