England’s failed footballers are lucky that their ignominious World Cup exit was met with less more than a public mauling by the media.
North Koreans must have relished the prospect of a rare glimpse of life on the outside and the chance to watch their team play in the World Cup.
When Akio Toyoda became president of Toyota in June last year, he promised to steer it through its "worst crisis in a century".
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/ 13 January 2009
The crisis facing the world’s car industry deepened as Toyota revealed it was on course to record its first operating loss in more than 70 years.
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/ 13 October 2008
Pyongyang has announced plans to allow US and international monitors to resume inspections of nuclear facilities.
The tiny village if Kamikatsu, in the densely wooded mountains of Shikoku island in south-west Japan, has a new obsession: rubbish.
Once a staple in homes and restaurants, sake is being squeezed out of the affections of the average drinker by imported wine and shochu.
In Kamikatsu, Japan, waste must be separated into no fewer than 34 categories before being taken to a recycling centre.
Corporate Japan will join the country’s battle against bulging waistlines next month with the introduction of compulsory "flab checks" for the over-40s and penalties for firms that fail to bring their employees’ weight under control. Health authorities hope the measures will arrest the rise in obesity among middle-aged men and slow soaring medical costs.
Masaaki Shirakawa, the Bank of Japan’s acting governor, has warned that the country’s economy faces an uncertain future. It comes at the end of a week in which the Nikkei share index sank to its lowest level for almost three years. Shirakawa took up the post after Parliament failed to agree on a long-term appointment.