The prime minister of China, North Korea’s main ally, offered condolences today to South Korea for the sinking of a warship blamed on Pyongyang after promising his country – under pressure to punish the North – would not defend any country guilty of the attack.

CHINA will not protect those who sank a South Korean warship, Premier Wen Jiabao said yesterday, as he came under pressure in Seoul to join an international push to punish North Korea.

In the face of world-wide condemnation North Korea today claimed damning evidence that it torpedoed a South Korean warship was fabricated.

Japan’s prime minister admitted fault today in the government’s efforts to contain a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak, which is crippling farmers in a southern prefecture known for its prized beef.

Tokyo subway workers observed a moment of silence today to mark the 15th anniversary of a nerve gas attack by a religious cult, Japan’s deadliest act of domestic terrorism.

Tokyo's third international airport opened today amid criticism it is a waste of money expected to serve just a fraction of the predicted passengers.

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.

ATTORNEY General Eric Holder says self-proclaimed September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees will be sent to New York for trial in a civilian federal court and he expects to seek the death penalty.

President Barack Obama arrived in Tokyo today aiming to shore up relations with a new Japanese government that vows to be more assertive with its US ally.

SPORT and politics converge in a potent mix today with the credibility of the US President on the line as International Olympic Committee (IOC) members choose the venue for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

THERE were violent protests outside the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh in the US yesterday where world leaders closed in on a statement calling for new restraints on banker pay.

The leaders of the world’s largest economies begin two days of meetings today in search of a common approach to advance a fledgling economic recovery and prevent new financial meltdowns.

President Barack Obama today hit back at critics who blame America for the world’s ills and demanded other countries join his efforts to solve them.

Long-time opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama took office as prime minister today, naming a new Cabinet and vowing to rebuild the economy and refocus Japan’s place on the world stage with his largely untested party.

Long-time opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama was elected prime minister of Japan today, promising to reinvigorate the world’s second-largest economy and shake up government with his left-of-centre party.

Japan’s newly elected ruling party reached an agreement with two smaller blocs on key policies to form a coalition government.

Japan’s new ruling party, fresh from last week’s landslide electoral victory, resumed stalled talks with two smaller parties today aimed at creating a coalition government.

JAPAN’S next prime minister Yukio Hatoyama has delighted environmental activists but worried business leaders by vowing to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 25% from 1990 levels by 2020.

JAPAN’S next prime minister began forming a government yesterday, as investors worried the untested Democratic Party would overspend in a bid to revive the economy or would ruffle ties with Tokyo’s closest ally, Washington.

Japan’s newly empowered leader Yukio Hatoyama rushed today to select Cabinet ministers after his party trounced the ruling conservatives in elections, ejecting them from power for only the second time in 54 years.

JAPAN’s ruling partyconceded a crushing defeat after 54 years of nearly unbroken rule as voters were poised to hand the opposition a landslide victory in nationwide elections, driven by economic anxiety and a powerful desire for change.

Japan’s ruling conservative party suffered a crushing defeat in elections Sunday as voters overwhelmingly cast their ballots in favour of a left-of-centre opposition camp that has promised to rebuild the economy and breathe new life into the country after 54 years of virtual one-party rule, media projections said.

Japan’s voters today went to the polls in hotly contested parliamentary elections in which the ruling conservative party, battered by a struggling economy and voter desire for change after more than half a century of virtual one-party rule, was expected to suffer an overwhelming defeat.

Japan’s top political leaders made their final appeals to voters today before crucial parliamentary elections that could bring a sweeping victory for the opposition and break the ruling party’s decades-long grip on power.

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 upper house of parliament approved an unprecedented no-confidence motion against embattled prime minister Yasuo Fukuda today.

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.

Junichiro Koizumi has been elected Prime Minister of Japan in a parliamentary vote.

A no-confidence motion against Japan's Prime Minister has been defeated.