Yoshihiko Noda

• Japan's Cabinet resigns to make way for new Prime Minister

  Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet resigned on Wednesday to clear the way for a vote in parliament to formally install the nation's new leader, Shinzo Abe, a conservative whose nationalist positions have in the past angered Japan's neighbours.

• Japan election candidates make final pitches

  Hundreds of candidates vying for a seat in Japan's parliament made their final pitches to voters Saturday, ahead of an election expected to see the return of the country's old guard.

• Japan opposition LDP set to win solid election majority: polls

  Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) looks on course to win a surprisingly solid majority in a December 16 parliamentary election, media polls showed on Thursday, returning to power with a hawkish former premier at the helm.

• Japan leaders in Fukushima as poll campaign starts

  Japan's election campaign kicked off Tuesday with leaders of the two biggest parties in Fukushima, setting the tone for a poll likely to be dominated by the future of nuclear power after last year's atomic disaster.

• Man with knife holds five people hostage in Japan bank: Media

  A man with a knife demanding that Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's government resign was holding five people hostage on Thursday in a small bank, media reported.

• Prime Minister holds bilateral talks with Japanese, Brunei leaders

  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei.

• Japan to set course for December 16 election and seventh PM in six years

  Japan is set to dissolve parliament's lower house on Friday for a December 16 election that is likely to return the long-dominant Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to power with a conservative former prime minister at the helm.

• Japan to hold general election on December 16

  Japan will hold a general election on December 16, a senior governing party official confirmed Wednesday, putting an end to months of speculation over the date of polls.

• Prime Minister to visit Japan to discuss security cooperation

  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will pay a four-day visit to Japan to discuss security cooperation in maritime and cyberspace with Japan Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Friday.

• Japan Prime Minister signals election can wait, defies opposition

  Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda made clear on Monday he is in no rush to go to the polls, speaking of unfinished business and the risk of a "political vacuum" in a speech likely to anger the opposition, which has been urging him to keep a promise to call an election soon.