Tokyo denies ghost fears keeping PM out of official residence

The Japanese cabinet has formally denied months-long rumours that prime minister Shinzo Abe has not moved into his official residence over fears the mansion is haunted.

The conservative leader took office in December but has yet to move into the 11-room brick home in central Tokyo.

According to local media, it is the longest holdout among any of his predecessors.

Several former prime ministers have reported experiencing unusual phenomena at the mansion, which was centre-stage for two...

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Have you heard that the official residence of the Japanese prime minister is haunted? That is what is being reported in Australia. Maybe it was a slow news day...

Japan is integral to the future of Asia: PM Lee Hsien Loong

Japan is integral to the future of Asia, said Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday.

On the back of renewed optimism in the Japanese economy, Mr Lee called on Japan to deepen its strategic engagement with Southeast Asia and the wider region.

Mr Lee was speaking to political and business leaders at a conference on 'The Future of Asia', organised by Nikkei, in Tokyo on Thursday.

On the economic front, the Prime Minister pointed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a step towards a...

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The Singaporean prime minister spoke at an important meeting that took place in Tokyo.The 19th International Conference on the Future of Asia marks the 40th anniversary of relations between Japan and ASEAN. What does the future hold for the region?

Suu Kyi enchanted by Harry Potter books

Democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi revealed her love of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books as she waxed lyrical about her favourite reads at Myanmar's first international literary festival on Saturday.

The Nobel laureate, who spent years under house arrest under Myanmar's former junta, joked that her "courage" in the face of state repression paled in comparison to the heroes of the best-selling fantasy series.

"I have to admit to you I read all the Harry Potter books," she said to chuckles from an audience at the Irrawaddy Literary Festival in the former Yangon.

"I really don't know how I could ever have been brave enough to do...

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You might be surprised to know that world leaders also enjoy reading Harry Potter. It seems that Aung San Suu Kyi is a big fan.

Japanese girl pop group to drive voter outreach

The Tokyo metropolitan election administration committee is hoping the pulling power of pop idol group AKB48 and a special Facebook page will encourage more young people to vote in the House of Representatives and Tokyo gubernatorial elections Dec. 16.

"Do you have your voting card with you?" a member of AKB48 asks visitors to the Facebook page, the first the committee has created for an election.

"Don't forget," is the gentle reminder from another member of the all-girl group.

Not only does the page provide information on the candidates and early voting, but visitors who click a button promising they will go to the...

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Are you going to vote in the Dec 16th election? An election committee in Tokyo is trying to attract young voters with the help of AKB48 and Facebook. What do you think could be done to increase the number of young people who vote?

Burma welcomes Obama's historic visit

Burma's government has said it "warmly welcomes" the historic visit of US President Barack Obama later this month, expressing hope his trip will bolster the nation's political reform drive.

Mr Obama, who was re-elected this week, will meet democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein on the first visit to the country by a sitting US president, on a visit Burmese officials say will take place on November 19.

His visit "is warmly welcomed" and will "strengthen the resolve" of Thein Sein to "move forward" with reforms, a spokesman for Burma's Presidential Office said late on Friday.

Mr Obama's visit shows "concrete support for the democratisation process of...

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President Obama planning a visit to Burma. It will be the first time an American president visits the country. As Burma makes changes and becomes more democratized, the market is opening up. Companies like Coca-Cola are also interested in what is happening there.

Google, Apple 'rename' disputed islands

South Korea is outraged Apple Inc and Google Inc have removed the Korean name of a group of disputed islets from some of their map services.

South Korea is outraged Apple Inc and Google Inc have removed the Korean name of a group of disputed islets from some of their map services.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Cho Tai-young says a demand to reverse the decision will be sent to both Google and Apple after they removed the Korean name Dokdo from their English- and Japanese-language maps.

"At the moment we heard Apple's new policy, our government official clearly expressed that...

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A recent topic in the news is the territorial dispute between Japan and South Korea. How do you think the islands should be represented on maps?

Japan to develop missile-detecting drone

Japan is planning to develop an unmanned drone that could help detect a North Korean nuclear missile attack and to counter China's military buildup, a report said Sunday.

The defence ministry has demanded 3 billion yen ($372 million) over the next four years to develop the aircraft, which would come into operation in 2020, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported without citing sources.

The development of the drone, which will be equipped with an infrared sensor to seek out low-altitude missiles, comes after Japan failed to detect North Korea's failed rocket launch in April.

The launch, described by Pyongyang as an attempt go put a satellite into orbit but

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The Japanese government has decided to spend 3 billion yen developing technology that will make it possible to detect low flying missiles. Do you think this is a good way to spend the money?

5 Countries Elected to UN Security Council

Five countries have won two-year terms on the 15-member U.N. Security Council, including one potentially controversial country - Rwanda.

Argentina, Australia, Luxembourg, Rwanda and South Korea won non-permanent seats in the vote by the U.N. General Assembly. They will replace outgoing members Colombia, Germany, India, Portugal and South Africa.

Eight countries competed for the five open seats, which are allocated regionally.

The most hotly contested seats were for Asia-Pacific and the group known as Western European and Others. In the first group, Bhutan, Cambodia and the Republic of Korea competed for...

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We often hear about the U.N. Security Council in the news without understanding how all the member countries work together.  This article gives a little insight into the politics behind the organization.

Tunisia's youth bitter at revolution fallout

Young Tunisians were at the forefront of the country's 2011 revolution. But today, many are unemployed and bitter about its fallout.

Twenty-five-year old Tarek Zeid wants to become a computer engineer. But his only job prospects right now are wrapping up Tunisian carpets at a tourist shop.

Like tens of thousands of Tunisians, Zeid was on the streets in early 2011, in demonstrations that ousted former strongman Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali. But today he says, the revolution hasn’t brought many benefits.

Zeid says unemployment is too high. Hopes for democracy aren't panning out.

Nor is Zeid alone. Among many youth here, there is a...

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The young people in Tunisia are facing difficult times. What would you do if you were in their place?

More low-cost AIDS drugs mean more people treated

Medical treatment can be very expensive. This is good news for everyone.

Environmentalists call for action on rivers

Environmental groups are calling for stronger action to improve the health of rivers as part of World Rivers Day today.

The not-for-profit International RiverFoundation says pollution and poor land use practices have hurt all of the nation's urban rivers and about a third of its rural rivers.

Chief executive Matthew Reddy says it makes economic sense to take better care of the waterways.

"If you have unhealthy poor quality water you can limit the types of uses that you can have for that water, so you can't...

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Have you heard of World Rivers Day? In Australia, this holiday is a time for people to think about environmental issues, in particular 'the health' of the rivers around the country. What do you think, are the rivers in Japan healthy?

Sunday's election key in movement toward universal suffrage in Hong Kong

Hong Kong voters go to the polls Sunday with their government mired in controversy, not least for the attempt this week to force “national education classes” on school children. With more seats in the legislature being decided on the basis of one-person-one-vote, the city’s pro-Beijing administration faces a challenging future as democrats look to make electoral gains before the anticipated introduction of universal suffrage in 2017.

Sunday’s election in Hong Kong will see over half of the legislature’s 70 seats returned by universal suffrage, the remainder by generally pro-Beijing groups.

Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying attends a news conference at the government headquarters in Hong Kong, September 7, 2012. ​​The vote is likely to prove a...

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Hong Kong officials struggle with educational issues....

India, Pakistan sign visa agreement

The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan met in Islamabad Saturday to review progress the two rival nations have made in their recently resumed wide-ranging peace dialogue. The extensive discussions also witnessed the signing of a much-awaited new visa agreement to ease tough cross-border travel restrictions.

Speaking to reporters at the end of their extensive talks, Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart, S.M. Krishna, told reporters the newly-signed visa agreement is an important step forward in improving relations.

Foreign Minister Khar said the pact will enhance trade, business, cultural and political exchanges between India and Pakistan. She stressed that both countries have made significant progress in the past year toward improving relations and reiterated her country is committed to building on the momentum.

"We will move forward. What has happened until...

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Crossing the Indian-Pakistan border just became easier....

High-flying president

He famously fought bears, saved the Ussuriysk tiger, flew a fighter jet, put out forest fires from aboard a plane, and just happened to stumble upon two ancient Greek amphoras while performing a deep-sea dive.

But now Vladimir Putin is to embark on arguably his most bizarre stunt: flying at the head of a flock of endangered Siberian cranes. According to reports, this should happen in the Yamal Peninsula, in north-western Siberia, en route to the APEC summit. Mr Putin's spokesman has confirmed that his boss has been taking flying lessons, and that he'll be making a stopover at Yamal, but would not elaborate.

This is all part of the project 'Flight of Hope', where cranes, born in captivity, are helped by hang gliders to migrate to Central Asia to spend the winter. But this time, weather permitting, flying suspended under a...

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Have you ever wished you could fly? Russian President Vladimir Putin is going to make that wish come true...

IOC withholds South Korean medal

The sign that's put the South Korean footballer onto the headlines read "Dokdo is our land." Dokdo, or Takeshima in Japanese, are a set of islands half way between Korea and Japan, that have been disputed between the two countries for decades.

A Korean Olympics Committee official told reporters that the sign that the midfielder displayed was handed to him by spectators at the end of the match, and the player simply ran with it overcome with the joy of victory. FIFA, the world football governing body, has asked the Korean Football Association to further investigate the incident and provide results by the 16th.

Political messages are banned at the Olympics and the 23-year-old footballer was barred from attending the medal award ceremony.

In South Korea, passion remains high over the rocky islands under dispute. For many Koreans, it is a reminder of...

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Hong Kong, Chile sign free trade pact

Chile and the Asian business hub of Hong Kong signed a free trade agreement Friday ahead of an Asia Pacific leaders' summit.

Hong Kong Finance Secretary John Tsang and Chilean President Sebastian Pinera witnessed the ceremony on the eve of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok.

Pinera said it took only one year for negotiators to reach agreement and for the document to be signed.

Tsang said it will "further strengthen our partnership and serve as a platform to turn our bilateral economic relations to a new level".

According to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Chinese territory's total exports to...

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Here we have another example of countries joining together to promote growth and wealth.

Japan's PM promises early election to save tax plan

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to hold elections in the near future once his consumption tax bill clears the final hurdle in parliament.

Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised to hold elections in the near future once his consumption tax bill clears the final hurdle in parliament.

Mr Noda was forced to make the pledge after the main opposition Liberal Democratic party threatened to withdraw support for the bill unless a general election is called.

Mr Noda has put his political life on the line to hike the...

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Political activists shun staging protests at Olympics

Despite the fact that the Olympics this year are being held in Great Britain, a country that protects free speech, so far there have been very few political demonstrations during the games. Some groups have decided that protesting during the Olympics would do more harm than good for their causes.

Maria Wenda and a small number of protesters from the Free West Papua Movement staged a demonstration in front of the Indonesian Embassy in London during the Olympics. She says the group hopes the international media here for the games will also tell the world about their cause -- to end what they say is Indonesia's occupation of West Papua and expose ongoing human rights abuses.

“This is very important and [has] big meaning for us and for West Papua people because nobody knows and what the people of West Papua, being crying and shouting for help and nobody knows and nobody hears about this.” Wenda said.

In East London near the Olympic stadium Gobi Sivanthan, with...

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Jailed punk rockers plead not guilty in Moscow

Three young women have pleaded not guilty to charges of 'hooliganism' for staging a punk-rock protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow's main cathedral.

The trio, members of an all-female punk rock band, called Pussy Riot, entered Christ the Savior Cathedral in February, where they staged an impromptu performance of a song whose lyrics call on the Virgin Mary to throw out Putin. The three were arrested in March and have been awaiting trial while in jail.

During Monday's hearing, the three expressed remorse that people were offended by their performance, but added that they would not accept the charges.

Their protest stunt was staged just weeks before the...

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Thousands march in Tokyo against nuclear power

Thousands of people in Tokyo have marched on Japan's parliament to demand a ban on nuclear power.

The demonstrators encircled the Diet building Sunday evening with candlelight in a peaceful rally to demand the government of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda abandon nuclear power. Two reactors were restarted earlier this month, despite safety worries after the multiple meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant last year.

All 50 working reactors in Japan went offline in May for routine checks.

Weekly demonstrations outside Mr. Noda's residence have drawn tens of thousands of people opposed to nuclear energy.

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