Japan >>

The stimulus policy of Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is under scrutiny after disappointing growth figures. Jennifer Rankin Nick Fletcher ...

s disappointingly weak growth in the last three months of 2013 can be laid at the door of exporters. Despite a currency that makes their goods a third cheaper than two years ago, they have failed to shift much in the way of extra kit. Making matters worse, the government's attempts to stimulate domestic demand have sparked an imports binge. Set against the lacklustre export figures, the rise in imports...

t approach them." The fate of two other female divers remains unknown. Suarsika identified one of the five rescued divers as Saori Furukawa, one of two locally based Japanese instructors who were accompanying five tourists when they disappeared during a scuba diving excursion off the island of Nusa Lembongan, just east of Bali, on Friday afternoon. Japanese consular officials said they were trying...

Distraught relatives join 100 searchers as bad weather hampers efforts to find tourists missing since Friday ...

Aerial images show parts of Japan covered in snow, after a weekend of cold weather that has left twelve people dead ...

Experienced Japanese group never returned to the surface after their third dive of the day, says boat skipper ...

Secretary of state says China and US share common goal to ‘achieve a de-nuclearized North Korea’ during 24-hour visit to Beijing Jonathan Kaiman ...

Indonesia rescuers have found body believed to be one of the missing tourists but search goes on for five other women and one man ...

s aim is to increase this figure to around 5% by the end of fiscal 2015. Women accounted for 287 of the 9,691 senior officials in central government ministries and agencies as of last October, up 28 from January 2013. Namibia: prime minister lashes out at senior officials over inefficiency The prime minister Hage Geingob has accused senior government officials , including permanent secretaries, of...

Messaging app Viber has been bought by the e-commerce firm, more than doubling the number of users in Rakuten’s digital empire. By Alex Hern Alex Hern ...

s visit to Beijing prompts call for new Chinese pressure on Pyongyang John Kerry's appeal for China to help bring North Korea back to nuclear disarmament talks faced an uncertain response after the US also demanded that Beijing roll back on aggressive steps taken during territorial disputes with neighbours. The US secretary of state opened a 24-hour visit in Beijing by meeting the Chinese president,...

s capital is the world's most expensive city, and staying solvent can be a challenge • Interactive: what are the world's most expensive cities? It is almost 9pm and a small crowd is building around the sushi section at the Foodium supermarket in Sangenjaya, an affluent district near downtown Tokyo. A clerk makes his way through the gathering with a tagging gun and, as he gets to work, the shoppers...

Nineteen-year-old breaks own record and becomes first skater to break 100-point mark in figure skating short program ...

s managing editor, Frank Zini, said: "We recognised early on that an image intended to amuse and play off the Yankee nickname 'Bronx Bombers' might be considered offensive by some people, even though that was not our intention. Therefore, it was removed after a very small number of papers had been printed." So the Post pulled the image. But the AAJA didn't think his apology went far enough and sent...

A mouse embryo with beating heart generated totally from Stap cells using an acid technique developed by scientists in Kobe, Japan ...

bodies. Haruko Obokata at the Riken lab in Kobe, Japan, told the Guardian that her team had created several dozen mice that had tissues grown from the cells, and had followed their health for one to two years. "So far they appear to be healthy, fertile, and normal," she said. The finding has stunned many researchers because previous attempts to make stem cells have been fraught with difficulties....

s attempts to forge closer partnerships in the region. Beijing recently announced that Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was simply not welcome there. At the same time, the news media in both countries have stoked the fire with speculation about a possible military confrontation that could even suck in the US, which is bound by treaty to defend Japan in case of attack. US officials and experts say...

s stance on Japan's history, including its territorial claims. He said: "From an educational point of view, it is natural for a country to teach its children about integral parts of its own territory. We must make efforts to politely explain our position to both nations and seek their understanding."  The announcement quickly drew protests from Seoul and Beijing. South Korea's foreign ministry...

s coastline less than three years ago. There is no immediate sign of the destruction the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami caused here and in dozens of other cities, towns and villages. Small groups of Christmas revellers spill out of restaurants on to icy pavements. Every few blocks, the monotony of shuttered shops is broken by statues of cartoon characters – a nod to a nearby museum dedicated to...

extremely inappropriate' after prompting anger in South Korea The new chairman of Japan's national broadcaster NHK has expressed regret for defending the country's use of wartime sex slaves during remarks in which he also suggested he would toe the government line on key diplomatic issues. Katsuto Momii faced calls to resign over the comments, made at the weekend during his first press conference as...