JAPAN

The $8-billion, multi-year contract provides a big boost to Lockheed, while Japan seeks to replace its aging fleet of Boeing F-4 jets.

At least in one region of the county at dinner parties, it's the question that's on the lips of prospective home buyers: will home mortgage interest rates fall more? The average fixed rate for a 30-year mortgage for borrowers with good credit has declined to 3.92 percent,

If ever there was a sale that begged a buyer beware disclaimer, it may be last week's auction of Elizabeth Taylor jewelry, gowns and art that fetched more than 400 times experts' estimate for at least one item.

Michael Woodford, the ousted boss of Japan's Olympus Corp, has won the battle to force his former employer to admit to more than a decade of accounting fraud. His bid to return as chief executive officer, however, appears doomed.

Southeast Asian stock markets were mixed with an easier bias on Tuesday as market players cashed in any quick gains and remained focused on risks attached to the unresolved sovereign debt crisis in the euro zone.

The International Atomic Energy Agency must redeploy its inspectors in North Korea to help with the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, Yukiya Amano, director general of the U.N. nuclear agency, was quoted as saying by Kyodo news agency Tuesday.

Sony Corp shifted 321,400 units of the PlayStation Vita, its new handheld game device, in Japan in its first two days on sale, research firm Enterbrain said on Tuesday.

Asian stocks and the euro edged up on Tuesday, but sentiment remained fragile on concerns that efforts to contain the euro zone debt crisis were faltering and tougher rules to strengthen banks' capital would further undermine their profits.

Apple Inc scored a narrow victory against Taiwan's HTC Corp in a patent lawsuit over smartphone technology that will set the stage for further battles between rival makers in the fiercely competitive market.

Japan has picked Lockheed Martin's F-35 as its next mainstay fighter, Defense Minister Yasuo Ichikawa said on Tuesday.

Samsung Electronics has launched a new app called 'YouTube on TV' for Samsung Smart TV customers worldwide. Thanks to the new app, Samsung Smart TV customers can enjoy more than 8,000 HD movie, drama and video that YouTube provides.

North Koreans poured into the streets on Monday to mourn the death of leader Kim Jong-il and state media hailed his untested son as the Great Successor of the reclusive state whose atomic weapons ambitions are a major threat to the region.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, revered at home by a propaganda machine that turned him into a demi-god and vilified in the West as a temperamental tyrant with a nuclear arsenal, has died, North Korean state television reported Monday.

Sony's next generation portable games console-the PlayStation Vita-has been hailed by Japanese consumers after it went on sale in the company's native Japan on Saturday.

The death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il from a heart attack over the weekend has prompted an avalanche of reaction from around the globe.

North Koreans poured into the streets on Monday to mourn the death of iron leader Kim Jong-il as state media hailed his untested son as the Great Successor of the reclusive state whose atomic weapons ambitions are a major threat to the region.

More Americans are ending up never getting married -- in 2010, 72 percent of U.S. adults had been wed at least once, down from 85 percent in 1960.

Japan's Nikkei share average fell to a three-week low on Monday, hurt by news that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had died and as worries over Europe's debt crisis increased after Fitch Ratings warned of possible downgrades for seven European nations.

Referred to as Dear Leader and Our Father, Kim Jong-il (also written Kim Jung or Kim Jong Il), died while traveling by train, on Saturday. He was 69 and, according to a state authorized report, died of advanced acute myocardial infarction.

Asian equities and U.S. stock index futures fell, with South Korean shares tumbling as much as 5 percent, while the dollar gained on safe-haven appeal after news of the death of North Korea leader Kim Jong-il raised fears of regional instability.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il died of a heart attack while on a train trip, sparking immediate concern over who is in control of the reclusive state and its nuclear programme.