Athens  - A former Japanese diplomat to the Vatican and his Greek-born wife were taken before a public prosecutor on Sunday following the mysterious death of their

Singapore - The national Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings has sold Senoko Power to a Japanese consortium for 4 billion Singapore dollars (2.5 billion US dollars), the company announced Friday.

The consortium of Lion Power Holdings is headed by Japan's Marubeni Corp and includes GDF Suez of France, The Kansai Electric Power Company, Kyushu Electric Power Company and Japan Bank for International Cooperation.

Tokyo - Former Japanese foreign minister Taro Aso, the top contender for succeeding newly resigned prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, Friday promised measures to kick-start Japan's lacklustre economy.

When officially announcing his candidature for the September 22 election for the presidency of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), the 67-year-old party hawk promised to "dispel the concerns of the population."

Frustrated by low poll ratings and the opposition blocking his policies in Japan's upper house, Fukuda unexpectedly announced his resignation on Monday.

Tokyo - In high-tech Japan, not only programmers provide protection from viruses and other computer bugs, but also the gods.

At Tokyo's Kanda-Myojin Shinto shrine, the faithful can bring their computer and have the priests use centuries-old ceremonies to ask the gods for help and protection for their computer, a shrine spokesman said Friday.

The shrine is located near the Akihabara quarter, Tokyo's technology hub and popular destination for geeks and lovers of the latest electronic gadgets.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks plunged Friday, dragged down by Wall Street and a strengthened yen.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 319.05 points, or 2.54 per cent, to 12,238,91.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 30.54 points, or 2.54 per cent, to 1,271.11.

Japan's government announced earlier on friday that the country's businesses had cut investment in the second quarter by 6.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.