JAPAN

I've never seen anyone hitchhiking in Japan. Maybe it's because most people own a car or motorbike, and those that don't rely instead on the fantastically efficient train and bus services.

U.S. clothing chain Gap Inc plans to open its first store in China next year as it seeks new international opportunities to counteract a protracted domestic sales slump at its main brand.

Buoyant corporate earnings lifted investors sentiment again on Thursday, sending world stocks to near 13-month highs.

Asian shares rose to 14-month highs on Thursday after upbeat U.S. retail sales and earnings reports prompted a shift to riskier assets, pushing the U.S. dollar to a 14-month low and prompting Asian governments to step in to curb currency strength.

Asian shares rose to 14-month highs on Thursday as upbeat retail sales and surprisingly bullish earnings reports in the United States buoyed risk appetite, pushing the U.S. dollar to a 14-month low.

South Korea's LG Display said on Wednesday that it would set up a joint venture for a proposed $4 billion LCD plant in China, as Asian panel makers rush to increase their presence in the fast-growing Chinese TV market.

Following are the negotiating positions of the top greenhouse gas emitters in the run-up to a U.N. meeting in Copenhagen in December due to agree a new pact for combating climate change

North Korea's neighbors and the United States are coordinating closely to draw the isolated state back to nuclear disarmament talks and reviewing possible next steps, a senior U.S. diplomat said on Wednesday.

The number of new apartments put up for sale in the Tokyo area rose 26.2 percent in September from a year earlier for the first rise in 25 months, a property market research firm said on Wednesday.

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a strong open on Wall Street on Wednesday following forecast-beating results from Intel Corp and ahead of earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

U.S. stock index futures rose more than 1 percent on Wednesday following forecast-beating results from Intel Corp and ahead of earnings from JPMorgan Chase & Co .

The U.S. dollar plumbed a 14-month low against the euro on Wednesday, sending gold prices to record highs and pushing up oil for a fifth day to a 2009 high of $75.12 a barrel.

Drinking green tea may lower your risk of developing certain blood cancers, but it will take about 5 cups a day, according to a study from Japan

The Bank of Japan kept markets guessing on the future of its support for corporate finance, avoiding any reference to the issue in its latest policy review as analysts warily eyed government pressure to keep the measures in place.

The U.S. dollar struck a 14-month low against the euro on Wednesday, sending gold to record prices and pushing oil past the 2009 high of $75 a barrel and on track for a fifth day of gains.

The U.S. dollar struck a 14-month low against the euro, keeping oil prices on track for a fifth day of gains on Wednesday near the 2009 high of $75 a barrel and sending gold to a record high.

The Bank of Japan may decide to start withdrawing support for corporate finance on Wednesday, despite government criticism, at a policy meeting that may set the tone for its relationship with the new government.

North Korea was preparing to fire a fresh barrage of short-range missiles, a report said on Tuesday, in a move seen as an attempt to boost its bargaining position ahead of expected talks on ending its nuclear weapons program.

Scientists in Japan said they have uncovered evidence that shows it may be possible to delay or prevent heart failure in humans.

Japanese specialty chipmaker Rohm Co Ltd said on Tuesday that it will buy all the shares of U.S. sensor-maker Kionix Inc for an undisclosed sum in a bid to chase the growing motion sensor business.

American International Group is to sell its Taiwan life insurance unit for $2.15 billion, marking the largest disposal since a U.S. government bailout saved the insurer from collapse last year.