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Defense secretary on tour of Pacific nations Visit a day after pointed speech in Japan Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is expected to get a rare tour on Monday of China's first aircraft carrier, becoming the first foreign visitor to go aboard the ship. A senior defence official said Hagel requested the visit, which comes a day after he told reporters that China must better respect its neighbours a pointed...

PM says deal would benefit consumers, but farmers want government to hold out unless Japan cuts beef tariffs Australias prime minister, Tony Abbott, says a bilateral free trade deal with Japan is now within our grasp. The prime minister has used a lunchtime address in Tokyo to point to an imminent announcement on a free trade pact between Australia and Japan hinting the long-anticipated economic partnership...

Australian trade minister says 'historic' deal will bring down the price of cars, but does not reveal beef tariff concessions Australia has sealed a free trade agreement with Japan after seven years of negotiation. The Australian trade minister, Andrew Robb, confirmed the bilateral pact had been signed late on Monday afternoon in Tokyo, and he pointed to a looming reduction in car prices for Australian...

US defence secretary says destroyers are to counter the North Korean threat, and says China must respect its neighbours US defence secretary Chuck Hagel delivered a two-pronged warning to Asia Pacific nations on Sunday, announcing that the US will send two additional ballistic missile destroyers to Japan to counter the North Korean threat, and saying China must better respect its neighbours. In unusually...

Agreement hits a snag on agriculture but the prime minister is still hopeful of striking a deal Tony Abbott has cast doubt on whether or not he will secure a free-trade agreement with Japan on his Asian visit because negotiations have apparently stalled on the issue of agriculture. The prime minister arrived in Japan on Saturday. On Sunday, Abbott said that while he was optimistic about an agreement...

US defence secretary's fourth trip to region comes as China, Japan and other nations are locked in bitter territorial disputes Against the backdrop of Russia's takeover of Ukraine's Crimean region, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on Saturday that a key message he will deliver to leaders in Tokyo this weekend is that the US is strongly committed to protecting Japan's security. Hagel said it was...

Announcement comes after campaigners shamed company over issue and international court banned Southern Ocean hunt The decision by Rakuten comes soon after the UK-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) exposed the company as the worlds biggest online retailer of whale products and elephant ivory . ...

Annual Antarctic hunt called off for the first time in 25 years, but officials say whaling will go ahead in other areas as scheduled Japan has cancelled its annual Antarctic whaling hunt for the first time in more than a quarter of a century, in line with a UN court ruling that the program was a commercial activity disguised as science. A "deeply disappointed" Tokyo said earlier this week...

Yakuza underworld syndicate in bid to prove humanitarian credentials with corporate song and a strong anti-drugs message Japan's biggest organised crime syndicate has launched its own website, complete with a corporate song and a strong anti-drugs message, as the yakuza looks to turn around its outdated image and falling membership. The clunky-sounding Banish Drugs and Purify the Nation League website...

Australian prime minister faces pressure to raise issue at next week's talks but insists free-trade agreement remains first task The prime minister, Tony Abbott, has said Japan should "appropriately reflect" on the international court of justice's ruling about its whaling program , but insists trade remains the priority for his trip to Tokyo. The international court of justice (ICJ) has...

Committee in Japan says it found evidence of falsification and fabrication offences that constitute research misconduct A young researcher who shot to fame in scientific circles when she published an apparently radical and simple way to create stem cells has been found guilty of misconduct by a committee charged with investigating her work. Haruko Obokata , at the Riken Centre for Developmental Biology...

OECD findings show 15-year-olds are outperforming peers in most of Europe and the US, but lag behind those in Asia Teenagers in England have above-average skills in creative problem solving, performing better than their peers in most of Europe and the US, but still lagging behind the emerging economic powerhouses of Asia, according to findings released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation...

Tokyo says it could try to rescue its Antarctic whaling programme by sharply reducing catch quotas Japan could try to rescue its Antarctic whaling programme by sharply reducing catch quotas after the highest UN court ordered a halt , rejecting Tokyo's argument that the catch was for scientific purposes and not mainly for human consumption. ...

Investigators at Japanese laboratory say lead author manipulated presentation of results to improve their appearance A Japanese scientist partly falsified a research paper that announced a breakthrough in the production of stem cells, the government-funded laboratory involved has announced. The results from the Riken Centre for Development Biology in Kobe, western Japan, were seen as a possible groundbreaking...

Sea Shepherd Australia has welcomed the international court of justice's ruling against Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean. After the court found that the scientific benefits of the Japanese killing of minke whales was overstated, Sea Shepherd Australia director Bob Brown said the next step was for the UN to create a suitable international force to police the 'global commons' of the sea. He also...

Attorney general says ties remain in excellent condition despite differences on 'narrow issue of whaling The attorney general, George Brandis, has said the decision by the International court of justice to rule in Australias favour, ordering a halt to Japans whaling program in the Southern ocean , will not affect relations between the two countries. The UN court ruled 12-4 on Monday that Japans whaling...

Australia has welcomed the decision of the International Court of Justice to order a stop to Japan's whaling expeditions in the Southern Ocean under the banner of scientific research. Japan was disappointed but said it would abide by the decision. Australia is confident the two countries will continue their strong bilateral relations in other areas...

What will the court ban mean for whales in European or US waters? And for those killed by pollution, bycatch or ship-strike? Flying high over the Derwent, our tiny aircraft, bound for the Tasmanian south-west wilderness, almost tipped its wings in salute. Far below us, heading for its honorary home port in Hobart after another season spent in the Southern Ocean combating the Japanese whalers, was the...

Judge rules that Japanese whaling program is not scientific and that it failed to justify the number of minke whales it kills The International Court of Justice has ordered a temporary halt to Japan's annual slaughter of whales in the southern ocean after concluding that the hunts are not, as Japan claims, conducted for scientific research. The UN court's decision, by a 12-4 majority among a panel...

The International Court of Justice will hand down its decision today in the case against Japan's whaling activities brought by Australia. Japan says its whaling is part of a scientific programme. With your help, Karl Mathiesen asks, does the research help save whales? Join the debate. Post your views in the comments below, email karl.mathiesen.freelance@guardian.co.uk or tweet @karlmathiesen 11.48am...