Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday briefed Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tokyo's plan to send naval forces to the Middle East to protect Japanese vessels

Violent clashes erupted in Delhi between police and hundreds of university students on Friday over the enactment of a new citizenship law that critics say undermines India's secular foundations.

North Korea on Saturday warned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that he could soon see a "real ballistic missile" while excoriating him as the "most stupid man ever known in history".

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling bloc is set to keep a solid majority in Japan's upper house election on Sunday and with allies could seal the two-thirds majority

Qatar-Japan bilateral relations are poised to become stronger after the two countries issued a joint declaration and signed a number of memorandums of understanding (MoUs).

Shinzo Abe toured the city and commercial hub of Sapporo, where Thursday's 6.6-magnitude jolt has left houses tilted and roads cracked.

Shinzo Abe is expected to be re-elected head of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party easily, with the vast majority of lawmakers behind him.

The carefully choreographed annual ceremony is the last Akihito and his wife Empress Michiko will attend before the emperor abdicates in April.

Shigeru Ishiba, 61, announced his candidacy on Friday for a Liberal Democratic Party presidential election expected on September 20.

The toll from the record rainfall has continued to rise, as rescue workers dig through the debris and find the remains of dozens of people reported missing.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met some of the thousands of people still in shelters during a trip to the flood-ravaged Okayama area.

Torrential rains unleashed floods and landslides in western Japan last week, prompting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to cancel an overseas trip.