AP - His popularity dented, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan toned down his tax hike talk on the eve of parliamentary elections Sunday that are widely considered a referendum on the Democrats' 10 months in power.

Reuters - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's Democratic Party looks increasingly likely to suffer a sharp setback in a weekend election, surveys showed on Friday, putting his job at risk and hampering efforts to curb a huge public debt.

AP - Japan deported a New Zealand activist convicted of assault and obstruction after he attempted to stop the annual Japanese whale hunt.

AFP - Japan and Russia have agreed to jointly build a liquefied natural gas plant in Vladivostok, with five million tonnes of output to be shipped to Japan annually, a newspaper said Saturday.

AFP - Voters cast their ballots in Japan's upper house election Sunday, a crucial test for new prime minister Naoto Kan and the 10-month-old centre-left coalition government.