Taipei  - Taiwan sent its ruling party chief Sunday to assure Japan that Taipei values their relations while improving it ties with China.

During the week-long visit, Wu Poh-hsiung, chairman of the pro-China Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), will meet with officials from all political parties of Japan and call on Japanese politicians who are friendly to Taiwan, the KMT said in a statement.

According to the statement, President Ma Ying-jeou asked Wu to tell Japan that Taiwan values their relationship and will not neglect Japan while developing ties with China.

Stuttgart  - German car giants BMW and Mercedes Friday pledged their continued loyality to Formula One motor-racing but said savings had become unavoidable.

Both German teams told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa Friday the decision by Japanese carmaker Honda to quit Formula One would have no influence on their participation in the sport.

"Our Formula One engagement is financially solid," Mercedes sports director Norbert Haug said.

McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton's victory in the 2008 F1 championships had provided an enormous marketing boost for the company, Haug said.

Hanoi  - A Vietnamese official Friday cautiously welcomed Japan's decision to suspend new aid to the country owing to a major corruption scandal on a Japanese-funded infrastructure project.

On Thursday, Japanese Ambassador Mitsuo Sakaba told a meeting of international donors in Hanoi that his country would suspend new loans to Vietnam pending the investigation of the Pacific Consultants International case.

PCI, a Japanese consulting firm, allegedly paid millions of dollars in kickbacks to Vietnamese transportation officials while working on transit and water projects in Ho Chi Minh City in the early 2000s.

London, Dec 5 : Japanese cities have claimed four of the top five places on a list of the most expensive parts of the world for foreigners to live owing to the global financial insecurity.

The most expensive city in the world for foreigners was Luanda in Angola, which came as a surprise for many, but the top spot came in the wake of the rarity of expatriate products leading to high cost of living.

The list was compiled by ECA International, which consults companies on international assignments.

The Japanese have invented the first space beer, in hi

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks ended trading down Friday, as concerns over upcoming US employment data sniffed out modest gains made earlier that day as investors tried to snap up bargains.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average closed down 6.73 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 7,919.51.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues declined 2.86 points, or 0.36 per cent to 786.02.

On currency markets at midday (0300 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 92.45-50 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 92.79-80 yen.