South Korea's government and private analysts questioned media reports that North Korea was poised to make an important announcement possibly concerning the health of its leader, Kim Jong Il, or a power shift in the communist nation.

North Korea will make an “important announcement” tomorrow amid speculation over the health of its leader Kim Jong Il, a Japanese newspaper reported today.

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.

Climate change, soaring oil prices and possible steps against Zimbabwe were high on the agenda as leaders from the Group of Eight economic powers gathered in Japan for their annual summit.

Police in Japan arrested a man who ran an internet suicide site for allegedly killing a woman who paid him to help her die, an official said today.

Boeing and US aviation experts arrived in Japan today to investigate the Taiwanese jet explosion and a suspected fuel leak.

Japan sizzled through its hottest day on record today, as a heatwave claimed at least six lives across the country and spurred fears of an electricity shortage.

Prime minister Shinzo Abe took the blame for the humiliating defeat of his scandal-plagued coalition in Japan’s upper house election, but pledged to remain in office despite expected calls for his resignation.

Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles, has died, according to Nissin Food Products Co, the company he founded. He was 96.

The Japanese government will officially approve the resumption of US beef imports from selected meat processing plants tomorrow, a news report said today.

JAPAN and the United States will station advanced Patriot interceptor missiles on American bases in Japan for the first time to bolster missile defence.

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

THE Tokyo Stock Exchange halted trading yesterday for just the second time in its 56-year history after a surge in orders overloaded computer systems.

Japanese stocks plunged for a second day today, bringing its two-day loss to nearly 6% amid investor jitters about a widening criminal investigation of internet start-up Livedoor Co.

A bird flu outbreak in northern China that sparked the culling of about 370,000 birds lies along a migration route that spans from East Asia to Australia, it was reported today, as officials continued killing thousands of birds east of Beijing.

Intelligence has been received by Japan indicating that North Korea may be preparing to test launch a short-range missile.

JAPANESE Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s ruling coalition narrowly kept control of the upper house of Parliament in nationwide elections yesterday.

Japan is planning a major scale-back of its troubled space program by focusing on smaller satellites and relying more on other countries for launches, a newspaper report said today.

Japan, the United States and South Korea will demand that North Korea scrap all its nuclear facilities when diplomats next meet to try to resolve the year-old crisis over its moves to develop nuclear weapons, it was reported today.

Japan is preparing to impose sanctions against North Korea if it carries out a reported threat to conduct nuclear tests, it was reported today.

Pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca illegally supplied the cancer-fighting drug Gefitinib to doctors in Japan more than a year before the government had approved its use, Japan’s largest newspaper reported today.

Hitachi is reportedly set to slash 20,000 jobs because of falling worldwide demand.

A former Japanese foreign ministry bureaucrat has reportedly admitted receiving £1.4m of public money to buy souvenirs for officials and fiddling expenses.

Police investigating the disappearance of a British bar hostess have begun an autopsy to determine the identify of a dismembered woman's body.

Police searching for missing British bar hostess Lucie Blackman have found a head and torso buried in a cave on a beach near Tokyo.