Brussels- The European Union on Friday said that it was "deeply concerned" by the execution in Japan of three death-row inmates and asked Tokyo to bring in a moratorium on further hangings.

"The European Union is deeply concerned at the Japanese authorities' announcement that three people under sentence of death - Mr Yoshiyuki Mantani, aged 68, Mr Mineteru Yamamoto, aged 68, Mr Isamu Hirano, aged 61 - have been hanged," a statement on behalf of the EU from the French government said.

Tokyo - Yuriko Koike is making history as the first woman to run as a candidate for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) presidential race scheduled on September 22.

"I'm going to destroy Kasumigaseki and seek a new system for the 21st century," Koike said at the first debate of the five candidates in Tokyo Friday. Kasumigaseki is a district in Tokyo where Japan's parliament and ministries are located.

Tokyo - Japan's first female candidate for leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) said Friday that she had won the support of former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi.

"I am super happy," said Yuriko Koike, who faces four opponents in the September 22 LDP vote. "With strong cheers from Mr Koizumi, I gained power to 100 per cent."

Tokyo - The Japanese government plans to return imported rice to exporting nations if it is found to be inedible, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Seiichi Ota said Friday.

Japan's decision followed recent cases in which a Japanese company sold rice imported from other nations, including Vietnam, China and Thailand, that was tainted with mould or contained pesticide beyond a legal limit for edible use.

The firm bought the rice from the Japanese government for industrial use but sold it to make sake rice wine, distilled liquor or sweets.