Japan's government has officially announced the country is in a deflation period expressing fears that it could harms the recovery process. The Bank of Japan has decided to keep interest rates at its lowest level.
Japan's economy grew 1.2 percent in the third quarter, beating market expectations and confirming that the country is well and truly on the road to recovering. The trade minister erroneously released the data ahead of its official release time.
In this edition: President Barack Obama kicks off his first trip to Asia as US President; relations between Cambodia and Thailand hit a new low; and red tuna is becoming dangerously scarce due to overfishing.
US President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of Asia is aimed at signalling a new era of US engagement in a region that could offer vital support on security issues and which accounts for more than half of the world's economy.
US President Barack Obama ordered flags to fly at half-staff at the White House and federal buildings, as military personnel and citizens mourned the 13 victims of Thursday's shocking army base shooting in Texas.
Japan's Toyota Motor has ended its relatively unsuccessful stint on the Formula One circuit in a bid to slash costs as the company battles to cope with the fallout from the global recession.
Japan's number two automaker has seen its profit fall to 587 million dollars in September, down 56.2 percent from a year earlier. Honda blamed poor demand but is nevertheless expecting a net profit for the year to March 2010.
Japan has announced that it will halt its refuelling missions supporting US forces in Afghanistan, the Kyodo news agency reported Thursday. The statement comes days before US Defense Secretary Robert Gates travels to Japan for talks.
