News stories by Catherine Makino, page 2

Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso called for sudden elections next month after his party suffered a major defeat in Sunday's Tokyo metropolitan election. Aso will dissolve the parliament on July 21, paving the way for the national election.

North Korea’s nuclear tests are a grave security concern to Japan and have significantly raised tension in the region.

Japan’s Self-Defence Forces (SDF) have been readied to shoot down a North Korean satellite-fitted rocket if it disintegrates or veers over its territories early next month.

The arrest of a top aide to opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday, for allegedly accepting illegal political donations, could not have come at a worse moment for his Democratic Party Japan (DPJ).

He was left devastated and robbed of his dream to open a restaurant in Tokyo after two Japanese banks refused to give him a small loan.

Two Greenpeace activists who exposed a black market in whale meat run by the crew of Japanese whalers face up to 10 years in jail while the government shows no discomfiture over the nailing of its ‘scientific whaling’ claims.

Rodney Freitas, 24, is happy to see Brazilians of Japanese descent organising themselves at time when Japan’s economy is cooling down and many are in danger of losing jobs or are already unemployed.

Determined to tell its own story to the world Japan on Monday launched its own 24-hour English-language TV news channel - NHK World TV.

While the six-party talks currently underway in Beijing to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons programme seem to be making slow progress, Japan, one of the parties, is not unduly worried.