Rescuers lifted a Japanese mountain climber to safety and transported him to hospital a day after he was found alive in a ravine of a mountain in Indonesia’s North Sumatra Province, Japanese consular officials said.

Japan today said it will strengthen the surveillance power of its air force, a day after the first-ever intrusion into the country’s airspace by a Chinese government aircraft.

South Korea on Monday warned the likelihood of a “surprise provocation” by North Korea against the South is on the rise, according to Yonhap News Agency.

Japan will back UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who has announced his bid for a second five-year term, top government official said on Tuesday.

Teachers at the Cairo Japanese school began evacuating from Egypt due to the political unrest in the country, closing the school for an undetermined period.

A volcano in Southwestern Japan erupted early on Wednesday, the sixth eruption since last week, spewing columns of smoke up to a height of around 2,000 meters.

Japan plans to seek a non- permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2012-2013 term in the hope of paving the way for eventual permanent membership, a media report said.

Tokyo after having just completed a two-year term on the body at the end of 2010 has already unofficially notified some friendly countries about its intention to run in the next election of non-permanent members, set to be held this autumn, and is likely to announce the plan shortly, Kyodo news agency quoted government sources as saying.

Sapporo will move to host the 2017 Asian Winter Games, city sources have said.

The city of Obihiro, also in Hokkaido, is in talks with Sapporo to hold some of the sporting events. It is likely Sapporo, which will make a formal decision in January, will be the only bidding city as no others are moving to become candidates.

Rescuers plan to send a robot into the coal mine in New Zealand where 29 miners remain trapped once gas levels have dropped, a local newspaper reported on Monday.

United Nations, Nov. 10: A UN report, which alleges that North Korea may have supplied nuclear technology to Syria, Iran and Burma, may be submitted before the Security Council on Wednesday after bein