A crowded commuter train derailed and smashed into a block of flats in western Japan today, killing at least 37 people and injuring 200 others.

Officials and churchgoers from around the world expressed hope today that the new Pope will continue the work of his predecessor by building interfaith bridges. Even China said icy ties with the Vatican could improve – but only if the church breaks off relations with Taiwan.

China said diplomatic relations with Japan were at a three-decade low and that Tokyo – by refusing to face up to its militaristic past – was to blame.

Japan is disappointed by China’s lack of regret over anti-Japanese protests in Chinese cities and its failure to explain how the rallies escalated into riots that left windows smashed at Japanese diplomatic missions, the top government spokesman said today.

The standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and Japan’s enduring ban on US beef imports were at the top of the agenda as US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice headed to Japan today.

Italy’s possible scale-down of its troops in Iraq will have no effect on Japan’s deployment of 550 troops in the country, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said today.

China’s parliament enacted a law today authorising force to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, prompting anger on the self-governing island and warnings from Japan of a rise in regional tensions.

Top US and Chinese negotiators met today for discussions on luring North Korea back to nuclear disarmament talks, after Washington dismissed the North’s latest threat to resume long-range missile testing as counter-productive.

In a shift away from its post-Second World War pacifism, Japan’s government overhauled its defence guidelines today, easing an arms exports ban and singling out North Korea and China as security threats.

Japan’s Cabinet today approved a plan to keep Japanese troops in Iraq for another year.

Japan’s cabinet is likely to decide next week whether to extend its humanitarian mission in Iraq, the country's foreign minister said today.

A body found in Iraq resembling a Japanese hostage held by Islamic militants has been examined and is unlikely to be that of the civilian captive, Japan’s top government spokesman said today.

EMERGENCY workers struggled to rush food and blankets to evacuation centres as strong aftershocks jolted an earthquake-shattered swath of northern Japan yesterday, killing 25 people and driving 100,000 from their homes.

The death toll from Japan’s deadliest typhoon in more than a decade rose to 67 today as rescue workers digging through sludge from mudslides found four more bodies and the nation tried to assess the extent of damage. Twenty-one people were still missing.

JAPAN’S deadliest typhoon in more than two decades killed 66 people, news reports said yesterday as rescuers searched frantically for 22 still missing in floods and landslides.

LEADING allies of the United States sought yesterday to defend the legal basis for their support of the US-led invasion of Iraq after UN chief Kofi Annan said it was illegal.

An American accused of deserting the army 40 years ago and fleeing to North Korea spent his first full day with his Japanese wife today after an emotional reunion.

A charred body found in the wreckage of a car attacked in Iraq last week has been identified by family members and doctors as Japanese journalist Shinsuke Hashida.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will travel to North Korea for talks with leader Kim Jong Il in hopes of winning the release of family members of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago, the government said today.

Japan waited anxiously today for the release of three civilians taken hostage in Iraq as the government struggled to determine whether the gunmen holding them planned to set them free.