Japan
- Flash in Japan
The government, more than half of whose spending is financed by borrowing, needs a medium-term plan to put the country on a fiscally more sustainable footing - Osaka mayor has old guard running scared
The blunt nationalist, who has divided opinion, will have to get things done in his city if he is to retain the backing of Japanese voters - Consumers return Japan to growth path
Private consumption was the main driver of better than expected first quarter growth but economists warn that the country will struggle to maintain it - Japanese bank freezes Iranian assets
Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ moved after receiving US court order but submitted objection on grounds that court does not have jurisdiction - Truth behind Japan’s free and open market
A Japanese negotiator can claim his market is fully open, safe in the knowledge that no products will be imported, writes Clyde Prestowitz - Japanese GDP grows 1% in first quarter
Analysts warn pace of expansion will ease as temporary boosts to consumption and investment from reconstruction and car-buying subsidies fade - BoJ misses bond buying target
Central bank draws offers of Y481bn for JGBs with one to two years left to maturity, indicating that it is pumping more cash than markets can absorb - Japan’s megabanks: travel time
The lenders have ventured overseas before and have suffered but, with their western rivals deleveraging and distracted, another visit might be timely - China, Japan and S Korea in free trade talks
Wen Jiabao urged Asian powers to co-operate more as China, Japan and South Korea agreed to launch negotiations on free trade pact - Japan posts second monthly surplus
Japan posts second consecutive monthly current account surplus easing fears over solvency as the country wrestles with its Y958tn debt mountain - Japanese donate to buy disputed islands
Japanese citizens donate Y76m in five days after Tokyo governer appeals for help in Senkaku purchase, a move that threatens to increase tension with Beijing - Japan scraps postal privatisation plans
Move also clears the way for the banking and insurance arms to offer new services even if the state sells only half of its stake in them - US and Japan revise Okinawa agreement
Washington and Tokyo strike a deal to move 9,000 US marines from Okinawa as they work around the unresolved dispute over the Futenma air base - BoJ adds Y5tn to asset purchase plan
The Bank of Japan announces further measures to battle slowing growth and deflation while adjusting the terms to allow it to buy more government debt - Ozawa cleared in political funding case
Japanese politician Ichiro Ozawa has been found not guilty of breaking rules over a $5.2m land deal, allowing him to try a return to politics