Diplomats from Washington, Seoul, Tokyo talk N. Korea threat

Before flying to Seoul for talks with South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan and Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Shinsuke Sugiyama met in Tokyo on Tuesday and vowed to find more ways to apply pressure ... ( read original story ...)

Asia stocks mixed as investors look to Japan election

TOKYO - Asian shares were mixed on Wednesday, as some indexes got a boost from overnight gains on Wall Street. Japan's benchmark held steady as expectations grew that a likely ruling party win in Sunday's Japanese parliamentary elections will help ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s Mizuho combining US banking, trust banking units

TOKYO -- Mizuho Financial Group is poised to merge its American banking and trust banking units as soon as this year, consolidating duplicate functions and putting freed-up staff to work on sales. The Japanese megabank is currently seeking permission to ... ( read original story ...)

Japan manufacturers’ mood hits decade-high – Reuters Tankan

Service-sector index +30 in Oct vs +34 in Sept * Business mood seen slumping ahead * Reuters Tankan closely tracks BOJ tankan By Tetsushi Kajimoto and Izumi Nakagawa TOKYO, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Confidence among Japanese manufacturers rebounded in October to ... ( read original story ...)

Abe on course for landslide win in Japan vote: poll

The 12 day election campaign has focused on reviving Japan’s once world-beating economy and tackling ... including allegations of favouritism to a friend in a business deal, which the premier strongly denies. The Mainichi poll was conducted on Friday ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese Nikkei Turns Weakness Into Strength

A long-time line of resistance has turned to solid support for Japanese stocks. One of the objectives of Sun Tzu’s Art of War philosophies is to transform one’s enemy’s strength into weakness – and, thus, transform one’s own weakness into a strength. ( read original story ...)

Japanese military helicopter loses contact off central Japan

TOKYO – A Japanese defense helicopter carrying four crew members has lost contact during flight training in central Japan. Defense officials say the UH-60J lost contact Tuesday evening while flying over the Pacific Ocean about 30 kilometers (18 miles ... ( read original story ...)

‘Vanishing village’ looks to Japan’s LDP for survival

NANMOKU, Japan (Reuters) - Chikara Imai, 73, is quick to dismiss the new parties in Sunday's national election in Japan, saying old ties with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party is what the country's most elderly village needs for survival. ( read original story ...)