Tokyo - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrived in Tokyo Monday, kicking off her first visit abroad since taking office last month.

The global economic downturn, North Korea's nuclear weapons programme as well as bilateral relations were expected to feature prominently in talks Tuesday with Japan's top leaders.

Clinton and her Japanese counterpart, Hirofumi Nakasone, are also to sign an agreement to transfer 8,000 US soldiers from the southern Japanese island of Okinawa to Guam, a US territory in the Pacific Ocean.

Tokyo  - Japan's economy contracted at an annual pace of 12.7 per cent in the October-to-December quarter, its worst drop since the oil crisis 35 years ago, amid a record decline in exports, the government said Monday.

The contraction in the world's second-largest economy was larger than economists had expected and came amid a 13.9-per-cent drop in exports, due to recessions in the US and Europe that cut demand for Japanese cars and electronics.

Tokyo  - Tokyo stocks opened lower Monday after new data showed Japan's economy contracted sharply in the final quarter of 2008 and the yen rose against the dollar, dampening hopes for export recovery.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped about 1 per cent to 7,701.65 points, while the broader Topix index slid 0.2 per cent, to 763.35 52.80 points.

Japan's GDP shrank 3.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, the steepest drop in more than 30 years, as the world's second-largest economy is mired in recession after three straight negative quarters.

Tokyo  - Amidst an unprecedented decline in exports, Japan's economy shrank drastically in the most recent quarter at an annualized rate of 12.7 per cent, the hardest drop in 35 years.

The government released the information as part of its initial estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth between October and December 2008.

Exports dropped 13.9 per cent, pulled down by the global economic crisis and plunging demand for Japanese cars and electronics.

Tokyo - Amidst an unprecedented decline in exports, Japan's economy shrank drastically in the most recent quarter at an annualized rate of 12.7 per cent, the hardest drop in 35 years.

The government released the information as part of its initial estimate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth between October and December 2008.

Exports dropped 13.9 per cent, pulled down by the global economic crisis and plunging demand for Japanese cars and electronics.

Vienna  - In the race to succeed Mohamed ElBaradei at the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Japanese ambassador Yukiya Amano has secured a clear lead over South African diplomat Abdul Samad Minty, according to diplomats in Vienna.

Both contenders indicated in interviews with Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that if elected, they planned to look beyond the Iran nuclear issue and focus on the effects of the expected global rise in nuclear power use.