Japan confirmed Wednesday a body found in Afghanistan was that of a Japanese aid worker kidnapped at gunpoint a day earlier.

Afghan police Wednesday found the bullet-scarred body of a Japanese aid worker, a day after he was kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan, a district governor said.

Japan's Mitsubishi Electric Corp. said Wednesday it will spend 50 billion yen (458 million dollars) to boost solar power cell production four-fold by early 2012 amid growing interest in renewable energies.

Police on Wednesday found the bullet-riddled body of a Japanese aid worker kidnapped the day before in eastern Afghanistan, a district governor said.

Japan said Tuesday it could not confirm the safety of a Japanese aid worker kidnapped at gunpoint with his driver in eastern Afghanistan, despite earlier accounts that the hostage had been released.

Afghanistan's interior ministry said a Japanese national had been freed 10 hours after he was kidnapped Tuesday but his release was not confirmed by the aid worker's employer.

The parents of a Japanese aid worker kidnapped in Afghanistan made an emotional plea on Tuesday for their son, as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said he was "extremely concerned" for his safety.

Afghan police on Tuesday found a Japanese aid worker kidnapped at gunpoint with his driver in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan police officials said.

Japan's farm minister faced calls Tuesday to explain himself or resign in a scandal over expenses, dealing a potential new blow to beleaguered Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.

A Japanese aid worker was kidnapped at gunpoint with his driver in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, and a spokesman for the Taliban has claimed the group was involved, the government and news reports said.

Japan's consumer affairs minister Seiko Noda played down Tuesday the prime minister's plummeting popularity as well as discussion that she may be called upon to lead her party into the next election.

A Japanese aid worker has been kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan and a report says the Taliban has claimed involvement.

Japan's prime minister told U.S. President George W. Bush that Tokyo will not send troops to Afghanistan due to opposition from a crucial coalition partner but will extend a refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, a news agency reported Saturday.

Japan is set to unveil a stimulus package worth eight trillion yen (73 billion dollars) in a bid to shore up the economy, a report said on Saturday.

Japanese whaling ships will start arriving back back home Saturday after catching 211 whales during their three-month voyage in the northwest Pacific, the fisheries agency said.

A moderate 5.1-magnitude earthquake rattled the Tokyo region on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

An earthquake rattled northeast Japan on Friday evening, but there was no reports of damage or danger of tsunami.

TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.1 jolted central Japan on Friday, a Japanese government agency said.

Small political parties from the two Koreas criticized Japan on Friday over its claim to islets at the center of a territorial dispute between Seoul and Tokyo.

Morning train commuters in Tokyo were joined on their way to work by an unusual companion Wednesday: a wild monkey.