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.

Tokyo - Japan's economy contracted at an annualized rate of 3 per cent last quarter, more than initially estimated, the government said Friday, indicating that the world's second-largest economy would not shake off its economic doldrums any time soon.

The government had previously estimated an annualized contraction in the gross domestic product (GDP) of 2.4 per cent in the April-to-June quarter.

The fall was the first for Japan in four quarters.

Tokyo - Tokyo stocks rebounded Friday after overnight gains on Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average rose 128.49 points, or 1.06 per cent, in morning trading to 12,230.99.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also up 12.44 points, or 1.06 per cent, at 1,175.16.

Investors in Tokyo and New York were cheered by takeover speculation about embattled Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which helped lift concern about financial markets.